KR100339659B1 - Apparatus for processing data of a supplementary service for a digital television - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention adaptively processes data for various types of supplementary service broadcasts by configuring a supplementary service data processing device for processing supplementary service data provided by a digital broadcasting system as a separate module that can be additionally mounted on a digital TV. The present invention relates to an apparatus for processing additional service data of a digital broadcast receiver. To this end, the present invention relates to an apparatus for processing an additional service data of a digital broadcast receiver for receiving and processing digital video signals, digital audio signals, and various kinds of additional service data. A tuner and channel decoder for extracting only a broadcast signal for a specific channel from digital broadcast signals of various channels received through an antenna; A TS (Transport Stream) demultiplexer for separating and transmitting a video signal and an audio signal from the broadcast signal of the extracted channel; A video processor for decoding and outputting the separated video signal and an audio processor for decoding and outputting the separated audio signal; Interface means for interfacing a broadcast signal of a channel extracted by the tuner and a channel decoder to the outside; Additional service data processing means for demultiplexing the digital broadcast signal provided through the interface means, extracting additional service data, decoding the same, and transmitting the additional service data to the video processor through the interface means. Provide the device.

Description

ADDITIONAL SERVICE DATA PROCESSING DEVICE OF DIGITAL BROADCAST RECEIVER {APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING DATA OF A SUPPLEMENTARY SERVICE FOR A DIGITAL TELEVISION}

The present invention relates to a digital broadcast receiver, and more particularly, to an apparatus for processing additional service data of a digital broadcast receiver, which can more efficiently process various additional service broadcasts provided by a digital TV.

Recently, there is a growing interest in digital broadcasting (terrestrial, cable or satellite digital broadcasting), which provides much clearer image and sound quality than analog broadcasting, and some areas are conducting trials or sooner or later. Planning. Therefore, the spread of digital TVs that can cope with such digital broadcasting is rapidly spreading.

In addition to the advantages of providing a high quality image and sound, digital broadcasting can be a significant advantage of the significant improvement of the user interface using additional digital service data transmission and graphics. That is, in the digital TV, a convenient user interface is provided through a technique of controlling a menu of the digital TV using a graphical user interface (GUI).

In addition, the digital TV receiving such a digital broadcast signal is provided with a function for receiving and providing various additional service broadcasts, for example, a program guide and stock information, etc., in addition to the main broadcast consisting of a video signal and an audio signal. Various additional information can be received and displayed.

In connection with the present invention, Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional general digital broadcast receiver, an antenna (5), tuner and channel decoder (10), TS (Transport Stream) demultiplexer (15), video The processor 20 includes an audio processor 25 and a controller 30.

Referring to FIG. 1, an operation of a conventional general digital broadcasting receiver is described. First, only a signal of a specific broadcasting station is selected by the tuner and the channel decoder 10 for the digital TV broadcasting signal received through the antenna 5. The demodulated signal is first demodulated by the first broadcasting station, and the TS signal is transmitted to the TS demultiplexer 15 through a process of compensating for a signal damaged by channel characteristics.

The TS demultiplexer 15 separates the video signal, the audio signal, and various additional service data from the input broadcast signal, and transmits the video signal and the audio signal to the video processor 20 and the audio processor 25, respectively. By being transmitted and decoded, the compressed video and audio signals are respectively reconstructed.

The additional service data separated from the TS demultiplexer 15 is transmitted to the control unit 30, and the control unit 30 restores the compressed additional service data by software. That is, additional service data such as an electric program guide (EPG) or data broadcasting to be commercialized in the future is decoded in software using a microcomputer constituting the control unit 30 without using a separate decoder.

In addition to the above function of restoring the additional service data, the controller 30 performs a function of selecting a channel and checking and controlling operation states of the video processor 20 and the audio processor 25.

On the other hand, the specific standard of the various additional services provided in such a digital broadcasting system is not completely determined until now, it is not known what services will be added in the future. In addition, the format of the data for such additional service data and its processing method have not been standardized yet. Therefore, as a method of processing additional service data currently proposed, the microcomputer (control unit 30) for controlling a TV set or a set-top box is generally processed as described above.

However, in digital broadcasting, since additional service broadcasts provided by various broadcasters are so diverse that their implementation methods are unpredictable, decoders for processing them require an adaptive form applicable to various methods.

If this is not the case, i.e. there is an additional data service provider using a new form of data format that cannot be handled in a TV receiver and set-top box previously sold to the user, a digital TV manufacturer may Change the program memory of the host processor in the receiver, set-top box, or set-top box, or download a program that allows each user to process new supplementary service data through a modem and replace the host processor in the existing receiver or set-top box. There is a problem that must be given. In addition, in order to enable this method, there is a problem in that a host processor in an existing receiver or set-top box must have a high performance enough to execute a new program.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and consists of a separate module form that can be additionally mounted to the digital broadcast receiver to adaptively process data for various types of additional service broadcasts. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for processing additional service data of a digital broadcast receiver.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a digital service signal processing apparatus of a digital broadcast receiver for receiving and processing digital video signal, digital audio signal and various various additional service data, the digital broadcast of various channels received through an antenna A tuner and a channel decoder for extracting only a broadcast signal for a specific channel from the signal; A TS (Transport Stream) demultiplexer for separating and transmitting a video signal and an audio signal from the broadcast signal of the extracted channel; A video processor for decoding and outputting the separated video signal and an audio processor for decoding and outputting the separated audio signal; Interface means for interfacing a broadcast signal of a channel extracted by the tuner and a channel decoder to the outside; An additional service data processing means for demultiplexing the digital broadcast signal provided through the interface means, extracting and decoding additional service data, converting the additional service data into graphic data of a predetermined type, and transmitting the same to the video processor through the interface means. An additional service data processing apparatus of a digital broadcast receiver is provided.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional general digital broadcasting receiver;

2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a digital TV equipped with a value-added data processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the additional service data processing apparatus shown in FIG.

4 is a flowchart illustrating an overall operation of an apparatus for processing additional service data of a digital broadcast receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

110 antenna 115 tuner and channel decoder

120: TS demultiplexer 125: video processor

130: audio processor 135: microcomputer

140: interface unit 145: control bus

200: additional service data processing device 210: interface unit

220: TS processing unit 230: descrambler

240 control unit 250 memory unit

260: graphics engine

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a digital TV equipped with an additional service data processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The antenna 110, the tuner and the channel decoder 115, and the TS demultiplexer 120, the digital broadcast receiver 100 including the video processing unit 125, the audio processing unit 130, the microcomputer 135, and the interface unit 140, and the additional service data processing device 200.

Referring to FIG. 2, first, a digital broadcast receiver 100 refers to a digital broadcast receiver configured as a receiver or a separate set-top box embedded in a digital TV receiver, and includes an antenna included in the digital broadcast receiver 100. The digital broadcast signal received through 110 is transmitted to the tuner and the channel decoder 115 so that only a signal of a specific broadcast station is selected.

The TS demultiplexer 120 separates the video signal and the audio signal from the broadcast signal of the channel selected by the tuner and the channel decoder 115, and transmits the video signal and the audio signal to the video processor 125 and the audio processor 130, respectively. Accordingly, the video processor 125 and the audio processor 130 decode and restore the compressed video signal and the audio signal provided from the TS demultiplexer 120.

Meanwhile, the interface unit 140 transmits a digital broadcast signal (Transport Stream) for a channel selected from the above-described tuner and channel decoder 115 under the control of the microcomputer 135 to the additional service data processing apparatus 200 described later. Done.

That is, the interface unit 140 performs a function of interfacing the digital broadcast signal to an external supplementary service data processing apparatus 200. The interface unit 140 is configured as a personal computer memory card international association (PCMCIA) interface. can do.

Meanwhile, the supplementary service data processing apparatus 200 is a means provided to process various supplementary service data provided in digital broadcasting according to the present invention, and is digitally transmitted through the interface unit 140 in the digital broadcasting receiver 100. The additional service data in the broadcast signal is extracted and processed. In addition, in FIG. 2, the supplementary service data processing apparatus 200 is configured as a separate independent apparatus and mounted outside the digital broadcast receiver 100, but this is only an exemplary configuration. 100) It can be mounted inside. In addition, it may be replaced by a CAS (Conditional Access System) module used to limit the viewing of pay-TV programs in satellite broadcasting or digital broadcasting.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the value-added data processing apparatus 200, and includes an internal interface unit 210, a TS processor 220, a descrambler 230, a controller 240, and a memory unit 250. ), A graphics engine 260.

Referring to FIG. 3, the additional service data processing unit 200 will be described in detail. First, the internal interface unit 210 may perform a mutual data interface with the interface unit 140 provided in the digital broadcasting receiver 100 described above. As a means provided, it is composed of the same type of interface means as the interface unit 140 of the receiver 100 to be responsible for transmitting and receiving digital broadcast signals.

The TS processor 220 separates the desired additional service data by performing a demultiplexing process such as packet synchronization and packet filtering on the digital broadcast signal received from the digital broadcast receiver 100 through the internal interface 210. Done. In this case, when the separated additional service data is subjected to scrambling processing for pay broadcasting, the separated additional service data is transmitted to the descrambler 230 under the control of the control unit 240 which will be described later to undergo a data restoration process.

Meanwhile, the controller 240 is a means for controlling the overall operation of the value-added data processing apparatus 200. The TS processor 220, the descrambler 230, the memory unit 250, and the graphic engine described later are described. As well as the operation control of 260 and the like, the flow of signals and data between the respective constituent means is controlled.

On the other hand, the additional service data separated by the TS processor 220 or the additional service data passed through the descrambler 230 for descrambling are temporarily stored in the memory unit 250 under the control of the controller 240. After buffering, the software is decoded by the controller 240 again. Here, the decoding engine built in the control unit 240, that is, software for decoding the additional service data may be provided together with a module configuring the additional service data processing unit 200 by a broadcaster providing the additional service.

When the decoding of the supplementary service data is completed through the above-described process, the decoded supplementary service data is provided through the graphic engine 260 in the form of data necessary for the user interface (for example, graphic data in an OSD form). ) Is transmitted to the digital broadcast receiver 100 through the internal interface 210 again.

Accordingly, the digital broadcast receiver 100 receives the additional service data through the interface unit 140 and provides the additional service data to the video processing unit 125 under the control of the microcomputer 135 to display the OSD.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an overall operation process of the apparatus for processing additional service data of a digital broadcast receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.

When the digital broadcast signal is received through the antenna 110 in the digital broadcast receiver 100 having the configuration means as shown in FIG. 2 (step 401), the tuner and the channel decoder 115 select a specific channel selected by the user. Only the broadcast signal for the signal is extracted and transmitted to the TS demultiplexer 120, and the TS demultiplexer 120 separates the video signal and the audio signal from the received digital broadcast signal (step 403).

Accordingly, the video processor 125 and the audio processor 130 decode and reconstruct the compressed video signal and the audio signal provided from the TS demultiplexer 120 and output the same through a monitor and a speaker (not shown). (Step 405).

Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 2, the broadcast signal of the channel selected from the tuner and the channel decoder 115, that is, the transport stream (TS), is controlled by the microcomputer 135 in addition to the aforementioned TS demultiplexer 120. In addition, it is also transmitted to the supplementary service data processing apparatus 200 through the interface unit 140 (step 407), and the supplementary service data processing apparatus 200 configured as shown in FIG. The digital broadcast signal TS transmitted through the interface unit 140 is received through the internal interface unit 210, and the TS processor 220 performs a demultiplexing process on the received digital broadcast signal to add a desired value. The service data is separated and extracted (step 409).

Herein, the control unit 240 in the additional service processing apparatus 200 determines whether the additional service data separated from the TS processing unit 220 is subjected to scrambling processing according to pay broadcasting (step 411), and if so, the scrambling processing is performed. If so, the additional service data is transmitted to the descrambler 230 to perform a data restoration process (step 413).

Otherwise, if the result of the determination of the control unit 240 in the above-described step 411, the scrambling process is not applied to the additional service data, or if the scrambled additional service data is descrambled through the above-described step 413 After that, the controller 240 temporarily stores the additional service data in the memory unit 250 and buffers it, and then decodes the additional service data in software (step 415).

When the decoding of the supplementary service data is completed through this process, the decoded supplementary service data is converted into data of a type necessary for the user interface through the graphic engine 260, and then digitally converted through the internal interface unit 210. It is transmitted to the broadcast receiver 100 (step 417).

Accordingly, the digital broadcast receiver 100 receives the additional service data through the interface unit 140, and is provided to the video processing unit 125 under the control of the microcomputer 135 in response to a request from the user, in the form of an OSD. Is displayed (step 419).

As a result, the value-added data processing apparatus according to the present invention is configured in a module form that can be separately installed in the digital broadcast receiver, so that the decoding engine can be adaptively modified and applied according to the value-added broadcaster.

As described above, according to the present invention, the additional service data processing apparatus for processing the additional service data provided by the digital broadcasting system is configured as a separate module additionally installed in the digital TV, thereby changing variously or newly adding it later. There is an effect that can solve the problem of replacing the digital broadcast receiver according to the type of additional service broadcast, and thus can receive a variety of additional service broadcast at a low cost. In addition, there is an effect that a digital broadcast receiver manufacturer can develop an independent digital broadcast receiver regardless of the type of supplementary service broadcast.

Claims (4)

An additional service data processing apparatus of a digital broadcasting receiver for receiving and processing a digital video signal, a digital audio signal, and various various additional service data, A tuner and a channel decoder extracting only a broadcast signal for a specific channel from digital broadcast signals of various channels received through an antenna; A TS (Transport Stream) demultiplexer for separating and transmitting a video signal and an audio signal from the broadcast signal of the extracted channel; A video processor for decoding and outputting the separated video signal and an audio processor for decoding and outputting the separated audio signal; Interface means for interfacing a broadcast signal of a channel extracted by the tuner and a channel decoder to the outside; An additional service data processing means for demultiplexing the digital broadcast signal provided through the interface means, extracting and decoding additional service data, converting the additional service data into graphic data of a predetermined type, and transmitting the same to the video processor through the interface means. An additional service data processing device of a digital broadcasting receiver. The method of claim 1, wherein the additional service data processing means, A TS processor for demultiplexing the broadcast signal received through the interface means to separate the additional service data; A memory unit for buffering the additional service data; A controller to decode the buffered additional service data; And a graphics engine for converting the decoded supplementary service data into graphic data of a predetermined form and transmitting the decoded supplementary service data to the video processor through an interface means. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the additional service data processing means decodes the additional service data when the additional service data separated by the TS processor is subjected to scrambling processing for pay broadcasting. And a descrambler for scrambling and restoring. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the supplementary service data processing means is manufactured in the form of one module and mounted inside the digital broadcast receiver.