KR100322050B1 - Home network system for bidirectional multimedia service - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention, in the home network system connected to the network through a single transmission medium for the interactive multimedia service, a plurality of display devices installed in the home and the service contents authorized through the one delivery medium to process the display A plurality of user device boards to be provided to the devices and one of each of the plurality of user device boards, and service content signals output from the user device boards are assigned to different channels of the display apparatus. RF modulators modulated into frequency bands and provided as channel modulated service content signals, and a mixer for mixing the channel modulated service content signals to provide them to the display apparatuses.

Description

HOME NETWORK SYSTEM FOR BIDIRECTIONAL MULTIMEDIA SERVICE}

The present invention relates to interactive multimedia services, and more particularly to a home network system using multi-channel modulation.

A representative example of the interactive multimedia service is a video on demand (hereinafter referred to as a VOD service). VOD service is a service that allows subscribers to see the desired program when they want to see it at any time, rather than using the program table. Representatives that subscribers can receive VOD service include movies, but there are also TV programs, education programs, and sports recently broadcast. In the VOD service, there are a content provider, a producer of image information, an information provider, an end user, a consumer (subscriber) of the information, and a network provider in charge of distributing information therebetween. Characteristic components of the VOD system include a server, a network 8, and a set-top box including an input server 4 and an application server 6, as shown in the example of the VOD system configuration shown in FIG. Consists of 10). Various image information in the content (e.g., videotape) 2 provided by the content provider are provided by the input server 4 to the application server 6. The application server 6 collectively stores the image information and the application software for controlling the image information and selectively transmits the image information to the end user device (set top box, indoor receiving device) according to the end user's request. The application server 6 may be helpful if you imagine a virtual movie theater or department store amusement center existing in the network. The network 8 includes a core network, a node access, and an access network, and should be configured as a broadband network capable of delivering information in units of several Mbps for full-scale application of video information distribution. In particular, in the access network, various transmission media such as optical fiber, coaxial, spiral pair cable (telephone line), and satellite may be applied. The set-top box 10 is installed in an end user's home and serves as a destination of a broadband transmission path, and decodes digital information of the application server 6 and displays it on a TV (TeleVision) or the like, or executes various applications. In addition, the end user's request using the remote control or the like is transmitted to the application server 6 through the network 8.

For example, if there are N televisions in a home or office, and each television wants to be provided with interactive multimedia services such as a VOD service, one set-top box must be installed for each television as shown in FIG. If all N televisions in a home or office can receive VOD service by installing only one set-top box, it may be favorable to users.

As an example of developed countries, a household has an average of 2.8 TV sets. Therefore, a set-top box is required to control at least three televisions. Therefore, the present invention is to implement a device capable of controlling a large number of display devices, such as a television, with one set-top box.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a home network system that can control a plurality of display devices with one set-top box.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a home network system that provides a plurality of display apparatuses using a multi-channel modulation of service contents coming through a transmission medium connected to a network.

According to the above object, the present invention provides a home network system in which a network is connected through a single transmission medium for two-way multimedia service. A plurality of user device boards which process service contents and provide the same to the display apparatuses, and are connected to each of the plurality of user device boards, and the service content signals outputted from the user device boards are output to each of the display apparatuses. RF modulators modulated to different channel frequency bands assigned to a channel and provided as channel modulated service content signals, and a mixer for mixing the channel modulated service content signals and providing them to the display apparatuses. It features.

1 is an example of a video on demand (VOD) system configuration,

2 is a block diagram of a home network system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a configuration diagram of the set-top box master board of FIG.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the same elements in the figures are denoted by the same numerals wherever possible. In addition, detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations that may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention will be omitted.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a home network system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

In the set-top box in the embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of set-top box boards are designed to be installed. In the set top box, a set top box master board 20A and a plurality of sub boards 20B,..., 20N are installed (or mounted). Each board can have a structure that can be easily mounted in a set-top box like a module card of a personal computer. The number of set-top box master boards 20A and set-top box sub-boards 20B, .., 20N installed in the set-top box is the number of display devices provided to provide interactive multimedia services in the home or office. For example, this coincides with the number of televisions 30A, 30B, ..., 30N shown in FIG. If the number of display devices provided to provide interactive multimedia services in the home or office is five, the total number of set-top box master boards and sub-boards to be installed is five.

The set top box master board 20A is connected to the network through a transmission medium such as an optical fiber, a coaxial, a spiral pair cable (telephone line), a satellite, and the set top box sub boards 20B, .., 20N are connected to the set top box master. It is connected to the network interface unit (NIU) of the board 20A.

Specific configuration of the set-top box master board 20A is shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 3, the set-top box master board 20A includes a microprocessor 32, a memory 34, a network interface unit (NIU) 36, a moving picture expert group (MPEG) decoder 38, audio and video. An output unit 40, an input / output unit 42, and a user interface unit 44 are included. The microprocessor 32 controls the overall operation of the master board set-top box 32. The memory 34 is composed of a program ROM (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM). Various control programs of the microprocessor 32 are mapped to the ROM, and various data are stored and read into the RAM under the control of the microprocessor 32. The NIU 36 is connected to a network through a transmission medium such as a telephone line or an optical cable, and modulates and outputs data transmitted and received between the network and the MPEG decoder 38. In detail, the NIU 36 includes a transmitter and a receiver, and the receiver demodulates the MPEG data stream input from the network through a transmission medium, for example, by carrierless amplitude modulation phase modulation (CAP) -16 to decode the MPEG decoder ( 38), and the transmitter modulates upstream data by, for example, Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) and outputs the data to the network through a transmission medium. The MPEG decoder 38 is controlled by the microprocessor 32 and decodes an MPEG data stream applied through the NIU 36 to output audio data and video data. In the audio and video output unit 40, the video output unit converts the digital video processed by the MPEG decoder 38 into an analog form and outputs it through an input / output unit 42 such as an A / V jack. The audio output unit converts the digital audio processed by the MPEG decoder 38 into an analog form, amplifies it, and outputs it to an external display device through an input / output unit 42 such as an A / V jack. . The user interface 44 is a circuit for interface with an external user and includes a remote controller and a key input unit.

And the set-top box sub-boards (20B, 20C, .., 20N) of FIG. 2 is the remaining configuration except the NIU 36, the user interface 44 in the set-top box master board 20A shown in FIG. It consists of elements. The microprocessor 32 at the set top box subboards 20B, 20C,..., 20N communicates with the microprocessor 32 at the set top box master board 20A and performs its own operation under control therefrom. Perform.

2, RF modulators 22A, 22B, .. and 22N are connected to each of the set-top box master board 20A and the set-top box sub-boards 20B,..., And 20N. In the following, signals output from the set-top box master and sub-boards 20A, 20B, .., 20N are referred to as service contents signals.

The RF modulators 22A, 22B, .., and 22N respectively display service content signals output from the set-top box master board 20A and the set-top box sub-boards 20B, 20C, .., and 20N, respectively. For example, modulation is performed on different channel frequency bands allocated to each channel of the televisions 30A, 30B, .., 30N of FIG. 2 to provide channel modulated service content signals. The mixer 24 mixes the channel modulated service content signals output from the master board 20A and the set-top box sub-boards 20B, 20C, .., 20N and outputs them to the switch unit 26. The switch unit 26 selects one of the output of the mixer 24 and the broadcast signal received by the antenna according to the switch control signal SWC output from the microprocessor of the set-top box master board 20A based on the user's selection control. Output to distributor 28. The distributor 28 distributes the output of the switch section 28 to the plurality of televisions 30A, 30B,..., 30N.

RF modulators 22A, 22B, .., 22N indicated by reference numeral 100 in the configuration of FIG. 2, the mixer 24, and the switch unit 26 are preferably implemented in one pack. In this case, the economic utility value is also increased.

Hereinafter, an operation according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

Service content data (digital broadcast signals, Internet data, VOD data, etc.) is received from the network through the transmission media such as optical fiber, coaxial, spiral pair cable (telephone line), and satellite to the NIU 36 of the set top box master board 20A. When the NIU 36 of the master board 20A demodulates the received service content data, each of the MPEG decoder 38 and the MPEG decoder 38 of the set-top box sub-boards 20B,. Output

Each of the components of the set-top box master board and the sub boards 20A, 20B, .., 20N performs the operation as described with reference to FIG. 3, so as to provide respective RF modulators 22A, 22B, .., 22N. Service content signals to the user. At this time, the service content signal has an analog form, and its type can be classified into a video signal, an audio signal, and a text signal. Each of the RF modulators 22A, 22B, ..., 22N modulates the service content signal by different channel frequency bands assigned to each channel of the televisions 30A, 30B, ..., 30N to modulate the channel. To the provided service content signals. For example, the A-channel modulation frequency of the RF modulator 22A is 55.25 MHz, the B-channel modulation frequency of the RF modulator 22B is 67.25 MHz, the C-channel modulation frequency of the RF modulator 22C is 73.25 MHz, ... The N-channel modulation frequency of the RF modulator 22N can be set to 135.25 MHz. When the broadcasting method is NTSC, the modulation frequency output from the RF modulator of the set-top box is 3 channel (image carrier frequency: 61.25MHz) or 4 channel (image carrier frequency: 67.25MHz), considering that each channel frequency These can be applied as an example of such NTSC method.

The mixer 24 mixes the channel modulated service content signals output from the master board 20A and the set-top box sub-boards 20B, 20C, .., 20N and outputs them to the switch unit 26. At this time, the frequency band output from the mixer 24 will be from 54MHz to 140MHz in the above example.

The channel modulated service content signal mixed in the mixer 24 is applied to the switch section 26. The switch unit 26 also receives a broadcast signal received from the antenna. The switch unit 26 selects one of the output of the mixer 24 and the broadcast signal received through the antenna according to the switch control signal SWC output from the microprocessor of the set-top box master board 20A based on the user's selection control. Output to distributor 28. The distributor 28 distributes the output of the switch section 28 to the plurality of televisions 30A, 30B,..., 30N.

Accordingly, a user who views each television 30A, 30B,..., 30N can watch the service contents of the corresponding channel selected through TV channel selection. For example, if the control unit receives the set-top box service through the remote control of the set-top box, and then selects the A channel using the remote control of the television 30A, the viewer of the television 30A may watch the service content provided through the RF modulator 22A. .

In the above description of the present invention, a specific embodiment of the VOD service has been described as an example of the interactive multimedia service. However, various modifications and changes in the interactive multimedia service may be implemented without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be defined by the described embodiments, but should be determined by the equivalent of claims and claims.

As described above, the present invention enables the user to view the corresponding service contents on a plurality of display devices while using a user device connected to a network through a single delivery medium, and the user in each room can select N only through channel selection of a display device such as a television. You can select the desired channel from the channels to view the service content.

Claims (8)

A home network system in which a network is connected through a transmission medium for interactive multimedia service, A number of display devices installed in the house, A plurality of user device boards for processing and providing service contents authorized through the one delivery medium to the display apparatuses; One of the plurality of user device boards is connected to each other, and the service content signals output from the user device boards are modulated into different channel frequency bands assigned to respective channels of the display apparatus, thereby modulating the service content signals. RF modulators to provide, And a mixer for mixing the channel modulated service content signals and providing the same to the display apparatuses. The method of claim 1, A switch unit for selectively selecting an output of the mixer and a broadcast signal received through an antenna according to a user's selection control; And a distributor for distributing outputs of the switch unit to the plurality of display apparatuses. The home network system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of user device boards are a plurality of set-top box boards. The method of claim 3, wherein the plurality of set-top box boards A master set-top box board connected to the network through the one transmission medium, Home network system, characterized in that composed of a plurality of set-top box sub-boards connected to the network interface of the master set-top box board. The home network system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the RF modulators, mixers, and switches are configured in one pack. 6. The home network system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the channel frequency bands modulated by the RF modulators are set in the range of tens to hundreds of MHz. The home network system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the selection control of the user selectively selecting the switch unit is performed by a set-top box master board. A home network system in which a network is connected through a transmission medium for interactive multimedia service, A number of display devices installed in the house, A plurality of set-top box boards which process service contents authorized through the one transmission medium and provide the same to the display apparatuses; One of the plurality of set top box boards is connected to each of the plurality of set top box boards, and the content of the service content signals modulated by different channel frequency bands assigned to each channel of the display apparatus, respectively, are channel modulated. RF modulators that provide signals, A mixer for mixing the channel modulated service content signals and providing the same to the display apparatuses; A switch unit for selectively selecting an output of the mixer and a broadcast signal received through an antenna according to a user's selection control; And a distributor for distributing the output of the switch unit to the plurality of display apparatuses.