KR20060023234A - Apparatus and method for receiving terrestrial and cable transmission - Google Patents

Abstract

A composite broadcast receiving device having a structure capable of simplifying a hardware structure, reducing the size of a device, and reducing manufacturing costs, and a composite broadcast receiving method using the same are proposed.

The composite broadcast receiving device of the present invention is a composite broadcast receiving device capable of receiving terrestrial broadcasting and cable broadcasting, and includes a terrestrial broadcasting tuner capable of receiving terrestrial broadcasting and cable communication data; A terrestrial broadcast demodulator for demodulating the terrestrial broadcast data; A cable broadcast tuner capable of receiving cable broadcasts; A cable broadcast demodulator for demodulating the cable broadcast data; A cable modem unit for modulating and demodulating cable communication data; And an RF switching unit connected to an output terminal of the terrestrial broadcast tuner, connecting the output of the terrestrial broadcast tuner to the terrestrial demodulator when receiving the terrestrial broadcast, and connecting the output of the terrestrial broadcast tuner to the cable modem when receiving the cable broadcast. do.

Cable broadcasting, set top box, digital broadcasting, open cable, terrestrial broadcasting

Description

Terrestrial and cable composite broadcasting receiver and method {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR RECEIVING TERRESTRIAL AND CABLE TRANSMISSION}

Fig. 1 illustrates a conventional terrestrial and cable composite broadcast receiver incorporating an OOB modem.

Fig. 2 illustrates a conventional terrestrial and cable composite broadcast receiver incorporating a DSG type modem.

Figure 3 illustrates a conventional terrestrial and cable composite broadcast receiver supporting both OOB and DSG schemes.

Figure 4 illustrates a terrestrial wave and cable composite broadcast reception apparatus incorporating an OOB modem according to the present invention.

Fig. 5 illustrates a terrestrial wave and cable composite broadcast reception apparatus incorporating a DSG type modem according to the present invention.

6 illustrates a terrestrial and cable composite broadcast receiver supporting both OOB and DSG schemes according to the present invention.

Figure 7 shows the flow of one embodiment of a terrestrial and cable composite broadcast reception method of the present invention.

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

100, 200, 300, 400, 500: broadcast receiving device

1: terrestrial broadcast tuner 2: cable broadcast tuner

3: OOB QPSK tuner 4: OOB transmitter

5: DOCSIS tuner 6: DOCSIS transmitter

7: OOB and DOCSIS Combined Transmitter

11: 8 VSB demodulator 12: 64/256 QAM demodulator

13: QPSK demodulator 14: OOB modulator

15: DOCSIS Processor 21: A / V Decoder

22: copy protection interface 23: cable card

31: multimedia processing unit 32: central control unit

41: output signal 42: communication unit

105, 305, 505: RF switching unit

The present invention relates to a composite broadcast receiving apparatus and method capable of receiving broadcasts through both terrestrial and cable, and more particularly, to a broadcast receiving apparatus capable of receiving both terrestrial and cable broadcasts, and proposes a more efficient configuration to provide a component thereof. It is an object of the present invention to provide a composite broadcast receiving apparatus and method that can simplify and reduce manufacturing costs.

The domestic digital cable broadcasting standard is the same standard as the digital cable broadcasting in the United States, and is called a standard name of 'open cable'. A set-top box supporting the open cable standard should be provided with a communication means through a cable network as well as a receiving means for watching a broadcast. The cable communication means specified in the open cable standard can use out-of-band (OOB) method using out-of-band channel or DSG (DOCSIS Set-top box Gateway) method using modem of DOCSIS (Data over Cable System Interface Specification) standard. You can also configure both to be embedded at the same time for compatibility.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an open cable set-top box 100 according to the related art, and illustrates a terrestrial wave and cable composite broadcast reception apparatus having an OOB modem. The terrestrial wave received through the antenna 51 is processed by a terrestrial broadcast demodulator 11 such as an 8 VSB (Vestigial Side Band) demodulator via a terrestrial broadcast tuner 1, an A / V decoder 21 and a multimedia processor ( 31, signal conversion and the like are processed, and are reproduced / outputted as an output signal 41 such as video and sound.

In addition, when watching a cable broadcast, the data transmitted through the cable 52 is processed by a cable broadcast demodulator such as a 64/256 QAM demodulator 12 through the cable broadcast tuner 2 to perform A / A. It is input to the V decoder 21.

For cable communication, for example, a tuned signal received from a cable communication tuner such as an OOB QPSK tuner 3 for downstream data processing of the OOB modem, and the tuned signal includes a QPSK demodulator 13 or the like for OOB modem signal processing. It is input to the cable card 23 via the cable communication modem unit. The cable card 23 receives the necessary data from the headend via this data channel. The uplink data signal sent by the cable card 23 is processed by the OOB modulator 14 of the cable communication modem and transmitted to the headend through the OOB transmitter 4.

Open cable set-top box 100 as illustrated is provided with an interface that conforms to the standards, such as PCMCIA. The PCMCIA interface is mainly designed for the use of PCMCIA modules in notebooks, but it is common for open cable set-top boxes to adopt such interfaces, and especially for open cable set-top boxes, the function of copy protection (CP) module is provided. In many cases, the interface 22 provided is provided. Most content is encrypted via this copy protection interface 22 and delivered to the set top box.

The PCMCIA module used in the set-top box is mainly used for CA (Conditional Access, reception restriction) and subscriber management of broadcast content, which is called a cable card (23). The cable card 23 generally requires a communication means in order to perform its primary purpose such as CA and subscriber management. The communication means may be unidirectional or bidirectional, depending on the cable network of the cable operator. The cable communication modem for communication with the headend (cable broadcasting company's broadcasting center) defined in the open cable standard includes an OOB modem as shown in FIG. 1 and a DSG modem as shown in FIG. .

In the OOB modem shown in FIG. 1, the OOB media access control (MAC) part is located inside the cable card 23, and the RF related parts 3, 13, 4, and 14, such as a modulation part, are set-top boxes ( It is usually built into 100).

In addition, in the case of the DSG type modem shown in FIG. 2, the cable card 23 does not have a function for configuring a modem, and it is common to place all functions of the modem inside the set-top box 300. Therefore, the set-top box must have at least one of the built-in modem functions and allow the cable card to recognize which modem is configured at initialization.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the communication tuners 3 and 5 are one of the essential blocks of the modem, and the set-top box needs the tuner for the modem function regardless of how the modem is configured. For terrestrial and cable complex set-top boxes, it is common to have at least three tuners built in for terrestrial reception, cable broadcast reception, and cable communications. 3 shows a configuration of a terrestrial open cable composite set-top box supporting both OOB and DSG communication schemes, and two cable communication tuners 3 and 5 and OOB and DOCSIS composite transmitters to support OOB and DOCSIS modems. (7) is built in.

As described above, in the prior art, it is a general configuration to separately embed at least three tuners for terrestrial wave reception, cable broadcast reception, and cable communication.

The present invention focuses on the fact that a user does not simultaneously watch terrestrial broadcasting and cable broadcasting in the above-described conventional composite broadcasting receiver, and has a new structure that can simplify the hardware structure and reduce the manufacturing cost. A composite broadcast reception device and a composite broadcast reception method using the same are provided.

Particularly, the present invention provides a composite broadcast receiving apparatus for utilizing a terrestrial broadcast tuner built in a composite set-top box capable of simultaneously watching digital cable broadcasting and digital terrestrial broadcasting for cable communication when not watching terrestrial broadcasting. It is to propose a composite broadcast reception method used.

In order to achieve the above object, the composite broadcast receiving device according to the first aspect of the present invention is a composite broadcast receiving device capable of receiving terrestrial broadcasting and cable broadcasting, and is capable of receiving terrestrial broadcasting and cable communication data. ; A terrestrial broadcast demodulator for demodulating the terrestrial broadcast data; A cable broadcast tuner capable of receiving cable broadcasts; A cable broadcast demodulator for demodulating the cable broadcast data; A cable modem unit for modulating and demodulating the cable communication data; And an output terminal of the terrestrial broadcast tuner, and when receiving the terrestrial broadcast, connects the output of the terrestrial broadcast tuner to the terrestrial demodulator and, when receiving the cable broadcast, outputs the terrestrial broadcast tuner to the cable modem unit. It includes an RF switching unit for connecting to.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a composite broadcast reception method including a terrestrial broadcast tuner capable of receiving terrestrial broadcast and cable communication data, a terrestrial broadcast demodulator for demodulating the terrestrial broadcast data, and cable broadcast reception. A cable broadcast tuner, a cable broadcast demodulator for demodulating the cable broadcast data, and a cable modem unit for modulation and demodulation of the cable communication data, the composite broadcast receiving apparatus capable of receiving terrestrial broadcast and cable broadcast A combined broadcast reception method, comprising: connecting an output of the terrestrial broadcast tuner to a terrestrial demodulator when the terrestrial broadcast is received; And connecting the output of the terrestrial broadcast tuner to the cable modem unit when the cable broadcast is received.

Here, the cable broadcast is preferably according to the open cable standard.

In addition, the cable modem unit is preferably in accordance with OOB and / or DSG standards.

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

FIG. 4 is an example of applying the present invention to a broadcast receiving apparatus incorporating an OOB modem, such as the broadcast receiving apparatus 100 of the prior art illustrated in FIG. 1.

In the broadcast receiving apparatus 200 of the first embodiment, unlike the conventional broadcast reception neglect 100 illustrated in FIG. 1, the OOB QPSK tuner 3 is not provided, and the terrestrial broadcast tuner 1 is a terrestrial broadcast. It also functions as a receive tuner and a cable communication tuner. Since the user does not watch the terrestrial broadcast and the cable broadcast at the same time, it is possible to achieve the simplification of the apparatus and the reduction of the manufacturing cost without impairing the original function of the set-top box by the above configuration.

The RF switching unit 105 of the illustrated embodiment is connected to the A terminal at the time of cable broadcasting viewing, and the downlink data for cable communication is transmitted to the modem through the terrestrial broadcasting tuner 1. In addition, the terrestrial broadcasting tuner 1 performs a function of a tuner for terrestrial broadcasting when terrestrial broadcasting is being watched, and the RF switching unit 105 is connected to the B terminal, through which terrestrial broadcasting data is demodulated. It is passed to the processor 11.

FIG. 5 is an example of applying the present invention to a broadcast receiving device with a built-in DSG modem, such as the conventional broadcast receiving device 300 illustrated in FIG. 2.

In the broadcast receiving device 400 of the second embodiment, unlike the prior art broadcast receiving device 300 illustrated in FIG. 2, the DOCSIS tuner 5 is not provided, and the terrestrial broadcast tuner 1 is the number of terrestrial broadcasts. It also functions as a credit tuner and a tuner for cable communication.

The RF switching unit 305 of the illustrated embodiment is connected to the A terminal at the time of cable broadcasting viewing, and the downlink data for cable communication is transmitted to the modem through the terrestrial broadcasting tuner 1. In addition, the terrestrial broadcasting tuner 1 performs a function of a tuner for terrestrial broadcasting when terrestrial broadcasting is being watched, and the RF switching unit 105 is connected to the B terminal, through which terrestrial broadcasting data is demodulated. It is passed to the processor 11.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example in which the present invention is applied to a broadcast receiving apparatus in which both OOB and DSG type modems are incorporated, such as the conventional broadcast receiving apparatus 500 illustrated in FIG. 3.

In the broadcast receiving device 600 of the third embodiment, unlike the prior art broadcast receiving device 500 illustrated in FIG. 3, the OOB QPSK tuner 3 and the DOCSIS tuner 5 are not provided, and the terrestrial broadcast tuner is not provided. (1) serves as a tuner for terrestrial broadcast reception and a cable communication tuner.

The RF switching unit 505 of the illustrated embodiment is connected to the A terminal at the time of cable broadcasting viewing, and the downlink data for cable communication is transmitted to the modem through the terrestrial broadcasting tuner 1. In addition, the terrestrial broadcasting tuner 1 performs a function of a tuner for terrestrial broadcasting when terrestrial broadcasting is being watched, and the RF switching unit 105 is connected to the B terminal, through which terrestrial broadcasting data is demodulated. It is passed to the processor 11.

7 shows a flow of a preferred embodiment of a composite broadcast reception method of the present invention. After checking whether the user requests to watch the cable broadcast (S20), in order to watch the cable broadcast, the output of the terrestrial broadcast tuner 1 is connected to the terminal A of the RF switching unit 105, 305, 505 (S30). . In this case, the terrestrial broadcast tuner 1 receives the DSG or OOB communication data (S40) to watch the cable broadcast (S50). In addition, when the cable broadcast is to watch the terrestrial broadcast, by connecting the output of the terrestrial broadcast tuner 1 to the terminal B of the RF switching unit 105, 305, 505 (S25), the terrestrial broadcast is watched.

The apparatus and method for receiving a composite broadcast according to the present invention can be modified and applied in various forms within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above preferred embodiment. In addition, the embodiments and drawings are merely for the purpose of describing the contents of the invention in detail, and are not intended to limit the scope of the technical idea of the invention, the present invention described above is common knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs As those skilled in the art can have various substitutions, modifications, and changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, it is not limited to the embodiments and the accompanying drawings. And should be judged to include equality.

According to the present invention, a terrestrial and open cable hybrid set-top box utilizes a terrestrial broadcast tuner not used for cable broadcasting for cable communication (OOB and / or DSG) to simplify the device, reduce the size of the device, and reduce manufacturing costs. Will be obtained.

Claims (6)

In the composite broadcast receiving apparatus capable of receiving terrestrial broadcasting and cable broadcasting, A terrestrial broadcast tuner capable of receiving terrestrial broadcast and cable communication data; A terrestrial broadcast demodulator for demodulating the terrestrial broadcast data; A cable broadcast tuner capable of receiving cable broadcasts; A cable broadcast demodulator for demodulating the cable broadcast data; A cable modem unit for modulating and demodulating the cable communication data; And The terrestrial broadcast tuner is connected to an output terminal of the terrestrial broadcast tuner. When the terrestrial broadcast is received, the terrestrial demodulator is connected to an output of the terrestrial broadcast tuner. Composite broadcast receiver comprising an RF switching unit for connecting. The method of claim 1, The cable broadcast is a composite broadcast receiver, characterized in that according to the open cable standard. The method of claim 1, The cable modem unit according to the OOB and / or DSG standard characterized in that the composite broadcast receiving device. A terrestrial broadcast tuner capable of receiving terrestrial broadcast and cable communication data, a terrestrial broadcast demodulator for demodulating the terrestrial broadcast data, a cable broadcast tuner capable of receiving cable broadcast, and a cable for demodulation processing of the cable broadcast data In the composite broadcast receiving method using a composite broadcast receiving apparatus comprising a broadcast demodulation unit and a cable modem unit for modulating and demodulating the cable communication data, the terrestrial broadcast and cable broadcast can be received. Connecting the terrestrial demodulator to an output of the terrestrial broadcast tuner when the terrestrial broadcast is received; And And connecting the output of the terrestrial broadcast tuner to the cable modem unit when the cable broadcast is received. The method of claim 4, wherein The cable broadcast is a composite broadcast receiving method according to the open cable standard. The method of claim 4, wherein The cable modem unit according to the OOB and / or DSG standard characterized in that the composite broadcast reception method.

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