KR20040064973A - the method of viewing limitation by viewer grade of digital broadcasting - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A viewing limitation method in accordance with viewer grades of digital broadcasting is provided to enable a transmitter to simply add a descriptor by using a PMT(Program Map Table) and to transmit viewing limitation grades for TV programs, then to broadcast limited programs via a predetermined authentication procedure, thereby effectively limiting the programs. CONSTITUTION: A receiver receives a broadcasting program including a descriptor on viewing limitation grades of TV programs from a transmitter(S100). The receiver decides whether the received broadcasting program has viewing limitation grade information(S110). If not, the receiver broadcasts the program(S150). If the viewing limitation grade information is contained, the receiver performs an authentication procedure(S120). The receiver decides whether the authentication procedure is successful(S130). If so, the receiver broadcasts the program(S150).

Description

The method of viewing limitation by viewer grade of digital broadcasting}

The present invention defines a tag that allows a user to restrict viewing according to a rating level by viewing age in a digital broadcast, and reads it at a receiving side, thereby limiting broadcasting through a password setting. It relates to a parental control method accordingly.

Today, television programs for home viewers are available from many sources, such as terrestrial broadcast, cable (CATV) distribution, satellite broadcast (eg DBS), and the like.

The television program may be provided in analog and / or digital format.

In all of the above cases, the television program includes audio and video information for a plurality of channels, and other information, such as closed captioning, stock / data tickers, program guide listings, and the like. It may also include.

Such information or auxiliary data is coded into a television signal and sometimes coded into a vertical blanking interval (VBI).

The variety of television program sources available today provide a great variety of television programs.

However, some of the television programs contain content that may not be suitable for all viewers.

In modern times, television is the most easily accessible visual medium for modern people, and it broadcasts various genres of television programs for each class, ie adults, teenagers, children, etc., where some of the television programs are part of the youth or children's class. As it shows sensationality and violence that may adversely affect emotions, there is an urgent need to limit broadcasting programs according to the characteristics of the class.

Therefore, in the case of our country, it is possible to determine which layer the program currently broadcasted is targeted by mixing and transmitting the KBPS signal in which the program ID is inserted into the broadcast signal.

In addition, in the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is a television set sold in the United States to protect youth from pornographic and violent screens or language during air or cable programs as a way to address youth violence. Application of the sorting device is mandatory.

In this case, as shown in Table 1, parental guidelines or the US Federal Communications Commission prescribe rating grades of TV broadcast programs for each age, or as shown in Table 2, rating grades of broadcasting videos such as videos or movies. In addition, each broadcaster and video producer is obliged to transmit the broadcast grade of the broadcast program together with the above-mentioned standards.

1 is a view showing an embodiment of a method for displaying a rating of a broadcasting used in a conventional broadcast.

'19' is displayed at the bottom right of the broadcast screen, which means 'viewers over the age of 19'.

However, in the conventional broadcast, the above-mentioned ratings are displayed on the screen for programs that require guardian guidance. However, the ratings display method requires a child who is not watching like a guardian. It is not effective for young people and cannot be enforced.

Therefore, in reality, it is difficult to prevent children or adolescents from being exposed to sensational and harmful programs because the guardian should always watch and regulate them with children or adolescents.

The present invention provides a restriction on rating of the harmful broadcast program (age) when the broadcast program is produced to limit the viewing of harmful broadcast programs that may adversely affect children or adolescents in digital broadcasting. It is an object of the present invention to provide a viewing restriction method according to a viewing grade of digital broadcasting, which is described and transmitted together in a program map table (PMT).

In addition, the present invention provides a method for restricting viewing according to the viewing grade of digital broadcasting, in which a broadcasting program having a viewing restriction age or more, which is received by a user and the viewing restriction grade is transmitted, can be viewed only through a password input. There is another purpose.

1 is a view showing an embodiment of a rating method for viewing in a conventional broadcast.

2 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a program map table (PMT) for broadcasting information technology according to an international transmission protocol proposed by the present invention.

3 is a view showing a PMT according to the present invention, showing the area of the tag (tag) to be used by the descriptor proposed by the present invention.

4 is a diagram showing the structure of a descriptor to be additionally described in a PMT as an embodiment according to the present invention.

5 is a diagram illustrating a rating viewing setting screen for a viewing rating of a broadcast program according to one embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a view showing an authentication screen of a rating program as an embodiment according to the present invention;

7 is a flowchart illustrating a viewing method according to a viewing grade of digital broadcasting according to the present invention.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for restricting viewing according to a viewing grade of a digital broadcasting, wherein a sender has a descriptor for viewing limitation rating information on a broadcasting program in a program map table (PMT) of the broadcasting program. Transmitting including; And

And decrypting the transmitted PMT at a receiving side and comparing the parental control age set by the user with the parental level information described in the PMT to provide a broadcast program to the user through a predetermined authentication procedure. It features.

In the predetermined authentication confirmation procedure, the user may set a parental control age and a password in advance so that the user must input the password when viewing a rating program of the parental control age or older.

The descriptor is described by including a descriptor tag (descriptor_tag), a descriptor length (descriptor length), and a viewable start age (start_age) of the corresponding broadcast program.

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a program map table (PMT) for broadcast information technology according to an international transmission protocol proposed by the present invention.

All digital broadcasts of various standards covering North American and European terrestrial, satellite, and cable are transmitted including program specific information (PSI) and service information (SI), in addition to audio, video, and data information that directly composes a program.

The PSI includes a program map table (PMT) having information on audio, video, and data constituting each program, and a program association table (PAT) having information on the PMTs.

The SI has information on data used in an electronic program guide (EPG).

In this case, the PSI is commonly used in various digital broadcasting standards, while the SI is used in different formats according to each standard.

Therefore, as a method for common use in various digital broadcasting standards, broadcast information is described in a PMT that is 1: 1 matched with a program among PSI information, and configured to be decoded by a digital television or set-top box which is a broadcast receiver.

Referring to FIG. 2, the above-described PMT includes a descriptor for broadcast information description in TS_program_map_section () of data service information included in TS (Transport Stream) data transmitted through a broadcast network and transmits it to the receiver.

As such, the PSI including the PMT is required to continue to be sent periodically while the program is being sent.

Therefore, in the present invention, the transmitting side adds a descriptor for broadcasting information technology according to the present invention to the PMT as described above.

Here, the description of one whole program is described by using a descriptor in a section repeated by N value in the PMT, and for each component constituting a program such as audio and video. The description will be described within the interval repeated by the N1 value in the PMT.

The transmitting side describes a new descriptor (age_rate_descriptor) in the section repeated by the N value, and transmits the parental level for the program.

3 is a diagram illustrating a PMT according to the present invention, and shows a region of a tag to be used by a descriptor proposed by the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, in the PMT, a descriptor may be provided for describing additional information in addition to the packet identifier (PID) of audio, video, and data.

In this case, the additional information may include a kind of language used for audio.

The descriptor has a tag so that it is possible to distinguish what contents each descriptor describes.

At this time, as shown, 0 and 1 are not used as tags, 2 to 18 are already defined, and 19 to 63 are not currently available as tags for future expansion.

However, since 64 to 255 can be arbitrarily used as a tag of a descriptor, it is used as a tag of a descriptor for broadcast information technology of the present invention.

The contents to be described in the descriptor for the above broadcasting information technology include a descriptor tag, a descriptor length, which must be described in the descriptor, and a broadcast channel, a broadcast date, a broadcast start time, and a broadcast end. There may be time.

4 is a structure of a descriptor to be additionally described in the PMT as an embodiment according to the present invention.

As described above, a descriptor for broadcasting information technology according to a parental level of a broadcast program must be added to the PMT, which is the same as the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4.

The descriptor (age_rate_descriptor) to be additionally described in the PMT indicates a descriptor tag (descriptor_tag), a descriptor length (descriptor length), and a viewable start age (start_age) of the corresponding broadcast program.

Therefore, the transmitting side describes age_rate_descriptor () in the PMT for each program to be broadcast so that the age limit for each viewing grade can be known on the receiving digital television.

In addition, the receiving side of the digital television receiving this allows the normal broadcast to be sent only after passing through the simple authentication process.

5 is a diagram illustrating a rating viewing setting screen for a viewing rating of a broadcast program according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the user inputs a parental control age according to the family member of each home and sets a password.

In this case, the limit age is set to less than 19 years old, which means that the receiving side having the above-mentioned setting for the broadcast program of 'viewers over 19 years old' can pass the predetermined authentication procedure to watch.

The values (restricted age, password) entered in the rating viewing setting screen as described above are stored in non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) so that they are not erased even when the digital television is turned off, as with the digital television basic setting values (volume, last viewing channel, etc.). Save it and make it valid until reset.

6 is a diagram illustrating an authentication screen of a rating program according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the case of a digital television set as shown in FIG. 5, when a broadcast program of 'viewers over 19 years old' is received, a predetermined authentication procedure is performed by a screen as shown in FIG. 6.

Here, if the user knows the password set to 19 years old or older, the user enters the password and goes through the authentication process to watch the broadcast.

However, if the user is a minor child over 19 years old, the user does not know the authentication password required on the screen as described above, and thus, the user cannot watch the broadcast program that is 'viewers over 19 years old'.

This authentication process is performed even when the channel is switched or the TV is turned off and on again, and is intended to restrict viewing to protect children or teenagers from harmful broadcasting.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a viewing method according to a viewing grade of digital broadcasting according to the present invention.

A broadcast program including a descriptor for the parental level of the broadcast program is received from the transmitter (S100).

It is determined whether the received broadcast program is a program having parental level information (S110).

At this time, it is checked whether there is parental level information on the program in the PMT of the received broadcast.

As a result of the determination, if the program does not have a parental level, the program is broadcast as it is (S150).

In this case, it is determined whether the authentication is performed through the authentication check procedure (S130). When the user can watch the broadcast program received through the authentication procedure, the user broadcasts the received broadcast program as it is (S150).

However, if the user does not pass the authentication procedure, the user cannot watch the received broadcast program, and it is determined whether the user switches the channel (S140).

In this case, when the user switches the channel, the user checks whether the broadcast program of the switched channel is a program having parental level information and undergoes the above authentication process.

If the user does not pass the channel authentication procedure, the user continues to be requested for authentication confirmation (S120).

Although the present invention has been described in detail through specific examples, it is intended to describe the present invention in detail, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and should be understood by those skilled in the art within the technical spirit of the present invention. It is obvious that modifications and improvements are possible.

The present invention simply adds a descriptor at the transmitting side using a table called PMT used in all digital broadcasting standards to transmit a parental level for a broadcast program, and receives it at the receiving side to have the parental level. The broadcast program has a predetermined certification process so that the broadcast program can be effectively restricted according to the age of viewers, which can adversely affect children or adolescents.

In addition, since the present invention uses a method of adding a simple descriptor using a table called PMT used in all digital broadcasting standards such as North America, Europe, and Japan, effects that can be easily implemented without being limited by the broadcasting standards. There is.

In addition, the present invention provides a wider variety of information and viewers, free from the problem of selectivity and harmfulness of programs caused by the enormous increase in the number of channels and competition of operators in digital broadcasting. The viewing option can be provided and the digital broadcasting contents can be diversified.

Claims (3)

Transmitting, by a transmitter, a descriptor of a parental level information for a broadcast program in a program map table (PMT) of the broadcast program; And And decrypting the transmitted PMT at a receiving side and comparing the parental control age set by the user with the parental level information described in the PMT to provide a broadcast program to the user through a predetermined authentication procedure. Viewing method according to the viewing grade of the digital broadcast characterized in that. The method of claim 2, In the predetermined authentication confirmation procedure, the user must set a parental control age and a password in advance so that the user must input the password when viewing a rating program of the parental control age or older to authenticate the digital broadcasting. How to restrict viewing. The method of claim 1, The descriptor includes a descriptor tag (descriptor_tag), a descriptor length (descriptor length), and a start view age (start_age) of a corresponding broadcast program.