KR100462825B1 - Intelligent broadcasting system for providing broadcasting services with multi-level quality - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An intelligent broadcasting system for supplying a multi-quality service is provided to employ an encryption key and a demultiplexing control policy in complex way, thereby effectively cutting off an access to a service quality which is not approved at data receiver level. CONSTITUTION: A broadcasting device(210) comprises as follows. Multi-level encoders(211,212) encode one source data at multi-level, and generate plural multi-level encoding data. A multiplexer(214) multiplexes the encoding data, and generates multiplexing data. An encoder(215) encodes the multiplexing data, and generates encoding data. A transmitter(216) broadcasts the encoding data. A broadcast receiving device comprises as follows. A receiver receives the encoding data. An encryption decoder decodes the encoding data, and generates the multiplexing data. A demultiplexer demultiplexes the multiplexing data, and generates the multi-level encoding data. A multi-level decoder decodes the encoding data. An access quality control system permits the source data to be reproduced with more than one of receiving qualities associated with the one of the source data.

Description

INTELLIGENT BROADCASTING SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING BROADCASTING SERVICES WITH MULTI-LEVEL QUALITY}

The present invention relates to a broadcast service system, and more particularly, to a broadcast system that provides a broadcast content to a user in two or more qualities, and provides the broadcast content to the user in an acceptable quality according to a user's permission. It is about.

According to the prior art, according to the inherent characteristics of broadcast, broadcast data is uniformly reached to all users by using a single medium called radio waves spread in a space. The increase did not increase the transmission cost. In addition, in the case of analog broadcasting, the concept of differentiation of broadcasting service quality could not be introduced, and in the case of digital broadcasting, the broadcasting network investment can be saved by lowering the quality of service. There is no system for providing users with quality and performing differentiated charging for the users. For this reason, in the case of over-the-air television broadcasting or over-the-air radio broadcasting, funding for broadcasting has been provided through advertising revenue or uniform subscription income.

In addition, in the case of pay-TV broadcasting such as satellite television or cable television (CATV), a separate set-top box is used to receive broadcast data, and a parental control device is installed in the set-top box, and according to the fee paid by the user. The viewing of a user is restricted by forwarding or not transmitting broadcast data of a specific channel to a television receiver. That is, according to the prior art, one source data is sent to one channel and the user's viewing is restricted for each channel by using the parental control device. As such, the broadcast service according to the related art has a single-line billing system that charges a subscription fee according to simply allowing the viewing of certain content, that is, watching a specific channel or not. If these services are used as they are, and if various quality broadcasting services are provided for the same content, high quality channels and low quality channels must be separately provided, which inevitably wastes valuable frequency resources.

With the development of wireless communication technology, digital terrestrial broadcasting technologies such as satellite digital broadcasting and HDTV have been commercialized in the broadcasting field as well as the conventional analog broadcasting, and furthermore, terrestrial or satellite DMB (Digital) to provide broadcasting services to mobile users through mobile terminals. Multimedia Broadcasting technology has been developed. Satellite DMB broadcasting is emerging as a next-generation multimedia technology like IMT-2000, and services are expected to be provided through an integrated terminal on a dedicated broadcast receiving device, a mobile phone, or a PDA. In other words, various terminals such as mobile phones, PDAs, etc., in addition to the conventional televisions and radios can play the role of broadcast receivers, and therefore, the area of broadcast services is expected to be greatly expanded.

In particular, in the case of DMB, since the limited frequency range is used, the quality of the service provided to the user becomes an important factor in the actual service because the radio frequency is an important resource and applied to the mobile terminal.

In such a situation, there is an urgent need for a method and apparatus for efficiently using a broadcast channel (that is, almost no additional network investment) to service a user with various quality and to charge accordingly.

In the wired Internet broadcasting according to the prior art, a method of transmitting data differentiated according to a user has been used. However, even in the conventional wired Internet broadcasting service, although there is a characteristic of multiple communication, the technical configuration is fundamentally different from that of a wireless broadcasting service which receives a service while a plurality of users share a radio wave, which is a single transmission medium. That is, in the case of the wired Internet broadcasting service, the transmission network is sequentially diverged in the process of broadcasting content from the transmitting device to the subscriber, and each subscriber uses a dedicated subscriber network while the subscriber network uses a dedicated subscriber network. Will share a common limited means of propagation up to the last subscriber.

That is, in the conventional wired Internet broadcasting, considering that the usable bandwidth on the transmission path from the broadcast content transmitting end to the user terminal or the processing power of the receiver are different from each other, the highest quality data can be received as a result of being transmitted from high priority data. The method of receiving the data from is used. As a result, the user's reception quality may vary, but this is not intentional and managed service differentiation. In addition, in order to improve the quality of service, there was a problem of improving transmission and processing capacity by additionally investing in an access network existing between the subscriber network and sometimes the core network so that even low-priority data can be transmitted. In addition, the general Internet access service has a characteristic of 1: 1 communication service when the access network for multicast and broadcast is not configured at the end like the ADSL network. Therefore, in order to improve the quality of the service, the operator must improve the transmission capability through additional network investment in the entire network including the core network as well as the subscriber network or access network due to the characteristics of the network. Therefore, it is necessary to make the necessary investment only when the intention of paying the subscriber for the high quality service is confirmed, and for such users, the investor can technically accept the high quality service for the performance of the transmission stage and the receiver. If there is a high quality service, it is not necessary to provide low quality service under intentional control. As a result, it has a transmission and reception structure that cannot selectively broadcast or transmit low resolution data for a certain line. However, in the case of digital TV broadcasting or DMB broadcasting service, it is impossible to adopt the above method because all subscribers receiving the same source data share the same transmission network because the Internet and its network have different configurations.

The structure of providing the access service is as described above, and an internet broadcasting service provider using such a network may differentiate information usage fees while providing high quality and low quality services in the above network. However, in this case, since a separate channel is provided as separate content, a separate transmission path is used. Therefore, it has a structure that increases the burden on the transmission path or transmission equipment of the core network and access network.

Radio broadcasting uses a single common medium called radio wave in space, so transmission line or transmission equipment cannot be managed or differentiated. Therefore, the transmission method and the reception structure or capability of the receiver should be controlled and controlled. In terms of receivers for digital broadcasting services, the above method is sometimes required even if expensive receivers are used to meet consumer demand for low-quality contents at low cost. If you want to lower the barriers to entry using devices with limited video processing capabilities, such as mobile phones, camcorders or digital cameras, there is no reason to purchase high quality content at an expensive price. There is a demand for a method that can utilize a display or power of an existing device by connecting. On the other hand, for broadcasters, there is no guarantee that external receivers will only be used in connection with devices that have limited video processing capabilities. Only when the low rate system can be applied.

If the DMB service does not require a network investment proportional to the increase of subscribers by using the wireless section as a transmission medium, firstly, it is possible to provide various quality services without using additional bandwidth even with the same network investment. If the provision structure can be managed and managed to solve the concerns of broadcasting companies and to securely implement the service differentiation policy of the service provider, it is possible to alleviate the subscription barrier and expand the base by charging differentiated royalties according to the differentiated quality. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a method and apparatus capable of providing a broadcast service of various qualities according to a user while broadcasting to the receiving end with the same data.

Currently, broadcast set-top applies a CAS, that is, a Conditional Access System, to control the reception of subscribers. A key element of CAS is cryptography, and in the case of analogue, a scrambler is used for the analog method, and a cryptography method using an encryption key is used for the digital method. In addition, the decryptor at the receiving side has a built-in decryption algorithm to decrypt the received signal. In the process of encryption, a secure processor that generates a decryption key required by the decryptor processor) plays a key role. Such a security processor is also called a parental control device or a CAS chip. Such parental control devices may be provided detachably as part of a smart card, or may be attached as part of hardware of a receiver.

Source data is usually scrambled with an encryption key of 8 bytes. The corresponding decryption key is called a control word. The control word is usually encrypted in 128 bytes by the RSA key and transmitted to the receiver or the smart card of the receiver. This control word is constantly changing in minutes. The control word itself is the same for any receiver and varies from channel to channel or program to program. A control word encrypted with an RSA is called an Entitlement Control Message (ECM). Since the ECM is a control word encrypted with a specific password to each parental control device, an ECM decryption key must be delivered separately to decrypt it. That is, the ECM decryption key is a decryption key capable of decrypting a decryption key, which is a decryptor. The ECM decryption key is usually changed periodically by sending a message to the parental control device after a month or more. More often, ECM decryption keys are sent to increase security.

However, when sending the ECM decryption key every month, different decryption keys are sent to each parental control device, and addressed individually. The message granting the user's right to receive is called an Entitlement Management Message (EMM). The Subscriber Authorization System of the sender receives an authorization request from the Subscriber Management System, which stores the identification number and user profile of the smart card, and generates an EMM. This is sent to the parental control device through digital multiplexing. In other words, EMM is different for each subscriber. Occasionally, an EMM is sent by grouping the subscribers by region. The parental control device can find the ECM decryption key addressed to it by the built-in algorithm, which is thoroughly protected. In some cases, the ECM decryption key may be changed more frequently.

Therefore, when the parental control device decrypts the EMM and finds the ECM decryption key, which is an RSA key, the ECM decrypts the ECM again for about a month to find a decryption key or descrambler.

Basically, in a wired broadcast, a reception right exists in a parental control device, and when the parental control device is implemented in the form of a smart card, the smart card can be plugged in to view the broadcast from any receiver. However, if the parental control apparatus can be used only in a specific receiver, that is, to grant viewing rights on a receiver basis, the serial number may be recorded in the receiver, and the serial number is required for the parental control apparatus to operate.

In other words, the parental control device includes an algorithm for extracting a decryption key. However, the limitation of viewing according to the related art is limited by channel or program, and provides the same broadcast content in various qualities, and there are many problems due to problems such as broadcast bandwidth. That is, the prior art only limits whether it can be received or not.

The present invention has been made to meet the new requirements of the wired / wireless broadcasting service, and an object thereof is to provide a method and apparatus for serving a multi-quality broadcasting to a user in a wireless broadcasting service.

The present invention classifies a user's quality of service according to the number of pixels, the number of colors used, the number of frames per second, and the compression rate of an image in video, and in the case of speech, the number of samples per second, the number of bits per sample, and the compression rate of speech. In the case of data, the purpose is to provide a method of charging the user based on the quality of service by classifying according to the type of information.

Still another object of the present invention is to control a subscriber to access a predetermined quality of a plurality of qualities of a single broadcast data, beyond the unilateral limitation of reception and non-reception of the broadcast data.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a user with a multi-quality service to apply a different price according to the quality in the same program channel to the user in the broadcast service, and to be able to build a variety of billing system according to the characteristics of the user.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to access a quality of service that is not allowed by a user through a combination of multiple decryption keys, decryption permission policies, demultiplexing permission policies, or by using a controllable quality degrader that the user cannot arbitrarily manipulate. It is to effectively block what you do. Through this, the present invention aims not only to maximize the profits of the operators in the short term, but also to increase the income in the long term by inducing the customers who use the low-level services to use the high-quality services.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to reduce the burden on the user by applying a low-cost system corresponding to the differentiated quality to the individual user.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a content protection method that prevents access beyond the quality allowed to the user by using a method such as multiple encryption keys, decryption permitting policy, demultiplexing permitting policy, quality deteriorator.

1 is a diagram illustrating a connection between a broadcast device and a broadcast receiving broadcast receiving device.

2A and 2B are block diagrams illustrating a method for providing a multi-quality service in a broadcast service according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2C is a diagram illustrating an example of an access quality permission policy transmitted or stored to an access quality control system according to an embodiment of the present invention in a table format.

3 is a diagram for explaining multi-level encoding.

4A and 4B are block diagrams illustrating a broadcast system for limiting a service quality of broadcast data provided to a user using multiple decryption keys according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5A and 5B illustrate processing steps of data according to the embodiment of FIG. 4.

6A and 6B are block diagrams illustrating a broadcast system for limiting a service quality of broadcast data provided to a user by a demultiplexing permission policy according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7A and 7B illustrate a processing step of data according to the embodiment of FIG. 6.

8A and 8B are block diagrams illustrating a broadcast system for limiting a service quality of broadcast data provided to a user by a decoding permission policy according to an embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a conceptual diagram illustrating data processing in a broadcast system for limiting a service quality of broadcast data provided to a user using basic data and displacement data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating data processing in a broadcast system for limiting a service quality of broadcast data provided to a user by using quality-specific data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

11A is a conceptual diagram illustrating data processing in a broadcast system for limiting a service quality of broadcast data provided to a user by using a quality deteriorator at a receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11B is a block diagram illustrating a broadcast receiving apparatus for limiting a service quality of broadcast data provided to a user using a quality deteriorator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11C is a block diagram illustrating a broadcast receiving device for limiting the use of an illegal broadcast receiving device by a user as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11D is a block diagram illustrating a broadcast receiving device for limiting the use of an illegal broadcast receiving device by a user as another embodiment of the present invention.

12A and 12B are block diagrams illustrating a broadcast system to which a service quality restriction of broadcast data is applied for each transport channel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

210: broadcast device

211: multi-level image encoder

212 multilevel speech coder

213: data encoder

214: multiplexer

215: encryptor

216: transmitter

217: user quality management system

218: user quality permit system

219: encryption key generator

220: broadcast receiving device

221: receiver

222: decryptor

223: demultiplexer

224: multi-level video decoder

225: multilevel speech decoder

226: data decoder

227: smart card

228: control processor

229: Access Quality Permit Policy Store

230: access quality control system

The simplest embodiment that can be considered for the above purpose is a method of broadcasting data of different quality for each broadcast data for one broadcast data, and restricting access to a specific channel for each user as in the prior art. For example, a full color broadcast of 18 frames is transmitted through channel 1, a full color broadcast of 9 frames is transmitted through channel 2, and a black and white broadcast of 9 frames is transmitted through channel 3. In addition, access to each channel for each user is restricted through the CAS. According to this embodiment, since the CAS according to the prior art can be used almost as it is, there is an advantage that can be easily implemented. However, according to the present embodiment, since the broadcast channel must be used as many as the level of quality to be supported, the waste of the channel becomes large. In particular, since the efficient use of the radio frequency band is very important in a wireless environment, this embodiment has many problems.

In order to achieve the above object, in the wireless broadcasting service according to the present invention, a multi-quality service providing method includes a transmitter for compressing, multiplexing, encrypting and transmitting video, audio, and data signals, and decrypting data transmitted through wireless. And demultiplexing and decoding the video, audio, and data signals. The transmitter includes a video encoder for compressing an image signal, an audio encoder for compressing an audio signal, a data encoder for converting the data signal into a form necessary for transmission, and multiplexing these signals. Multiplexer for transmission, Encryption module for encrypting and transmitting signal, Transmitter for transmission of wireless signal, User quality for managing user's information and managing billing according to user's service quality Receive service information from User Quality Management System and User Quality Management System to create multi level decryption key, demultiplexing control policy and decoding control policy User Quality Au system that delivers to receiver through wireless or telephone channel thorization system). The transmitting side transmits broadcast data configured to be reproduced with a plurality of qualities of one same broadcast content, and the receiving side receives the broadcasting data and allows reproduction only for the quality to which the user is allowed to access. At this time, the user quality permission system distributes an access quality permission policy (data) related to the quality of service allowed to the user according to the user's authority to the receiver by using the broadcast control channel. In addition, the access quality grant policy may be distributed offline, fixed at a predetermined quality at the time of release of the receiver, or distributed from the user quality grant system by a communication method (on demand method) in response to a user's request. The access quality permission policy is data regarding to which quality the user can access broadcast data. The policy of granting access quality is described in detail later.

It should be noted that the user quality management system and the user quality permission system of the present invention are distinguished from the prior art which can distinguish only one-line reception due to the technical structure of the transmitting side or the receiving side for the broadcast channel. In the prior art, only one broadcast content could be received with one quality, and there existed a system for linearly managing only whether to allow user reception. Therefore, the user quality management system and the user quality permission system of the present invention manages which quality of broadcast data is accessible to a user among a plurality of reception qualities that are provided to a receiver or a user through a broadcasting network. It is a system. The broadcast receiving apparatus includes a receiver for receiving a wireless signal, an decoder for decoding an encrypted signal, a demultiplexer for separating video, audio, and data signals, an image decoder for restoring a video signal, and a voice signal for restoring an audio signal. Access quality control system for authorizing and controlling a user's access to a quality of service among a plurality of quality of service provided by a transmitter for a voice decoder, a data decoder for restoring a data signal, and the same content (Access Quality Control System). In the access quality control system, the user or receiver has the right to receive a broadcast channel when only one line can be distinguished due to the technical structure of the transmitting side or the receiving side. Authorization in the conventional parental control apparatus which determines and manages linearly and the function is distinguished, and accesses broadcast quality of any quality among several reception quality regarding the same source data which can be received by a receiver. It is a system to manage whether to allow. That is, the access quality control system of the present invention is a system for storing information on which quality to allow a subscriber to access to the broadcast data among a plurality of qualities associated with one broadcast data, and controlling it accordingly. And the parental control apparatus of the prior art which controlled only the reception impossible.

In addition, the broadcast reception device according to an aspect of the present invention may be implemented in the form of a smart card that can be easily removable part or all of the parental control device or the access quality control system.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a broadcasting apparatus includes: a multilevel encoder for generating a plurality of multilevel encoded data by encoding one source data into a multilevel, and a multiplexer for generating multiplexed data by multiplexing the multilevel encoded data. A transmitter and a transmitter for broadcasting the multiplexed data.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a broadcast apparatus includes a multilevel encoder for generating a plurality of multilevel encoded data by encoding one source data into a multilevel and a transmitter for broadcasting the multilevel encoded data through different broadcast channels. It includes.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a broadcast reception device includes a receiver for receiving broadcast data including a plurality of multi-level encoded data, and an access quality related to quality of broadcast data access to a user in association with the broadcast data. And an access quality control system for controlling a data player according to an admission policy, and a data player for generating and providing broadcast data of a quality permitted to the user from the multi-level encoded data according to the access permission information.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a broadcast receiving apparatus includes a channel demultiplexer for receiving multi-level encoded data broadcast through different broadcast channels, demultiplexing them among channels, and restoring the original source data. Multilevel coding is described in detail later.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an intelligent broadcasting system includes a broadcast receiving device including a deteriorator for deteriorating broadcast data into broadcast data of a predetermined quality, and a user receiving low quality broadcast data using the broadcast receiving device. And a user quality management system that charges at a low predetermined fee.

A broadcast receiving apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes a receiver for receiving broadcast data and a quality deteriorator for degrading the broadcast data into broadcast data of a predetermined quality. A broadcast receiving device according to another aspect of the present invention compares a unique number of a low quality dedicated receiving device with a unique number of a parental control device applied to such a receiving device, and allows reproduction of data only when a predetermined pair matches. It further comprises a unique number matching.

According to the present embodiment, when a user uses a broadcast receiving device that reproduces broadcast data only with data of a predetermined quality in accordance with an amount paid by a subscriber, the broadcast receiving device uses the quality of the broadcast data received by the subscriber in a predetermined quality. By degrading and reproducing, the subscriber can access only broadcast data of quality corresponding to the amount paid by the subscriber.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, a broadcast receiving device includes a receiver for receiving broadcast data, an access quality grant policy relating to a quality to which a user is allowed to access the broadcast data among two or more qualities associated with the broadcast data. And an access quality control system for controlling the degradation device and a quality degradation device for degrading the broadcast data into broadcast data of a quality allowed to the user according to the access quality permission policy. The access quality control system may control whether to operate the quality deteriorator with respect to the broadcast data. The quality deteriorator may deteriorate the broadcast data using a plurality of deterioration schemes, and the access quality control system may control whether the quality deteriorator performs deterioration by any of the plurality of deterioration schemes. have.

According to another aspect of the present invention to unfairly receive high-quality broadcast data by paying only a low fee through an acceptable quality checker that enhances security by using a unique number of a broadcast reception device in a broadcast service that differentiates reception quality. You can prevent behavior.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a broadcast receiving device enables a user to access the broadcast content at least one quality among a plurality of qualities associated with one broadcast content. To this end, the broadcast reception device includes an input unit for inputting a selection of a reception mode among a plurality of quality modes allowed by a user. In addition, information regarding the user's selection may be transmitted to the user quality management system on the transmitting side and used as basic information such as billing.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

1 is a diagram illustrating a connection between a broadcast device and a broadcast reception device.

The broadcast device 101 broadcasts broadcast data to the broadcast reception device 102 through the broadcast network 103. Then, the broadcast receiving device 102 reproduces the received broadcast data and provides it to the user. The broadcast network 103 may be a wired or wireless broadcast network, or may be analog or digital. The broadcast receiving device 102 includes various devices capable of receiving broadcast data such as a satellite DMB dedicated receiving terminal, a mobile phone, a PDA, and the like, in addition to a conventional broadcast receiving device according to the related art such as a television and a radio.

2A and 2B are block diagrams illustrating a method for providing a multi-quality service in a broadcast service according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The broadcast system according to the present invention is largely composed of a broadcasting system 210 and a broadcast receiving apparatus 220. The broadcast device 210 is multi-level encoding (211, 212, 213), multiplexer 214, encryptor 215, transmitter 216, user quality management system 217, user quality authorization system 218 And an encryption key generator 219.

The multi-level encoders 211, 212, and 213 encode the source data into multiple levels to generate multi-level encoded data. The multi-level encoders 211, 212, and 213 may be any one or more of a multi-level video encoder 211, a multi-level audio encoder 212, and a data encoder 213. to be. For example, in the case of audio broadcasting, only the multi-level speech encoder 212 may be included, and in the case of video broadcasting, the multi-level image encoder 211 and the multi-level speech encoder 212 may be included. The multilevel speech encoder 212 handles the encoding of all audio data as well as speech data. For convenience of description, FIG. 2 illustrates a case where all of the multilevel image coding 211, the multilevel speech coder 212, and the data encoder 213 are included.

The multilevel image encoder 211 is an apparatus for encoding an image signal into multiple levels. The quality of service of the video signal is determined according to the number of pixels, the number of colors used, the number of frames per second, and the compression ratio of the screen. The multilevel video encoder 211 codes the video signal into multiple levels in consideration of such a quality of service.

Coding at multiple levels means that broadcasting data is coded according to a plurality of quality of service, and there are two methods of encoding basic data and displacement data and a plurality of quality data.

The multi-level coding method by encoding a plurality of quality data is to generate (encode) one source broadcast content into two or more quality broadcast data. For example, in the case of audio data, source audio data sampled with 16 bits is encoded into audio data having three qualities of 16 bit sampling, 12 bit sampling, and 8 bit sampled audio data.

As an example of a method of multiplexing and coding data with a plurality of qualities of data, if the quality of service in the three stages is considered, a method of coding and transmitting multiple levels such as a basic pixel number, a double pixel number, and a triple pixel number in terms of the number of pixels There is this. The number of colors used can be distinguished from the quality of service in the form of 8 bits, 16 bits, and 24 bits per pixel, and in the number of frames per second, coding in frame units such as I, P, and B using compression algorithms such as MPEG Since this is possible, the quality of service can be distinguished using this. Even when there is no distinction between frames, such as Motion JPEG, frames to be reproduced can be arbitrarily grouped according to the number of frames reproduced per second, and thus can be used for multi-level encoding. In the compression ratio of a picture, multi-level encoding is possible in basic quality, intermediate quality, and high quality. In this case, the data of each quality can be reproduced on the receiving side as data of the corresponding quality itself.

A method of multiplexing and coding the basic data and the displacement data will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 3.

The multilevel speech encoder 212 is a device for compressing and transmitting a speech signal. The quality of service of a voice signal is determined by the number of samples per second, the number of bits per sample, and the compression rate of the voice. The multilevel speech coder 212 codes and transmits a speech signal in multiple levels in consideration of such a quality of service. For example, considering three levels of quality of service, multiple samples can be coded in samples per second: voices below 8 kHz, voices between 8 kHz and 22 kHz, and voices between 22 kHz and 44 kHz.

The data encoder 213 is a device for compressing or multiplexing a data signal for each application and transmitting the same. The information used for the data encoder 213 includes information such as captions and hypertext for interactive TV broadcasting. The data encoder 213 may also classify and encode a service quality for each application used.

The multiplexer 214 multiplexes the multilevel coded data received from the multilevel image encoder 211, the multilevel speech encoder 212, and the data encoder 213 and transmits the multilevel encoded data to the encoder 215.

The encryptor 215 is a device for encrypting and transmitting data to be transmitted. As the encryption method, a method such as DES (Data Encryption Standard), AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), RSA, or simple scrambling may be used. An encryption key for encryption may be given from an encryption key generator 219 under the control of a Subscriber Authorization System and / or a User Quality Authorization System 218.

The user quality management system 217 is a system that manages the information about the reception quality allowed for one source data and charges according to the quality in association with the identifier of the user. The user quality management system 217 is a quality that is applied to the user by using a user identifier which is a criterion for charging and distribution target, such as a unique number of a broadcast receiving device, a unique number of a parental control device, or personal information of a user. Related to the quality control system and interworking with the user quality approval system. The user quality management system 217 may permit a quality of service composed of various combinations according to channel and time characteristics. For example, a quality of service composed of a combination of (basic pixel number, 24 bit color) or (double pixel number, 8 bit color) may be granted to one channel to select and use a desired quality of service. In addition, after the user requests service quality in the form of on-demand and updates the user quality management system, the user permits the quality of service requested by the user, or the user randomly selects and uses the service quality, and then records this information on the terminal periodically. Information can also be sent to the user quality management system. If bidirectional connection is not possible, the user accesses the homepage of the broadcasting company through the Internet, logs in to authenticate the user, or applies for service by telephone. Then set the settings for the desired quality of service. This setting is then input to the user quality management system 217. For example, if high-quality, medium-quality, and low-quality data is provided for one broadcast content, the user can select medium quality to enjoy the broadcast content at a low cost, and another user pays a higher cost. And select high quality to enjoy high quality broadcast content.

In response, the access quality control system 230 of the receiving end 220 according to a user access permission authority, that is, an access quality allowance policy regarding what quality of service is allowed to the user among two or more quality of service that can be received for each channel, is determined. The control operation may be performed according to an access quality permission policy distributed in real time by the user quality permission system 218 or may be referred to a stored access quality permission policy. The access quality control system 230 may include an access quality permission policy storage 229, and the access quality permission policy storage 229 stores quality information allowed for each channel in a memory device such as RAM or EEPROM. . The access quality permission policy may be graded and stored as numerical information such as 1, 2, 3, and the like. The control processor 228 controls the decryptor 222, the demultiplexer 223, the decryptors 224, 225, 226, etc. using the access quality grant policy stored in the access quality grant policy storage 229. Limit the quality of broadcast data provided to the user. Then, the quality of the broadcast data provided to the user is limited by using the stored access quality allowance policy according to the channel selected by the user. A user may select high quality for a channel that he frequently sees and a low quality for a channel that he does not see often.

The access quality permission policy storage 229 stores the access permission right for the broadcast data as the access quality permission policy. When the user quality permission system distributes the access quality permission policy in real time, the access quality control system 230 does not separately maintain the access quality permission policy storage 229 for storing the access quality permission policy, You can use an access quality policy. Alternatively, the memory temporarily storing the access quality permission policy received in real time may correspond to the access quality permission policy storage 229 of the present invention.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the access quality control system 230 maintains a separate clock (not shown), and also stores the access quality allowance policy for each time. Then, the quality of broadcast data provided to the user can be limited according to the current time. In addition, it is possible to limit the quality of broadcast data provided to the user through the combination of the channel and time. For example, referring to FIG. 2C, a subscriber using the broadcast receiving apparatus, when the access quality permission policy indicated in FIG. 2C is transferred from the user quality permission system to the access quality control system or stored in the access quality control system 230. While providing low-quality (quality 3) broadcast data for channel 1, it is possible to provide high-quality (quality 1) broadcast data at 7 pm to 10 pm, thereby charging the user appropriately. . Then, a user who mainly accesses broadcast data only for the time zone has an advantage of paying for high quality data only for the time zone. Even in the case of a channel, a user who is only interested in a particular channel may pay for high quality data only for that channel. In FIG. 2C, since the user is interested in channels 3 and 4, the channels 3 and 4 may access high quality data (quality 1) all day long.

In addition, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the access quality control system 230 may collectively record the user's access quality allowance policy for all broadcast data. For example, if it is stored that all of the broadcast data that is allowed to be received, not for each broadcast channel, are collectively selected as "high quality", the user can access the broadcast data of all channels with high quality.

The user quality authorization system 218 receives the quality of service information authorized to the user from the user quality management system 217, and selects any of the access quality permission policies (multiple decryption key, decryption permitting policy, and demultiplexing permitting policy) required for each user. It creates one or more combinations and distributes it to users through wireless or telephone channels. When distributed wirelessly to the broadcast receiving device 220, the multiple decryption key, decryption permitting policy, demultiplexing allowance policy, and the like may be encrypted and distributed with an encryptor such as a public key algorithm and a decryptor. For example, it can be encrypted and distributed by using an encryption scheme and an encryption channel implemented in a user authorization system. In this case, even if the third party tries to illegally modify the broadcast receiving device, it is difficult to grasp the encryption and encryption method, and even if it is modified, the broadcaster can easily respond to the illegal use by changing the password or changing the encryption method. Do.

The decoding allowance policy is data regarding the extent to which the decoding function is allowed for a specific broadcast receiving apparatus, and the demultiplexing allowance policy is data regarding the extent to which the demultiplexing function is allowed to a specific broadcast receiving apparatus. That is, data necessary for controlling the decoder or demultiplexer so that a user can access only broadcast data of a specific quality. This will be described later in detail.

If a combination of quality of service is granted, the corresponding multiple decryption key, decryption permitting policy, and demultiplexing permitting policy are also composed and distributed in combination. Multiple decryption keys, decryption permitting policies, and demultiplexing permitting policies can also be distributed offline. The transmitter 216 broadcasts broadcast data encrypted by the encryptor 215.

The broadcast receiving device 220 uses the receiver 221, the decryptor 222, the demultiplexer 223, the multilevel decoders 224, 225, and 226, the smart card 227, and the access quality control system 230. Include.

The receiver 221 receives broadcast data. Decryptor 222 decrypts the encrypted broadcast signal received by receiver 221 using the decryption key received from decryption key generator 228. The demultiplexer 223 demultiplexes the signal decrypted by the decryptor 222 into signals necessary for the multilevel image decoder 224, the multilevel speech decoder 225, and the data decoder 226.

The access quality control system 230 decodes the decoder 222 and the demultiplexer 223 according to the multiple decryption key, demultiplexing permission policy, or decryption permission policy granted from the user quality permission system 218 of the broadcasting device 210. Or control the multi-level decoders 224, 225, 226. In addition, the access quality control system 230 may fix the decryption key, the demultiplexing permission policy, and the decryption permission policy in hardware or software upon release of the terminal (broadcast receiver) to limit the quality of service according to the terminal. . In addition, the access quality control system can be configured in the form of a removable smart card. The access quality control system 230 includes a control processor 228 and sometimes an access quality grant policy store 229. In an access quality control system, a control processor is an essential component. However, when the access quality control system executes the distributed user quality permission policy in real time, the access quality permission policy storage unit may not be separately provided. Thus, the access quality grant policy store is an optional component in the access quality control system. The control processor 228 controls the demultiplexer, the decryptor, the decryptor, etc., according to the input of the user quality authorization system 218 or the smart card 227.

Hereinafter, the operation of the components shown in FIG. 2 will be described in detail.

The multimedia data to be transmitted by the broadcasting device 210 is encoded into a multi-quality stream through the multilevel image encoder 211, the multilevel speech encoder 212, or the data encoder 213. The user quality authorization system 218 generates and distributes a demultiplexing policy and a decryption policy, and assigns an encryption generation key to each of the multiple quality streams according to the encryption policy, and the generated multiple quality streams are assigned to the respective encryptor 215. And then encrypted after multiplexing via multiplexer 214. Conversely, it may be first multiplexed through the multiplexer 214 and then encrypted through the encryptor 215. That is, the order of the multiplexer 214 and the encryptor 215 may be reversed, and within the scope of the technical spirit of the present invention, either or both components of the multiplexer 214 or the encryptor 215 may be changed. May be omitted. The configuration in the broadcast reception device 220 is configured symmetrically with the configuration in the broadcast device 210.

The broadcast receiving device 220 demultiplexes an encrypted video, audio, and data stream corresponding to each quality of service through the demultiplexer 223. The access quality control system 230 receives a demultiplexing policy, a decryption policy, a multiple decryption key, etc. corresponding to a quality of service subscribed to by the user quality authorization system 218 of the transmitting end 210, or accesses the data offline. The demultiplexer 223, the decryptor, and the decryptor 222 are controlled to meet the respective quality of service by receiving the quality allowance policy. For example, the access quality control system 230 may receive an access quality permission policy through the smart card or receiver by storing and distributing an access quality permission policy in a smart card or receiver distributed offline. In this case, the control processor of the access quality control system may be implemented by modifying the security processor of the parental control device.

In the case of the on-demand service, the user terminal 220 transmits an electronic serial number (ESN), a phone number of a personal mobile phone, or a corresponding service number to the user quality authorization system 218. The user quality permission system 218 checks the quality of service allowed for the user from the user quality management system 217, and then generates an access quality permission policy for the video, audio, and data streams corresponding to the authorized quality of service. Transfer to the control processor 228 of the quality control system. When this control operation occurs in real time, the access quality control system does not have a separate access quality allowance policy storage. In the case of the on-demand method, when a user watches or listens to an advertisement for a predetermined time in conjunction with an advertisement, the service may be provided by granting a decryption key or a service policy at a free or discounted price.

In the case of the offline service, the user can purchase the smart card or the receiver with the access quality permission policy or the dedicated hardware or software with the fixed quality of service and receive the corresponding quality of service only for the allowed service period. Even in the case of offline service, when watching or listening to an advertisement for a predetermined time in conjunction with an advertisement, the service may be provided for free or at a discounted price.

The multi-quality service providing method in the broadcast service illustrated in FIG. 2 is exemplary, and a connection structure or an implementation algorithm among functional blocks may be different from the structure illustrated in FIG. Obviously, such modifications fall within the scope of the present invention.

3 is a diagram for explaining multi-level encoding. 3 is for explaining multilevel encoding by the multilevel image encoder 211.

First, a method of multiplexing coding with basic data and displacement data will be described. If one source broadcast data is provided to the user in a plurality of qualities (for example, quality 1, quality 2 and quality 3), the basic data may be used only or the basic data and one or more may be used to reproduce the data of each quality. It is a method to combine the displacement data. Hereinafter, an example of multiplexing and coding with basic data and displacement data will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

One source image data shown in FIG. 3 has the number of pixels of 8 * 8. At this time, the basic data is composed of image data having the number of pixels of 2 * 2. If only information corresponding to the pixel indicated by A in FIG. 3 is included, image data having a pixel number of 2 * 2 becomes basic data. Then, in order to support 4 * 4 pixels of higher quality, data required for supporting 4 * 4 pixel data without being included in the basic data becomes first displacement data. In FIG. 3, data corresponding to a pixel denoted by B becomes first displacement data. Therefore, the first displacement data alone does not become image data having a pixel number of 4 * 4, but the basic data and the first displacement data are combined to form image data having a pixel number of 4 * 4. Next, for image data having 8 * 8 pixels of higher quality, data necessary for supporting 8 * 8 pixel data without being included in the basic data and the first displacement data become second displacement data. . In FIG. 3, data corresponding to a pixel denoted by C becomes second displacement data.

Therefore, in the case of encoding the source image data in multiple levels according to the present embodiment, data is generated by dividing the source image data into first and second displacement data. In addition, the broadcast receiving apparatus reproduces only 4 * 4 basic data according to the authority granted to the user (supporting 2 * 2 pixels) or decodes the basic data and the first displacement data through a multilevel image decoder. Support pixel count. Alternatively, 8 * 8 pixels are supported by decoding the basic data, the first displacement data, and the second displacement data through a multilevel image decoder.

According to the present embodiment, since the total size of each data generated through the multi-level encoding is substantially the same as or similar to the size of the original source video data, the broadcast service of the multi quality for the same content while using the transmission bandwidth as it is. There is an advantage to provide. In the present embodiment, the basic data and each displacement data do not include data overlapping each other, but according to another embodiment, it is also possible to include some overlapping data. For example, the basic data and the displacement data may be partially overlapped with each other for the convenience of implementation of the present invention.

Next, a method of multiplexing and coding data of a plurality of qualities will be described.

In the case of this embodiment, if the low, medium and high quality image data are supported, the low quality image data includes data corresponding to the pixel indicated by A to support the number of pixels of 2 * 2. The medium quality image data is intended to support 4 * 4 pixels and includes data corresponding to pixels A and B. The high quality image data is intended to support 8 * 8 pixels, and includes data corresponding to pixels A, B, and C. According to the present embodiment, there is an advantage in that the broadcast reception device does not need to combine the plurality of data again in order to generate data of a specific quality separately.

Although the description of the multi-level encoding associated with FIG. 3 describes only the multi-level encoding using the displacement data through the case of the resolution of the image data, the same may be applied to other quality measures of the image data, the audio data, or other data.

4A and 4B are block diagrams illustrating a broadcast system for limiting a service quality of broadcast data provided to a user by controlling an encryptor and a decryptor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

At the transmitter 410, the multi-quality streams generated by the multi-level image encoder 411, the multi-level voice encoder 412, or the data encoder 413 pass through the respective encoders 414 to 420, and the user quality. Authorization system 424 assigns an encryption generation key to each of the multiple quality streams. The encrypted multiple quality streams are to be transmitted after being multiplexed through the multiplexer 421. The user quality permission system 424 generates a decryption key of a video, audio, and data stream corresponding to the quality of service subscribed to each user, and transmits the decryption key to the control processor of the broadcast reception device 430, that is, the multiple decryption key generator 444. Give it. The user quality grant system distributes the access quality grant policy by transmitting only the encryption keys corresponding to the allowed quality stored in the user quality management system among the plurality of decryption keys. In most cases, the user quality authorization system distributes the decryption key of the Entitlement Control Message (ECM) only to the extent necessary for the user to play it at the acceptable quality, and the recipient stores it in the access quality grant policy store, while generating multiple decryption key generators. Can be controlled. In case of real-time control, it can be controlled by differentially distributing the Entitlement Management Message (EMM) or Control Word in the temporary storage of the access quality control system only to the extent necessary to reproduce the quality to the user.

The broadcast receiving device 430 demultiplexes an encrypted video, audio, and data stream corresponding to each quality of service through the demultiplexer 432. The access quality control system 445 receives the decryption keys corresponding to the quality of service subscribed to by the user quality authorization system 424 of the transmitting end 410 or offline through the smart card 443 purchased by the user. Decryption keys are received and transmitted to the decryptors 433 to 439 corresponding to the respective quality of service. At this time, the access quality control system 445 is configured around the multiple decryption key generator 444. The decoders 433 to 439 restore the video, voice, and data streams only when the decryption key is received from the access quality control system 445, and thus the video decoder 440, the voice decoder 441, and the data decoder ( 442).

That is, according to the present embodiment, the decoder is installed in the broadcast receiving device 430, and the user can access only broadcast data having a specific quality by controlling the decoder according to the access quality permission policy.

5A and 5B illustrate processing steps of data according to the embodiment of FIG. 4.

One source data 510 is multilevel encoded by the basic data 511 and the displacement data 512, 513 by the multilevel encoders 411, 412, 413. The number of displacement data shown in FIG. 5 is exemplary and an appropriate number of displacement data is present according to an embodiment. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the multi-level encoders 411, 412, and 413 are multi-level encoded into a plurality of quality data. The multilevel encoded data 511, 512, 513 is encrypted by the encryptors 414-420, respectively. The encrypted data 514 to 516 is multiplexed by the multiplexer 421 and transmitted by the transmitter 422 as a broadcast signal 518.

The receiver 431 of the broadcast reception device 430 receives a broadcast signal 518. The received broadcast signal 518 is converted into multiplexed data 519 that the demultiplexer 432 can process, and the demultiplexer 432 demultiplexes the multiplexed data 519. The data 520 to 522 generated as a result of the demultiplexing is the same as the encrypted data 514 to 516 before being multiplexed by the multiplexer 421 at the transmitting end 410. Encrypted data 520-522 is decrypted by decryptors 433-439.

At this time, the decryptors 433 to 439 are controlled by the access quality control system 4465. To allow the user 4 * 4 pixel data, the decryption key is provided only for decryptor 1 433 and decryptor 2 434 to allow decryption and no decryption key is provided for decryptor 3 435. Then, the multi-level image decoder 440 can provide the user with 2 * 2 pixel data and 4 * 4 pixel data, but cannot provide 8 * 8 pixel data. That is, although encrypted data 1 520 can be decrypted as basic data 523 and encrypted data 2 521 as displacement data 1 524, encrypted data 3 522 can be decrypted as displacement data 2 525. It cannot be decrypted. Accordingly, the access quality control system 445 may appropriately limit the quality of data provided to the user according to the user's authority. This is also the case when providing a plurality of quality data.

6A and 6B are block diagrams illustrating a broadcast system for limiting a service quality of broadcast data provided to a user by a demultiplexing permission policy according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the transmitter 610, the image, voice, and data signals are encoded by the multilevel image encoder 611, the multilevel speech encoder 612, and the data encoder 613, and then multiplexed by the multiplexer 614 to be encoded by the encoder 615. Is delivered. The user quality permission system 618 generates a demultiplexing permission policy capable of demultiplexing the video, audio, and data streams corresponding to the service quality of each user, and transmits the demultiplexing permission policy to the access quality control system 630 of the receiver. The encryptor 615 encrypts the multiplexed multimedia streams and sends them to the transmitter 616. The transmitter 616 broadcasts the encrypted multimedia stream.

In the broadcast receiving device 620, the decryptor 622 decrypts the encrypted multimedia stream received through the receiver 621 using the decryption key. The demultiplexer 623 divides the decrypted multimedia stream into respective video, voice, and data streams using the demultiplexing permission policy received through the access quality control system 630, and then delivers the decoded multimedia stream to the video, voice, and data decoders. do. At this time, the stream corresponding to the disallowed quality of service is blocked by the demultiplexer 623.

The demultiplexing permission policy is indication data on how to perform demultiplexing at the receiving end 620. For example, it is instruction data for demultiplexing all the above three data or demultiplexing only the basic data with respect to the multiplexed data obtained by multiplexing the basic data, the displacement data 1 and the displacement data 2. The demultiplexing permission policy also includes a restriction on the quality of service for data not transmitted by the transmitter 610 without being multi-level encoded or grouped into service quality. For example, even if the transmitter 610 does not group and send the frames, when the demultiplexing permission policy limits the number of frames per second, the demultiplexer 623 transmits only the number of frames per second to the decoders 624, 625, and 266. . In addition, even if the transmitter 610 does not send and group the reproduction pixels, when the number of pixels per frame is limited in the demultiplexing permission policy, the demultiplexer 623 transmits only the number of pixels allowed per frame to the decoders 624, 625, and 266. .

That is, according to the present embodiment, the demultiplexer 623 is installed in the broadcast receiving device 620 and the demultiplexer 623 is controlled according to the user's access authority so that the user can access only broadcast data having a specific quality. Make sure

7A and 7B illustrate a processing step of data according to the embodiment of FIG. 6.

One source data 710 is multilevel encoded by the basic data 711 and the displacement data 712, 713 by the multilevel encoders 611, 612, 613. The number of displacement data shown in FIG. 7 is exemplary and an appropriate number of displacement data is present according to an embodiment. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the multi-level encoders 611, 612, and 613 are multi-level encoded into a plurality of quality data. The multilevel encoded data 711, 712, 713 is multiplexed by the multiplexer 614. The multiplexed data 714 is encrypted via the encryptor 615, and the encrypted data 715 is broadcast by the transmitter 616 as a broadcast signal 716.

The receiver 621 of the broadcast reception device 620 receives a broadcast signal 716. The received broadcast signal 716 is decrypted by the decryptor 622. The decrypted data 718 is identical to the multiplexed data 714 of the transmitting end 610. The multiplexed data 718 is demultiplexed by the demultiplexer 623.

At this time, the demultiplexer 623 is controlled by the access quality control system 630. To allow the user 4 * 4 pixel data, the demultiplexer 623 demultiplexes only the basic data 719 and the displacement data 1 720 from the multiplexed data 718, and the displacement data 2 721 is generated. Do not create Then, the decoder decodes 2 * 2 pixel image data from the basic data 719 to the user, or decodes 4 * 4 pixel image data from the basic data 719 and the displacement data 1 720. Although it can be provided to the user, since the displacement data 2 721 is not provided, the image data of 8 * 8 pixels that can only be provided until the displacement data 2 721 cannot be provided to the user. Therefore, the access quality control system 630 may appropriately limit the quality of data provided to the user according to the user's authority. This is also the case when providing a plurality of quality data.

8A and 8B are block diagrams illustrating a broadcast system for limiting a service quality of broadcast data provided to a user by a decoding permission policy according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the transmitter 810, the image, voice, and data signals are encoded by the multilevel image encoder 811, the multilevel speech encoder 812, and the data encoder 813, and then transmitted to the multiplexer 814. The user quality permission system 818 generates a decryption permission policy capable of encoding video, audio, and data streams corresponding to the service quality of each user, and transmits the decryption permission policy to the access quality control system 830 of the reception unit 820. . The encryptor 815 encrypts the multiplexed multimedia streams and sends them to the transmitter 816. The transmitter 816 broadcasts the encrypted data.

In the broadcast receiving device 820, the decryptor 822 decrypts the encrypted multimedia stream received through the receiver 821 using a decryption key. The demultiplexer 823 demultiplexes the decrypted multimedia stream into respective video, audio, and data and delivers the decoded multimedia stream to the video, audio, and data decoders 824, 825, and 826. Each video, audio, and data decoder 824, 825, 826 decodes and reproduces only a portion corresponding to the quality of service allowed according to the decoding permission policy received through the access quality control system 830.

The decryption permission policy is indication data on how to perform decryption at the receiving end 820. For example, the indication data is to allow multi-level decoding of all of the basic data, the displacement data 1 and the displacement data 2, or to allow decoding only the basic data. The decryption permission policy also includes a restriction on the quality of service for data that is not sent by the transmitter 810 in multi-level encoding or grouped into quality of service. For example, even if the transmitter does not group and send frames, the decoders 824, 825, and 826 play only the number of frames allowed per second when the number of frames per second is limited by the decoding permission policy. In addition, even if the transmitting end 811 does not group playback pixels, if the number of pixels per frame is limited in the decoding permission policy, the decoders 824, 825, and 826 reproduce only the number of pixels allowed per frame.

Decoders 824, 825, 826 are controlled by access quality control system 830. To allow 4 * 4 pixel data to the user, the multilevel image decoder 824 decodes the basic data and the displacement data 1 to generate 4 * 4 pixel data. However, in this case, since the decoding including the displacement data 2 is not allowed, the multilevel image decoder 824 cannot generate data of 8 * 8 pixels. In order to generate data of 8 * 8 pixels, an instruction related thereto is to be received from the access quality control system 830. Therefore, the access quality control system 630 may appropriately limit the quality of data provided to the user according to the user's authority. This is also the case when providing a plurality of quality data.

4 to 8 illustrate embodiments in which the access quality control system 630 restricts data accessible to the user by controlling the decoder, the demultiplexer, and the multilevel decoder, respectively. It is also possible to have a method controlled by the access quality control system for any combination of demultiplexer and multi-level decoder. For example, the decryptor and demultiplexer can be controlled simultaneously to limit the quality of data provided to the user.

9 is a conceptual diagram illustrating data processing in a broadcast system for limiting a service quality of broadcast data provided to a user using basic data and displacement data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The source broadcast data 901 is multilevel encoded by the multilevel encoder into basic data and displacement data. The multilevel encoded data 902, 903, and 904 are broadcast through transmission means. At this time, encryption or multiplexing may be performed as described in the above embodiments.

The multi-level encoded data 902, 903, and 904 are received by the receiving apparatus, and only some data of the multi-level encoded data is reproduced to the user by the access quality control system of the receiving apparatus. At this time, the selection of some data to be decoded is determined by the access quality control system. The access quality control system performs a control operation in accordance with an access quality permission policy regarding what quality of broadcast data access is allowed to a user in association with the broadcast data. The data player generates and provides broadcast data of a quality permitted to the user from the multilevel encoded data under the control of the access quality control system. The data player consists of one or more combinations of the decryptor, demultiplexer, and multilevel decryptor described in the previous embodiments. FIG. 9 illustrates a case where the access quality control system allows only the combination of the basic data 902 and the displacement data 1 903, in which case the receiving device combines the basic data 902 and the displacement data 1 903. Will be provided to

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the access quality control system stores the access quality permission policy for each channel or time per channel with respect to what quality broadcast data access to the user in association with the broadcast data, and the access The data player is controlled according to the quality allowance policy. The access quality control system limits the quality of broadcast data provided to the user according to the access quality allowance policy for each stored channel and the channel selected by the user. In addition, the access quality control system maintains a separate clock, and also stores the access quality allowance policy for each time. Then, the quality of broadcast data provided to the user can be limited according to the current time. In addition, it is possible to limit the quality of broadcast data provided to the user through the combination of the channel and time.

According to this embodiment, the waste of bandwidth is also minimized, and the possibility of exploitation by a third party is reduced. In addition, in the case of using an encryptor and a decryptor, even if a third party tries to illegally modify the broadcast receiving device, it is difficult to grasp the encryption and encryption method, and even if it is modified, the broadcaster cannot change the password or change the encryption method. It is easy to respond through.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the user can select the quality provided to the user for the same broadcast data in real time. The access quality control policy stored in the access quality control system includes information for allowing access to a plurality of quality broadcast data in association with the broadcast data. The data player includes a user input unit configured to receive a selection of broadcast data of one quality from among the plurality of broadcast data by the user. When the user selects the broadcast data of one quality, the data player generates and provides the broadcast data of the selected quality to the user. For example, a service desired by a user may be authorized by granting a quality of service composed of a combination of (base pixel number, 24-bit color) or (double pixel number, 8-bit color) for one broadcast data (for example, a specific drama). Select the quality to use. According to the present embodiment, a service of various quality can be provided to a user even with the same billing.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating data processing in a broadcast system for limiting a service quality of broadcast data provided to a user by using quality-specific data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The source broadcast data 1001 is multiplexed and coded into a plurality of quality data by a multilevel encoder. The data 1002, 1003, and 1004 encoded in this manner are broadcast through the transmission means. At this time, encryption or multiplexing may be performed as described in the above embodiments.

The multi-level encoded data 1002, 1003, and 1004 are received by the receiving apparatus, and only some data of the multi-level encoded data are decoded by the access quality control system of the receiving apparatus. At this time, the selection of some data to be decoded is determined by the access quality control system. FIG. 10 illustrates a case in which the access quality control system allows only decryption of the medium quality data 1006, and in this case, the receiving device decrypts the medium quality data 1006 and provides the same to the user.

11A is a conceptual diagram illustrating data processing in a broadcast system for limiting a service quality of broadcast data provided to a user by using a quality deteriorator at a receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the above embodiments, after a single source broadcast data is coded and transmitted in multiple levels, a method of providing a part of the multi-level coded data to a user is provided. This multi-level coding means that the source data is divided and coded according to the quality of service. There are a method of encoding the basic data and the displacement data and a method of encoding the plurality of quality data. In addition, the plurality of data generated by the multi-level coding may include data partially overlapping each other.

In the present embodiment, the transmitting apparatus 1104 performs broadcasting in the same manner as in the normal broadcasting transmitting apparatus, but the method of limiting the quality of data provided to the user by using the quality deteriorator 1106 at the receiving end will be described. In other words, the present embodiment is applied even when the multi-level encoding is not performed at the transmitting end. However, in the present embodiment, the transmitter will be described based on the case where the multi-level encoding is not performed. However, the transmitter may be applied to the case where the transmitter performs multi-level encoding.

For example, if image data having a pixel number of 1024 * 768 is broadcasted, but the user of the broadcast receiving device is allowed only 512 * 384 pixel number, the broadcast receiving device may have image data having a pixel number of 1024 * 768. Is degraded to a resolution of 512 * 384 and provided to the user. In this deterioration method, the pixel data of some of the broadcast-received pixel data may be omitted and provided to the user. Similarly, in the case of color, 8 bits are used to express colors, and even when 256 colors are supported, only 16 colors can be supported using only 4 bits. This quality degradation method may use a variety of methods known in the art. In the present embodiment, a method of degrading the quality of the received broadcast data through the resolution of the image data has been described. However, the present invention may be similarly applied to other quality measures, audio data, and other data of the image data.

In a broadcast apparatus, broadcast data is encoded using a conventional encoder or a multilevel encoder, multiplexed through a multiplexer, and broadcasted. In addition, broadcasting may be performed after encryption. In the broadcast receiving apparatus, broadcast data is received through a receiver, demultiplexed through a demultiplexer, and then decoded through a decoder. The deteriorator 1106 deteriorates broadcast data received with data of a predetermined quality and provides the same to a user.

According to the present embodiment, the transmitting-side broadcasting apparatus maintains user information regarding which quality is allowed among two or more broadcasting qualities associated with one source data with respect to a user of the intelligent broadcasting service and according to the quality of service used by the user. It includes a user quality management system that manages billing. That is, the user quality management system may include user ID corresponding to each user of the intelligent broadcasting service and charging information according to the quality and data regarding the quality used by the user among two or more broadcasting qualities associated with one broadcast data. Keep it in association. Using this user information, the broadcaster maintains information about what broadcast quality is allowed for each user. The information may be managed by channel, time, or program. In addition, the user quality management system uses the stored user information to charge each user according to the broadcast quality used by the user. This charging process can also be performed by the user quality management system.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the broadcast receiving apparatus may be manufactured to add a deteriorator in software or hardware to fix and reproduce only data of a specific quality with respect to one source data. According to the present embodiment, since the broadcast receiving device deteriorates the broadcast data received with the data of the specific quality, the user using the broadcast receiving device can receive the broadcast data only at the specific quality. In addition, the present embodiment may be applied to both broadcast data broadcast through multi-level encoding or a conventional method. In the case of the multi-level encoded broadcast data, only a predetermined quality is fixed so that the reception apparatus can reproduce the broadcast data. When broadcasting through a conventional method, the quality is fixed to degrade to a predetermined quality. In another embodiment, the access quality control system performs control on what quality of data access is allowed to the user among a plurality of qualities associated with broadcast data, but this access quality control system is not included in this embodiment. According to the present embodiment, a method of accessing a high quality broadcast data (broadcast data broadcast by a broadcast transmitting device) is limited, and according to which broadcast receiving device is distributed to a subscriber, the subscriber accesses. Since the quality of possible broadcast data is determined, its implementation and implementation become very easy.

The deteriorator may be implemented using each part of the broadcast receiving apparatus such as the decoder, the decoder, the demultiplexer described above, the digital analog converter, the display control logic, and the like.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the reproduction of the broadcast data is permitted only in the case of a pair of unique numbers stored in advance by comparing a unique number that is an identifier of a broadcast reception device with a unique number that is an identifier of the parental control device. It includes a unique number checker.

A particular parental control unit (CAS) further includes a unique number matching unit to work with an electronic serial number (ESN) uniquely assigned to the receiving device so that it operates only on a receiving device to which a deteriorator is added and not on another receiving device. It may include. The unique number matching unit matches the ESN of the receiving device with the unique number of the parental control device, and does not allow the reverse encryption key to be generated and reproduce the broadcast data unless the parental control device is a predetermined ESN. In the quality differentiation broadcasting according to the present invention, even when the parental control device is provided in the form of a smart card as a tag, as well as when it is attached to a receiver, a user who has applied for low quality data at a low price (deterioration) It is very easy to receive high quality data by unjustly attaching a parental control device intended for use only to a dedicated receiving device to a general receiving device. Therefore, it is necessary to allow the parental control device authorized by the low fee by interlocking the unique number of the parental control device and the ESN so that it can be used only by the deterioration (low quality) dedicated reception device. In this embodiment, the ESN is recorded in the form of firmware that cannot be rewritten or deleted in the ROM, etc., thereby enhancing security.

When the parental control device does not include the parental control device in the above embodiment, a unique number of a burner, an access quality control system, or the like may be used instead of the parental lock device.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the receiver includes a deteriorator, does not include a parental control device, and further includes a unique number matching unit. The unique number matching unit stores the unique number of the receiving device or the unique number of the deteriorator in a storage medium that cannot be rewritten or deleted.

Still another embodiment of the present invention further includes an access quality control system for controlling whether or not the deteriorator is driven or not, and the receiving device itself not only provides data of a specific deteriorated quality but also data of a normal quality or a plurality of other qualities. Have the ability to play. This allows a user to selectively receive received broadcast data in accordance with an access quality grant policy on which quality to allow the user to access the broadcast data among two or more qualities associated with any one source data (broadcast data). Provide the user with or without degradation of the quality of the data.

The access quality allowance policy can be entered at the time of sale of the receiving device, and if the change is necessary, it can be changed off-line or the user quality permission system of the sender receives the access quality allowance policy for the user. It may also be distributed to the control system through a broadcast control channel at any time. In addition, the access quality control system may perform control by referring to an access quality allowance policy stored in the access quality allowance policy storage, or may perform control according to an access quality allowance policy distributed in real time. Therefore, the control processor is an essential component of the access quality control system or the access permission information storage unit is not an essential component of the access quality control system.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the access quality control system may receive the access quality permission policy by communicating with a predetermined management server. Each broadcast reception device is managed by the management server, so that the management server or the manager of the management server appropriately charges the user of each broadcast reception device according to the access quality permission policy. In this case, each broadcast reception device may use an electronic serial number (ESN) uniquely assigned to the broadcast reception device. That is, the broadcaster maintains the ESN of the broadcast receiving device distributed to the users, the unique number of the parental control device and the user (subscriber) information in the management server, the ESN received from the broadcast receiving device, the unique number of the parental control device, etc. Through the billing to the corresponding user (subscriber) through.

According to the prior art, a limited parental control system (CAS) is used, which merely provides a user with a specific channel. That is, the user is given only the right to view or not view the specific broadcast data. However, according to the present embodiment, according to the user's billing, the user can access or watch the broadcast data of quality corresponding to the cost he is willing to pay.

The access quality control system, the user quality authorization system of the transmitting end, and the user quality management system can be employed in this embodiment as it is or with some modifications as described in the above embodiments.

According to still another embodiment of the present invention, a service used by a user and maintaining information on which quality is allowed among two or more broadcast qualities associated with one source data with respect to a user of an intelligent broadcast service in a transmitting-side broadcasting device. It includes a user quality management system that manages billing according to quality. That is, the user quality management system corresponds to each user of the intelligent broadcasting service, such as a unique number of a broadcast receiving device, a unique number of a parental control device, or a user's personal information, and identifies a target for charging and distributing an access quality permission policy. Among the two or more broadcast qualities associated with one broadcast data and a user identifier as a reference, data about the quality used by the user is maintained in association with the user identifier. Using this user information, the broadcaster maintains information about what broadcast quality is allowed for each user. The information may be managed by channel, time, or program. The broadcaster also uses the user information stored in the user quality management system to charge each user according to the broadcast quality used by the user. This charging process can also be performed by the user quality management system.

FIG. 11B is a block diagram illustrating a broadcast receiving apparatus for limiting a service quality of broadcast data provided to a user using a quality deteriorator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the receiver 1111 receives broadcast data. The broadcast data may be multi-level coded broadcast data, but broadcast data without multi-level encoding may be used as in a conventional broadcast transmission apparatus. In the case of using a conventional broadcast transmitter, there is an advantage that the conventional broadcast transmitter can be used as it is.

The access quality control system 1116 not only controls the quality deteriorator but also stores an access quality grant policy 1116 regarding which quality to allow the user to access the broadcast data among two or more qualities associated with the broadcast data. .

The control processor 1114 controls the quality deteriorator 1112 with reference to the access quality allowance policy 1115, thereby causing the quality deteriorator 1112 to perform quality deterioration according to the access quality allowance policy 1115. The access quality grant policy storage 1116 may not be used when the control processor operates in real time.

The quality deteriorator 1112 deteriorates the broadcast data received by the receiver 1111 into broadcast data of a quality allowed to the user according to an access quality permission policy. For example, if the access quality allowance policy is set to support only 512 * 384 resolution, if the received broadcast data is video data with 1024 * 768 pixels, the received broadcast data is 512 * 384 pixels. The image data is deteriorated. Alternatively, if the allowable quality of the access quality allowance policy is set to intermediate and the video data corresponding to the intermediate quality has a pixel count of 512 * 384, the received video data having the pixel count of 1024 * 768 is received. It deteriorates into video data having a pixel count of 512 * 384.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the access quality grant policy 1115 is information on whether and how to operate the quality deteriorator with respect to broadcast data, and the control processor 1114 controls the access quality grant policy. According to 1115, the operation of the quality deteriorator 1112 is controlled. In the present embodiment, the subscriber who pays for the high quality broadcast data does not operate the quality deteriorator 1112, but provides the high quality broadcast data and the subscriber who pays for the low quality broadcast data. The quality deteriorator 1112 is operated to provide deteriorated broadcast data. In the present embodiment, the broadcast quality deteriorated may be plural or may be one predetermined quality.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the access quality permission policy 1115 is information about which of the plurality of quality degradation schemes to perform degradation. In addition, the quality degrader 1112 supports a plurality of quality degradation schemes. For example, the quality deteriorator 1112 supports deterioration of image data and deterioration of audio data, and the access quality allowance policy 1115 stores information on which deterioration scheme is to be used. The control processor 1114 refers to the access quality grant policy 1115 to control the quality deteriorator 1112 and to perform the corresponding deterioration.

The access quality permission policy 1115 applied to the access quality control system 1116 may be entered at the time of sale of the receiving device and may be changed offline when the change is necessary, or the user quality permission system of the sender may be changed. The access permission policy for the user may be distributed to the access quality control system of the receiver through the broadcast control channel at any time. It may also be received in communication with a predetermined management server (e.g., the user quality authorization system in the previous embodiment). In case of On demand service, the user can adjust the quality of broadcast data accessible by the user in real time by interlocking with the amount paid by the user through a communication method in which the user accesses the user quality management system online. In addition, it is distributed to the user in a form of inputting a predetermined decryption key to the control processor attached to the smart card 1113 or attached to the receiving device offline, so that the user can access broadcast data of a desired quality.

In addition, when the received broadcast data is multiplexed data, the broadcast reception device 1110 includes a demultiplexer for demultiplexing the multiplexed data. According to the present embodiment, a broadcast channel can be efficiently used by multiplexing and broadcasting broadcast data. In addition, the configuration using the quality deteriorator 1112 is also applicable to the case where the received broadcast data is multi-level coded broadcast data.

The user input unit 1117 receives a selection regarding to which quality to receive broadcast data from the user among a plurality of qualities to which the user is allowed to access. For example, if there are three qualities that are accessible to the user, the user enters a selection for one of the three qualities. A plurality of combinations can be made by adjusting the number of pixels of image data, the number of bits of audio data, and the like within the size of the broadcast data having an accessible quality based on the data size. For example, within a range of 1 Mbps, some users may choose a high quality image, audio may be low quality, and some users may select a low quality image and audio. According to the present embodiment, by allowing a user's selection within an accessible bandwidth, there is an advantage of widening the user's selection.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, while the user accesses the broadcast data, the user input unit 1117 through the on-demand method to adjust the quality accessible to him. The input data of the user is transmitted to a predetermined server through a wireless or wired communication network, and accordingly, the access quality permission policy 1115 is adjusted by adjusting the quality accessible by the user. The service provider then charges the user based on the adjusted quality.

The configuration of the user input unit is applicable to other embodiments of the present invention.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a broadcast receiving device (low quality dedicated broadcast receiver) for deteriorating received broadcast data to a predetermined predetermined quality. According to the present embodiment, since the broadcast receiving device deteriorates the broadcast data received with the data of the specific quality, the user using the broadcast receiving device can receive the broadcast data only at the specific quality. This embodiment can be applied to both broadcast data broadcast through multi-level encoding or a conventional method. In the case of the multi-level encoded broadcast data, only a predetermined quality is fixed so that the reception apparatus can reproduce the broadcast data. When broadcasting through a conventional method, the quality is fixed to degrade to a predetermined quality. In another embodiment, the access quality control system stores information about which quality of data access is allowed to the user among a plurality of qualities associated with the broadcast data, but this access quality control system is not included in this embodiment.

According to the present embodiment, a method of accessing a high quality broadcast data (broadcast data broadcast by a broadcast transmitting device) is limited, and according to which broadcast receiving device is distributed to a subscriber, the subscriber accesses. Since the quality of possible broadcast data is determined, its implementation and implementation become very easy.

In the case where a low-quality (degradation) dedicated receiver and a general receiver capable of accessing high-quality broadcast data are supplied separately, there is a problem if the ESN of the low-quality dedicated receiver can be illegally copied to a general receiver capable of high-quality reception. Occurs. That is, in the present invention, even if the viewing is allowed in association with the ESN of the broadcast receiving apparatus, copying the ESN of the low quality receiver to the high quality receiver, and moving and attaching the restriction system (CAS) etc., an unfair user may have low cost for low quality. There is the possibility of accessing high quality broadcast data while paying for this. In addition, in the practice of the present invention, if there is a broadcast receiving apparatus already distributed before distributing the receiver having the access quality control system according to the present invention, the existing parental control apparatus which secures the viewing rights by subscribing at a low rate is already distributed. When used in combination with other receivers, there is no way to perform a deterioration command, which may result in a defect that can be normally received. Currently, since any receiver has the same reception quality, there is no problem in that illegal copying of the ESN is used for the purpose of unduly reducing the reception fee, but the quality differentiation as in the present invention can be a serious problem. Hereinafter, a solution to this problem will be described.

FIG. 11C is a block diagram illustrating a broadcast receiving device for limiting the use of an illegal broadcast receiving device by a user as an embodiment of the present invention.

According to the present embodiment, the broadcast receiving apparatuses are classified by type, and the ESNs of the broadcast receiving apparatuses are also divided by the types of the receiving apparatuses, and then the broadcast receiving apparatuses are normal only when the types of the broadcast receiving apparatuses and the types of the ESNs match. To work.

The service provider classifies and allocates the ESNs of the receiving apparatus (broadcast receiving apparatus) according to the type of the receiving apparatus, and makes this information available to the receiving apparatus verification system 1127 so as to use the ESN values of the receiving apparatus and the actual receiving apparatus. Allow reception only if the types of are matched. That is, the reception device verification system 1127 included in the broadcast reception device determines whether the ESN of the broadcast reception device and its access permission are identical.

The reception device verification system 1127 may enhance security by using an electronic serial number (ESN) uniquely assigned to the broadcast reception device 1120. The ESN is stored in an ESN storage device 1123 such as a memory. The ESN reader 1124 reads the ESN identifying the broadcast receiving device 1120 with reference to the ESN storage device 1123. The ESN-quality storage 1122 groups ESNs and stores quality data of broadcast data allowed for a user for each grouped ESN. For example, if the ESN starts with 0, it means a receiving device that has no quality of service restriction. If the ESN starts with 1, it means a receiving device that has high quality broadcasting data access and complies with the quality of service policy. If the ESN starts with 2, it means a receiving device that can access broadcast data of medium quality and follows the service quality restriction policy.If the ESN starts with 3, it means a receiving device that can access broadcast data of low quality only. In this case, information about this is stored in the ESN-quality storage unit 1122. The broadcast reception device 1120 stores quality data of broadcast data that is permitted to be reproduced in the access quality permission policy storage 1126. Acceptance quality checker 1125 compares the quality data stored in the read ESN and access quality admission policy storage 1126 with the ESN-specific quality data stored in ESN-quality storage 1122 and the lowest among them. The quality deteriorator 1121 is controlled with quality to limit the reproduction of the broadcast data. At this time, control of the quality deteriorator 1121 is performed through a control processor (not shown).

The receiving device verification system 1127 determines the quality allowed for it, and determines whether this and its ESN are the same or lower quality than the data of the ESN-quality storage 1122. If it is the same or lower quality, it provides normal service if it matches. If it is high quality, it does not provide service. For example, if the access quality allowance policy stored in the reception device verification system 1127 stores "high quality", and the ESN of the broadcast reception device starts with 3, the quality of service authorized through the reception device verification system 1127 is obtained. Since the ESN is higher than the quality of service permitted by the terminal through the ESN, it may be determined that the ESN has been duplicated, and the reception device verification system 1127 controls the deteriorator and the like so as not to reproduce the received broadcast data. This can prevent illegal viewing through illegal copying of ESN.

Even in the case of a low quality (deterioration) dedicated receiver which does not have an access quality control system, the same effect can be obtained by the above method when the ESN is illegally copied. In this case, however, since the access permission information storage unit of the access quality control system does not exist from the beginning, the allowable quality collider compares the ESN-quality storage unit 1122 and the ESN to determine whether broadcast data is reproduced.

FIG. 11D is a block diagram illustrating a broadcast receiving device for limiting the use of an illegal broadcast receiving device by a user as another embodiment of the present invention.

According to the present embodiment, when the broadcast reception device receives the access quality permission policy, the broadcast reception device feeds back to the user quality management system or the user quality permission system of the sender with respect to the user access quality permission policy received by the broadcast reception device. If there is no feedback, or if the feedback information does not match the information registered in the user quality management system, the user quality permission system considers that all of the broadcast receiving apparatuses receive the high quality and blocks the service.

The ESN reader 1134 reads the ESN identifying the broadcast receiving device with reference to the ESN storage device 1133. The access quality permission policy storage unit 1136 stores quality data of broadcast data that is allowed to be reproduced in the broadcast receiving device. The feedback communication unit 1132 transmits the read ESN, the unique number of the parental control system (CAS), and the quality data stored in the access quality permission policy storage unit 1136 to a predetermined server.

If the ESN of the broadcast reception device cannot be classified and allocated according to the type, such as a system that is already being serviced, the type of the broadcast reception device according to the ESN is stored in a user quality management system (not shown) of a predetermined server. . The reception device verification system 1137 of the broadcast reception device 1130 transmits the ESN number and the type of the actual broadcast reception device to the user quality management system (not shown) through the feedback communication unit 1132 and stores them in the user quality management system. Reproduction or reception of broadcast data is permitted only when the information to be transmitted matches the transmitted information. By using this, it is possible to effectively block illegal copying of the ESN and to maintain the existing receiver verification system, which has the advantage of adding multiple quality services without changing the existing system. For example, in the user quality management system of the transmitting side, a broadcast receiving device having an ESN of 123456 is stored as medium quality. The feedback information received from the receiving device verification system 1137 of the broadcast receiving device 1130 includes 123456 in the feedback information. If the broadcast receiving device is of high quality, the user quality management system charges the user of the broadcast receiving device with high quality.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, if the receiving device verification system of the broadcast receiving device does not match the access quality permission policy stored by the user access quality permission policy received from the user quality management system of the transmitting side, the broadcasting is performed. Either do not play back the data or modify the access quality allowance policy that it stores in the received access quality allowance policy.

The above-described method for limiting the use of an illegal broadcast reception apparatus of a user can be applied to other embodiments of the present invention.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the receiver includes a user input unit for receiving a selection of the broadcast data of one quality from among the plurality of quality broadcast data from the user. Various degradation methods having different degradation methods may be applied, and when a user selects one piece of broadcast data, the data player generates and provides broadcast data of the selected quality to the user.

12A and 12B are block diagrams illustrating a broadcast system to which a service quality restriction of broadcast data is applied for each transport channel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the present embodiment, a plurality of multilevel encoded data is generated by encoding one broadcast data into multiple levels, and the multilevel encoded data is broadcast through different broadcast channels.

The multi-quality streams generated by the image encoder 1201, the voice encoder 1202, and the data encoder 1203 at the transmitting end 1200 are allocated to a transmission channel according to the quality of service, and each multiplexer 1204 through 1206 is encrypted. Devices 1207 through 1209 and transmit channels 1210 through 1213 to each channel. The user quality authorization system 1215 assigns an encryption generation key to the encryptors 1207 to 1209 for each transport channel. The user quality permission system 1215 generates a decryption key of a video, audio, and data stream corresponding to the quality of service subscribed to each user, and transmits the decryption key to the control processor 1232 of the broadcast reception device 1220.

The broadcast reception device 1220 restores a signal received for each transmission channel through the reception channel units 1221 to 1223 and then passes the decryptors 1224 to 1226. The access quality control system 1234 receives the decryption key corresponding to the quality of service subscribed to by the user quality permission system 1215 of the transmitting end 1200 or the decryption key supplied offline to each quality of service. Pass to decryptors 1224-1226. The decoders 1224 to 1226 of each transport channel restore the video, voice, and data streams only when the decryption key is received from the access quality control system 1234, and the video decoder 1228 through the demultiplexer 1227. ), The voice decoder 1229, and the data decoder 1230.

The user of the basic quality can receive only the basic transport channel and can further improve the quality of service of the user by additionally receiving the transport channel 2 and the transport channel 3.

In the present embodiment, the access quality control system 1234 controls the decryptor to limit the data accessible to the user. However, for any one or any combination of the decryptor, the demultiplexer, and the multilevel decoder, A method controlled by the access quality control system is also possible. For example, the decryptor and demultiplexer can be controlled simultaneously to limit the quality of data provided to the user.

Although the present invention has been described with a focus on wireless broadcast services and is also suitable for wireless broadcast services, the configuration of the present invention can be applied to wired Internet broadcast services.

Embodiments of the invention may include a computer readable medium containing program instructions for performing various computer-implemented operations. The computer readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination. The medium or program instructions may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well-known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape, optical media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and magnetic disks, such as floppy disks. Magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. The medium may be a transmission medium such as an optical or metal wire, a waveguide, or the like including a carrier wave for transmitting a signal specifying a program command, a data structure, or the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine code generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like.

The hardware device described in the present invention may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention. On the contrary, the software module described in the present invention may be configured with one or more hardware devices to perform the operation of the present invention.

According to the present invention, a method for providing a multi-quality service to a user in a wireless broadcasting service is provided.

In addition, according to the multi-quality service providing method according to the present invention, it is possible to effectively block access to the service quality that is not allowed to the user by using multiple encryption keys.

In addition, according to the multi-quality service providing method according to the present invention, by using a combination of the encryption key and the demultiplexing allowance policy, it is possible to effectively block access to the service quality that is not allowed to the user at the data receiver level. .

In addition, according to the present invention, a subscriber can be controlled to be able to access a single piece of broadcast data with a predetermined quality among a plurality of qualities, beyond the unilateral limitation of reception and reception.

In addition, according to the multi-quality service providing method according to the present invention, by using a combination of the encryption key and the decryption allowance policy, it is possible to effectively block access to the service quality that is not allowed to the user at the decoder level.

In addition, according to the present invention, since the wireless broadcasting service can provide a multi-quality service that applies differentiated prices according to the quality even in the same program channel to the user, it is possible to build a variety of billing system according to the characteristics of the user.

In addition, according to the present invention, a user may effectively block access to unauthorized service quality through a combination of a multiple decryption key, a decryption permission policy, a demultiplexing permission policy, and the like.

In addition, according to the present invention, a low rate can be applied to a user who receives low quality data by a receiver having a degrader that degrades broadcast data with a predetermined quality and a user management system that manages the receiver separately.

In addition, according to the present invention by interlocking the unique number of the receiver equipped with a deteriorator and the unique number of the parental control device that charges a low rate, it is possible to effectively block the user access to unauthorized service quality.

In addition, according to the present invention can control the reception quality through a conditional access allowance system that controls the operation and operation of the deteriorator, and if there is a broadcast receiving device that is already spread or the service is provided by different broadcasting receiving devices In this case, by using the unique number information of the broadcast receiving device it can prevent security or unfair use behavior.

This will allow operators to maximize profits in the short term, and induce long-term customers to use high-quality services. In broadcasting, this increase in revenue can be achieved without additional investment. In addition, the expansion of the user base will lead to an increase in advertising revenue as well as subscription revenue, resulting in an increase in overall business revenue. On the other hand, from the user's point of view, the individual user can receive a low-cost system corresponding to the differentiated quality, thereby reducing the usage burden. Furthermore, even in the case of users of high-quality services, as the total business profit of the operator increases without increasing the investment cost, there is an effect of paying a much lower license fee as the portion of the service cost to be shared per user decreases significantly.

In addition, in terms of receivers, in the case of a mobile broadcasting service, a device having limited video processing capability such as a mobile phone, a camcorder, or a digital camera has no reason to purchase high-quality content at a high price even if an external receiver is attached. On the other hand, for the broadcaster, there is no guarantee that the external receiver is used only in connection with a device that has limited video processing capability. Therefore, there is a need for a method that can address the concerns of broadcasters and safely implement the demultiplexing and decoding policies of operators. The present invention can meet the needs of such broadcasters and users.

As described above, although the present invention has been described by way of limited embodiments and drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, which can be variously modified and modified by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is obvious that modifications are possible. Accordingly, the spirit of the present invention should be understood only by the claims set forth below, and all equivalent or equivalent modifications thereof will belong to the scope of the present invention.

Claims (35)

In the intelligent broadcasting system, A broadcast device; And Broadcast receiver Including, The broadcast device A multilevel encoder for generating a plurality of multilevel encoded data by encoding one source data into multiple levels; A multiplexer for multiplexing the multi-level encoded data to generate multiplexed data; An encryptor for encrypting the multiplexed data in a predetermined manner to generate encrypted data; And Transmitter to broadcast the encrypted data Including, The broadcast receiving device A receiver for receiving the broadcast encrypted data; A decryptor for decrypting the received encrypted data to generate the multiplexed data; A demultiplexer configured to demultiplex the generated multiplexed data to generate the multilevel encoded data; A multilevel decoder for decoding the multilevel coded data; And Any one of two or more reception qualities associated with the one source data by controlling at least one function of the decryptor, the demultiplexer, and the multi-level decoder according to an access quality allowance policy for a user of the broadcast reception device. Access quality control system that allows reproduction of the source data with higher quality Intelligent broadcasting system comprising a. delete In the broadcasting device for intelligent broadcasting service, A multilevel encoder for generating a plurality of multilevel encoded data by encoding one source data into multiple levels; A multiplexer for multiplexing the multi-level encoded data to generate multiplexed data; A transmitter for broadcasting the multiplexed data; And A user quality authorization system for distributing an access quality grant policy that allows reproduction of the source data at any one or more of the two or more received qualities associated with the source data Broadcasting apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 3, An encoder for encrypting the multi-level encoded data or the multiplexed data according to a predetermined scheme The broadcast device further comprises. delete delete The method of claim 3, And the access quality permission policy is a combination of at least one of a decryption permission policy and a demultiplexing permission policy. The method of claim 3, And the multi-level encoder encodes the source data into basic data and one or more displacement data. The method of claim 3, And the multi-level encoder encodes the source data into two or more pieces of data having different quality. The method of claim 9, And the quality of the data is any one or more combinations of the number of pixels, the number of colors, the number of frames per second, and the compression rate of the image when the source data is image data. The method of claim 9, And the quality of the data is a combination of any one or more of the number of samplings per second, the number of bits per sample, and the compression rate of speech when the source data is audio data. The method of claim 3, A user quality management system that maintains user information about which quality is permitted among two or more broadcast qualities associated with the source data with respect to the user of the intelligent broadcast service and manages billing according to the quality of service used by the user. Broadcasting apparatus further comprising a. In the broadcasting device for intelligent broadcasting service, A multilevel encoder for generating a plurality of multilevel encoded data by encoding one source data into multiple levels; And A transmitter for broadcasting the multi-level encoded data through different broadcast channels Broadcasting apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 13, And the multi-level encoder encodes the source data into basic data and one or more displacement data. In the broadcast receiving device for an intelligent broadcast service, A receiver for receiving broadcast data including a plurality of data obtained by encoding one source data into multiple levels; An access quality control system for controlling the data player according to an access quality grant policy regarding what quality of broadcast data access to a user is allowed among two or more reception qualities associated with the broadcast data; And A data player for generating and providing broadcast data of a quality permitted to the user from the multi-level encoded data according to the access quality permission policy; Broadcast receiving apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 15, The data player is A demultiplexer for demultiplexing the broadcast data to generate the multi-level encoded data; And A multilevel decoder for decoding the multilevel coded data Broadcast receiving apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 15, And the access quality control system controls at least one function of the demultiplexer and the multi-level decoder according to the access quality permission policy to generate broadcast data of a quality permitted to a user. The method of claim 16, The broadcast data is encrypted data, The data player further comprises a decryptor for decrypting the encrypted data. The method of claim 18, The access quality control system controls the at least one function of the decryptor, the demultiplexer, and the multilevel decoder according to the access quality grant policy to generate broadcast data of a quality permitted to the user. Broadcast receiving device. The method of claim 15, The access quality control system controls the data player according to an access quality allowance policy for each channel or time with respect to what quality of broadcast data access to the user in association with the broadcast data. Device. The method of claim 15, The access quality permission policy includes information for allowing access to a plurality of quality broadcast data among two or more reception qualities associated with the broadcast data, The data player is A user input unit for receiving a selection of which quality to access to the broadcast data from the user More, And generating and providing broadcast data of the selected quality. In a broadcast receiving device for intelligent broadcast service And a channel demultiplexer which combines the received data transmitted to different broadcast channels as a plurality of pieces of data encoded by multiple levels of one source data and restores the received source data into one source data. In the intelligent broadcasting system for intelligent broadcasting service, A broadcast device; And Broadcast receiver Including, The broadcast device Among the two or more broadcast qualities associated with one broadcast data and a user identifier corresponding to the user of the intelligent broadcast service, data about the quality used by the user is maintained in association with the user identifier, and according to the quality used by the user. User quality management system to manage billing Including, The broadcast receiving device A receiver for receiving the broadcast data; And A quality deteriorator for degrading the broadcast data into broadcast data of a predetermined quality Intelligent broadcasting system comprising a. In the broadcast receiving device for an intelligent broadcast service, A receiver for receiving broadcast data; And A quality deteriorator for degrading the broadcast data into broadcast data of a predetermined quality Broadcast receiving apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 24, A viewing restriction device for limiting viewing on a predetermined broadcast channel; And A unique number checker that allows reproduction of the broadcast data only in the case of a pair of unique numbers stored in advance by matching a unique number that is an identifier of the broadcast receiving device and a unique number that is an identifier of the parental control device. Broadcast receiving apparatus further comprises a. In the broadcast receiving device for an intelligent broadcast service, A receiver for receiving broadcast data; An access quality control system for controlling a quality deteriorator in accordance with an access quality grant policy on which quality to allow a user to access the broadcast data among two or more qualities associated with the broadcast data; And A quality deteriorator for degrading the broadcast data into broadcast data of a quality allowed to the user according to the control of the access quality control system; Broadcast receiving apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 26, And the access quality control system controls whether to operate the quality deteriorator with respect to the broadcast data according to the access quality permission policy. The method of claim 26, The quality deteriorator deteriorates the broadcast data using a plurality of deterioration schemes, And the access quality control system controls which of the plurality of degradation schemes operates the quality degrader with respect to the broadcast data. The method of claim 26, And the access quality control system communicates with a predetermined management server to receive the access quality permission policy and control the quality deteriorator accordingly. The method of claim 26, The broadcast data is multiplexed data, and the demultiplexer demultiplexes the multiplexed data. Broadcast receiving apparatus further comprises a. The method of claim 26 The access quality permission policy includes information for allowing the user access to at least two quality broadcast data regarding whether to operate the quality deteriorator and whether to deteriorate by a plurality of deterioration schemes. The receiver is A user input unit for receiving a selection regarding to what quality the broadcast data is to be received from the user More, And generating and providing broadcast data of the selected quality. In the broadcast receiving device for an intelligent broadcast service, A receiver for receiving broadcast data by encoding one source data into basic data and one or more displacement data; And A data player for decoding and generating at least one of the basic data and the displacement data to generate and provide broadcast data of a quality allowed to the user. Broadcast receiving apparatus comprising a. In the broadcast receiving device for an intelligent broadcast service, An ESN reader for reading an ESN identifying the broadcast receiving device; An ESN-quality storage unit for grouping ESNs and storing quality data of broadcast data allowed for a user for each grouped ESN; An access quality permission policy storage unit for storing quality data of broadcast data that is allowed to be reproduced in the broadcast receiving device; And An allowable quality checker which limits the reproduction of the broadcast data when the quality data stored in the read ESN and the access quality permission policy storage are not matched by comparing with the ESN-specific quality data stored in the ESN-quality storage. Broadcast receiving apparatus comprising a. In the broadcast receiving device for an intelligent broadcast service, An ESN reader for reading an ESN identifying the broadcast receiving device; An access quality permission policy storage unit for storing quality data of broadcast data that is allowed to be reproduced in the broadcast receiving device; And A feedback communication unit for transmitting the quality data stored in the read ESN and the access quality permission policy storage to a predetermined server; Broadcast receiving apparatus comprising a. In the intelligent broadcasting system, A broadcast apparatus for generating broadcast data by encoding one source data into a plurality of multiple levels and broadcasting the broadcast data; And A broadcast receiving device that receives the broadcast data and allows reproduction of the broadcast data of a predetermined quality only for a user allowed by a predetermined access quality control system. Intelligent broadcasting system comprising a.