JP2003230087A - Information output device, information receiving device, information output method, and information transmission method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent information outputted from an information outputting apparatus to an external apparatus from being used for other purposes than the original object thereof and from giving disadvantages to the producer and the copyright owner of the information. <P>SOLUTION: The digital information is outputted in the same quality as it is, when it is certificated that the external apparatus operates according to copy control information, while no information limited on copying thereof is outputted, when it is not. This method is similarly applicable as to operations of e.g. an output board of a personal computer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information output device, an information receiving device, an information output method, and an information transmitting method for receiving and outputting digital information such as video and audio,
In particular, the present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for restricting recording of output information in a recording medium or output from the apparatus by the authority of a copyright holder or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the field of television broadcasting, devices for recording and reproducing the same, and package media such as movie software, digital broadcasting has started, and consumer receivers, display devices, digital receivers corresponding to this have started. Recording / playback devices are on sale. Packaged software used in this device will appear in the near future. Digital broadcasting,
The advantage of the digital recording device is that there is little or no quality deterioration in the information transmission process or the recording / reproduction process. However, when a large number of high quality copies of information are created and distributed in places where the copyright holder does not know, and when the copying is repeated, there is a problem that the profit is not returned to the copyright holder.

US Pat. No. 5,896,454,
A method of attaching 2-bit copy control information to information is disclosed. Depending on the will of the copyright holder and the information creator, this can be done by selecting one of the three: copy prohibition (Copy Never), copy authorization (Copy Free), and copy authorization only for one generation (Copy One Generation). It controls the operation of the recording apparatus. The recording apparatus does not perform the recording operation if the copy is prohibited, but performs the recording operation if the copy is authorized. If the copy is authorized for only one generation, the recording device uses this control information
The recording operation is performed after rewriting the information (No More Copies) that does not allow further copying.

[0004]

The matters disclosed in the above-mentioned prior arts define the operation on the recording device side when given information is supplied to the recording device. However, when receiving at the receiving device or playing from the playback device,
There are further matters to be considered when outputting from the device to the outside.

Needless to say, the output operation to the outside of the device is necessary for supplying information to the display, but it must be considered that it may be used for purposes other than display. It is necessary to consider the case where the above-mentioned copy control information is not accompanied as long as it is output once through the device.
Even if the copy control information is included, the device on the receiving side does not always operate according to the copy control information. It may be output as a digital signal or may be output after being converted to analog. For example, the current PC (Perso
nal Computer) receives it by a tuner board and outputs it as an analog RGB signal when it is output to a display via a graphic board, and is not accompanied by copy control information.

When these outputs are used for purposes other than displaying on the display, there is a possibility that a copy of them will be made, which is disadvantageous to the copyright holder. This is not mentioned in the documents mentioned above.

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for outputting information to the outside without giving a disadvantage to the copyright holder.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, input digital image information in the present invention,
Alternatively, in an information output device for outputting digital video information reproduced from a storage medium to an external device, a control information detection circuit for detecting control information including at least copy control information added to the digital video information,
A first output circuit for outputting the digital video information to an external device, a second output circuit for converting the digital video information into an analog video signal and outputting the analog video signal to the external device, and the control information detection circuit. The control circuit controls the outputs of the first output circuit and the second output circuit according to control information.

The information output device according to the present invention is
Control information detection circuit for detecting control information added to digital video information, output circuit for outputting digital video information to an external device, state recognition circuit for recognizing the state of the external device or the output circuit, and the output And an output control circuit for controlling the output of the circuit. The output control circuit is configured to control the output circuit based on the control information detected by the control information detection circuit and the state of the external device or the output circuit recognized by the state recognition circuit.

Here, the control information is information relating to restriction of copying of digital video information or protection of the video information. When the state recognition circuit cannot recognize the state of the external device or the output circuit and the control information specifies copy restriction of digital video information or protection of video information, the output control circuit is Stop the output from the output circuit. The recognition of the state of the external device or the output circuit by the state recognition circuit includes authentication using a key signal with the external device or the output circuit.

In order to achieve the above object, an information receiving apparatus for receiving digital video information and outputting it to an external device according to the present invention includes a receiving unit for receiving the digital video information and an addition to the received digital video information. A control information detecting circuit for detecting control information including at least copy control information, a first output circuit for outputting the digital video information to an external device, and converting the digital video information into an analog video signal. A second output circuit for outputting to an external device; and a control circuit for controlling outputs of the first output circuit and the second output circuit according to the control information detected by the control information detection circuit. It was configured.

In order to achieve the above object, an information output method according to the present invention for outputting input digital video information or digital video information reproduced from a storage medium from a first device to a second device is as follows: Detecting control information added to the digital video information;
Recognizing the state of the device or the second device, the first device based on the detected control information and the recognized state of the first device or the second device. The output from is controlled.

To achieve the above object, in the information transmitting method of the present invention for transmitting digital video information to an information receiving apparatus, control information including at least copy control information is added to the digital video information to be transmitted. However, the control information is characterized in that when the information receiving device converts the digital video information into an analog video signal and outputs the analog video signal to an external device, the output signal is controlled.

Further, in the information transmitting method of the present invention for transmitting digital video information to an information output device for inputting information and outputting it to an external device, the digital video information to be transmitted is limited in copy of the digital video information. Alternatively, control information regarding protection of video information is added. This control information is used in combination with the result of recognizing the state of the information output device or the external device to control the output of the digital video information when the digital video information is output from the information output device to the external device. Used for.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings as necessary. The present invention particularly relates to an information output method, and an object of the present invention is to set a certain limit here and eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantage to the copyright holder. The embodiment is mainly shown in FIGS. 4 to 10, but before the description thereof, the whole system to which the present invention is applied will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an embodiment of the entire system used in the present invention, and shows an example of transmitting and receiving information by broadcasting and recording and reproducing. This includes the device to which the invention is applied. 1 is an information providing station such as a broadcasting station, 2 is a relay station, 3 is a receiving device, 4 is a first recording / reproducing device, 5 is a display, and 6 is a second recording / reproducing device. Here, when recording broadcast information or the like, at least one of the first recording / reproducing apparatus 4 and the second recording / reproducing apparatus 6 can be recorded in accordance with the copy control information attached thereto. The first recording / reproducing apparatus 4 will be described here as a digital recording system built in the receiving apparatus 3. A non-removable medium such as a hard disk can be used as the recording medium. A video disk, a video tape, or other removable device may be used, but the recording / reproducing device built in the receiving device is often used to store information for a relatively short period of time, and thus may be a non-removable one. The second recording / reproducing device 6 will be described here as being externally attached to the receiving device 3. In addition to a hard disk, a removable medium such as a magnetic tape or an optical disk may be used as the recording medium. The present invention can be applied even if either or both of the first recording / reproducing device 4 and the second recording / reproducing device 6 do not exist.

The information providing station 1 such as a broadcasting station transmits a signal wave modulated by information via a relay station 2 such as a broadcasting satellite. In addition, transmission by cable,
Transmission by telephone line, transmission by terrestrial broadcasting, etc. may be used. As will be described later, this signal radio wave received by the receiving device 3 on the receiving side is demodulated into an information signal, and then, if necessary, sent to the first recording / reproducing device 4 and the second recording / reproducing device 6. The signal is recorded as a signal suitable for recording.
It is also sent to the display 5. Here, the user can directly view the information content. Further, the information reproduced by the first recording / reproducing apparatus 4 and the second recording / reproducing apparatus 6 described above is given to the display 5 via the receiving apparatus 3, and the information such as the original video and audio is viewed.

There are various kinds of information to be transmitted,
For example, in the case of television broadcasting as well, when the number of scanning lines is large, there are over 1000 HD (High Definition) broadcastings and about 500 SD (Standard Definition) broadcastings. Therefore, the receiving side will support a plurality of broadcasting systems if necessary. Further, control information indicating which broadcasting system is used may be added to the information and transmitted in the same manner as the above copy control information.

The receiving device 3 is not limited to a device specialized for broadcasting reception, for example, a device called STB (Set Top Box). It may be a PC having a tuner board and a graphic board. In that case, the first recording / reproducing apparatus 4 corresponds to the hard disk drive and its peripheral circuits. As will be described later, the receiving device 3
It is possible that the display unit itself has a display unit corresponding to the display 5.

When a removable recording medium in which information is recorded in advance, for example, package software, is provided, the reproduction operation is performed in, for example, the second recording / reproducing apparatus 6 to which this is attached. In this case, the information providing station 1 and the relay station 2 are excluded, but the present invention can also be applied.

Information is often transmitted and received between devices by digital signals, but for example, the receiving device 3 and the display 5 may be connected by analog signals. It may be connected by luminance and two color difference signals, or may be connected by RGB signals like a PC.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the information providing station 1 such as a broadcasting station in the above system. 11
Is a source generation unit, 12 is an encoding circuit for performing compression by the MPEG system, 13 is a scramble circuit, 14 is a modulation circuit, 15 is a transmission antenna, 16 is a management information addition circuit, 1
Reference numeral 7 is an input terminal.

Information such as video and audio generated by the source generating section 11 including a camera, a recording / reproducing apparatus, etc. is compressed by the encoding circuit 12 so that the information can be transmitted in a smaller occupied band. If necessary, the scramble circuit 13 performs transmission encryption so that only a specific viewer can view. After being modulated to a signal suitable for transmission by the modulation circuit 14, it is emitted from the transmission antenna 15 as a radio wave toward the relay station 2 such as a broadcasting satellite. At this time, the management information adding circuit 16 adds the above-mentioned copy control information, information indicating the broadcasting system, and the like. Furthermore, in order to protect information, control information (EPN; Encryption Plus Non-
assertion) can also be sent. Although omitted in FIG. 1, the request information is input from the input terminal 17 via a telephone line or the like. This is utilized in systems such as video-on-demand that determine the information to be sent in response to the viewer's request.

Actually, a plurality of pieces of information are often multiplexed on one radio wave by a method such as time division or spread spectrum. Although not shown in FIG. 2 for simplification, in this case, there are a plurality of systems of the source generation unit 11 and the encoding circuit 12, and the encoding circuit 12 and the scramble circuit 13 are provided.
A multiplex circuit that multiplexes a plurality of information is placed between and.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the receiving device 3 in the system of FIG. 301 is RF
/ IF conversion circuit, 302 is a demodulation circuit, 303 is an error correction circuit, 304 is a descramble circuit for canceling the transmission code applied to the signal, 305 is the first demultiplexing circuit, 306 is an input / output terminal, and 307 is A second demultiplexing circuit, 308 is a decoding circuit, 309 and 310 are output terminals, 311 is a control circuit for controlling the entire receiving apparatus 3, 312 is an information management circuit, 313 is a command input circuit, and 314 is an input terminal. is there. Reference numeral 4 denotes a first recording / reproducing apparatus, which is incorporated in the receiving apparatus 3 as described in FIG. In the figure, the solid line shows the flow of main information such as video and audio, and the dotted line shows the flow of control signal information between each component.

First, regarding the components 301 to 310, the flow of information such as video and audio shown by solid lines will be described. Radio waves from a relay station such as a broadcasting satellite are input to the RF / IF conversion circuit 301. Here, the radio wave in the RF band is frequency-converted into an IF band (Intermediate Frequency) and becomes a signal in a constant band that does not depend on the reception channel, and the modulation operation performed for transmission by the demodulation circuit 302 is demodulated. Further, the error correction circuit 303
Then, after the error of the code generated during the transmission is detected and further corrected, the descramble circuit 304 cancels the transmission cipher. Then, it is sent to the first and second demultiplexing circuits 305 and 307. As described above, particularly in the case of digital broadcasting, a plurality of pieces of information are often multiplexed on one channel by a method such as time division or spread spectrum. The demultiplexing circuit separates only the desired information from this. The reason for providing the two demultiplex circuits is not only to enable so-called back program recording but also to provide the first demultiplex circuit 305.
This is to remove information that is not worth recording. In other words, the information often includes additional information such as weather forecasts and program broadcast schedules, which can be viewed at the time of broadcasting, but is not worth recording and watching at a later date. It can also be removed.

The output of the first demultiplexing circuit 305 is given to the first recording / reproducing apparatus 4. The signal is also given to the input / output terminal 306, and signals are transmitted / received to / from the second recording / reproducing device 6 connected thereto. The input / output terminal 306 is a bidirectional terminal, and exchanges information to be recorded / reproduced with the second recording / reproducing apparatus 6 as digital data, for example. Generally, the connection according to the IEEE 1394 standard is often used.

In the first recording / reproducing apparatus 4 and the second recording / reproducing apparatus 6, when there is an operation instruction to record information, the copy control information attached to the given information is
If it shows Copy Never or No More Copies, do not record. If this is Copy One Generation, set this to N
o Rewrite as More Copies and record. Copy Free
If it is, the recording is performed as it is. In addition to this, the operation to temporarily record the information that is Copy Never by limiting the period for reproduction and use, and the information that is No More Copies is recorded and moved on condition that the original information source is made unplayable. You may be allowed to do something.

Information sent from the descramble circuit 304, information reproduced by the first recording / reproducing device 4, or the second information from the input / output terminal 306 is sent to the second demultiplexing circuit 307. The information reproduced by the recording / reproducing apparatus 6 is connected, any one of the information desired to be viewed is selected, and further the desired information is separated. In the next decoding circuit 308, the data compression of the moving image that has been performed before the transmission is decoded, and the processing as described later with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 is performed, and then via the output terminals 309 and 310. Sent to an external device. As will be described later, the number of output terminals may be one, but here, the number of output terminals is two. The information signals at the output terminals 309 and 310 may be either digital or analog. Here, the former is digital output and the latter is analog output.

Next, the control signal shown by the dotted line will be described. The control circuit 311 uses 305, 3
Control signals are exchanged with the respective constituent elements 07 and 308, and the entire receiving apparatus 3 is controlled so as to perform a desired operation. The information management circuit 312 supplies management data when the control circuit 311 performs control in response to a request. For example, information about the reception contract is managed here. When the user specifies the channel that he / she wants to watch, this specification is made on input terminal 3
14 and is sent to the control circuit 311 via the command input circuit 313. The control circuit 311 requests the information management circuit 312 for receiving contract information. When it is determined that there is a contract with the channel designated by the user, a control signal is sent to each of the above-described components to instruct the receiving operation of the corresponding channel, and the like.

Further, the first recording / reproducing apparatus 4 is the receiving apparatus 3
If it is built in, the recording / reproducing operation is performed according to the user's instruction input from the input terminal 314. Therefore, the output of the command input circuit 313 is supplied. This control signal may be supplied from the control circuit 311.

Next, a method of outputting information, which is the core of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIGS. These are circuit block diagrams showing an embodiment of the present invention, and show the internal configuration of the decoding circuit 308 of FIG. 30801 is an input terminal,
30802 is a decoding circuit, 30803 is a control detection circuit, 30804 is an up conversion circuit, 30805 is a down conversion circuit, 30806 is a switch, 308
07 is a resolution limiting circuit, 30808 is an RGB conversion circuit,
30809A and 30809 are switches, and 30810 is an information protection circuit. Reference numerals 309 and 310 denote output terminals, which are also shown in FIG. Although 310 is an output terminal for RGB signals here, the present invention is not limited to this. Also, R
The GB conversion circuit 30808 may be moved immediately after the switch 30806 so that 309 also serves as an output terminal for RGB signals.

An output is applied to the input terminal 30801 of FIG. 4 from the second demultiplexing circuit 307 of FIG. The decoding circuit 30802 decodes and expands the data compression of the moving image performed before transmission. The output is one terminal of the switch 30806 (hereinafter referred to as A
(Referred to as a terminal), an up conversion circuit 30804, and a down conversion circuit 30805. The output of the up conversion circuit 30804 is given to the B terminal of the switch 30806, and the output of the down conversion circuit 30805 is given to the C terminal of the switch 30806.

On the other hand, the output of the above decoding circuit 30802 is also given to the control detection circuit 30803, where each control information including the above-mentioned copy control information and control information indicating the broadcasting system is detected, The result determines the connection of the switch 30806 and the like. Here, in order to complete the drawing, the decoding circuit 308 is shown to have its own control detection circuit 30803.
The control circuit 311 may be provided with this detection function and a control signal may be supplied from there. The connection of the switch 30806 will be described later.

The output of the switch 30806 is given to the output terminal 309 only when these are connected via the information protection circuit 30810 and the switch 30809A, and is output to an external device. Also, the resolution limiting circuit 30807
Depending on the control signal, the horizontal resolution is limited if necessary. In most cases, the luminance and two-color difference signals are transmitted up to this stage, but the RGB conversion circuit 30808 converts the signals into RGB signals, and the switch 3080 is used.
9B, output terminal 3 only when this is connected
10 and is output to an external device. Information is output from the output terminal 310 as an analog signal,
Although not shown, the DAC can be installed anywhere in front of it.
(Digital Analogue Converter) is placed. The resolution may be limited not only to the horizontal resolution but also to the vertical resolution. The resolution may be limited at the time of decoding by the decoding circuit 30802.

According to the control signal, the switches 30806, 3
A method of switching the operations of the 0809A, B, the resolution limiting circuit 30807, and the information protection circuit 30810 will be described.

In one embodiment of the present invention, when outputting information from the device to the outside, this is diverted to a purpose other than the display on the display so that the copyright holder is not disadvantaged. According to the added control information,
The feature is that the quality of output information, the number of pixels, the resolution, etc. are changed. The HD system information has a large number of scanning lines and horizontal pixels, so that a high-quality image can be reproduced. However, if this is used for an unintended purpose, a duplicate product or the like that can ensure a certain quality will pass, and this will cause a disadvantage to the copyright holder. On the other hand, if the quality is the conventional SD system or lower, such a problem is unlikely to occur. One guideline is 520,000 pixels or less per frame, for example, 480 effective scanning lines and 720 to 9 horizontal pixels.
If it is about 60, there is no problem. Therefore, it is advisable to limit the quality for protecting information as necessary and output the information from the device to the outside.

In the present invention, the situation of the output destination connected to the output terminal 309 is also taken into consideration. When the above-mentioned copy control information is added and the output destination device is a device that operates according to the copy control information, it is not necessary to limit the quality of the output information as described above. The method of knowing what kind of device the output destination device is, though not described in detail here, uses a means called device authentication. This is to know the other device by exchanging a key signal between both devices. Although the signal flow is not shown, the control information is output from the control circuit 311 or the control detection circuit 30803 according to the authentication result, and the switch 30
806 and the like are controlled. If the authentication is established and the output destination is the above device, the switch 30806 is connected to the A terminal, the switch 30809A is closed, and the output of the decoding circuit 30802 is given to the output terminal 309 via the information protection circuit 30810. To be When the information is SD information, it may be required to apparently become HD information. In this case, switch 30806
Is connected to the B terminal to output information via the up-conversion circuit 30804.

The information protection circuit 30810 may always protect the information regardless of the copy control information. In this case, when it is confirmed by the authentication that the device is compatible with the output destination, the device always outputs with protection, and when not confirmed, the device outputs without protection. Further, when outputting for display, it is only necessary to protect and it is not necessary to control copying. Therefore, it is not necessary to add copy control information.

In the information protection circuit 30810, an operation for protecting the information to be output is performed as needed. For example, scrambling is performed using a number unique to the device using the information, a user identification number, or the like. In this way, the risk that the output information will be used for purposes other than the intended purpose will be further reduced. The detected copy control information is Copy Free
If not, scrambling is not performed, and in other cases, scrambling is performed to enhance protection.
The operation may be switched according to the control signal from 03.

Next, a case will be described in which the output destination device is a device that does not operate according to the copy control information while the above-mentioned copy control information is added, or when the output is performed without the copy control information added. . In this case, if the detected copy control information is Copy Free, the switch 30809A is closed to output the information, but otherwise, the switch 30809A is opened to not output the information to the output terminal 309. Copy Free originally means that the producer does not strongly claim the right, so there is no problem in outputting it, but in other cases, there is a right problem, so the output in the form that the copy control information does not work is not possible. Not performed. This has the effect of preventing the output information from the device from being used for purposes other than the intended purpose. At this time, on the other hand, the output terminal 310 outputs information having a certain quality limit. That is, the copy control information is Copy Never, Copy One Generation, No M
If it is ore Copies, the switch 308 is connected to the C terminal, and the switch 30809B is closed. The down-converting circuit 30805 reduces the number of scanning lines, the resolution limiting circuit 30807 reduces the number of horizontal pixels, and information about 520,000 pixels or less per frame is given to the output terminal 310. Since this is not high-quality information such as HD information, for example, even if the information output to the outside is used for an unintended purpose, there is an effect that the copyright holder is not disadvantaged.

In the future, in addition to the copy control information, when output from the apparatus to the outside, it is conceivable to send control information indicating whether or not to perform quality restriction for protecting the above information (EPN). ; Encryption Plus Non-assertion
Called). Even when this instructs the quality control, the above Co including the operation of the information protection circuit 30810 is included.
It is good to handle it in the same way as information other than py Free.

In the above description, the copy control information is Co
If it is py Free, only output terminal 309, Copy Never, Cop
If y One Generation, No More Copies, output terminal 3
Only the number 10 is output. This is shown as an example in consideration of the fact that the current graphic board has only one output. Therefore, the number of output terminals may be one, and the switches 30809A and 30B may be replaced with a single two-point selection type switch.

Further, it is sometimes not preferable to attach a switch to the route through which the information signal is transmitted because of the loss. In this case, instead of providing a plurality of routes and switching with a switch, a method of once unplugging the hot plug and resetting the operation itself of the circuit is used. When this is used, the output of the information that has been output up to that point is stopped, and after the prescribed time has elapsed, the other output is started.

On the other hand, in FIG. 5, output information is always given to the output terminal 310, and the presence or absence of output changes only on the output terminal 309 side by the operation of the switch 30809A. The operation of other components is similar to that of FIG.
When the copy control information is Copy Free, information that is not subject to quality restrictions is also output to the output terminal 310. In this case, the output terminals 309 and 310 may be separate or contained in one connector.

If the copy control information is Copy Free, it is output only to the output terminal 309, and if not, it is output only to the output terminal 310. Therefore, in a display having a digital input and an analog input, the output terminal 309 and the analog input are connected to the digital input. If the output of the output terminal 310 is connected to the input, it is possible to display a high-quality digital signal with Copy Free and an analog signal other than that.

FIG. 6 collectively shows the operations described above. When the copy control information functions in the output destination device on the output terminal 309 side, the information is output without quality restriction, including the case where there is the control information for instructing the EPN described above. If the copy control information does not work, Copy Free
In case of, the information is output without quality limitation, but otherwise it is not output. On the other hand, output terminal 3 which is an RGB output
On the 10 side, if it is Copy Free, the information is output without quality limitation, but in other cases, the quality is limited, the number of scanning lines, the horizontal resolution, etc. are limited, and the number of pixels is 5.
Information limited to 20,000 pixels or less is output.

As described above with reference to FIG. 4, when there is an output on the 309 side, the 310 side may not output. As an example, if the output terminal has one system, it corresponds to this.

Next, the receiving device 3 of FIG.
The case of having a display unit corresponding to the function of will be described. An example of the decoding circuit 308 in this case is shown in the circuit block diagram of FIG. Here, 7 is a display unit built in the receiving device 3. That is, the output of the decoding circuit 30802 is given to the display unit 7. If necessary, this and the output of the up-conversion circuit 30804 may be switched and given. Since this connection is performed inside the receiving device 3, it is not necessary to apply the quality limitation as described above. on the other hand,
The outputs from the output terminals 309 and 310, which are so-called monitor outputs, are supplied to the outside of the apparatus, so that the quality limitation as described above is performed. In this case, the receiving device 3 can be called a receiving / displaying device with a recording or accumulating function, but of course it can be applied to the case where the first recording / reproducing device 4 does not exist and the recording function is not built in.

FIG. 11 shows that output signals 309 are digital RGB signals.
It is a block diagram which shows an Example at the time of outputting a signal. To the output 309, the digital RGB signal generated by the RGB conversion circuit 30808 is output as it is, or the information protection circuit 30810 protects the information and outputs it. Output 31
0, the digital RGB signal generated by the RGB conversion circuit 30808 is converted to an analog RG by the D / A converter 30821.
B signal is converted and output.

FIG. 12 illustrates the operation of the outputs of outputs 309 and 310. When the output destination device on the output terminal 309 side has the output protection function, the information is output without quality limitation, including the case where the control information for instructing the EPN is present. If output protection does not work, Co
In the case of py Free, the information is output without limiting the resolution, but in other cases, the output is prohibited or the resolution is limited and then output. If the output protection does not work, it is possible to perform more complete protection by prohibiting the output, but by limiting the resolution and outputting, it is possible to connect to the conventional device that does not have the protection function. On the other hand, on the output terminal 310 side, in the case of Copy Free, the information is output without limiting the resolution, but in other cases, the information is output after limiting the resolution, or the information is output as it is. In other cases, the output may be prohibited. In this case, it becomes impossible to connect to a conventional device that can only make an analog connection, but more complete protection can be performed.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing still another embodiment of the present invention. It has been described in FIG. 1 that the receiving device 3 may be a PC having a tuner board and a graphic board. In FIG. 8, 8 is a PC, 801 is an input terminal, 802 is a tuner board, 803 is a graphic board, 804 is a CPU board, and 80401 is a CPU.
(Microcomputer), 80402 is a flash memory,
80403 is a RAM (Random Access Memory), 804
04 is an interface circuit, 805 is an input terminal, 806
Is a hard disk drive, and 807 is an output terminal.

The first recording / reproducing apparatus 4 of FIGS. 1 and 3 corresponds to the hard disk drive 806 and its peripheral circuits. The components 301 to 307 in FIG. 3 are on the tuner board 802, and the components 308 to 310 are on the graphic board 803. Output terminal 30
Either or both of 9, 310 are output terminals 8
It corresponds to 07. The control circuit 311 is the CPU 80401.
The information management circuit 312 corresponds to the readable / writable flash memory 80402. A RAM 80403 is also provided as an external memory of the CPU. The command input circuit 313 and the input terminal 314 correspond to the interface circuit 80404 such as a mouse and a keyboard and its input terminal 805. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to the graphic output of the PC. This example will be described with reference to the circuit block diagrams of FIGS.

FIG. 9 corresponds to the above-mentioned FIG.
I / O terminal 30811 and authentication circuit 30813 are added,
Further, the control function of the control detection circuit 30803 is different from that of the control circuit 311 of FIG. 3 in that the detection result is given from the input terminal 30812. Furthermore, the control from the input terminal 30812 is not necessarily limited to hardware such as a control signal, and software control may be used. As described above, each component of FIG. 9 is on the graphic board 803 of FIG. Change the cut,
When the decoding circuit 30802 is placed on the tuner board 802 like the components 301 to 307 in FIG. 3, the broken line in the figure serves as a cut-out of both boards. Although FIG. 10 corresponds to FIG. 5 described above, the other points are similar to those of FIG. 9.

These operations will be described with reference to FIG. Prior to outputting information from the output terminals 309 to 310, the control circuit 311 of FIG.
An authentication key for authenticating this board is sent to the authentication circuit 30813 via. The authentication circuit 30813 sends the authentication key back to the control circuit 311 if this authentication key matches a predetermined one. The key sent back does not have to be the same as the key received, but of course what is sent is predetermined. If the key received by the control circuit 311 is a predetermined key, this graphic board can be authenticated as a board that performs the expected operation. If the key is different and nothing is sent back, the authentication fails. The expected operation is the quality limitation of the information to be output described above with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6.

If the authentication is successful, the control circuit 3 continues.
11 requests the authentication circuit 30813 to notify the type of information to be output, and receives this. The type of information indicates whether the control information is added to the digital output, the digital output to which the control information is not added, or the analog, particularly RGB output. If necessary, the information protection circuit 30810 confirms whether information is protected. In response to this, the control circuit 311 controls the operation as follows. When control information such as copy control information is added, the digital output outputs the Copy Free information as it is, and the other information is encrypted as necessary to protect the information and output. When the control information is not added, the digital output outputs only the information of Copy Free. As for the analog output, the information of Copy Free is unchanged, and the other information is output with the quality limited to, for example, about 520,000 pixels or less. Note that in FIG. 9, as in the case of FIG. 4, there may be only one output depending on the board, but for example, Copy Free information is digital as it is, and other information is output with analog quality limitation. Good.

If the authentication is not successful, digital,
Whether it is analog or not, information other than Copy Free information is not output.

By doing so, the information output from the graphic board can be reduced from being used for purposes other than the intended purpose. Further, in the PC, the board is designed so that the user can arbitrarily replace it, but by replacing it, there is no fear that these output methods will not be obeyed.

As another method, the authentication circuit 3081
The case where the authentication function is not provided in 3 and only the function of notifying the type of information to be output is provided will be described. At this time, the control circuit 311 controls the operation as follows.

First, when the control information such as copy control information is added when the type of information can be known, the digital output is the Copy Free information as it is, and the other information is as necessary. Outputs after encrypting to protect information. When the control information is not added, the digital output outputs only the information of Copy Free. As for the analog output, the information of Copy Free is unchanged, and the other information is output with the quality limited to, for example, about 520,000 pixels or less.

When the type of information cannot be known, this is recognized as a non-standard board, and only digital or analog information other than Copy Free information is not output. In this case, since the authentication key is not used, the security is weaker than the previous example, but this is generally sufficient.

In the above description, when the output from the output terminal of the apparatus is not performed, nothing may be output to the display unit, and character information indicating that no output may be output. Of course, the character information will be output only for the specified time at the beginning,
You may erase it afterwards. OSD (On Screen Di
For example, in FIG. 4, the splay) circuit is placed between the output terminals 309 and 310 and the switches 30809A and B as needed, and is controlled by the control circuit 311 or the like to output the character information.

[0063]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is an effect that the problem that the information outputted from the device to the outside is used for an unintended purpose, which is disadvantageous to the copyright holder, can be solved. If applied to a PC board, there is an effect of eliminating the fear that the output method will not be obeyed by the replacement.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an entire system to which the present invention is applied.

2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an information providing station 1 such as a broadcasting station in FIG.

3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a receiving device 3 in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a decoding circuit to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a decoding circuit to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining output information according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a decoding circuit and a display unit to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a PC to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a graphic board to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a graphic board to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing another example of the configuration of the decoding circuit to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining output information according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ・ ・ Information stations such as broadcasting stations 16 ... Management information addition circuit 2 ... Relay station 3 ... Receiving device 308 ... Decoding circuit 311 ··· Control circuit .. Control detection circuit 30805 ··· Down conversion circuit 30806..Switch 30807 ... Resolution limiting circuit 30808 ··· RGB conversion circuit 30809A Switch 30809B / Switch 30810 ·· Information protection circuit 30813 ... Authentication circuit 4 ... First recording / reproducing device 5 ... Display 6 ... Second recording / reproducing device 7 ... Display 8 ・ ・ PC 802 ... Tuner board 803 ... Graphic board 804 ... CPU board 80401 ... CPU 80402 · · Flash memory 80403 ... RAM 80404 · Interface circuit 806 ... Hard disk drive

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 5/92 H04N 5/92 H (72) Inventor Komei No. 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Incorporated company Hitachi, Ltd. Digital Media Development Division (72) Inventor Yoshiro Owase 4-6, Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Hitachi Media Co., Ltd. (72) Atsushi Yoshioka Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 292 Yoshidacho F-Term (Reference) in Digital Media Development Division, Hitachi, Ltd. 5C052 AB03 CC06 DD04 5C053 FA13 5D044 AB07 DE17 DE50 GK11 HL08 HL11

Claims (29)

[Claims] 1. An information output device for outputting input digital video information or digital video information reproduced from a storage medium to an external device, wherein at least copy control is added to the digital video information. A control information detection circuit that detects control information including information, a first output circuit that outputs the digital video information to an external device, and a second output circuit that converts the digital video information into an analog video signal and outputs the analog video signal to the external device. And an output circuit for controlling the outputs of the first output circuit and the second output circuit according to the control information detected by the control information detection circuit. Output device. 2. The control circuit selects either the first output circuit or the second output circuit according to the control information, and switches between the digital video information and the analog video signal for output. The information output device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The control circuit outputs the analog video signal by selecting the second output circuit when copy restriction or video information protection is designated by the control information, and the designation is made. 3. If not, the information output device according to claim 2, wherein the first output circuit is selected to output the digital video information. 4. The control circuit stops the output of one of the first output circuit and the second output circuit according to the control information, and then starts the output of the other after a lapse of a predetermined period. The information output device according to claim 2, wherein: 5. The information output device according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit stops the output of the digital video information from the first output circuit according to the control information. 6. The control circuit stops the output of the digital video information from the first output circuit when copy restriction or protection of video information is designated by the control information. The information output device according to claim 5. 7. The information output device according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit limits the resolution of the analog video information from the second output circuit according to the copy control information. 8. The control circuit limits the resolution of the analog video information from the second output circuit when copy control or video information protection is designated by the control information. The information output device according to claim 7. 9. An information protection circuit for protecting digital video information output from said first output circuit, wherein said control is performed when digital video information output from said first output circuit is protected. The information output device according to claim 1, wherein the digital image information is output regardless of the content of the information. 10. The information output device according to claim 9, wherein the information protection circuit protects the digital video information output from the first output circuit by scrambling. 11. The digital video information output from the first output circuit and the analog video signal output from the second output circuit are RGB format signals. Information output device described. 12. The digital video information output from the first output circuit and the analog video signal output from the second output circuit are output from the same connector. The information output device described in. 13. An information receiving apparatus for receiving digital video information and outputting the digital video information to an external device, the receiving section receiving the digital video information, and at least a copy control added to the received digital video information. A control information detection circuit that detects control information including information, a first output circuit that outputs the digital video information to an external device, and a second output circuit that converts the digital video information into an analog video signal and outputs the analog video signal to the external device. And an output circuit for controlling the outputs of the first output circuit and the second output circuit according to the control information detected by the control information detection circuit. Receiver. 14. A display unit for displaying digital video information received by the receiving unit.
The information receiving device according to item 3. 15. An information transmitting method for transmitting digital video information to an information receiving device, wherein control information including at least copy control information is added to the digital video information to be transmitted, and the control information is the information. An information transmitting method, characterized in that when the receiving device converts the digital video information into an analog video signal and outputs the analog video signal to an external device, the output signal is controlled. 16. The information transmitting method according to claim 15, wherein the control information limits the resolution of an analog video signal output to the external device. 17. An information output device for outputting input digital video information or digital video information reproduced from a storage medium to an external device, the control information detecting control information added to the digital video information. A detection circuit; an output circuit for outputting the digital video information to the external device; a state recognition circuit for recognizing the state of the external device or the output circuit; and an output control circuit for controlling the output of the output circuit. The output control circuit controls the output circuit based on the control information detected by the control information detection circuit and the state of the external device or the output circuit recognized by the state recognition circuit. Information output device. 18. The information output device according to claim 17, wherein the control information is information relating to a restriction on copying of the digital video information or protection of the video information. 19. If the status of the external device or the output circuit cannot be recognized by the status recognition circuit and the control information specifies copying of the digital video information or protection of the video information, The information output device according to claim 18, wherein the output control circuit stops the output from the output circuit. 20. The recognition of the state of the external device or the output circuit by the state recognition circuit includes authentication using a key signal with the external device or the output circuit. 20. The information output device according to claim 1. 21. The output circuit includes a first output circuit for outputting the digital video information and a second output circuit for converting the digital video information into an analog video signal and outputting the analog video signal. 18. The circuit state includes which output circuit is outputting the signal.
20. The information output device according to claim 1. 22. The output circuit has a function of protecting and outputting the digital video information, and the state of the output circuit includes whether the digital image information is protected and outputting. The information output device according to any one of claims 17 to 19. 23. The first digital video information input or digital video information reproduced from a storage medium is recorded.
And a step of recognizing a state of the first device or the second device, which is a method of outputting information from the device to the second device. And an information output, characterized in that the output from the first device is controlled based on the detected control information and the recognized state of the first device or the second device. Method. 24. The information output method according to claim 23, wherein the control information is information relating to copy restriction of the digital video information or protection of the video information. 25. When the state of the first device or the second device cannot be recognized and the control information specifies copy restriction of the digital video information or protection of the video information, The information output method according to claim 24, characterized in that the output from the first device is stopped. 26. The method according to claim 23, wherein the step of recognizing the state includes authentication using a key signal with the first device or the second device. Information output method described in section. 27. The output from the first device has a function of outputting the digital video information and a function of converting the digital video information into an analog video signal and outputting the analog video signal. The information output method according to any one of claims 23 to 25, wherein the information includes which information is being output. 28. The output from the first device has a function of protecting and outputting the digital video information,
26. The information output method according to claim 23, wherein the state of the first device includes whether or not the first device is protected and is output. 29. An information transmitting method for transmitting digital video information to an information output device for inputting information and outputting the information to an external device, wherein the digital video information to be transmitted is a copy restriction or a video of the digital video information. When the control information relating to the protection of information is added, and the control information is combined with the result of recognizing the state of the information output device or the external device, the digital image information is output from the information output device to the external device. An information transmitting method, which is used for controlling the output of the digital video information.