HK1088479B - Digital cable tv receiver and diagnosis method for the same - Google Patents

Description

Digital cable television receiver and diagnosis method thereof

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority from korean patent application No.10-2004-0061804, filed 8/5/2004, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a cable broadcast program receiver and transmitter, and more particularly, to a digital cable TV receiver, a diagnosis method thereof, and a data structure of an HDMI status report, in which the program receiver provides status information of a plurality of peripheral devices connected to the cable broadcast program receiver (or the digital cable TV receiver) through a DVI link or an HDMI link.

Background

In general, Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is a transmission standard established by a collaborative organization called the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG), which is created by a group of leaders in the computer industry. A Personal Computer (PC) is digitally connected to a flat panel monitor using DVI. More specifically, the DVI is a standard for digitally connecting signals exchanged between a PC and a monitor. DVI has been mainly adopted for peripheral devices such as personal computers, office projectors, general plasma displays, and electric control boards (electronic boards) used by being connected to PCs. And, recently, DVI has also been adopted in digital Television (TV) receivers and cable digital Television (TV) receivers. Before the DVI standard was developed, digital signals were exchanged through a complicated process. First, the PC creates digital data. Then, even if the digital display device is capable of receiving digital data, the digital data transmitted from the PC is converted into analog data, and the analog signal is converted back into digital data and then transmitted to the digital display device. Therefore, in order to avoid such a complicated process, the DVI standard has been developed to allow digital data created from a PC to be directly digitally transmitted to a display device through a cable. In the DVI standard, a digital broadcasting signal without compression is transmitted in a single direction.

High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a transmission standard that enables digital audio and video signals to be connected by a single cable without compression. More specifically, since transmission of a plurality of channels (5.1 channels) can be performed in the case of an audio signal, it will be more accurate to refer to the interface as a multimedia interface rather than a video interface. In other words, the difference between HDMI and DVI is that HDMI is smaller than DVI because DVI provides a high-bandwidth digital content protection (HDCP) encoding function therein and supports audio of multiple channels. Thus, the HDMI standard enables DVI to be adopted in both audio and video electronic devices, whereas the DVI standard can adopt DVI interfaces only in video electronic devices. Therefore, since HDMI is considered as an updated version of DVI, the related industry is beginning to update input/display interfaces applied to digital Televisions (TVs) and set-top boxes from the DVI standard to the HDMI standard. Since the HDMI standard is a combination of HDCP and audio signals (EIA/CEA-861) based on DVI, the HDMI standard is also referred to as DVI-HDMI. However, in order to clearly distinguish HDMI from DVI in the present invention, the HDMI standard is simply referred to as "HDMI". Also, the DVI/HDMI referred to in the present invention means "DVI and/or HDMI" and is distinguished from the term "DVI-HDMI".

Meanwhile, the cable broadcasting system widely includes a cable broadcasting station (or a cable TV station) and a cable broadcasting program receiver (or a digital cable TV receiver). Here, the cable broadcasting station is a transmitting and receiving end that transmits a cable broadcasting program, and the cable broadcasting program receiver receives the transmitted cable broadcasting program. The cable broadcast station may be referred to as an SO-end (head-end) or MSO head-end. The SO refers to a System Operator (SO), which is a korean cable System Operator (i.e., a local cable TV System Operator), and the MSO refers to a plurality of System operators (MSP), which is a group of System operators.

Also, the cable broadcast program receiver employs an open cable in which a point of deployment (POD) module including a Conditional Access (CA) system is separated (or detached) from the main body. For example, the POD module uses a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) card, which can be mounted to or separated from a main body slot of the cable broadcast program receiver. Therefore, the POD module may also be referred to as a cable card, and the main body into which the POD module is inserted is referred to as a host. For example, a digital built-in TV or a digital Ready (Ready) TV corresponds to a host, and a combination of the host and the POD module is referred to as a cable broadcast program receiver. At this time, the host may be connected to other peripheral devices (e.g., a digital TV, a DVD player, a digital camera/camcorder, a set-top box, etc.) through one of a DVI link and an HDMI link. More specifically, one or more DVI ports or HDMI ports may be present within the host. Accordingly, a plurality of peripheral devices can be connected to the host through DVI link or HDMI link.

Meanwhile, in the open cable standard, in which the POD module is separated from the main body, a diagnostic function is provided to allow monitoring of each state of the main body. The diagnostic function checks various states such as the operation state of the host and the connection state of the peripheral device. For example, in the STCE 282004 standard, a generic diagnostic protocol is defined at the host POD interface resource layer. A generic diagnostic protocol has been defined to allow monitoring of each status information of a host in real time by a local broadcast station (local, subscriber) or cable broadcast station (remote, MSO headend). Here, the following diagnostics defined by the generic diagnostic protocol are shown in table 1 below:

TABLE 1

Diagnostic ID	Diagnosis of
		00	Set-top memory allocation
01	Software version
		02	Firmware version
03	MAC state
		04	FAT state
05	FDC State
		06	Current channel reporting
07	1394 port
		08	DVI status
09～FF	Reserved for future use

More specifically, when a diagnostic request is transmitted from the POD module to the host, and when the diagnostic ID is '08', the specific contents of the request include verifying the DVI status of the host and reporting the verified DVI status to the POD module.

Fig. 1 shows an example of a Diagnostic validation Object Syntax (Diagnostic Confirm Object Syntax) utilized by the host to verify DVI status and send reports to the POD module. More specifically, the POD module analyzes the Diagnostic _ cnf APDU (i.e., diagnosis confirmation object syntax) transmitted from the host and analyzes the report syntax corresponding to each diagnosis ID, thereby extracting status information for each diagnosis item. For example, in the diagnosis confirmation object syntax of fig. 1, when the analyzed diagnosis ID is '0 x 08', the DVI status report syntax is analyzed, thereby extracting DVI status information. In other words, when the POD module sends a Diagnostic request (Diagnostic _ req APDU) to the host to request the host to verify the DVI status and report the verified result back to the POD module, the host checks the DVI status and sends the result back to the POD module in the form of DVI status report syntax (Diagnostic _ cnf APDU). Therefore, according to the general diagnostic protocol shown in fig. 1, the POD module cannot request HDMI status information from the host, and the host cannot provide any HDMI status information to the POD module.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a digital cable TV receiver, a diagnosis method thereof, and a data structure of an HDMI status report that substantially obviate one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a digital cable TV receiver, a diagnosis method thereof, and a data structure of an HDMI status report, which can transmit an HDMI status information request from a POD module and which can verify an HDMI status and transmit the result of the verification from a host to the POD module.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a digital cable TV receiver, a diagnosis method thereof, and a data structure of an HDMI status report, which can extend a general diagnosis protocol defined in the SCTE 28 standard (wherein "SCTE" stands for the society of cable communication engineers) so that a POD module can transmit an HDMI status information request.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a digital cable TV receiver, a diagnosis method thereof, and a data structure of an HDMI status report, which can extend a general diagnosis protocol defined in the SCTE 28 standard so that a host can verify an HDMI status and transmit the result of the verification to a POD module.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a digital cable TV receiver, a diagnosis method thereof, and a data structure of an HDMI status report, which can extend a general diagnosis protocol defined in the SCTE 28 standard so that all status information can be transmitted to a POD module when a plurality of peripheral devices are simultaneously connected to a host through a DVI/HDMI port.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a digital cable TV receiver includes a POD module, and a host device including a controller and an HDMI port linked to a peripheral device, wherein the controller generates an HDMI status report including HDMI status information associated with the peripheral device and transmits the HDMI status report to the POD module when a diagnostic request for HDMI status is received from the POD module.

In another aspect of the present invention, a diagnostic method for a digital cable TV receiver includes: receiving a diagnosis request for the HDMI status from the POD module; and performing a diagnostic function in response to the diagnostic request by generating an HDMI status report including HDMI status information associated with a peripheral device linked to the HDMI port and sending the HDMI status report to the POD module.

In another aspect of the present invention, a data structure of an HDMI status report for use in a digital cable TV receiver includes: a connection status field indicating whether a connection exists on the HDMI port, and HDMI status information associated with a peripheral device linked to the HDMI port.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a digital cable TV receiver includes a POD module, and a host device including a controller, an HDMI port, linked to a first peripheral device; and a DVI port linked to the second peripheral device, the controller generating an HDMI/DVI status report including HDMI status information associated with the first peripheral device and DVI status information associated with the second peripheral device and transmitting the HDMI/DVI status report to the POD module upon receiving a diagnostic request for HDMI/DVI status from the POD module.

In another aspect of the present invention, a diagnostic method for a digital cable TV receiver includes: the method includes receiving a diagnostic request for HDMI/DVI status from the POD module, and performing a diagnostic function in response to the diagnostic request by generating and transmitting an HDMI/DVI status report to the POD module, the HDMI/DVI status report including HDMI status information associated with a first peripheral device linked to the HDMI port and DVI status information associated with a second peripheral device linked to the DVI port.

In still another aspect of the present invention, a data structure of an HDMI/DVI status report for use in a digital cable TV receiver includes: a connection status field indicating whether a connection exists on any one of the HDMI port and the DVI port, HDMI status information associated with a first peripheral device linked to the HDMI port, and DVI status information associated with a second peripheral device linked to the DVI port.

Specifically, the present invention provides a digital cable TV receiver comprising: a POD module, and a host device comprising a controller and an HDMI port linked to a peripheral device, wherein the controller generates and sends an HDMI status report to the POD module when a diagnostic request for HDMI status is received from the POD module, the HDMI status report including HDMI status information associated with the peripheral device. Wherein the HDMI status information includes at least one of an audio encoding type, a sampling frequency, and a sampling size related to audio used on an HDMI port linked to the peripheral device.

The present invention also provides a digital cable TV receiver, comprising: a POD module; and a host device including a controller and a plurality of HDMI ports respectively linked to the plurality of peripheral devices, wherein when a diagnosis of HDMI status is received from the POD module, the controller generates and transmits an HDMI status report to the POD module, the HDMI status report including a plurality of HDMI status information respectively associated with the plurality of peripheral devices, wherein the HDMI status information includes at least one of an audio encoding type, a sampling frequency, and a sampling size related to audio used on one of the plurality of HDMI ports.

The present invention also provides a diagnostic method for a digital cable TV receiver, the method comprising: receiving a diagnosis request for the HDMI status from the POD module; and performing a diagnostic function by generating and transmitting an HDMI status report to the POD module in response to the diagnostic request, the HDMI status report including HDMI status information associated with a peripheral device linked to the HMDI port, wherein the HDMI status information includes at least one of an audio encoding type, a sampling frequency, and a sampling size related to audio used on the HDMI port.

The present invention also provides a diagnostic method for a digital cable TV receiver, the method comprising: receiving a diagnosis request for the HDMI status from the POD module; and performing a diagnostic function by generating and transmitting an HDMI status report to the POD module in response to the diagnostic request, the HDMI status report including a plurality of HDMI status information associated with a plurality of peripheral devices respectively linked to the plurality of HMDI ports, wherein the HDMI status information includes at least one of an audio encoding type, a sampling frequency, and a sampling size related to audio used on one of the plurality of HDMI ports.

The present invention also provides a digital cable TV receiver comprising: a POD module; and a host device including a controller, an HDMI port linked to the first peripheral device, and a DVI port linked to the second peripheral device, the controller generating and transmitting an HDMI/DVI status report to the POD module when a diagnostic request for HDMI/DVI status is received from the POD module, the HDMI/DVI status report including HDMI status information associated with the first peripheral device and DVI status information associated with the second peripheral device, wherein the HDMI status information includes at least one of an audio encoding type, a sampling frequency, and a sampling size related to audio used on the HDMI port linked to the first peripheral device.

The present invention also provides a diagnostic method for a digital cable TV receiver, the method comprising: receiving a diagnosis request for the HDMI/DVI status from the POD module; and performing a diagnostic function by generating an HDMI/DVI status report including HDMI status information associated with a first peripheral device linked to the HDMI port and DVI status information associated with a second peripheral device linked to the DVI port and transmitting the HDMI/DVI status report to the POD module in response to the diagnostic request, wherein the HDMI status information includes at least one of an audio encoding type, a sampling frequency, and a sampling size related to audio used on the HDMI port linked to the first peripheral device.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. At least one of (a).

The present invention also provides a diagnostic method for a digital cable TV receiver, the method comprising: receiving a diagnosis request for the HDMI status from the POD module; and performing a diagnostic function by generating and transmitting an HDMI status report to the POD module in response to the diagnostic request, the HDMI status report including HDMI status information associated with a peripheral device linked to the HMDI port, wherein the HDMI status information includes at least one of an audio encoding type, a sampling frequency, and a sampling size related to audio used on the HDMI port.

The present invention also provides a diagnostic method for a digital cable TV receiver, the method comprising: receiving a diagnosis request for the HDMI status from the POD module; and performing a diagnostic function by generating and transmitting an HDMI status report to the POD module in response to the diagnostic request, the HDMI status report including a plurality of HDMI status information associated with a plurality of peripheral devices respectively linked to the plurality of HMDI ports, wherein the HDMI status information includes at least one of an audio encoding type, a sampling frequency, and a sampling size related to audio used on one of the plurality of HDMI ports.

The present invention also provides a digital cable TV receiver comprising: a POD module; and a host device including a controller, an HDMI port linked to the first peripheral device, and a DVI port linked to the second peripheral device, the controller generating and transmitting an HDMI/DVI status report to the POD module when a diagnostic request for HDMI/DVI status is received from the POD module, the HDMI/DVI status report including HDMI status information associated with the first peripheral device and DVI status information associated with the second peripheral device, wherein the HDMI status information includes at least one of an audio encoding type, a sampling frequency, and a sampling size related to audio used on the HDMI port linked to the first peripheral device.

The present invention also provides a diagnostic method for a digital cable TV receiver, the method comprising: receiving a diagnosis request for the HDMI/DVI status from the POD module; and performing a diagnostic function by generating an HDMI/DVI status report including HDMI status information associated with a first peripheral device linked to the HDMI port and DVI status information associated with a second peripheral device linked to the DVI port and transmitting the HDMI/DVI status report to the POD module in response to the diagnostic request, wherein the HDMI status information includes at least one of an audio encoding type, a sampling frequency, and a sampling size related to audio used on the HDMI port linked to the first peripheral device.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. In an example, the POD module sends a Diagnostic request (Diagnostic _ req APDU) to the host, and the host sends a Diagnostic result (Diagnostic _ cnf APDU) to the POD module. More specifically, when the POD module receives the Diagnostic command, the POD module sends a Diagnostic request (Diagnostic _ req APDU) to the host. Here, the diagnosis request may be transmitted from the cable broadcasting station to the POD module, or may be directly input to the POD module by the user using a remote controller. Alternatively, even when a diagnostic request is not sent from the POD module, the system status may also be regularly (periodically) verified from the host, and a corresponding result may be sent to the POD module.

For example, assuming that a cable broadcast program is not normally displayed, and if a diagnosis command option, which can be selected by a user through a remote controller or a menu screen, is provided, the user can select the diagnosis command option by using the remote controller or the menu screen. If the user is in an environment where he/she cannot directly select the diagnosis command, the user may contact the cable broadcasting station through a phone or the internet. Thereafter, the cable broadcasting station will transmit a diagnostic command to the POD module of the corresponding digital cable TV receiver.

Meanwhile, the host receiving the Diagnostic request (Diagnostic _ req APDU) from the POD module verifies the status of each Diagnostic item corresponding to the Diagnostic ID. Then, the host reports the verified result (Diagnostic _ cnf APDU) to the POD module. The POD module may either transmit the verified result (Diagnostic _ cnf APDU) received from the host to the cable broadcasting station or may display the verified result (Diagnostic _ cnf APDU) to the user through the OSD Diagnostic application of the host. For example, if bidirectional transmission is possible between a cable broadcasting station (or cable TV station) and a cable broadcast program receiver (or digital cable TV receiver), the diagnosis result is transmitted to the cable broadcasting station through 00B. At this time, the diagnosis result may be simultaneously transmitted to the cable broadcasting station and displayed on the TV screen through the OSD diagnosis application. If the digital cable TV receiver is unidirectional, the diagnostic result is displayed on the TV screen number through the OSD diagnostic application. And, when the user notifies the cable broadcasting station of the displayed contents, the cable broadcasting station performs an operation according to the diagnosis result, for example, per-user or cable/wireless after-sales service (after-services).

In the present invention, the universal diagnostic protocol is extended so that the POD module can request the host to perform diagnostics of DVI/HDMI status, and the host can also verify DVI/HDMI status and send corresponding status information back to the POD module. More specifically, the definition of the diagnostic items designated as diagnostic IDs of 0x08 within the generic diagnostic protocol is extended as shown in table 2 below. And, the DVI status report syntax is extended as the DVI/HDMI status report syntax shown in fig. 4A to 4C. In other words, the POD module includes a Diagnostic ID (e.g., 0x08) requesting a DVI/HDMI status to be diagnosed within the Diagnostic _ req APDU and transmits the Diagnostic _ req APDU to the host. Subsequently, the host includes all the status information of all the peripheral devices connected to the host through any one of the DVI link and the HDMI link within the Diagnostic _ cnf APDU, and sends the Diagnostic _ cnf APDU back to the POD module. Table 2 shows diagnostic items defined in the extended universal diagnostic protocol according to the present invention and an ID assigned to each diagnostic item.

TABLE 2

Diagnostic ID	Diagnosis of
		00	Set-top memory allocation
01	Software version
		02	Firmware version
03	MAC state

04	FAT state
		05	FDC State
06	Current channel reporting
		07	1394 port
08	DVI/HDMI status
		09～FF	Reserved for future use

Here, the diagnosis ID and the item marked in bold italics are newly defined within the universal diagnosis protocol according to the present invention. More specifically, in the new definition, when the diagnostic ID is 0x08, verification and reporting of all DVI status and HDMI status are requested. Table 2 above shows an embodiment having an HDMI state requesting a diagnostic ID for diagnosis added to the request-for-diagnosis-DVI state.

Fig. 3 shows an example of a diagnostic validation object syntax according to the present invention, which verifies a DVI or HDMI link from a host and reports the result to a POD module. More specifically, when the diagnostic ID is 0x08, the HMDI _ DVI _ status _ report () of fig. 4A and 4C is analyzed, and the state information of the DVI link and the HMDI link is extracted.

Fig. 4A to 4C illustrate examples of DVI/HDMI status report syntax of the universal diagnostic protocol according to the present invention. More specifically, the remaining fields, except for the connection _ status field, host _ HDCP _ status field, Device _ HDCP _ status field, video _ format field, horizontal _ lines field, vertical _ lines field, scan _ rate field, aspect _ ratio field, and prog _ inter _ type field, are status information newly defined in the present invention. However, the definition of each of the above fields is also extended to the HDMI link. Hereinafter, the DVI/HDMI status report syntax of fig. 4A to 4C will be described in detail.

First, the connection _ status field indicates whether a connection exists on the DVI port or the HDMI port of the host. And, when the connection _ status field value is' 00₂' then no DVI or HDMI link (or connection) exists. Therefore, only when the connection _ status field value is not' 00₂DVI/HDMI status information is created. More specifically, when the connection _ status field value is not' 00₂' only IF conditional statement ' IF (connection _ status | ═ 0x00) { } ' can be executed. Further, when the peripheral device is connected to the host through the DVI link or the HDMI link, the connection _ count field is allocated with 8 bits and indicates the number of DVI/HDMI links. For example, when a DVD player is connected to a host through a DVI link and a set-top box is connected to the host through an HDMI link, the connection _ status field value is '2'.

Also, when at least one or, more particularly, a plurality of peripheral devices are connected to the host through a DVI/HDMI link, all state information is transmitted to the POD module using a FOR loop statement 'FOR (i ═ 0; i < connection _ count; i + + { }' (which is repeatedly performed the same number of times as the connection _ status field value). The FOR loop repetition number is identical to a connection _ count field value indicating the number of peripheral devices connected to the host through the DVI/HDMI link. FOR example, when the connection _ count field value is equal to '2', the FOR loop is repeated twice. In other words, every time the FOR loop is executed, the status information of the HDMI link is created and transmitted to the POD module. Therefore, when the FOR loop is repeated twice, status information of a plurality of DVI/HDMI links is created and transmitted to the POD module.

Then, it will be saidA field that is explicit within a repeat statement configured with a FOR loop. The connection _ no field is allocated with 8 bits and is defined to indicate the order (order) of DVI/HDMI linking. More specifically, when a plurality of peripheral devices are connected to the host through DVI links or HDMI links, the order includes the order of the DVI/HDMI links (which have their current status information created and transmitted). Further, the connection _ mode field is allocated with one (1) bit and indicates whether the state information currently created in the FOR loop corresponds to a DVI connection or an HDMI link. FOR example, when the peripheral device is currently linked to the host through the HDMI link, the connection _ mode field value within the FOR loop is set to '1'. In contrast, when the connection _ mode field value is '0', this indicates that the peripheral device is currently connected to the host through the DVI link. 2 bits are allocated to the connection _ type field. Here, the connection _ type field indicates, for each DVI/HDMI link, a connection type between the corresponding peripheral device and the host. In other words, the connection _ type field indicates whether a DVI/HDMI port of the host connected to the corresponding peripheral device is a DVI/HDMI input port, a DVI/HDMI output port, or a DVI/HDMI input/output port. For example,' 00₂'indicating DVI/HDMI input port (i.e., input connection only)' 01₂'stands for DVI/HDMI output port (i.e., output connection only)' 10₂' indicates a DVI/HDMI input/output port (i.e., input/output connection). Furthermore,' 11₂' represents an unused (or reserved) state.

The host _ HDCP _ status field indicates whether HDCP is enabled within the DVI/HDMI link. (here, 'HDCP' stands for high bandwidth digital content protection standard). For example, when the host _ HDCP _ status field value is' 00₂When' then HDCP is disabled. The Device _ HDCP _ status field indicates the HDCP status of a peripheral Device connected to the host through the DVI/HDMI port. The video _ format field indicates a current video format used on the DVI/HDMI port. The horizontal _ lines field, vertical _ lines field, scan _ rate field, aspect _ ratio field, and prog _ inter _ type field create information corresponding to a video format within the DVI/HDMI link.

The field to be defined now corresponds to HDMI state information created when the peripheral device is connected to the host through the HDMI link, i.e., when the current connection _ mode field value within the FOR loop is equal to '1'. The auxilliary _ information _ status field is allocated with 5 bits and defined to indicate status information of a peripheral device connected with the host through the HDMI connection. Hereinafter, the definition of each auxilliary _ status field value will be explained in detail.

For example, when the value is 00000₂When the auxiliary information (auxiliary information, only video format) does not exist. When the value is 00001₂When there is Auxiliary Video Information (AVI) InfoFrame information, and when the value is 00010₂When there is AUDIO InfoFrame information. When the value is 00100₂When there is Source Product Description (SPD) InfoFrame information, and when the value is 01000₂When there is MPEG source InfoFrame information. And when the value is 10000₂When there is General Control (GC) InfoFrame information. Therefore, when the value is 00011₂When there is both AVI InfoFrame information and AUDIO InfoFrame information. And similarly, when the value is 11111₂When there is all AVI InfoFrame information, AUDIOInfoFrame information, SPD InfoFrame information, MPEG source InfoFrame information, and GC InfoFrame information. For example, when a DVD player is currently connected to a host through an HDMI link, and when AVI information, AUDIO information, and MPEG information are transmitted, the value of the AUDIO _ information _ status field is equal to' 01011₂'. Also, AVI information, AUDIO information, and MPEG information are created from AVI _ info { } syntax, AUDIO _ info { } syntax, and MPEG _ info { } syntax. Therefore, when analyzing the value of the auxilliary _ information _ status field, and when the corresponding value is equal to' 01011₂' at this time, the AVI _ info { } syntax, the AUDIO _ info { } syntax, and the MPEG _ info { } syntax are analyzed, thereby extracting AVI information, AUDIO information, and MPEG information.

Hereinafter, the process of creating the AVI information, AUDIO information, SPD information, MPEG information, and GC information will be described in detail. More specifically, when the logical product (or logical product, logical and) between the value of the auxiary _ information _ status field and 0x01 is equal to '1', the current AVI information used within the HDMI port is created by using the AVI information field newly defined later in the AVI _ info { } syntax. The newly defined AVI information field includes a version field, a color _ space field, an active _ format field, a bar _ info field, a scan _ info field, an aspect _ ratio field, an active _ format _ aspect _ ratio field, a picture _ scaling field, a video _ id _ code field, and a pixel _ repetition field.

The version field indicates the AVI InfoFrame version. The color _ space field indicates color space information associated with the video on the current HDMI link. For example, each value indicates the following:

00₂＝RGB；

01₂＝YCbCr 4:2:2；

10₂YCbCr 4:4: 4; and

11₂reserved.

The active _ format field indicates the format of the now active (active) associated with the video on the HDMI link. For example, each value indicates the following:

0₂no data; and

1₂information is valid for the current (active) format.

The bar _ info field indicates bar (bar) information associated with video over the HDMI link. For example, each value indicates the following:

00₂the strip data is invalid;

01₂vertical bar information is valid;

10₂horizontal bar information is valid; and

11₂vertical and horizontal bar information is valid.

The scan _ info field indicates scan information associated with the video on the HDMI link. For example, each value indicates the following:

00₂no data;

01₂overscan (television);

10₂underscan (computer); and

11₂reserved.

The colorimetry field indicates colorimetry information associated with a video on the HDMI link. For example, each value indicates the following:

00₂no data;

01₂SMPTE 170M or ITU 601;

10₂ITU 709; and

11₂reserved.

The aspect _ ratio field indicates a picture aspect ratio (aspect ratio) associated with the video on the HDMI link. For example, each value indicates the following:

00₂no data;

01₂＝4∶3；

10₂16: 9; and

11₂reserved.

The active _ format _ aspect _ ratio field indicates the active format aspect ratio associated with video over the HDMI link. For example, each value indicates the following:

1000₂the ratio of the width to the height of the picture is the same;

1001₂4: 3 (center);

1010₂16: 9 (center);

1011₂＝14∶9(center); and

other according to DVB AFD current format field.

The picture _ scaling field indicates a non-uniform picture scaling (scaling) associated with the video on the HDMI link. For example, each value indicates the following:

00₂no known non-uniform scaling;

01₂the picture has been scaled in the horizontal direction;

10₂the picture has been scaled in the vertical direction; and

11₂the picture has been scaled horizontally and vertically.

The video _ id _ code field indicates a video identification code of the CEA short descriptor associated with the video over the HDMI link. And, the pixel _ repetition field indicates a pixel repetition associated with the video on the HDMI link. For example, each value indicates the following:

0000₂no repetition (i.e., sending a pixel once);

0001₂sending a pixel 2 times (i.e., repeating once);

0010₂sending the pixel 3 times;

0011₂sending pixel 4 times;

0100₂sending pixel 5 times;

0101₂sending pixel 6 times;

0110₂sending pixel 7 times;

0111₂sending pixel 8 times;

1000₂sending pixel 9 times;

1001₂sending pixel 10 times; and

others remain.

Meanwhile, when the logical product (or logical multiplication, logical and) of the AUDIO _ information _ status field value and 0x02 is equal to '1', current AUDIO information used within the HDMI port is created by using an AUDIO information field newly defined later within the AUDIO _ info { } syntax. In other words, when the logical product (or logical multiplication, logical and) of the auxiliary _ information _ status field value and 0x02 is equal to '1', it indicates Auxiliary Video Information (AVI) InfoFrame currently used at the HDMI port. The newly defined audio information field includes a version field, an audio _ coding _ type field, an audio _ channel _ count field, a sampling _ frequency field, a sample _ size field, a max _ bit _ rate field, a distributor _ allocation field, a down _ mix field, and a level _ shift _ value field.

The version field indicates the AUDIO InfoFrame version. And, the audio _ coding _ type field indicates an audio coding category associated with audio on the HDMI link. For example, each value indicates the following:

0000₂a reference stream header;

0001₂＝IEC60958 PCM；

0010₂＝AC-3；

0011₂MPEG1 (layer 1)&2)；

0100₂MP3(MPEG1 layer 3);

0101₂MPEG2 (multi-channel);

0110₂＝AAC；

0111₂＝DTS；

1000₂ATRAC; and

others remain.

The audio _ channel _ count field indicates an audio channel count associated with audio on the HDMI link. For example, each value indicates the following:

000₂a reference stream header;

001₂＝2ch；

010₂＝3ch；

011₂＝4ch；

100₂＝5ch；

101₂＝6ch；

110₂7 ch; and

111₂＝8ch。

the sampling _ frequency field indicates the sampling frequency count associated with the audio over the HDMI link. For example, each value indicates the following:

000₂a reference stream header;

001₂＝32kHz；

010₂＝44.1kHz(CD)；

011₂＝48kHz；

100₂＝88.2kHz；

101₂＝96kHz；

110₂176.4 kHz; and

111₂＝192kHz。

the sample _ size field indicates the sample size associated with the audio on the HDMI link. For example, each value indicates the following:

00₂a reference stream header;

01₂16 bits;

10₂20 bits; and

11₂24 bits.

The max _ bit _ rate field indicates the maximum bit rate associated with the audio over the HDMI link. The speedeaneration field indicates the speaker allocation associated with the audio over the HDMI link. Also, the down _ mix field indicates a downmix associated with audio over the HDMI link. For example, each value indicates the following:

0₂information on any establishment (assertion) allowed or not related thereto; and

1₂forbidden.

The level _ shift _ value field indicates a level shift value associated with audio on the HDMI link. Here, the level _ shift _ value field uses a dB unit. Meanwhile, when the logical product (or logical multiplication, logical and) of the auxiary _ information _ status field value and 0x04 is equal to '1', current Source Product Description (SPD) information used within the HDMI port is created by using an SPD information field newly defined later within the SPD _ info { } syntax. In other words, when the logical product (or logical multiplication, logical and) of the auxilliary _ information _ status field value and 0x04 is equal to '1', it indicates the SPD InfoFrame currently used at the HDMI port. The newly defined SPD information field includes a version field, a source _ device _ info field, a video _ name _ character1 through a layer _ name _ character8 field, and product _ description _ character1 through product _ description _ character 16 fields.

The version field indicates the version of the SPD InfoFrame. The source _ device _ info field indicates source device information associated with a source product description format on the HDMI link. For example, each value indicates the following:

00_hunknown;

01_h-a digital STB;

02_h＝DVD；

03_h＝D-VHS；

04_h＝HDD Video；

05_h＝DVC；

06_h＝DSC；

07_h＝V CD(Video CD)；

08_hgame;

09_hcommon PC; and

others remain.

The vendor _ name _ character 1-8 fields each indicate a vendor name character associated with the source product description format on the HDMI link. These fields correspond to 7-bit ASCII encoding. And, the product _ description _ chart1 · 16 fields each indicate a product description character associated with the source product description format on the HDMI link. These fields also correspond to 7-bit ASCII encoding. Meanwhile, when the logical product (or logical multiplication, logical and) of the auxiary _ information _ status field value and 0x08 is equal to '1', current MPEG information used within the HDMI port is created by using an MPEG information field newly defined later within the MPEG _ info { } syntax. In other words, when the logical product (or logical multiplication, logical and) of the auxiliary _ information _ status field value and 0x08 is equal to '1', it indicates the MPEG InfoFrame currently used at the HDMI port. Here, the newly defined MPEG information fields include a version field, an MPEG _ bit _ rate0 through MPEG _ bit _ rate3 field, a field _ repeat field, and an MPEG _ frame field.

The version field indicates the MPEG source InfoFrame version. Also, the MPEG _ bit _ rate 0-3 fields each indicate the MPEG bit rate associated with the MPEG source over the HDMI link. The MPEG bit rate is stored in 32 bits and expressed in Hz units. The mpeg _ bit _ rate0 field includes the least significant byte, and the mpeg _ bit _ rate3 field includes the most significant byte. If the MPEG rate is not known, or if this field is not applied, all bits within the MPEG _ bit _ rate0 ~ 3 field are set to '0'. Such as:

if 10Mbps → 10,000,000Hz (decimal) → 0x 00989680 (hexadecimal) high, low bytes,

mpeg _ bit _ rate 00 x80 low byte;

mpeg_bit_rate1 0x96；

mpeg _ bit _ rate 20 x 98; and

mpeg _ bit _ rate 30 x00 high.

The field _ repeat field indicates the field (field) repetition of the 3: 2 pull-down associated with the MPEG source on the HDMI link. For example, each value indicates the following:

0₂new field (or picture); and

1₂the field is repeated.

The MPEG _ frame field indicates the MPEG frame associated with the MPEG source on the HDMI link. For example, each value indicates the following:

00₂unknown (no data);

01₂i picture;

10₂b picture; and

11₂p pictures.

Meanwhile, when the logical product (or logical multiplication, logical and) of the auxiary _ information _ status field value and 0x10 is equal to '1', current General Control (GC) information used within the HDMI port is created by using a GC information field newly defined later within the GC _ info { } syntax. In other words, when the logical product (or logical multiplication, logical and) of the auxilinary _ information _ status field value and 0x10 is equal to '1', it indicates the GC InfoFrame currently used at the HDMI port. Here, the newly defined GC information field includes a version field and a cp _ byte field. The version field indicates the GC InfoFrame version. And, the cp _ byte field indicates the cp byte associated with the general control packet on the HDMI link. For example, each value indicates the following:

0₂set audio/video to mute (mute); and

1₂audio/video muting is cleared.

As described above, all status information of the HDMI link or DVI link connected to the host is created by using the DVI/HDMI status report syntax. Here, the contents and the number of the fields newly defined in fig. 4 correspond to only the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Thus, the present invention is not limited to the proposed embodiments described herein, as variations and modifications may be made by the standard and system authors (or designers). Also, the contents defined for each value in each field correspond only to the preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not limited to the embodiments described herein.

Referring to fig. 4A to 4C, the host verifies the status of all DVI and HDMI links and creates an HDMI _ DVI status report syntax to be reported to the POD module. First, whether a DVI/HDMI link exists is indicated in the connection _ status field value. Thereafter, when the connection _ status field value is not equal to '0', i.e., when at least one or more DVI/HDMI links exist, the number of DVI/HDMI links existing within the host is indicated in the connection _ status field. Subsequently, the FOR loop is repeated the same number of times as indicated by the connection _ status field. Each time the FOR loop is executed, status information of the DVI link or the HDMI link is created.

Fig. 5 shows an example of a digital cable TV receiver including a DVI/HDMI controller according to the present invention. The digital cable TV receiver broadly includes a host 100, and a POD module 200 that can be mounted to or dismounted (detached) from a slot of the host 100. The host 100 may be used to receive only cable broadcast programs or to receive all types of broadcast programs including cable broadcast programs, ground wave (terrestrial) broadcast programs, or satellite broadcast programs. Fig. 5 shows an example of a cable digital tv that can receive both cable and ground wave broadcast programs.

Further, there are two types of data broadcast program transmission methods in which a data broadcast program such as stock information or weather forecast is transmitted. More specifically, an out-of-band (OOB) method and a DOCSIS set-top gateway (DSG) method are proposed as methods for upstream service within an open cable. A data broadcast program can be viewed while a viewer watches a Television (TV) and selects a desired program. Alternatively, the data broadcast program may be viewed when the viewer directly interacts with the broadcast program or when the viewer selects information he or she needs. The OOB method is most commonly used in the united states, and the DSG method is most commonly used in korea. However, in korea, a discussion of which method is selected as a korean standard is also made. Here, the method types also discussed include a unique OOB method, an OOB/DSG combination method, a unique DSG method, and the like.

The OOB method is a standard that defines a transmission standard of a crossover device and a set-top box within a cable broadcasting station (head end). The DSG method relates to a transmission method between a cable modem control system of a cable broadcasting station and a DOCSIS-based cable modem in a set-top box. DOCSIS refers to the digital cable TV standard adopted by CableLabs, which is the american cable broadcast standard certification organization. The DOCSIS standard can use cable modems to transmit data. An example of a digital cable TV receiver using the OOB/DSG combining method is shown in fig. 5. However, this is only one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and one of a unique OOB digital cable TV receiver and a unique DSG digital cable TV receiver may also be used according to the present invention.

Fig. 6 shows a flowchart of processing steps for creating and transmitting DVI/HDMI status information according to the present invention. Next, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 2 to 6. More specifically, in the host 100, the tuner 101 tunes only a specific channel frequency from a ground wave audio/video (a/V) broadcast transmitted through an antenna and a cable a/V broadcast transmitted in-band through a cable. The tuned channel frequency is then sent to the first demodulator 102. Since each of the ground wave broadcasting and the cable broadcasting has a different transmission method, each of the decoding methods within the first demodulator 102 is also different from each other. In other words, the ground wave a/V broadcasting is demodulated to a Vestigial Sideband (VSB) modulation method and transmitted accordingly, and the cable a/V broadcasting is demodulated to a Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) method and transmitted accordingly. Accordingly, when the channel frequency tuned from the tuner 101 is a ground wave broadcasting channel frequency, the tuned channel frequency is demodulated to the VSB method from the first demodulator 102. Alternatively, when the channel frequency tuned from the tuner 101 is a cable broadcasting channel frequency, the tuned channel frequency is demodulated to the QAM method from the first demodulator 102.

In the case of ground wave broadcasting, the demodulated signal transmitted from the first demodulator 102 is transmitted to the demultiplexer 103. And, in case of cable broadcasting, the demodulated signal is transmitted to the demultiplexer 103 through the POD module 200 mounted on the slot. The POD module 200 includes a Conditional Access (CA) system for preventing high-added-value (value-added) broadcast contents from being copied and for providing restricted access. The POD module 200 is also referred to as a cable card. When the scrambling code occurs in the cable a/V broadcast, the POD module descrambles the cable a/V broadcast and then transmits it to the demultiplexer 103. When the POD module 200 is not inserted into the socket, the cable a/V broadcast demodulated from the first demodulator 102 is directly transmitted to the demultiplexer 103. In this case, the scrambled cable a/V broadcast cannot be descrambled. And thus the viewer cannot normally view the broadcast program.

The demultiplexer 103 receives the demultiplexed signals and separates the multiplexed signals into video signals and audio signals. Thereafter, the demultiplexer 103 transmits the separated signal to the decoder 104. The decoder 104 restores the compressed a/V signal to its original state by using a video decoding algorithm and an audio decoding algorithm, respectively, and then outputs the restored signal for display. Meanwhile, the second tuner 105 tunes a specific channel frequency in the data broadcasting transmitted through the cable by the DSG method and transmits the tuned channel frequency to the second demodulator 106. The second demodulator 106 demodulates the DSG type data broadcasting and then transmits it to the CPU 110. Also, the third tuner 107 tunes a specific channel frequency in the data broadcasting transmitted through the cable by the OOB method, and transmits the tuned channel frequency to the third demodulator 111. The third demodulator 111 demodulates the OOB type data broadcasting by using a Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) method and then transmits it to the POD module 200. More specifically, since the OOB type uses the QPSK transmission method, the receiving end also uses QPSK type modulation.

Also, when bidirectional communication can be performed between a cable broadcasting station (cable TV station) and a cable broadcasting program receiver (or digital cable TV receiver), information (e.g., pay-for-subscription programs, diagnostic information of a host, etc.) transmitted from the cable broadcasting program receiver to the cable broadcasting station is transmitted by one of an OOB method and a DSG method. This is why the switching unit 108 is provided here. More specifically, when the OOB type transmission is used, user information or system diagnostic information is transmitted to the modulator 109 through the POD module 200 and the switch unit 108. Then, the information is modulated from the modulator 109 using the QPSK method and then will be transmitted to the cable broadcasting station through the cable. On the other hand, when DSG type transmission is used, information is transmitted to the modulator 109 through the CPU110 and the switching unit 108. Thereafter, the information is modulated from the modulator 109 using the QAM-16 method and then transmitted to the cable broadcasting station through the cable.

Meanwhile, the CPU110 analyzes the Diagnostic _ req APDU and transmits it from the POD module 200 (S201). Then, the CPU110 verifies whether '0 x 08' is included in the diagnostic ID (S202). When 0x08 is included, the DVI/HDMI status is verified by using the DVI/HDMI controller 120, and a verified result is created, as shown in fig. 4A to 4C, and the verified result is transmitted to the POD module 200. More specifically, the DVI/HDMI controller 120 first verifies whether a peripheral device is connected to the host through a DVI/HDMI link and then verifies the number of connected peripheral devices, thereby establishing (or determining) the value of the connection _ status field and the value of the connection _ count field. Subsequently, the DVI/HDMI controller 120 determines whether the connection _ status field value is '0' (S203). When the connection _ status field value is '0', no peripheral device is connected to the host through the DVI/HDMI link. Accordingly, the process step jumps to step 207, thereby transmitting the Diagnostic _ cnf APDU indicating that the DVI/HDMI status information is not included to the POD module 200.

In the above-described step 203, when the connection _ status field value is not '0', at least one peripheral device is connected to the host through the DVI/HDMI link, so the process proceeds to step 204. Thereafter, the variable i is initialized to '0' to determine whether the value of the variable i is lower (or less) than the connection _ count field value (S205). The variable i is a value compared to the connection _ count field value so as to transmit all DVI/HDMI link status information of more than one peripheral device to the POD module. Here, the variable i is increased by '1' every time the FOR loop is executed. Therefore, in the above-described step 205, when the value of the variable i is lower than the connection _ count field value, it indicates that DVI/HDMI link state information, which is not transmitted to the POD module 200, remains. At this time, the process proceeds to step 206, where a connection _ no field, a connection _ mode field, a connection _ type field, a host _ HDCP _ status field, a device _ HDCP _ status field, and video format information are created. The video format information includes horizontal lines information, vertical lines information, scan _ rate information, aspect _ rate information, and prog _ inter _ type information. Also, when the connection _ mode field value is not equal to '0', that is, when the current state information is the state information of the HDMI link, an auxiliary _ information _ status field value is created, and GC information, AVI information, AUDIO information, SPD information, and MPEG information associated with the HDMI link are also created according to the auxiliary _ information _ status field value. In other words, steps 204 to 206 described above correspond to the FOR loop repeat statement of fig. 4.

Also, in the above-described step 205, when it is determined that the value of the variable i is lower than the connection _ count field value, this indicates that all state information of the DVI/HDMI link is created, which is to be transmitted to the POD module 200. Therefore, the process proceeds to step 207. The state information of all DVI/HDMI links of the host created each time the FOR loop is executed is included in the Diagnostic _ cnf APDU and then transmitted to the POD module 200.

As described above, the process of creating and transmitting DVI/HDMI status information may be performed by using hardware or by using middleware or software. Also, the DVI/HDMI controller 120 may be included in the CPU110 or formed externally, as shown in fig. 5. In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the POD module uses the diagnostic ID to request the host to diagnose all states of the DVI/HDMI link. And, the host verifies all status information of the DVI link and the HDMI link, and transmits the corresponding result to the POD module.

Meanwhile, in another embodiment of the present invention, the universal diagnostic protocol may be extended to specify a diagnostic ID for each DVI diagnosis and HDMI diagnosis. Accordingly, the requests for each DVI diagnosis and HDMI diagnosis can be distinguished (or identified) from each other and independently transmitted to the POD module. Then, according to the received diagnostic ID, the host may verify only one of DVI status information and HDMI status information and transmit the verified result to the POD module. Tables 3 and 4 show each diagnosis item defined in the extended general diagnosis protocol and a diagnosis ID assigned to each diagnosis item.

TABLE 3

Diagnostic ID	Diagnosis of
		00	Set-top memory allocation
01	Software version
		02	Firmware version
03	MAC state

04	FAT state
		05	FDC State
06	Current channel reporting
		07	1394 port
08	DVI status
		09	HDMI status
0A～FF	Reserved for future use

TABLE 4

Diagnostic ID	Diagnosis of
		00	Set-top memory allocation
01	Software version
		02	Firmware version
03	MAC state
		04	FAT state
05	FDC State
		06	Current channel reporting
07	1394 port
		08	DVI status
09	HDMI status
		04	DVI/HDMI status
0B～FF	Reserved for future use

More specifically, in tables 3 and 4, the items and the diagnosis IDs marked with bold italics are newly defined within the universal diagnosis protocol according to the present invention. In table 3, when the diagnostic ID is 0x08, the host verifies the DVI status and transmits the result of the verification to the POD module. On the other hand, when the diagnostic ID is 0x09, the host verifies the HDMI status and sends the result of the verification to the POD module. In table 4, a new definition of verifying the status of all DVI/HDMI links using a single diagnostic ID is added to table 3. At this time, '0A' is designated as a newly defined diagnostic ID. In the above tables 3 and 4, designating the diagnostic ID of HDMI as '09' and the diagnostic ID of DVI/HDMI as '0A' is merely a detail of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The author (or designer) of the standard and system may choose to designate reserved ID values other than '09' and '0A' as diagnostic IDs, which are not limited to the values set forth in the above-described embodiments of the present invention. Also, when the POD module requests diagnosis of only the HDMI status, and when the host verifies only the status information of all HDMI links and transmits the verified result to the POD module, the DVI/HDMI controller of the digital cable TV receiver shown in fig. 5 may be replaced with an HDMI controller.

Fig. 7A to 7C show examples of HDMI status report syntax of the generic diagnostic protocol created when the POD module requests HDMI status diagnosis. More specifically, the HDMI status report syntax of fig. 7A to 7C is configured by deleting the connection _ mode field shown in fig. 4A to 4C and by deleting one line (line) for comparing whether the connection _ mode field value is '1'. Also, the description of each field of the HDMI status report syntax is the same as those described in fig. 4A to 4C, and thus is omitted for simplicity. At this time, the connection _ status field, host _ HDCP _ status field, Device _ HDCP _ status field, video _ format field, horizontal _ lines field, vertical _ lines field, scan _ rate field, aspect _ ratio field, and prog _ inter _ type field create only information associated with the HDMI link.

Fig. 8 shows a flowchart of processing steps for creating and transmitting HDMI status information according to another embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, the CPU110 analyzes the Diagnostic _ req APDU transmitted from the POD module 200 (S301). Then, the CPU110 verifies whether '0 x 09' is included in the diagnostic ID (S302). When 0x09 is included, the HDMI status is verified, and the verified result is transmitted to the POD module 200. In other words, it is verified whether the peripheral device is connected to the host through the HDMI link, and the number of connected peripheral devices is also verified, thereby establishing (or determining) the connection _ status field value and the connection _ count field value. Thereafter, it is verified whether the connection _ status field value is '0' (S303). When the connection _ status field value is '0', no peripheral device is connected to the host through the HDMI link. Accordingly, the processing step jumps to step 307, thereby transmitting the Diagnostic _ cnf APDU to the POD module 200, which indicates that the HDMI state information is not included.

In the above-described step 303, when the connection _ status field value is not '0', at least one peripheral device is connected to the host through the HDMI link, so the processing step proceeds to step 304. Thereafter, the variable i is initialized to '0' to determine whether the value of the variable i is lower (or less) than the connection _ count field value (S305). The variable i is a value that is compared with the connection _ count field so as to transmit all HDMI link status information of more than one peripheral device to the POD module 200. Here, the value of the variable i is increased by 1 each time the FOR loop is executed. Therefore, in the above-described step 305, when the value of the variable i is lower than the connection _ count field value, this indicates that there remains remaining HDMI link state information that is not transmitted to the POD module 200. At this time, the process proceeds to step 306, where the connection _ no field, the connection _ type field, the host _ HDCP _ status field, the device _ HDCP _ status field, and the video format information are created. Here, the video format information includes horizontal _ lines information, vertical _ lines information, scan _ rate information, aspect _ rate information, and prog _ inter _ type information. After that, an auxiary _ information _ status field value is created, and GC information, AVI information, AUDIO information, SPD information, and MPEG information associated with the HDMI link are created according to the auxiary _ information _ status field value. In other words, the above steps 304 to 306 correspond to the FOR loop repeat statement in fig. 7.

Meanwhile, in the above-described step 305, when it is determined that the value of the variable i is lower than the connection _ count field value, this indicates that all state information of the HDMI link to be transmitted to the POD module 200 is created. Thus, the processing step proceeds to step 307. The status information of all HDMI links of the host created each time the FOR loop is executed is included in the Diagnostic _ cnf APDU, which is then transmitted to the POD module 200.

As described above, the present invention can be applied to all types of set-top boxes and television receivers supporting cable broadcast programs. More specifically, the present invention is applicable to all types of digital cable television receivers that employ the SCTE 28 standard. Meanwhile, preferred embodiments are set forth in the description of the present invention. Therefore, those skilled in the art can modify the present invention to propose other embodiments of the present invention when considering the technical difficulty of the present invention. Obviously, such modifications do not depart from the scope and gist of the present invention.

In the above-described digital cable TV receiver, the diagnosis method thereof, and the HDMI status report data structure according to the present invention, the POD module may request the host to verify and report the HDMI status, and the host may verify the HDMI status information and transmit the verified result to the POD module. In this way, the host can transmit not only DVI status information but also HDMI status information to the POD module. Also, the present invention extends the diagnostic status report syntax and the diagnostic ID within the general diagnostic protocol defined in the SCTE 28 standard to create status information for all HDMI links and DVI links connected within the host and transmits the status information to the POD module, thereby facilitating extension and providing compatibility of the diagnostic status report syntax and the diagnostic ID, and thus can be applied to all types of digital cable TV receivers adopting the SCTE 28 standard.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims (28)

1. A digital cable TV receiver, comprising:

a POD module; and

a host device including a controller and an HDMI port linked to a peripheral device,

wherein when a diagnostic request for HDMI status is received from the POD module, the controller generates an HDMI status report including HDMI status information associated with the peripheral device and transmits the HDMI status report to the POD module,

wherein the HDMI status information includes at least one of an audio encoding type, a sampling frequency, and a sampling size related to audio used on an HDMI port linked to the peripheral device.

2. The digital cable TV receiver of claim 1, wherein the HDMI status information includes a connection type field identifying an HDMI port as any one of an input port, an output port, and an input/output port.

3. The digital cable TV receiver of claim 1, wherein the HDMI status information comprises: a host HDCP status field indicating whether HDCP is enabled on the HDMI port, and a device HDCP status field indicating HDCP status of peripheral devices connected to the HDMI port.

4. The digital cable TV receiver of claim 1, wherein the HDMI status information further comprises color space information related to video used on an HDMI port linked to a peripheral device.

5. The digital cable TV receiver of claim 1, wherein the HDMI status information further comprises at least one of a scan type, a number of horizontal lines, a number of vertical lines, a scan rate, and an aspect ratio associated with a current video format.

6. The digital cable TV receiver of claim 1, wherein the HDMI status information comprises at least one of: SPD information indicating a source product description InfoFrame currently used on the HDMI port; and MPEG information indicating an MPEG source InfoFrame currently used on the HDMI port.

7. A digital cable TV receiver, comprising:

a POD module; and

a host device including a controller and a plurality of HDMI ports respectively linked to the plurality of peripheral devices, wherein when receiving a diagnosis of HDMI status from the POD module, the controller generates an HDMI status report including a plurality of HDMI status information respectively associated with the plurality of peripheral devices and transmits the HDMI status report to the POD module,

wherein the HDMI status information includes at least one of an audio encoding type, a sampling frequency, and a sampling size related to audio used on one of the plurality of HDMI ports.

8. The digital cable TV receiver of claim 7, wherein the HDMI status report further comprises a connection count field indicating a total number of HDMI ports linked to a plurality of peripherals.

9. The digital cable TV receiver of claim 7, wherein each HDMI status information includes a connection number field indicating an index number of an HDMI port linked to a peripheral device.

10. The digital cable TV receiver of claim 7, wherein the each HDMI status information comprises at least one of: color space information related to video used on one of the plurality of HDMI ports; SPD information indicating a source product description InfoFrame currently used on the HDMI port; and MPEG information indicating an MPEG source InfoFrame currently used on the corresponding HDMI port.

11. A diagnostic method for a digital cable TV receiver, the method comprising:

receiving a diagnosis request for the HDMI status from the POD module; and

performing a diagnostic function by generating an HDMI status report in response to a diagnostic request and sending the HDMI status report to the POD module, the HDMI status report including HDMI status information associated with a peripheral device linked to the HMDI port,

wherein the HDMI status information includes at least one of an audio encoding type, a sampling frequency, and a sampling size related to audio used on the HDMI port.

12. The diagnostic method of claim 11, wherein the HDMI status information comprises a connection type field identifying an HDMI port as any one of an input port, an output port, and an input/output port.

13. The diagnostic method of claim 11, wherein the HDMI status information comprises: a host HDCP status field indicating whether HDCP is enabled on the HDMI port, and a device HDCP status field indicating HDCP status of peripheral devices connected to the HDMI port.

14. The diagnostic method of claim 11, wherein the HDMI status information further comprises color space information related to video used on an HDMI port.

15. The diagnostic method of claim 11, wherein the HDMI status information further comprises at least one of a scan type, a number of horizontal lines, a number of vertical lines, a scan rate, and an aspect ratio associated with a current video format.

16. The diagnostic method of claim 11, wherein the HDMI status information comprises at least one of: SPD information indicating a source product description InfoFrame currently used on the HDMI port; and MPEG information indicating an MPEG source InfoFrame currently used on the HDMI port.

17. A diagnostic method for a digital cable TV receiver, the method comprising:

receiving a diagnosis request for the HDMI status from the POD module; and

performing a diagnostic function by generating and transmitting an HDMI status report to the POD module in response to a diagnostic request, the HDMI status report including a plurality of HDMI status information associated with a plurality of peripheral devices respectively linked to the plurality of HMDI ports,

wherein the HDMI status information includes at least one of an audio encoding type, a sampling frequency, and a sampling size related to audio used on one of the plurality of HDMI ports.

18. The diagnostic method of claim 17, wherein the HDMI status report further comprises a connection count field indicating a total number of HDMI ports linked to a plurality of peripherals.

19. The diagnostic method of claim 17, wherein the each HDMI status information comprises a connection number field indicating an index number of an HDMI port linked to a peripheral device.

20. The diagnostic method of claim 17, wherein the each HDMI status information comprises at least one of: color space information related to video used on one of the plurality of HDMI ports; SPD information indicating a source product description InfoFrame currently used on the HDMI port; and MPEG information indicating an MPEG source InfoFrame currently used on the corresponding HDMI port.

21. A digital cable TV receiver, comprising:

a POD module; and

a host device including a controller, an HDMI port linked to the first peripheral device, and a DVI port linked to the second peripheral device, the controller generating and transmitting an HDMI/DVI status report to the POD module when a diagnostic request for HDMI/DVI status is received from the POD module, the HDMI/DVI status report including HDMI status information associated with the first peripheral device and DVI status information associated with the second peripheral device,

wherein the HDMI status information includes at least one of an audio encoding type, a sampling frequency, and a sampling size related to audio used on an HDMI port linked to the first peripheral device.

22. The digital cable TV receiver of claim 21, wherein the HDMI status information includes a connection mode field indicating that an HDMI connection is present at the HDMI port.

23. The digital cable TV receiver of claim 21, wherein the DVI status information includes a connection mode field indicating that a DVI connection is present at a DVI port.

24. The digital cable TV receiver of claim 21, wherein the HDMI status information comprises at least one of: color space information related to video used on an HDMI port linked to the first peripheral device; SPD information indicating a source product description InfoFrame currently used on the HDMI port; and MPEG information indicating an MPEG source InfoFrame currently used on the HDMI port.

25. A diagnostic method for a digital cable TV receiver, the method comprising:

receiving a diagnosis request for the HDMI/DVI status from the POD module; and

performing a diagnostic function by generating an HDMI/DVI status report including HDMI status information associated with a first peripheral device linked to an HDMI port and DVI status information associated with a second peripheral device linked to a DVI port and transmitting the HDMI/DVI status report to the POD module in response to a diagnostic request,

wherein the HDMI status information includes at least one of an audio encoding type, a sampling frequency, and a sampling size related to audio used on an HDMI port linked to the first peripheral device.

26. The diagnostic method of claim 25, wherein the HDMI status information comprises a connection mode field indicating that an HDMI connection is present at an HDMI port.

27. The diagnostic method of claim 25, wherein the DVI status information includes a connection mode field indicating that a DVI connection is present at the DVI port.

28. The diagnostic method of claim 25, wherein the HDMI status information comprises at least one of: color space information related to video used on an HDMI port linked to the first peripheral device; SPD information which indicates the source product description InfoFrame currently used on the HDMI port; and MPEG information indicating an MPEG source InfoFrame currently used on the corresponding HDMI port.