JP4378777B2 - Broadcast receiving apparatus and broadcast receiving method - Google Patents

Description

（処理４） 上記Ｖｅｒｓｉｏｎ：：ｇｅｔ（ｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄ）の受信に応答して、サーバからはそのｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄにより示されるオブジェクトが属するモジュールの識別情報であるｍｏｄｕｌｅＩｄを返送する。
このｍｏｄｕｌｅＩｄの返送を受けて、クライアント側では送信したｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄと、返送されたｍｏｄｕｌｅＩｄとを対応付けして記憶する。
【０１２６】
上記（処理３）→（処理４）からなるインターフェイスは、クライアントにおいて現在関心があるとされるオブジェクトについて全て行われる。ここで、例えば最後の（処理３）→（処理４）に該当する（処理５）→（処理６）が完了したとすると、クライアント側においては、図１５に示すようなテーブル情報が得られている。つまり、［（処理３）→（処理４）］・・・［（処理５）→（処理６）］が実行されたことで、クライアント側で関心のある全てのオブジェクトごとに、そのｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄとｍｏｄｕｌｅＩｄとが対応付けされたテーブルが得られることになる。
そして、この後（処理７）に移行する。
【０１２７】
（処理７） クライアントは、Ｅｖｅｎｔ：：ｎｏｔｉｆｙをサーバに伝送し、何らかのイベントが発生したらこれを通知する要求を行う。
（処理８） サーバにおいて上記Ｅｖｅｎｔ：：ｎｏｔｉｆｙに対する応答として、ＤＩＩの内容に切り換えがあって″ＤＩＩ＿ＣＨＡＮＧＥＤ″イベントが発生したとされると、サーバから、″ＤＩＩ＿ＣＨＡＮＧＥＤ″イベントに対して設定したイベント番号（Ｅｖｅｎｔ＃２）をクライアントに伝送するのであるが、前述のように、Ｕ−Ｕ ＡＰＩでは、或るイベントの送信に際して、何らかの情報を付加してもよいことが規定されている。そこで、この場合には、イベント番号（Ｅｖｅｎｔ＃２）に対して、バージョンアップしたＤＩＩが対応するモジュール（つまりバージョンアップされたオブジェクトが属するとされるモジュール）のｍｏｄｕｌｅＩｄを付加して伝送するようにされる。
これは、次のようなＡＰＩである。

【０１２８】
このようにして、クライアント側でイベント番号（Ｅｖｅｎｔ＃２）とｍｏｄｕｌｅＩｄが得られると、クライアント側では、図１５に示したテーブルついてテーブルサーチを行って、テーブルの中から、（処理８）により伝送されたｍｏｄｕｌｅＩｄと一致したｍｏｄｕｌｅＩｄを検索する。この検索されたｍｏｄｕｌｅＩｄに対応付けされたｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄにより示されるオブジェクトが、更新されたオブジェクトである可能性を有していることになるので、クライアントは、このオブジェクトを更新のあったオブジェクトとして特定するようにされる。
この場合、例えばテーブル中において、（処理８）により伝送されたｍｏｄｕｌｅＩｄと一致したｍｏｄｕｌｅＩｄと対応づけられたｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄが複数存在する可能性もある。この場合、これら複数のｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄにより示されるオブジェクトのうちの全てが実際に更新されているとは限らないが、ここでは、これら複数のオブジェクトについて更新があったものと見なすようにされる。こうすれば、実際に更新のあったオブジェクトは確実に含まれるようにされる。
【０１２９】
また、第２例においても、ＤＩＩの切り換えを逃さずに″ＤＩＩ＿ＣＨＡＮＧＥＤ″イベントのイベント番号＋ｍｏｄｕｌｅＩｄの通知がクライアントに対して行われるようにするには、第１例の場合と同様に、（処理１）であるＥｖｅｎｔ：：Ｓｕｂｓｃｒｉｂｅ（″ＤＩＩ＿ＣＨＡＮＧＥＤ″）のクライアントからサーバへの伝達は、ＭＨＥＧデコーダブロック８４のプログラム立ち上げ直後、及びカルーセルの切り換えが有ったときに行われるようにすることが必要となる。
また、実際における（処理７）としてのＥｖｅｎｔ：：ｎｏｔｉｆｙのサーバへの伝達も、これに応答した何らかのイベントの通知が行われたら、イベント番号＋ｍｏｄｕｌｅＩｄの返送（処理８）が得られたら、直ちに次のＥｖｅｎｔ：：ｎｏｔｉｆｙ（＃２）の伝達を行うようにされる。
【０１３０】
このようにして、更新されたオブジェクトを知ることで、クライアントではオブジェクトのバージョンアップに対応した適切なＭＨＥＧデコード処理を実行することが出来るが、一例として次のような処理を実行することが可能である。
前述したように、ＭＨＥＧデコーダブロック８４は、ＭＨＥＧの記述内容に従って、ＤＳＭ−ＣＣバッファ９１から必要なオブジェクトのデータを読み出して、ＭＨＥＧバッファ９２にてＧＵＩ画面等のシーンのデータを形成して表示処理部５８に出力する。
ここで、図１４に示す処理によって、１又は複数の特定のオブジェクトについてバージョンアップしたことが特定されたとする。そして、これらのオブジェクトは、現在ＧＵＩ画面形成のためのオブジェクトとして使用されており、この場合には、そのオブジェクトの内容の変更（バージョンアップ）があれば、出来るだけこれを迅速にＧＵＩ画面に反映させる必要があるものとする。
このような場合、ＭＨＥＧデコーダブロック８４は、ＤＳＭ−ＣＣバッファ９１に格納されているモジュール単位のデータの中から、バージョンアップが特定されたオブジェクトのデータのみを再ロードするようにされる。そして、ＭＨＥＧバッファ９２にて、そのオブジェクトの内容についてのみ入れ替えるようにして、新規のシーンのデータを生成して、表示処理部５８に出力させるようにする。
【０１３１】
例えば更新されたオブジェクトが特定できないが、シーンについて何らかの変更が有るという可能性のみが通知されるような場合（例えば第１例）では、例えばシーン内容の一部変更に対応する場合でさえ、そのシーンを形成するための全オブジェクトについて、ＤＳＭ−ＣＣバッファ９１から再読み出しを行って、ＭＨＥＧバッファ９２上にてシーンの再構築を行う必要が生じることになる。
これに対して、第２例のようにして更新されたオブジェクトが特定される場合には、上記処理のようにして、ＭＨＥＧデコーダブロック８４は、シーン内容の一部変更に必要とされるオブジェクトのみについて処理を行えばよいことになる。つまり、同じシーン内容の一部変更を行うのにも、ＭＨＥＧデコーダブロック８４の処理負担は軽いものとすることができる。
【０１３２】
３−４．第３例
続いて、第３例としてのオブジェクト更新通知制御について図１６及び図１７を参照して説明する。
この第３例によっても、クライアント側で変更のあったオブジェクトを特定することまでが可能となる。但し、第３例においては、先の第１例及び第２例において使用された″ＤＩＩ＿ＣＨＡＮＧＥＤ″イベントは使用されない。
【０１３３】
図１６に示す第２例の手順としては次のようになる。
（処理１） クライアントは、現在関心のあるオブジェクトについて、ＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔ：：ｓｕｂｓｃｒｉｂｅ（ｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄ）をサーバ側に伝達する。
ＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔ：：ｓｕｂｓｃｒｉｂｅ（ｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄ）は、引数に示すｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄにより示されるオブジェクトが属するモジュールのバージョンアップが行われた場合のイベント（ＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔ）を受け取ることを宣言するものであり、次のようなＡＰＩを呼ぶことになる。

【０１３４】
（処理２） 上記ＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔ：：ｓｕｂｓｃｒｉｂｅ（ｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄ）を受信したサーバでは、この受信したＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔ：：ｓｕｂｓｃｒｉｂｅ（ｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄ）に固有の識別情報である、ＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔＩｄを返送する。このＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔＩｄは、サーバ側にてユニークに設定されるＩｄである。
【０１３５】
クライアントは、現在関心のある全オブジェクトについて、ＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔ：：ｓｕｂｓｃｒｉｂｅ（ｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄ）の伝達（処理１）と、これに応答したＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔＩｄの受信（処理２）を繰り返すようにされる。ここでは、（処理３）→（処理４）のプロセスが、最後のオブジェクトについての（処理１）→（処理２）に相当するものとしている。
【０１３６】
そして、関心のある全オブジェクトに対応して（処理１）→（処理２）・・・（処理３）→（処理４）が完了したとされる段階では、クライアント（ＭＨＥＧデコーダブロック８４）では、図１７（ａ）に示すテーブル情報が得られている。このテーブル情報は、（処理１）（又は（処理３））としてサーバに伝送したｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄ、つまり関心のあるオブジェクトについてのｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄと、これに応答してサーバから得られたＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔＩｄとの対応が示される。
また、サーバ（ＤＳＭ−ＣＣデコーダブロック８３）側では、図１７（ｂ）に示すテーブル情報が得られている。このテーブル情報は、（処理１）（又は（処理３））により伝送されたｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄに対応して設定したＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔＩｄ、更には、上記ｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄにより示されるオブジェクトが属するモジュールを特定するｍｏｄｕｌｅＩｄ、及びこのモジュールのバージョンナンバ（ＤＩＩにより示される）とが対応付けされたものとなる。
【０１３７】
（処理５） 上記のようにして（処理１）→（処理２）・・・（処理３）→（処理４）までが完了されると、クライアントは、ＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔ：：ｎｏｔｉｆｙをサーバに伝送し、ＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔ（モジュールの更新）が発生したらこれを通知する要求を行う。
（処理６） サーバにおいて上記ＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔ：：ｎｏｔｉｆｙを受けて以降は、受信したＤＩＩが示すモジュールのバージョン値と、図１７（ｂ）に示すテーブルとを照合している。ここで、テーブルの或るｍｏｄｕｌｅＩｄに対応するバージョンナンバが、上記ＤＩＩが示すモジュールのバージョン値と異なっていれば、そのモジュールについてバージョンアップが有ったことが識別される。
このようにしてモジュールについてバージョンアップが有った場合、つまりＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔが発生したら、サーバは、テーブルを参照して、そのバージョンアップが有ったとされるモジュールのｍｏｄｕｌｅＩｄと対応付けされたＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔＩｄを付加して、次のようなＡＰＩを呼び出してＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔＩｄを返送する。

【０１３８】
上記（処理６）によりＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔＩｄを受信して得たクライアント側では、この受信したＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔＩｄと一致する、テーブル（図１７（ａ））のＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔＩｄにアクセスする。そして、テーブル上で、このアクセスされたＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔＩｄに対応付けされたｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄを見ることにより、バージョンアップされたオブジェクトを特定することになる。
【０１３９】
このように、第３例によってもバージョンアップされたオブジェクトが特定されるので、先の第２例の場合と同様に、ＭＨＥＧデコーダブロック８４側の処理をより効率的なものとすることが可能になる。
そして、第３例の場合には次のような利点も有する。図１７（ａ）に示したように、クライアント（ＭＨＥＧデコーダブロック８４）が有するテーブルは、サーバ側でユニークに設定されたＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔＩｄに対してｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄを対応付けしたものである。従って、クライアント側ではＥｖｅｎｔ：：ｎｏｔｉｆｙに応答したＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔＩｄを獲得すれば、一義的にｏｂｊｅｃｔＩｄを特定することが出来る。つまり、第３例ではクライアント側でバージョンアップされたオブジェクトの特定をするのにテーブルサーチを行う必要はないものであり、それだけクライアントの処理負担が軽減されるものである。
【０１４０】
また、第３例の場合にも、（処理５）としてのＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔ：：ｎｏｔｉｆｙのサーバへの伝達も、これに応答したＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔＩｄの返送（処理６）が得られたら、直ちに次のＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔ：：ｎｏｔｉｆｙの伝達を行うようにして、バージョンアップしたモジュールの通知が逃さず行われるようにするものである。
なお、クライアント側でバージョンの更新について関心が無くなった場合（例えば、ＧＵＩ画面表示が停止された）には、

のＡＰＩを発行する。これにより、サーバ側ではＵｐｄａｔｅＥｖｅｎｔ通知のための管理情報を消去する。
【０１４１】
また、本発明としては、データ伝送方式としてＤＳＭ−ＣＣ方式を採用し、ＭＨＥＧのクライアント−サーバ間のインターフェイスとしてＵ−Ｕ ＡＰＩを採用した場合について説明しているが、これに限定されるものではなく、上記実施の形態において説明した送信フォーマットに準ずる伝送方式、及びインターフェイスであれば本発明の適用が可能とされる。また、本発明が適用されるシステムとしてもデジタル衛星放送システムに限定されるものではなく、例えばケーブルテレビジョンなどの放送や、インターネット等において適用することも可能である。
【０１４２】
【発明の効果】
以上説明したように本発明は、例えばＤＳＭ−ＣＣ方式のもとでデータカルーセルによりデータ伝送を行うシステムの受信側において、カルーセル（循環データ単位）内におけるデータついて更新が行われたことを、カルーセルからデータを受信して保持するサーバ（受信データ保持手段）側から、このカルーセルのデータを使用して所要の機能を実現するクライアント（データデコード手段）に対して通知できるようにしたことで、クライアント側では、この通知に従って、データの更新に応答して実行すべき処理を迅速に或いは効率的に実行することが可能になるものである。
【０１４３】
そして本発明では、上記のようなオブジェクトの更新を通知するためのオブジェクト更新通知処理として、例えばＵ−Ｕ ＡＰＩ等の既存のインターフェイスのもとで、オブジェクトの更新に応じてその内容が更新されるモジュールに関する制御情報（ＤＩＩ）の変更を意味する制御情報変更イベント（ＤＩＩ＿ＣＨＡＮＧＥＤ）を設定し、この制御情報変更イベントを利用して、クライアント側からサーバ側に制御情報の変更が有ったことを通知するように構成される。つまり、敢えて特化されたインターフェイスの規格を採用することなく、既存のインターフェイスに準拠した上で、オブジェクトの更新を通知を実現することができ、それだけ汎用性が与えられることになる。
ここで、制御情報変更イベントに基づいて、サーバ側から制御情報変更イベントの発生を通知する際、その制御情報が対応するモジュールのＩＤを付加すれば、クライアント側では、単にカルーセル内でオブジェクトの更新が有ったことだけではなく、更新されたオブジェクトが属するモジュールまで特定することが出来るため、それだけ、データの再ロードなどを実行する際には、効率的な処理を実行することが可能になる。
【０１４４】
また、本発明の他のオブジェクト更新通知処理として、上記と同様に、Ｕ−ＵＡＰＩ等の既存のインターフェイスのもとで、ＤＩＩの変更を意味する制御情報変更イベント（ＤＩＩ＿ＣＨＡＮＧＥＤ）を設定し、クライアント側で制御情報変更イベントの受け取りを宣言（Ｅｖｅｎｔ：：ｓｕｂｓｃｒｉｂｅ）した後、関心のあるオブジェクトのＩＤをサーバに伝えると共に、サーバからはこのオブジェクトが属するモジュールのＩＤをクライアントに送るようにする。そして、この後のクライアントの制御情報変更イベントの受け取り要求に応えて、サーバ側では、更新された制御情報のモジュールのＩＤを付加して、制御情報変更イベントが有ったことを通知するように構成する。
これにより、クライアント側では、オブジェクトＩＤとモジュールＩＤとを対応付けしたテーブルを検索することで、ほぼ更新されたオブジェクトの特定までも行うことが可能になる。この場合、クライアント側では、例えばオブジェクト単位でデータを再ロードすればよく、更に処理負担が軽くなる。
【０１４５】
また、更に他のオブジェクト更新通知処理として、クライアント側では、関心のあるオブジェクトＩＤを付加してモジュールの更新イベントの受け取りをサーバに宣言（ｓｕｂｓｃｒｉｂｅ）し、サーバでは、このｓｕｂｓｃｒｉｂｅに応答して、固有のモジュール更新イベントのＩＤを設定してクライアントに返送すというインターフェイスを実行するようにされる。
そして、この後のクライアントのモジュール更新イベントの受け取り要求に応えて、サーバ側では、更新された制御情報のモジュール更新イベントＩＤを付加してモジュール変更イベントを送信するように構成する。
この構成によっても、クライアント側では、オブジェクトＩＤとモジュール更新イベントＩＤとを対応付けしたテーブルを検索することで、ほぼ更新されたオブジェクトの特定までも行うことが可能になる。そして、この構成では、クライアント側では獲得したモジュール更新イベントＩＤと対応するオブジェクトＩＤが一義的に得られるため、更新されたオブジェクトを特定するのにテーブルサーチを行う必要が無く、更にクライアント側の処理負担は軽減される。
【０１４６】
また、サブスクライブイベント（Ｅｖｅｎｔ：：ｓｕｂｓｃｒｉｂｅ）の伝達は、クライアントのプログラムの立ち上げ時、又は、カルーセル自体の切り換えが行われたときに実行する、また、イベント通知要求（Ｅｖｅｎｔ：：ｎｏｔｉｆｙ）は、サーバからのイベント通知要求に対する応答メッセージが得られた後において、直ちに実行されるようにすることで、クライアントのプログラムの立ち上げ以降においては、オブジェクトの更新の通知をほぼ逃さずに得ることが可能になり、例えば、放送側でのオブジェクトの更新にほぼ即応したＧＵＩ画面の内容変更が可能になるなど、信頼性が向上することになる。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】本発明の実施の形態のデジタル衛星放送受信システムの構成例を示すブロック図である。
【図２】本実施の形態における受信設備の構築例を示すブロック図である。
【図３】ＩＲＤのためのリモートコントローラの外観を示す正面図である。
【図４】放送画面とＧＵＩ画面との切り換えを示す説明図である。
【図５】地上局の構成例を示すブロック図である。
【図６】地上局から送信されるデータを示すチャート図である。
【図７】送信データの時分割多重化構造を示す説明図である。
【図８】ＤＳＭ−ＣＣによる送信フォーマットを示す説明図である。
【図９】データサービスのディレクトリ構造の一例を示す説明図である。
【図１０】トランスポートストリームのデータ構造図である。
【図１１】ＰＳＩのテーブル構造を示す説明図である。
【図１２】ＩＲＤの構成を示す説明図である。
【図１３】第１例としてのオブジェクト更新通知制御を示す説明図である。
【図１４】第２例としてのオブジェクト更新通知制御を示す説明図である。
【図１５】第２例においてクライアント側で用意されるテーブル構造を示す説明図である。
【図１６】第３例としてのオブジェクト更新通知制御を示す説明図である。
【図１７】第３例においてクライアント側で用意されるテーブル構造を示す説明図である。
【図１８】Ｕ−Ｕ ＡＰＩインターフェイスの一般的な制御動作例を示す説明図である。
【符号の説明】
１ 地上局、２ 衛星、３ 受信設備、５ 課金サーバ、６ テレビ番組素材サーバ、７ 楽曲素材サーバ、８ 音声付加情報サーバ、９ ＧＵＩデータサーバ、１０ キー情報サーバ、１１ パラボラアンテナ、１３ ストレージデバイス、１３Ａ ＭＤレコーダ／プレーヤ、１４ モニタ装置、１６ ＩＥＥＥ１３９４バス、２１Ａ テレビ番組表示エリア、２１Ｂ リスト、２１Ｃ テキスト表示エリア、２１Ｄ ジャケット表示エリア、２２ 歌詞表示ボタン、２３ プロフィール表示ボタン、２４ 情報表示ボタン、２５ 予約録音ボタン、２６ 予約済一覧表示ボタン、２７ 録音履歴ボタン、２８ ダウンロードボタン、３１ テレビ番組素材登録システム、３２ 楽曲素材登録システム、３３ 音声付加情報登録システム、３４ ＧＵＩ用素材登録システム、３５ ＡＶサーバ、３６Ａ ＭＰＥＧオーディオエンコーダ、３６Ｂ ＡＴＲＡＣエンコーダ、３７ 音声付加情報データベース、３８ ＧＵＩ素材データベース、３９ テレビ番組送出システム、４０Ａ ＭＰＥＧオーディオサーバ、４０Ｂ ＭＰＥＧオーディオサーバ、４１ 音声付加情報送出システム、４２ ＧＵＩオーサリングシステム、４３Ａ ＭＰＥＧオーディオ送出システム、４３Ｂ ＡＴＲＡＣオーディオ送出システム、４４ ＤＳＭ−ＣＣエンコーダ、４５ マルチプレクサ、４６ 電波送出システム、５１ チューナ／フロントエンド部、５２ デスクランブラ、５３ トランスポート部、５４ ＭＰＥＧ２オーディオデコーダ、５４Ａ メモリ、５５ ＭＰＥＧ２ビデオデコーダ、５５Ａ メモリ、５６ Ｄ／Ａコンバータ、５７ スイッチ回路、５８ 表示処理部、５９ 光デジタル出力インターフェイス、６０ ＩＥＥＥ１３９４インターフェイス、６１ マンマシンインターフェイス、６２ ＩＣカードスロット、６３ モデム、６４ リモートコントローラ、６５ ＩＣカード、７０ デマルチプレクサ、７１ キュー、８１ 制御処理部、８２ ＤｅＭＵＸドライバ、８３ ＤＳＭ−ＣＣデコーダブロック、８４ ＭＨＥＧデコーダブロック、９０ メインメモリ、９１ ＤＳＭ−ＣＣバッファ、１０１ 電源キー、１０２ 数字キー、１０３ 画面表示切換キー、１０４ インタラクティブ切換キー、１０５ａ 矢印キー、１０５ ＥＰＧキーパネル部、１０６ チャンネルキー、Ｔ１ 入力端子、Ｔ２ アナログビデオ出力端子、Ｔ３ アナログオーディオ出力端子、Ｔ４ アナログオーディオ出力端子[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a data transmission control method suitable for application to a system for receiving a data service, for example, in digital satellite broadcasting.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, digital satellite broadcasting has been widely used. Digital satellite broadcasts, for example, are more resistant to noise and fading than existing analog broadcasts, and can transmit high-quality signals. In addition, the frequency utilization efficiency is improved, and the number of channels can be increased. Specifically, in the case of digital satellite broadcasting, it is possible to secure several hundred channels with one satellite. In such digital satellite broadcasting, a large number of specialized channels such as sports, movies, music, and news are prepared, and programs corresponding to each specialized content are broadcast on these specialized channels.
[0003]
Then, by using the digital satellite broadcasting system as described above, the user can download audio data such as music, or as so-called TV shopping, for example, the user can make a purchase contract for some product while watching the broadcast screen. It has been proposed to do so. That is, as a digital satellite broadcasting system, data service broadcasting is performed in parallel with normal broadcasting contents.
[0004]
As an example, in the case of downloading music data, on the broadcast side, the music data is multiplexed and broadcasted in parallel with the broadcast program. Further, when downloading the music data, a GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen (that is, an operation screen for downloading) is displayed to allow the user to perform an interactive operation. The data for this is also multiplexed and broadcast.
The user who owns the receiving device displays and outputs a GUI screen for downloading music data by a predetermined operation on the receiving device while a desired channel is selected. Then, when the user performs an operation on the displayed operation screen, for example, data is supplied to a digital audio device connected to the receiving device, and this is recorded.
[0005]
By the way, as a GUI screen for downloading the music data as described above, for example, in addition to information such as part-like image data and text data forming the GUI screen, further for voice output according to a predetermined operation Unit data (file) such as audio data is handled as an object, and the output mode of the object is defined by a scenario description by a predetermined method, thereby realizing the required display mode and the output mode of audio and the like for the operation screen. It is conceivable to configure as follows.
In addition, here, a display screen (including an output of sound or the like) that realizes a function in accordance with a certain purpose by being defined by the description information like the above GUI screen is referred to as a “scene”. Let's say. “Object” indicates unit information such as image, sound, text, etc. whose output mode is defined based on description information. At the time of transmission, the data file of the description information itself is also “object”. ”.
[0006]
The object for realizing the scene display and the sound output on the scene display is encoded and transmitted according to a predetermined transmission method, for example.
The receiving device receives data in accordance with the above transmission method and performs decoding processing on the received data to obtain data as a group for each object necessary for a scene necessary for display, for example. It is made to output.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Here, in consideration of the usage environment of the user who owns the receiving device, the data service data received by the receiving device is processed as efficiently as possible in accordance with the predetermined transmission method. It is preferable that, for example, updating of the contents of a scene to be displayed and output can be quickly handled with a process as light as possible.
[0008]
[Process to solve the problem]
In view of the above-described problems, the present invention is configured as follows as a broadcast receiving apparatus.
In other words, as a broadcast Under the DSM-CC method By carousel method Described by MHEG method A DDB message including a data part forming one or more modules, a receiving means for receiving carousel data having a DII message corresponding to each module, and a DDB message received by the receiving means. The data that forms the acquired module Reconstructed as MHEG data The received data holding means to hold and held by the received data holding means MHEG method Data decoding that uses data to perform decoding, and in response to a notification of version switching for a module, data decoding that acquires changed data from the data held by the received data holding means And, based on the version information in the DII message received by the receiving means, the data decoding means from the received data holding means in response to detecting the version change for the module corresponding to the DII message. In response to the processing for notifying the switching of the version of the module, the data decoding means for accessing the data held in the received data holding means U-U API standard And a notification control means that executes under the interface standard. The notification control means transmits a subscribe event for declaring receipt of a DII message change event from the data decoding means to the received data holding means, and after the transmission of the subscribe event. The event number set in the subscribe event is transmitted from the received data holding means to the data decoding means, and after the event number is transmitted, the data decoding means indicates the data of interest. The data ID is transmitted from the data decoding means to the received data holding means, and then the module ID indicating the module to which the data indicated by the transmitted data ID belongs is transferred from the received data holding means to the data decoding means. introduce After receiving the data ID and module ID by the data ID / module ID transmission process and the data ID / module ID transmission process, the event occurrence notification request for requesting the occurrence of the event is received from the data decoding means. The event occurrence notification request transmission process to be transmitted to the data holding means and the DII message in the data received by the receiving means are stored as a response to the event occurrence notification request, and the data in the corresponding module is updated. When there is a change in the version information of the reflected module, the DII message change event with the same event number transmitted by the event number transmission process is sent from the received data holding means to the data decoding means. Transmitting, is adapted to perform a DII message change event transfer process I decided to do it.
[0009]
According to the above configuration, at least, Carousel Any data that forms the data Or specific data That it was updated Data decoding means Will be able to know, Data decoding means Then, it becomes possible to execute a required response process based on this.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
An example of a system to which the present invention is applied is a system in which a program is broadcast using digital satellite broadcasting, and information such as music data (audio data) related to the program can be downloaded on the receiving device side. Suppose that
[0011]
The following description will be made in the following order.
1. Digital satellite broadcasting system
1-1. overall structure
1-2. Operations for GUI screen
1-3. Ground station
1-4. Transmission format
1-5. IRD
2. Background to the present invention
3. Object update notification control of this embodiment
3-1. General processing of U-U API
3-2. First example
3-3. Second example
3-4. Third example
[0012]
1. Configuration of digital satellite broadcasting system
1-1. overall structure
FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a digital satellite broadcasting system as the present embodiment. As shown in this figure, the ground station 1 for digital satellite broadcasting includes a material for television program broadcast from the television program material server 6, a material for music data from the music material server 7, and an audio additional information server 8. Voice additional information and GUI data from the GUI data server are sent.
[0013]
The TV program material server 6 is a server that provides materials for ordinary broadcast programs. Music broadcast materials sent from the television program material server are moving images and audio. For example, in the case of a music broadcast program, for example, a moving image and audio for promotion of a new song are broadcast using the moving image and audio material of the TV program material server 6.
[0014]
The music material server 7 is a server that provides an audio program using an audio channel. The audio program material is audio only. This music material server 7 transmits the material of audio programs of a plurality of audio channels to the ground station 1.
In the program broadcast of each audio channel, the same music is repeatedly broadcast for a predetermined unit time. Each audio channel is independent, and there are various possible uses. For example, one audio channel repeatedly broadcasts the latest Japanese pop songs for a certain period of time, and the other audio channel repeatedly broadcasts the latest foreign pop songs for a certain period of time. .
[0015]
The audio additional information server 8 is a server that provides time information of music output from the music material server 7.
[0016]
The GUI data server 9 provides “GUI data” for forming a GUI screen used by the user for operation. For example, if it is a GUI screen related to music download as will be described later, image data, text data, and data for forming a still image of an album jacket for forming a list page of distributed music and an information page for each music Etc. Furthermore, EPG data used for displaying a program table called so-called EPG (Electrical Program Guide) on the receiving equipment 3 side is also provided here.
As the “GUI data”, for example, an MHEG (Multimedia Hypermedia Information Coding Experts Group) system is adopted. MHEG is an international standard for scenario description for producing multimedia information, procedures, operations, etc. and their combinations as objects, encoding those objects, and producing them as titles (for example, GUI screens). Is done. In this embodiment, MHEG-5 is adopted.
[0017]
The ground station 1 multiplexes and transmits the information transmitted from the television program material server 6, the music material server 7, the audio additional information server 8, and the GUI data server 9.
In the present embodiment, video data transmitted from the TV program material server 6 is compression-encoded by the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) 2 system, and audio data is compression-encoded by the MPEG2 audio system. The audio data transmitted from the music material server 7 is compressed and encoded by one of the MPEG2 audio method and the ATRAC (Adoptive Tranform Acoustic Coding) method, for example, corresponding to each audio channel.
These data are encrypted using the key information from the key information server 10 when multiplexing.
An example of the internal configuration of the ground station 1 will be described later.
[0018]
A signal from the ground station 1 is received by the receiving equipment 3 in each home via the satellite 2. The satellite 2 is equipped with a plurality of transponders. One transponder has a transmission capacity of 30 Mbps, for example. A parabolic antenna 11, an IRD (Integrated Receiver Decorder) 12, a storage device 13, and a monitor device 14 are prepared as the receiving equipment 3 in each home.
In this case, a remote controller 64 for operating the IRD 12 is shown.
[0019]
The parabola antenna 11 receives a signal broadcast via the satellite 2. This received signal is converted to a predetermined frequency by an LNB (Low Noize Block Down Converter) 15 attached to the parabolic antenna 11 and supplied to the IRD 12.
[0020]
As a schematic operation in the IRD 12, a signal of a predetermined channel is selected from a received signal, and video data and audio data as a program are demodulated from the selected signal and output as a video signal and an audio signal. . The IRD 12 also outputs a GUI screen based on GUI data that is multiplexed and transmitted together with data as a program. Such an output of the IRD 12 is supplied to the monitor device 14, for example. As a result, the monitor device 14 performs image display and audio output of the program selected and received by the IRD 12, and can display a GUI screen in accordance with user operations as described later.
[0021]
The storage device 13 is for storing audio data (music data) downloaded by the IRD 12. The type of the storage device 13 is not particularly limited, and an MD (Mini Disc) recorder / player, a DAT recorder / player, a DVD recorder / player, or the like can be used. It is also possible to use a personal computer device as the storage device 13 and store audio data on a recordable medium such as a CD-R in addition to a hard disk.
[0022]
Further, as the receiving facility 3 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, an MD recorder / player 13A having a data interface corresponding to IEEE 1394 as a data transmission standard is used as the storage device 13 shown in FIG. Be able to.
The IEEE 1394-compatible MD recorder / player 13A shown in this figure is connected to the IRD 12 via the IEEE 1394 bus 16. As a result, in this embodiment, audio data (download data) received as a musical piece and received by the IRD 12 can be directly captured and recorded in a state where compression processing is performed by the ATRAC method. Further, when the MD recorder / player 13A and the IRD 12 are connected by the IEEE 1394 bus 16, it is possible to record the album data (still image data) and text data such as lyrics in addition to the audio data. Has been.
[0023]
The IRD 12 can communicate with the accounting server 5 via the telephone line 4, for example. An IC card for storing various information is inserted into the IRD 12 as will be described later. For example, assuming that audio data of a music piece has been downloaded, history information relating to this is stored in the IC card. This IC card information is sent to the accounting server 5 through the telephone line 4 at a predetermined opportunity and timing. The accounting server 5 sets an amount according to the sent history information, charges the user, and charges the user.
[0024]
As can be seen from the above description, in the system to which the present invention is applied, the ground station 1 receives the video data and audio data as the material of the music program broadcast from the TV program material server 6 and the music material server 7. Audio data that is the material of the audio channel, audio data from the audio additional information server 8, and GUI data from the GUI data server 9 are multiplexed and transmitted.
When this broadcast is received by the receiving equipment 3 at each home, for example, the monitor device 14 can watch the program of the selected channel. Further, as a GUI screen using GUI data transmitted together with program data, first, an EPG (Electrical Program Guide) screen can be displayed to search for a program. Second, for example, in the case of the present embodiment, a normal service provided in the broadcast system is performed by using a GUI screen for a specific service other than a normal program broadcast. You can enjoy services other than watching programs.
For example, if a GUI screen for audio (music) data download service is displayed and the operation is performed using this GUI screen, the audio data of the music desired by the user is downloaded and recorded in the storage device 13. It becomes possible to save.
[0025]
In the present embodiment, data service broadcasts that provide specific services other than normal program broadcasts that involve operations on the GUI screen as described above may be interactive and may be referred to as “interactive broadcasts”. I will say.
[0026]
1-2. Operations for GUI screen
Here, an example of using the above-described interactive broadcast, that is, an example of an operation on the GUI screen will be schematically described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. Here, a case where music data (audio data) is downloaded will be described.
[0027]
First, the operation key of the remote controller 64 for the user to operate the IRD 12 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 shows an operation panel surface on which various keys are arranged in the remote controller 64. Here, among these various keys, the power key 101, the numeric key 102, the screen display switching key 103, the interactive switching key 104, the EPG key panel unit 105, and the channel key 106 will be described.
[0028]
The power key 101 is a key for turning on / off the power of the IRD 12. The numeric key 102 is a key for performing channel switching by designating a numeral, or operating when a numerical value input operation is necessary on a GUI screen, for example.
The screen display switching key 103 is a key for switching between a normal broadcast screen and an EPG screen, for example. For example, if a key arranged on the EPG key panel unit 105 is operated in a state where the EPG screen is called by the screen display switching key 103, a program search using the display screen of the electronic program guide can be performed. The arrow key 105a in the EPG key panel unit 105 can also be used for moving a cursor on a service GUI screen described later.
The interactive switch key 104 is provided for switching between a normal broadcast screen and a GUI screen for a service associated with the broadcast program.
The channel key 106 is a key provided for sequentially switching the selected channel in the IRD 12 in the ascending order or descending order of the channel numbers.
[0029]
Note that the remote controller 64 of the present embodiment is configured to be capable of various operations on the monitor device 14, for example, and is provided with various keys corresponding thereto. A description of the keys and the like corresponding to the monitor device 14 is omitted.
[0030]
Next, a specific example of the operation on the GUI screen will be described with reference to FIG.
When the receiving facility 3 receives the broadcast and selects a desired channel, the display screen of the monitor device 14 displays a video based on the program material provided from the television program material server 6 as shown in FIG. An image is displayed. That is, normal program content is displayed. Here, for example, it is assumed that a music program is displayed. It is assumed that the music program is accompanied by a music audio data download service (interactive broadcast).
If the user operates the interactive switching key 104 of the remote controller 64 under the state where the music program is displayed, the display screen displays the download of audio data as shown in FIG. Switch to the GUI screen.
[0031]
In this GUI screen, first, an image based on video data from the TV program material server 6 displayed in FIG. 4A is reduced and displayed in the TV program display area 21A at the upper left of the screen. Is done.
In the upper right part of the screen, a list 21B of music of each channel broadcast on the audio channel is displayed. A text display area 21C and a jacket display area 21D are displayed at the lower left of the screen. Further, a lyrics display button 22, a profile display button 23, an information display button 24, a reserved recording button 25, a reserved list display button 26, a recording history display button 27, and a download button 28 are displayed on the right side of the screen.
[0032]
The user searches for music of interest while looking at the music names displayed in the list 21B. Then, when a musical piece of interest is found, the arrow key 105a (in the EPG key panel unit 105) of the remote controller 64 is operated to move the cursor to the position where the musical piece is displayed, and then an enter operation is performed (for example, The center position of the arrow key 105a is pressed).
As a result, it is possible to audition the music with the cursor. That is, in each audio channel, the same music is repeatedly broadcast for a predetermined unit time, so that the screen of the TV program display area 21A remains unchanged and the IRD 12 switches to the audio channel of the music selected by the above operation. You can listen to the song by outputting the sound. At this time, a still image of the MD jacket of the music is displayed in the jacket display area 21D.
[0033]
Further, for example, when the cursor is moved to the lyrics display button 22 in the above state and an enter operation is performed (hereinafter, the cursor is moved to the button display and the enter operation is referred to as “pressing the button”), the text display area 21C is displayed. The lyrics of the song are displayed at the timing synchronized with the audio data. Similarly, when the profile display button 23 or the information display button 24 is pressed, the artist's profile or concert information corresponding to the music is displayed in the text display area 21C. Thus, the user can know what kind of music is currently distributed, and can also know detailed information about each music.
[0034]
The user presses the download button 28 to purchase the sample music. When the download button 28 is pressed, the audio data of the selected music is downloaded and stored in the storage device 13. Along with the audio data of the music, the lyrics data, artist profile information, jacket still image data, and the like can also be downloaded.
Each time the music audio data is downloaded in this way, the history information is stored in the IC card in the IRD 12. The information stored in the IC card is taken in by the billing server 5 once a month, for example, and the user is billed according to the usage history of the data service. As a result, the copyright of the music to be downloaded can be protected.
[0035]
In addition, the user presses the reservation recording button 25 to make a reservation for download in advance. When this button is pressed, the display on the GUI screen is switched, and a list of songs that can be reserved is displayed on the entire screen. For example, this list can display music searched in units of one hour, one week, or one unit. When the user selects a music piece for which a download reservation is to be made from this list, the information is registered in the IRD 12. If it is desired to approve a song that has already been reserved for download, it can be displayed on the entire screen by pressing the reserved list display button 26. The music reserved in this way is downloaded by the IRD 12 at the reserved time and stored in the storage device 13.
[0036]
When the user wants to confirm the downloaded music, the user can press the recording history button 27 to display a list of already downloaded music on the entire screen.
[0037]
As described above, in the reception facility 3 of the system to which the present invention is applied, the music list is displayed on the GUI screen of the monitor device 14. When a song is selected according to the display on the GUI screen, the song can be auditioned, and the lyrics of the song, the artist's profile, and the like can be known. Furthermore, it is possible to download music and reserve it, display a download history, a reserved music list, and the like.
[0038]
Although the details will be described later, the display of the GUI screen as shown in FIG. 4B, the display change on the GUI screen in response to the user's operation on the GUI screen, and the audio output are the same as the above-described MHEG method. This is realized by defining the relationship between objects by a scenario description based on the scenario description. The object here is image data as parts corresponding to each button shown in FIG. 4B and material data displayed in each display area.
In this specification, the relationship between objects is defined by scenario description such as this GUI screen, thereby realizing an information output mode (image display, audio output, etc.) according to a certain purpose. This environment is called “scene”. In addition, the scenario forming file itself is included as an object forming one scene.
[0039]
As described above, in the digital satellite broadcasting system to which the present invention is applied, broadcast programs are distributed and audio data of music is distributed using a plurality of audio channels. Then, it is possible to search for a desired music using a list of delivered music and the like and easily store the audio data in the storage device 13.
Various services other than program provision in the digital satellite broadcasting system can be considered in addition to the music data download described above. For example, after broadcasting a product introduction program called so-called TV shopping, it may be possible to prepare a GUI screen that allows a purchase contract to be made.
[0040]
1-3. Ground station
So far, the outline of the digital satellite broadcasting system as the present embodiment has been described, but hereinafter, this system will be described in more detail. First, the configuration of the ground station 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0041]
In the following description, the following is assumed.
In the present embodiment, the DSM-CC (Digital Storage Media Command and Control) protocol is used for transmission from the ground station 1 to the receiving facility 3 via the satellite 2. Is adopted.
As already known, the DSM-CC (MPEG-part6) method can retrieve (retrieve) an MPEG encoded bitstream stored in a digital storage medium (DSM) via some network, for example. It defines commands and control methods for storing streams in the DSM. In this embodiment, this DSM-CC method is adopted as a transmission standard in the digital satellite broadcasting system.
In order to transmit content (a set of objects) of a data broadcasting service (for example, a GUI screen) by the DSM-CC method, it is necessary to define a content description format. In the present embodiment, the MHEG described above is adopted as the definition of the description format.
[0042]
In the configuration of the ground station 1 shown in FIG. 5, the television program material registration system 31 registers material data obtained from the television program material server 6 in the AV server 35. This material data is sent to the television program transmission system 39, where the video data is compressed by, for example, the MPEG2 system, and the audio data is packetized by, for example, the MPEG2 audio system. The output of the television program transmission system 39 is sent to the multiplexer 45.
[0043]
In the music material registration system 32, the material data from the music material server 7, that is, audio data is supplied to the MPEG2 audio encoder 36A and the ATRAC encoder 36B. The MPEG2 audio encoder 36A and the ATRAC encoder 36B perform encoding processing (compression encoding) on the supplied audio data, and then register them in the MPEG audio server 40A and the ATRAC audio server 40B.
The MPEG audio data registered in the MPEG audio server 40A is transmitted to the MPEG audio transmission system 43A, packetized therein, and then transmitted to the multiplexer 45. The ATRAC data registered in the ATRAC audio server 40B is sent to the ATRAC audio sending system 43B as quadruple speed ATRAC data, where it is packetized and sent to the multiplexer 45.
[0044]
Further, in the additional sound information registration system 33, additional sound information that is material data from the additional sound information server 8 is registered in the additional sound information database 37. The audio additional information registered in the audio additional information database 37 is transmitted to the audio additional information sending system 41, and is similarly packetized and transmitted to the multiplexer 45.
[0045]
In the GUI material registration system 34, GUI data that is material data from the GUI data server 9 is registered in the GUI material database 38.
[0046]
The GUI material data registered in the GUI material database 38 is transmitted to the GUI authoring system 42, where it is processed so as to have a data format that can be output as a GUI screen, that is, the “scene” described in FIG. Is given.
[0047]
In other words, as data transmitted to the GUI authoring system 42, for example, if it is a GUI screen for downloading music, the album jacket still image data, text data such as lyrics, and further output according to the operation Audio data to be performed.
Each of the above-mentioned data is called a so-called mono-media. In the GUI authoring system 42, these mono-media data are encoded using an MHEG authoring tool and handled as an object.
Then, for example, a scenario description file (script) that defines the relationship between the objects so as to obtain the display mode of the scene (GUI screen) and the output mode of the image and sound according to the operation as described in FIG. At the same time, the contents of MHEG-5 are created.
In the GUI screen as shown in FIG. 4B, image / audio data (MPEG video data, MPEG audio data) based on the material data of the TV program material server 6 and the music material of the music material server 7 are used. MPEG audio data based on the data is also displayed on the GUI screen, and an output mode corresponding to the operation is given.
Therefore, as the scenario description file, in the GUI authoring system 42, MPEG audio data based on the image / audio data based on the material data of the television program material server 6 and the music material data of the music material server 7 are used. Furthermore, the audio additional information based on the audio additional information server 8 is also handled as an object as necessary, and is defined by the MHEG script.
[0048]
The MHEG content data transmitted from the GUI authoring system 42 includes a script file and various still image data files and text data files as objects. The still image data is, for example, JPEG (Joint Photograph Experts Group). The data is 640 × 480 pixels compressed by the above method, and the text data is, for example, a file of 800 characters or less.
[0049]
The data of the MHEG content obtained by the GUI authoring system 42 is transmitted to the DSM-CC encoder 44.
The DSM-CC encoder 44 converts it into a transport stream (hereinafter also abbreviated as TS (Transport Stream)) in a format that can be multiplexed with a data stream of video and audio data in accordance with the MPEG2 format, packetized and output to the multiplexer 45 Is done.
[0050]
In the multiplexer 45, the video packet and the audio packet from the television program transmission system 39, the audio packet from the MPEG audio transmission system 43A, the quadruple speed audio packet from the ATRAC audio transmission system 43B, and the audio additional information transmission system 41 are transmitted. The voice additional information packet and the GUI data packet from the GUI authoring system 42 are time-axis multiplexed and encrypted based on the key information output from the key information server 10 (FIG. 1).
[0051]
The output of the multiplexer 45 is transmitted to the radio wave transmission system 46, where, for example, processing such as addition of an error correction code, modulation, and frequency conversion is performed, and then transmission is output from the antenna toward the satellite 2. .
[0052]
1-4. Transmission format
Next, the transmission format of the present embodiment defined based on the DSM-CC scheme will be described.
FIG. 6 shows an example of data at the time of transmission output from the ground station 1 to the satellite 2. As described above, each data shown in this figure is actually time-axis multiplexed. Also, in this figure, as shown in FIG. 6, the period from time t1 to time t2 is one event, and the next event is from time t2. For example, in the case of a channel of a music program, the event referred to here is a unit for changing a set of a plurality of music lineups, and is about 30 minutes or one hour in terms of time.
[0053]
As shown in FIG. 6, in the event from the time t1 to the time t2, a program having a predetermined content A1 is broadcast by a normal moving image program broadcast. In the event starting from time t2, a program as content A2 is broadcast. This normal program is broadcasted with moving images and audio.
[0054]
MPEG audio channels (1) to (10) are prepared, for example, for 10 channels CH1 to CH10. At this time, in each audio channel CH1, CH2, CH3... CH10, the same music is repeatedly transmitted while one event is broadcast. That is, in the event period from time t1 to time t2, the music B1 is repeatedly transmitted on the audio channel CH1, the music C1 is repeatedly transmitted on the audio channel CH2, and similarly, the music K1 is repeatedly transmitted on the audio channel CH10. It will be. This is the same for the quadruple speed ATRAC audio channels (1) to (10) shown below.
[0055]
That is, in FIG. 6, the same music numbers are the same in (), which are the channel numbers of the MPEG audio channel and the quadruple speed ATRAC audio channel. The numbers in parentheses () that are channel numbers of the additional audio information are additional audio information added to audio data having the same channel number. Furthermore, still image data and text data transmitted as GUI data are also formed for each channel. These data are time-division multiplexed in the MPEG2 transport packet as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7D and transmitted in the IRD 12 as shown in FIGS. 7E to 7H. Reconstructed using the header information of each data packet.
[0056]
Of the transmission data shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, at least GUI data used for data service (interactive broadcasting) is logically formed in the following manner in accordance with the DSM-CC system. Is. Here, the description is limited to the data of the transport stream output from the DSM-CC encoder 44.
[0057]
As shown in FIG. 8A, all the data broadcasting services of the present embodiment transmitted by the DSM-CC method are included in a root directory named Service Gateway. As objects included in the Service Gateway, there are types such as a directory, a file, a stream, a stream event, and a stream event.
[0058]
Of these, the files are individual data files such as still images, audio, text, and scripts written in MHEG.
The stream includes, for example, information linked to other data services and AV streams (MPEG video data, audio data as TV program material, MPEG audio data as music material, ATRAC audio data, etc.).
The stream event also includes link information and time information.
A directory is a folder for collecting data related to each other.
[0059]
In the DSM-CC system, as shown in FIG. 8B, these unit information and Service Gateway are regarded as units called objects, and each is converted into a format called BIOP message.
In the description related to the present invention, the distinction between the three objects of file, stream, and stream event is not essential, and in the following description, these will be described by representing the object as a file.
[0060]
In the DSM-CC system, a data unit called a module shown in FIG. 8C is generated. This module is a variable-length data unit formed by adding one or more BIOP message objects shown in FIG. 8B and adding a BIOP header. This is a buffering unit of received data on the side.
In the DSM-CC system, the relationship between objects when one module is formed by a plurality of objects is not particularly defined or restricted. That is, in an extreme case, even if one module is formed by two or more objects between scenes that are completely irrelevant, it does not violate the rules under the DSM-CC system.
[0061]
In order to transmit the module in a format referred to as a section defined by the MPEG2 format, as shown in FIG. 8 (d), the module is mechanically divided into data units of a fixed length called a "block" in principle. However, the last block in the module does not need to have a specified fixed length. As described above, the block division is caused by the provision that one section must not exceed 4 KB in the MPEG2 format.
In this case, the data unit as the block and the section are synonymous.
[0062]
The block obtained by dividing the module in this way is converted into a message format of DDB (Download Data Block) with a header added as shown in FIG.
[0063]
In parallel with the conversion to DDB, control messages DSI (Download Server Initiate) and DII (Download Indication Information) are generated.
The DSI and DII are information necessary for acquiring a module from received data on the receiving side (IRD 12). The DSI mainly includes an identifier of a carousel (module) described below, information related to the entire carousel ( Information such as the time for the carousel to rotate once, the time-out value for carousel rotation). It also has information for knowing the location of the root directory (Service Gateway) of the data service (in the case of the object carousel method).
[0064]
The DII is information corresponding to each module included in the carousel, and includes information such as the size, version, and timeout value of the module for each module.
[0065]
Then, as shown in FIG. 8 (f), the three types of messages DDB, DSI, and DII are periodically and repeatedly sent in correspondence with the data unit of the section. As a result, the receiver side can receive, for example, a module including an object necessary for obtaining a target GUI screen (scene) at any time.
In this specification, such a transmission method is referred to as a “carousel method” compared to a carousel, and a data transmission form schematically represented as shown in FIG. 8F is referred to as a carousel.
Here, a plurality of modules may be included in one carousel. For example, a plurality of modules necessary for one data service may be transmitted by one carousel.
The “carousel method” can be divided into a “data carousel method” level and an “object carousel method” level. In particular, the object carousel method is a method for transferring an object having attributes such as a file, a directory, a stream, and a service gateway as data using the carousel, and is different from the data carousel method in that the directory structure can be handled. In the system of the present embodiment, the object carousel method is adopted.
[0066]
FIG. 9 shows a directory structure example of a file (MHEG application file) as a data service in accordance with the MHEG method. As described above, the object carousel method is characterized in that it can handle this directory structure.
Normally, the entrance to the Service Domain (MHEG application file) is always a file called app0 / startup that is directly under the Service Gateway.
Basically, application directory (app0, app1... AppN) is located under Service Domain (Service Gateway), and application file called startup and directory0 of each scene that constitutes application (application0). scene1 ...). Further, under the scene directory, each content file constituting the MHEG scene file and the scene is placed.
[0067]
Also, the GUI data transmitted by the carousel as described above, that is, the data output from the DSM-CC encoder 44 of FIG. 5 is output in the form of a transport stream. This transport stream has a structure shown in FIG. 10, for example.
FIG. 10A shows a transport stream. This transport stream is a bit string defined in the MPEG system, and is formed by concatenating 188-byte fixed-length packets (transport packets) as shown in the figure.
[0068]
Each transport packet includes a header and an adaptation field for including additional information in a specific individual packet and a payload (data area) indicating the packet contents (video / audio data, etc.) as shown in FIG. It consists of.
[0069]
The header is actually 4 bytes, for example. As shown in FIG. 10C, the header always has a synchronization byte, and a PID (identification information of the packet) is located at a predetermined position after this. Packet_ID), scramble control information indicating the presence / absence of scramble, and adaptation field control information indicating the presence / absence of a subsequent adaptation field and payload.
[0070]
Based on the control information, the receiving device can descramble the packet, and the demultiplexer can separate and extract the necessary packets such as video / audio / data. It is also possible to reproduce time information that is a reference for video / audio synchronous reproduction.
[0071]
As can be seen from the above description, video / audio / data packets for a plurality of channels are multiplexed in one transport stream. In addition, a channel selection called PSI (Program Specific Information) is selected. SI (Service Information) for realizing services such as EMG / ECM, EPG, and other information necessary for control signals, limited reception (reception function that determines whether a paid channel can be received depending on the individual contract status) Are multiplexed simultaneously. Here, PSI will be described.
[0072]
As shown in FIG. 11, the PSI is composed of four tables. Each table is represented in a format conforming to the MPEG System called section format.
FIG. 11A shows a network information table (NIT) and a conditional access table (CAT).
In the NIT, the same content is multiplexed on all carriers. A transmission specification (polarization plane, carrier frequency, convolution rate, etc.) for each carrier and a list of channels multiplexed there are described. The PID of NIT is PID = 0x0010.
[0073]
In the CAT, the same content is multiplexed on all carriers. A PID of an EMM (Entitlement Management Message) packet, which is individual information such as identification of the limited reception method and contract information, is described. The PID is indicated by PID = 0x0001.
[0074]
FIG. 11B shows PAT as information having contents specific to each carrier. PAT describes channel information in the carrier and PMT PID representing the contents of each channel. The PID is indicated by PID = 0x0000.
[0075]
Further, as information for each channel in the carrier, a PMT (Program Map Table) table shown in FIG.
In the PMT, contents for each channel are multiplexed. For example, as shown in FIG. 11D, the PID of the PMT in which the components (video / audio, etc.) constituting each channel and the PID of an ECM (Encryption Control Message) packet necessary for descrambling are described is Specified by PAT.
[0076]
1-5. IRD
Next, a configuration example of the IRD 12 provided in the reception facility 3 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0077]
In the IRD 12 shown in this figure, a received signal converted to a predetermined frequency by the LNB 15 of the parabolic antenna 11 is input to the input terminal T 1 and supplied to the tuner / front end unit 51.
The tuner / front end unit 51 receives a carrier (reception frequency) determined by the setting signal based on a setting signal in which transmission specifications and the like from a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 80 are set, and performs, for example, Viterbi demodulation. By performing processing, error correction processing, and the like, a transport stream is obtained.
The transport stream obtained by the tuner / front end unit 51 is supplied to the descrambler 52. In addition, the tuner / front end unit 51 acquires a PSI packet from the transport stream, updates the channel selection information, obtains the component PID of each channel in the transport stream, and transmits it to the CPU 80, for example. In the CPU 80, the acquired PID is used for reception signal processing.
[0078]
The descrambler 52 receives descrambling key data stored in the IC card 65 via the CPU 80 and the PID is set by the CPU 80. Then, the descrambling process is executed based on the descrambling key data and the PID, and transmitted to the transport unit 53.
[0079]
The transport unit 53 includes a demultiplexer 70 and a queue 71 configured by, for example, a DRAM. The queue 71 is formed such that a plurality of memory areas corresponding to module units are arranged in columns, and for example, in this embodiment, 32 columns of memory areas are provided. That is, information of up to 32 modules can be stored simultaneously.
[0080]
As a schematic operation of the demultiplexer 70, necessary transport packets are separated from the transport stream supplied from the descrambler 52 according to the filter condition set by the DeMUX driver 82 of the CPU 80, and the queue 71 is set if necessary. By using it as a work area, data in the format as shown in FIGS. 7E to 7H is obtained and supplied to necessary functional circuit units.
The MPEG video data separated by the demultiplexer 70 is input to the MPEG2 video decoder 55, and the MPEG audio data is input to the MPEG audio decoder 54. The individual packets of MPEG video / audio data separated by the demultiplexer 70 are input to each decoder in a format called PES (Packetized Elementary Stream).
[0081]
Further, the data of the MHEG content in the transport stream is collected in units of modules by being written in a required memory area of the queue 71 while being separated and extracted from the transport stream by the demultiplexer 70 in units of transport packets. Thus formed. The data of the MHEG contents collected in units of modules is written and held in the DSM-CC buffer 91 in the main memory 90 via the data bus under the control of the CPU 80.
[0082]
Also, for quad-speed ATRAC data (compressed audio data) in the transport stream, for example, necessary data for each transport packet is separated and extracted by the demultiplexer 70 and output to the IEEE 1394 interface 60. In addition, when the IEEE 1394 interface 60 is used, video data and various command signals can be transmitted in addition to audio data.
[0083]
The MPEG2 video decoder 55 to which MPEG video data in the PES format is input performs decoding processing according to the MPEG2 format while using the memory 55A as a work area. The decoded video data is supplied to the display processing unit 58.
[0084]
The display processing unit 58 receives the video data inputted from the MPEG2 video decoder 55 and video data such as a GUI screen for data service obtained in the MHEG buffer 92 of the main memory 90 as described later. . The display processing unit 58 performs necessary signal processing on the video data input in this way, converts it into an analog audio signal according to a predetermined television system, and outputs it to the analog video output terminal T2.
Thus, by connecting the analog video output terminal T2 and the video input terminal of the monitor device 14, for example, the display as previously shown in FIG. 4 is performed.
[0085]
In addition, the MPEG2 audio decoder 54 to which MPEG audio data by PES is input performs a decoding process according to the MPEG2 format while using the memory 54A as a work area. The decoded audio data is supplied to the D / A converter 56 and the optical digital output interface 59.
[0086]
The D / A converter 56 converts the input audio data into an analog audio signal and outputs it to the switch circuit 57. The switch circuit 57 switches the signal path so that an analog audio signal is output to either one of the analog audio output terminals T3 and T4.
Here, the analog audio output terminal T3 is provided to be connected to the audio input terminal of the monitor device 14. The analog audio output terminal T4 is a terminal for outputting the downloaded music piece as an analog signal.
The optical digital output interface 59 converts the input digital audio data into an optical digital signal and outputs it. In this case, the optical digital output interface 59 conforms to, for example, IEC958.
[0087]
The main memory 90 is used as a work area when the CPU 80 performs various control processes. In the present embodiment, the DSM-CC buffer 91 and the MHEG buffer 92 are allocated in the main memory 90.
The MHEG buffer 92 is a work area for generating image data (for example, GUI screen image data) generated according to the script description in the MHEG method, and the generated image data is displayed via a bus line. It is supplied to the processing unit 58.
[0088]
The CPU 80 executes overall control in the IRD 12. This includes control of data separation and extraction in the demultiplexer 70.
Further, by performing a decoding process on the acquired MHEG content data, a process for configuring and outputting a GUI screen (scene) according to the description content of the script is also executed.
[0089]
For this reason, the CPU 80 of this embodiment includes at least a DeMUX driver 82, a DSM-CC decoder block 83, and an MHEG decoder block 84, in addition to a control processing unit 81 that executes main control processing. In the present embodiment, at least the DSM-CC decoder block 83 and the MHEG decoder block 84 are configured by software.
The DeMUX driver 82 sets the filter condition in the demultiplexer 70 based on the PID of the input transport stream.
The DSM-CC decoder block 83 has a function as a DSM-Manager, and reconstructs the module unit data stored in the DSM-CC buffer 91 into the data of the MHEG content. Further, processing related to required DSM-CC decoding and the like is executed according to the access from the MHEG decoder block 84.
[0090]
The MHEG decoder block 84 accesses the MHEG content data obtained by the DSM-CC decoder block 83, that is, the MHEG content data obtained by the DSM-CC buffer 91, and performs a decoding process for scene output. I do. That is, a scene is formed by realizing the relationship between objects defined by the script file of the MHEG content. At this time, when the GUI screen is formed as a scene, the MHEG buffer 92 is used to generate image data of the GUI screen according to the contents of the script file.
[0091]
As an interface between the DSM-CC decoder block 83 and the MHEG decoder block 84, U-U API (DSM-CC U-U API (Applivation Portability Interface)) is adopted.
The U-U API is an interface for the client (MHEG decoder block 84), for example, to access a DSM Manager object (server object for realizing the DSM function; DSM-CC decoder block 83), and a Service Gateway included in the carousel. , Directory, File, Stream, Stream Event, and other objects having attributes such as a file system can be structurally accessed.
[0092]
By accessing an object included in the carousel through this API, a program (client) using the carousel can access the object using the bus name without knowing the carousel reception operation.
[0093]
Further, since this U-U API is a set of interfaces defined so that it can be used regardless of the lower layer data transfer method, a program that uses this API provides the U-U API. It has the advantage that it can be used in any data transfer system.
[0094]
Here, an operation example for extracting a target object necessary to form one scene from the transport stream under the control of the CPU 80 will be described.
[0095]
In DSM-CC, IOR (Interoperable Object Reference) is used to indicate the location of an object in a transport stream. The IOR includes an identifier corresponding to a force rucell for finding an object, an identifier of a module in which the object is included (hereinafter referred to as module_id), an identifier that identifies an object in one module (hereinafter referred to as object_key), It includes tag (association_tag) information for identifying DII having information on the module in which the object is included.
The DII having module information includes information such as module_id, module size, and version for each of one or more modules, and tag (association_tag) information for identifying the module.
[0096]
When the IOR extracted from the transport stream is identified by the CPU 80, the process of receiving and separating the object indicated by the IOR is as follows, for example.
(Pr1) The DeMUX driver 82 of the CPU 80 searches for an elementary stream (hereinafter referred to as ES) having the same value as the association_tag of the IOR from the ES loop of the PMT in the carousel to obtain the PID. The DII is included in the ES having this PID.
(Pr2) This PID and table_id_extension are set for the demultiplexer 70 as filter conditions. As a result, the demultiplexer 70 separates DII and outputs it to the CPU 80.
(Pr3) In DII, association_tag of the module corresponding to module_id included in the previous IOR is obtained.
(Pr4) An ES having the same value as the association_tag is searched from the ES loop (carousel) of the PMT, and the PID is obtained. The target module is included in the ES having this PID.
(Pr5) The PID and module_id are set as filter conditions, and filtering by the demultiplexer 70 is performed. The transport packet separated and extracted in conformity with this filter condition is stored in a required memory area (column) of the queue 71, so that a target module is finally formed.
(Pr6) The object corresponding to the object_key included in the previous IOR is extracted from this module. This is the target object. The object extracted from this module is written in a predetermined area of the DSM-CC buffer 91, for example.
For example, by repeating the above operation and collecting the target objects and storing them in the DSM-CC buffer 91, MHEG content forming a required scene can be obtained.
[0097]
The man machine interface 61 receives the command signal transmitted from the remote controller 64 and transmits it to the CPU 80. The CPU 80 executes necessary control processing so that the operation of the device according to the received command signal can be obtained.
[0098]
An IC card 65 is inserted into the IC card slot 62. The CPU 80 writes and reads information to and from the inserted IC card 65.
[0099]
The modem 63 is connected to the accounting server 5 via the telephone line 4 and is controlled so that communication between the IRD 12 and the accounting server 5 is performed under the control of the CPU 80.
[0100]
Here, the flow of the signal of the video / audio source in the IRD 12 having the above-described configuration will be supplementarily described with reference to the display form described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4A, when a normal program is output, MPEG video data and MPEG audio data of a necessary program are extracted from the input transport stream, and decoding processing is performed for each. Applied. Then, the video data and the MPEG audio data are output to the analog video output terminal T2 and the analog audio output terminal T3, respectively, so that the monitor device 14 performs image display and audio output of the broadcast program.
[0101]
When the GUI screen shown in FIG. 4B is output, the transport unit 53 separates and extracts the MHEG content data necessary for the GUI screen (scene) from the input transport stream. The data is taken into the DSM-CC buffer 91. Then, using this data, the DSM-CC decoder block 83 and the MHEG decoder block 84 function as described above, whereby image data of a scene (GUI screen) is created in the MHEG buffer 92. Then, the image data is supplied to the analog video output terminal T2 via the display processing unit 58, whereby the GUI screen is displayed on the monitor device 14.
[0102]
When a music is selected from the music list 21B on the GUI screen shown in FIG. 4B and the audio data of the music is auditioned, MPEG audio data of this music is obtained by the demultiplexer 70. The MPEG audio data is converted into an analog audio signal via the MPEG audio decoder 54, the D / A converter, the switch circuit 57, and the analog audio output terminal T3, and is output to the monitor device 14.
[0103]
When the download button 28 is pressed on the GUI screen shown in FIG. 4B to download the audio data, the audio data of the music to be downloaded is extracted by the demultiplexer 70 and the analog audio output terminal T4. Are output to the optical digital output interface 59 or the IEEE 1394 interface 60.
[0104]
Here, in particular, when the IEEE 1394-compatible MD recorder / player 13A shown in FIG. 2 is connected to the IEEE 1394 interface 60, the demultiplexer 70 extracts quadruple speed ATRAC data of the downloaded music, and the IEEE 1394 interface 60 Through 60, recording is performed on the disc loaded in the MD recorder / player 13A. Also, at this time, for example, still image data of album jackets compressed by the JPEG method, text data such as lyrics and artist profiles are extracted from the transport stream by the demultiplexer 70, and the MD recorder is connected via the IEEE 1394 interface 60. / Transferred to the player 13A. The MD recorder / player 13A can record these still image data and text data in a predetermined area of the loaded disc.
[0105]
2. Background to the present invention
For example, when receiving a digital data broadcast by the object carousel method, if a version of an object included in the carousel is updated during the broadcast, the data of the object before the update becomes invalid at that time. The new version of the object can be accessed.
[0106]
However, the DSM-CC system does not include an interface for notifying the client side of this when the version of the object in the carousel is updated. That is, in the case of IRD 12, even if there is a version upgrade of a certain object in the received data on the DSM-CC decoder block 83 side, the MHEG decoder block 84 side cannot immediately know this.
[0107]
Here, when the client reads out the object from the server without being notified of the version upgrade of the object currently used for the scene display, data different from the previous object is read out. Display will be performed by the object. For example, when it is desired to maintain the previous display state regardless of the version upgrade of the object, such an operation on the client side causes inconvenience.
Conversely, if it is necessary to change the contents of a part of the current scene display corresponding to the version upgrade of the object, the updated object is read from the server at a certain opportunity. Will not change the display of the scene. That is, the update timing of the display content of the scene is delayed with respect to the actual version upgrade timing of the object.
In this way, if the client is not notified of the object version upgrade, some inconvenience occurs.
[0108]
3. Object update notification control of this embodiment
3-1. General processing of U-U API
Therefore, in the present embodiment, as will be described below, the client (MHEG decoder block 84) side can know the version upgrade of the object, and an appropriate MHEG decoding process corresponding to this can be obtained. The purpose is to make it. Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to identify an upgraded object so that the object can be efficiently read again from the server side. Further, the interface for notification of such an object version upgrade is configured to comply with the U-U API.
[0109]
Here, prior to describing the interface for version upgrade notification according to the present embodiment, a general example of the interface of the U-U API will be described with reference to FIG.
Here, a case where the MHEG decoder block 84 as a client performs stream reproduction is taken as an example. In this figure, the numbers shown in circles indicate the processing procedures of the MHEG decoder block 84 and the DSM-CC decoder block 83. Hereinafter, description will be made according to this processing procedure. In the following description, the MHEG decoder block 84 is referred to as a client, and the DSM-CC decoder block 83 is referred to as a server.
[0110]
(Process 1) The client transmits Event :: Subscribe ("stream on") to the server at a required timing.
Event :: Subscribe ("stream on") is an interface that declares to the server that it will receive a "stream on" event.
[0111]
(Process 2) When Event :: Subscribe ("stream on") is received, the server returns an event number corresponding to the stream on event. Here, Event # 10 is set and transmitted to the client.
[0112]
(Process 3) Upon acquiring the event number, the client outputs Event :: notify to the server.
Event :: notify is an interface that requests notification from the client side to the server side if any event occurs on the server side.
[0113]
(Process 4) If a “stream on” event occurs in the received data at a certain timing as shown in FIG. 18 as a response process to “notify” in the above (Process 3), the server sets the “stream on” event. Event # 10, which is the event number that was sent, is transmitted to the client.
(Processing 5) The client knows that the “stream on” event has occurred by the received Event # 10. In this case, for example, MHEG decoding processing for stream reproduction is executed.
[0114]
3-2. First example
Next, object update notification control according to the present embodiment based on the U-U API interface shown in FIG. 18 will be described.
As described above, the DSM-CC does not have information for informing the client that an object in the carousel has been updated. Also, information that can directly identify the updated object is not transmitted. In other words, at present, the client side cannot know this at the timing when the received object is updated, and cannot identify the updated object.
[0115]
However, in DSM-CC, when an object is updated (upgraded), a module including the object is also upgraded accordingly. The version upgrade of this module is reflected in the contents of DII explained in FIG. That is, the module version information in DII is changed. This is used in the present embodiment.
[0116]
As the object update notification control according to the present embodiment, in the first example, a “DII_CHANGED” event is added as an interface of the U-U API. This “DII_CHANGED” event means that the server side has received a new DII message whose contents have been updated. Then, object update notification control is executed as shown in (Process 1) to (Process 4) of FIG.
[0117]
(Processing 1) The client transmits Event :: Subscribe (“DII_CHANGED”) to the server.
(Process 2) The server that has received Event :: Subscribe (“DII_CHANGED”) returns the event number set for the “DII_CHANGED” event to the client. Here, Event # 2 is set and returned for the "DII_CHANGED" event.
[0118]
(Process 3) After acquiring the event number, the client transmits Event :: notify to the server, and makes a request for notifying of any event including “DII_CHANGED”.
(Processing 4) The server holds the version value for each DII included in the received carousel data. Then, it is assumed that the DII version value included in the received carousel data is changed at a certain timing after receiving the Event :: notify, that is, the contents of the DII are switched. This means that in the carousel module indicated by the DII, there is a version upgrade for some object that cannot be specified.
In this way, when the DII version upgrade (content switching) occurs, that is, when the “DII_CHANGED” event occurs, the server sets the “DII_CHANGED” event as a response to the Event :: notify in (Process 3). The event number (Event # 2) is transmitted to the client.
[0119]
As a result, the client can know in real time that the object has been changed at least in the data service currently being broadcast.
Then, according to this notification, it is possible to execute some appropriate MHEG decoding process (output control related to a scene, etc.) corresponding to the version upgrade of the object.
[0120]
In addition, the U-U API rules stipulate that some information may be added and transmitted when an interface is executed.
Therefore, when the event number (Event # 2) is transmitted to the client by (Process 4), the identification information (moduleId) of the upgraded module corresponding to the DII update is added together with the event number as shown in the figure. For example, on the client side, it is possible to specify a module in which the content of the object has been changed.
In this case, since the updated object is not specified on the client side, the object of interest (for example, the object currently used for displaying the GUI screen on the client side) is upgraded. I don't know if it belongs to a different module. For this reason, for example, on the client side, all objects necessary for the scene (GUI screen or the like) currently being output are reloaded from the DSM-CC buffer 91. In this way, the updated object may not be related to changes in the contents of the scene currently being output, but the updated objects may be related to changes in the contents of the current output scene. Thus, the scene contents can be changed reliably.
[0121]
By the way, Event :: notify shown as (Process 3) is a request for notification from the client to the server that some event has occurred, as described above. When a notification in response to Event :: notify is made on the server side, Event :: notify becomes invalid at this point.
For this reason, in the process shown in FIG. 13, the event :: Subscribe (“DII_CHANGED”) is first issued as (process 2), and the occurrence of the “DII_CHANGED” event on the server side is notified without missing. In order to make this happen, when an event notification in response to the once issued Event :: notify is performed, the next Event :: notify is immediately issued. That is, on the server side, a period in which Event :: notify is invalidated is prevented from occurring as much as possible.
In this way, every time the DII is switched during data service broadcasting, it becomes possible to notify the client of the occurrence of the “DII_CHANGED” event in near real time without missing this. .
[0122]
In addition, the interface that transmits the above-described (Process 1) Event :: Subscribe (“DII_CHANGED”) from the client to the server can notify the switching of DII during the data service broadcast without missing one by one. Considering this, it is executed when the program of the MHEG decoder block 84 (MHEG engine) is started up and when the data content (broadcast content) of the carousel is switched.
Note that the case where the program of the MHEG decoder block 84 is started is, for example, that a channel is switched or a program is changed, for example, from a state where a broadcast that has not been accompanied by a data service broadcast has been received. For example, when a new program accompanied by a data service broadcast is received.
[0123]
3-3. Second example
Next, object update notification control as a second example will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15. In the second example, it is possible to specify an object that has changed on the client side.
[0124]
The processing procedure of the second example according to (Processing 1) to (Processing 8) shown in FIG. 14 is as follows.
(Processing 1) Also in the second example, the “DII_CHANGED” event is used as in the first example. First, the client transmits Event :: Subscribe (“DII_CHANGED”) to the server.
(Process 2) The server that has received Event :: Subscribe (“DII_CHANGED”) returns the event number set for the “DII_CHANGED” event to the client. Again, Event # 2 is set and returned as the event number corresponding to the “DII_CHANGED” event.
[0125]
(Process 3) After acquiring the event number, the client transmits an interface of Version :: get (objectId) to the server.
Version :: get (objectId) is an interface for transmitting an object of interest on the client side to the server side. The argument (objectId) of this interface indicates the objectId for the object of interest. The “object of interest” here refers to, for example, an object currently used for scene output (GUI screen display or the like) in the client (MHEG decoder block 84).
In addition, the actual Version :: get () is the following API.

(Process 4) In response to the reception of the above-mentioned Version :: get (objectId), the server returns moduleId that is identification information of the module to which the object indicated by the objectId belongs.
Upon receiving the return of moduleId, the client side associates and stores the transmitted objectId and the returned moduleId.
[0126]
The interface consisting of the above (Process 3) → (Process 4) is performed for all objects that are currently of interest in the client. Here, for example, if (process 5) → (process 6) corresponding to the last (process 3) → (process 4) is completed, the table information as shown in FIG. 15 is obtained on the client side. Yes. That is, by executing [(Process 3) → (Process 4)]... [(Process 5) → (Process 6)], the objectId and the moduleId for every object of interest on the client side. A table in which is associated with each other is obtained.
Then, the process proceeds to (Process 7).
[0127]
(Processing 7) The client transmits Event :: notify to the server, and makes a request for notifying when an event occurs.
(Process 8) When the server responds to the above Event :: notify and there is a change in the contents of DII and a “DII_CHANGED” event has occurred, the server sets the event number (“III_CHANGED”) to the event number ( Event # 2) is transmitted to the client. As described above, the U-U API stipulates that some information may be added when a certain event is transmitted. Therefore, in this case, the module ID of the module corresponding to the upgraded DII (that is, the module to which the upgraded object belongs) is added to the event number (Event # 2) and transmitted. Is done.
This is the following API.

[0128]
In this way, when the event number (Event # 2) and moduleId are obtained on the client side, the client side performs a table search on the table shown in FIG. Search for a moduleId that matches the specified moduleId. Since the object indicated by the objectId associated with the searched moduleId has a possibility of being an updated object, the client specifies the object as an updated object. To be.
In this case, for example, there may be a plurality of objectIds associated with the moduleId matched with the moduleId transmitted in (Processing 8) in the table. In this case, not all of the objects indicated by the plurality of objectIds are actually updated, but here it is assumed that the plurality of objects have been updated. This ensures that objects that have actually been updated are included.
[0129]
Also in the second example, in order to notify the client of the event number + moduleId of the “DII_CHANGED” event without missing the switching of DII, as in the case of the first example, (Processing 1 ) Event :: Subscribe ("DII_CHANGED") from the client to the server needs to be performed immediately after the program startup of the MHEG decoder block 84 and when the carousel is switched. Become.
Further, the actual transmission of Event :: notify to (server 7) as (process 7) is also performed immediately after the event number + moduleId is returned (process 8) when a notification of any event in response to this is performed. Event :: notify (# 2) is transmitted.
[0130]
By knowing the updated object in this way, the client can execute an appropriate MHEG decoding process corresponding to the version upgrade of the object, but the following process can be executed as an example. is there.
As described above, the MHEG decoder block 84 reads necessary object data from the DSM-CC buffer 91 in accordance with the description contents of the MHEG, and forms scene data such as a GUI screen in the MHEG buffer 92 for display processing. To the unit 58.
Here, it is assumed that one or more specific objects have been upgraded by the processing shown in FIG. These objects are currently used as objects for GUI screen formation. In this case, if there is a change (version upgrade) of the contents of the object, this will be reflected on the GUI screen as quickly as possible. It is necessary to let them.
In such a case, the MHEG decoder block 84 reloads only the data of the object whose upgrade is specified from the module unit data stored in the DSM-CC buffer 91. Then, only the contents of the object are exchanged in the MHEG buffer 92 to generate new scene data and output it to the display processing unit 58.
[0131]
For example, when the updated object cannot be specified, but only the possibility that there is some change in the scene is notified (for example, in the first example), even if it corresponds to a partial change in the scene content, for example All the objects for forming the scene need to be read again from the DSM-CC buffer 91 and the scene must be reconstructed on the MHEG buffer 92.
On the other hand, when the updated object is specified as in the second example, the MHEG decoder block 84 performs only the object required for partial change of the scene contents as described above. It will suffice if processing is performed. In other words, the processing load of the MHEG decoder block 84 can be reduced even when a part of the same scene content is changed.
[0132]
3-4. Third example
Next, object update notification control as a third example will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17.
Even in the third example, it is possible to specify an object that has changed on the client side. However, in the third example, the “DII_CHANGED” event used in the first and second examples is not used.
[0133]
The procedure of the second example shown in FIG. 16 is as follows.
(Processing 1) The client transmits UpdateEvent :: subscribe (objectId) to the server side for the object of current interest.
UpdateEvent :: subscribe (objectId) declares that an event (UpdateEvent) is received when the module to which the object indicated by the objectId indicated in the argument belongs is upgraded, and the following API is called: It will be.

[0134]
(Process 2) The server that has received the UpdateEvent :: subscribe (objectId) returns UpdateEventId, which is identification information unique to the received UpdateEvent :: subscribe (objectId). This UpdateEventId is an Id that is uniquely set on the server side.
[0135]
The client is made to repeat transmission of UpdateEvent :: subscribe (objectId) (processing 1) and reception of UpdateEventId in response to this (processing 2) for all objects of current interest. Here, the process of (Process 3) → (Process 4) corresponds to (Process 1) → (Process 2) for the last object.
[0136]
At the stage where (Process 1) → (Process 2)... (Process 3) → (Process 4) is completed corresponding to all objects of interest, the client (MHEG decoder block 84) Table information shown in FIG. 17A is obtained. This table information indicates the correspondence between the objectId transmitted to the server as (Processing 1) (or (Processing 3)), that is, the ObjectId for the object of interest, and UpdateEventId obtained from the server in response to this. .
On the server (DSM-CC decoder block 83) side, table information shown in FIG. 17B is obtained. This table information includes UpdateEventId set corresponding to the objectId transmitted in (Process 1) (or (Process 3)), moduleId that identifies the module to which the object indicated by the objectId belongs, and the module's The version number (indicated by DII) is associated.
[0137]
(Process 5) When (Process 1) → (Process 2)... (Process 3) → (Process 4) is completed as described above, the client transmits UpdateEvent :: notify to the server. When UpdateEvent (module update) occurs, a request is made to notify it.
(Process 6) After receiving the UpdateEvent :: notify in the server, the version value of the module indicated by the received DII is collated with the table shown in FIG. Here, if the version number corresponding to a certain moduleId in the table is different from the version value of the module indicated by the DII, it is identified that the module has been upgraded.
When the module has been upgraded in this way, that is, when UpdateEvent occurs, the server refers to the table and adds UpdateEventId associated with the moduleId of the module that has been upgraded. Then, the following API is called to return UpdateEventId.

[0138]
The client side obtained by receiving UpdateEventId by the above (Process 6) accesses UpdateEventId of the table (FIG. 17A) that matches the received UpdateEventId. Then, the upgraded object is identified by looking at the objectId associated with the accessed UpdateEventId on the table.
[0139]
As described above, the upgraded object is specified also in the third example, so that the processing on the MHEG decoder block 84 side can be made more efficient as in the case of the second example. Become.
The third example also has the following advantages. As shown in FIG. 17A, the table of the client (MHEG decoder block 84) is such that objectId is associated with UpdateEventId uniquely set on the server side. Therefore, if the client side acquires UpdateEventId in response to Event :: notify, the objectId can be uniquely specified. That is, in the third example, it is not necessary to perform a table search in order to specify the upgraded object on the client side, and the processing load on the client is reduced accordingly.
[0140]
Also in the case of the third example, when UpdateEvent :: notify is transmitted to the server as (Processing 5), when UpdateEventId is returned in response (Processing 6), the next UpdateEvent :: notify is immediately received. Is transmitted so that the notification of the upgraded module is not missed.
If the client is not interested in updating the version (for example, the GUI screen display is stopped)

APIs are issued. Thereby, the management information for UpdateEvent notification is deleted on the server side.
[0141]
In the present invention, the DSM-CC method is adopted as the data transmission method and the U-U API is adopted as the MHEG client-server interface. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can be applied to any transmission method and interface that conform to the transmission format described in the above embodiment. Further, the system to which the present invention is applied is not limited to a digital satellite broadcasting system, and can be applied to broadcasting such as cable television, the Internet, and the like.
[0142]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention is applied to the receiving side of a system that performs data transmission by a data carousel, for example, under the DSM-CC method. Leave A server that receives and holds data from the carousel that data has been updated in the carousel (circular data unit) (Received data holding means) From the side, this carousel data is used to achieve the desired function (Data decoding means) Thus, on the client side, the processing to be executed in response to the data update can be executed promptly or efficiently in accordance with this notification.
[0143]
In the present invention, as the object update notification process for notifying the update of the object as described above, the content is updated according to the update of the object under an existing interface such as U-U API. A control information change event (DII_CHANGED) that means a change in control information (DII) related to the module is set, and the control information change event is used to notify that the control information has been changed from the client side to the server side. Configured to do. That is, without adopting a specialized interface standard, the object update notification can be realized in conformity with the existing interface, and versatility can be given.
Here, when the occurrence of the control information change event is notified from the server side based on the control information change event, if the ID of the module corresponding to the control information is added, the client side simply updates the object in the carousel. Since it is possible to specify not only that there is a module, but also the module to which the updated object belongs, it is possible to execute efficient processing when executing data reloading, etc. .
[0144]
Further, as another object update notification processing of the present invention, a control information change event (DII_CHANGED) indicating a change of DII is set under the existing interface such as U-UAPI, as described above, and the client side After declaring receipt of the control information change event (Event :: subscribe), the ID of the object of interest is transmitted to the server, and the ID of the module to which the object belongs is transmitted from the server to the client. Then, in response to the subsequent control information change event reception request of the client, the server side adds an ID of the updated control information module so as to notify that there is a control information change event. Constitute.
As a result, on the client side, it is possible to perform identification of almost updated objects by searching a table in which object IDs and module IDs are associated. In this case, on the client side, for example, data may be reloaded in units of objects, and the processing load is further reduced.
[0145]
In addition, as another object update notification process, the client side adds an object ID of interest and declares the receipt of the module update event to the server (subscribe), and the server responds to this subscribe with a unique The module update event ID is set and sent back to the client.
In response to the subsequent module update event reception request of the client, the server side is configured to add the module update event ID of the updated control information and transmit the module change event.
Even with this configuration, the client side can search for a table in which an object ID and a module update event ID are associated with each other, and can even specify a substantially updated object. In this configuration, since the object ID corresponding to the acquired module update event ID is uniquely obtained on the client side, there is no need to perform a table search to specify the updated object, and further processing on the client side The burden is reduced.
[0146]
Further, the transmission of the subscribe event (Event :: subscribe) is executed when the client program is started or when the carousel itself is switched, and the event notification request (Event :: notify) is By receiving the response message to the event notification request from the server, it can be executed immediately, so that the update notification of the object can be obtained almost without missing after the client program is launched. For example, it is possible to change the contents of the GUI screen almost immediately corresponding to the update of the object on the broadcast side, and the reliability is improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a digital satellite broadcast receiving system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a construction example of a reception facility in the present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a front view showing an external appearance of a remote controller for IRD.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing switching between a broadcast screen and a GUI screen.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a ground station.
FIG. 6 is a chart showing data transmitted from a ground station.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a time division multiplexing structure of transmission data.
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a transmission format by DSM-CC.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a directory structure of a data service.
FIG. 10 is a data structure diagram of a transport stream.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a PSI table structure;
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an IRD.
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing object update notification control as a first example;
FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing object update notification control as a second example;
FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a table structure prepared on the client side in the second example.
FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing object update notification control as a third example;
FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing a table structure prepared on the client side in the third example.
FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a general control operation example of a U-U API interface;
[Explanation of symbols]
1 ground station, 2 satellites, 3 receiving equipment, 5 billing server, 6 TV program material server, 7 music material server, 8 audio additional information server, 9 GUI data server, 10 key information server, 11 parabolic antenna, 13 storage device, 13A MD recorder / player, 14 monitor device, 16 IEEE1394 bus, 21A TV program display area, 21B list, 21C text display area, 21D jacket display area, 22 lyrics display button, 23 profile display button, 24 information display button, 25 reservation Recording button, 26 Reserved list display button, 27 Recording history button, 28 Download button, 31 TV program material registration system, 32 Music material registration system, 33 Audio additional information registration system, 34 GUI material registration system, 35 A Server, 36A MPEG audio encoder, 36B ATRAC encoder, 37 audio additional information database, 38 GUI material database, 39 TV program transmission system, 40A MPEG audio server, 40B MPEG audio server, 41 audio additional information transmission system, 42 GUI authoring system, 43A MPEG audio transmission system, 43B ATRAC audio transmission system, 44 DSM-CC encoder, 45 multiplexer, 46 radio wave transmission system, 51 tuner / front end unit, 52 descrambler, 53 transport unit, 54 MPEG2 audio decoder, 54A memory, 55 MPEG2 video decoder, 55A memory, 56 D / A converter, 57 switch circuit, 58 display processing 59, optical digital output interface, 60 IEEE 1394 interface, 61 man-machine interface, 62 IC card slot, 63 modem, 64 remote controller, 65 IC card, 70 demultiplexer, 71 queue, 81 control processing unit, 82 DeMUX driver, 83 DSM-CC decoder block, 84 MHEG decoder block, 90 main memory, 91 DSM-CC buffer, 101 power key, 102 numeric keys, 103 screen display switching key, 104 interactive switching key, 105a arrow key, 105 EPG key panel section, 106 channel key, T1 input terminal, T2 analog video output terminal, T3 analog audio output terminal, T4 analog audio output terminal

Claims (7)

The broadcast is transmitted by being described by the MHEG method by the carousel method under the DSM-CC method, and having a DDB message including a data portion forming one or more modules and a DII message corresponding to each module. Receiving means for receiving carousel data;
Receiving data holding means for reconstructing data forming a module acquired from the DDB message received by the receiving means and holding it as MHEG data ;
The decoding process is performed using the MHEG data held by the received data holding means, and the data held by the received data holding means in response to the notification of the version change for the module A data decoding means for obtaining the changed data,
Based on the version information in the DII message received by the receiving means, the received data holding means to the data decoding means in response to detecting the version change for the module corresponding to the DII message. The process for notifying the switching of the version of the module is the same as the interface standard of the U-U API standard for the data decoding means to access the data held in the received data holding means. And a notification control means to be executed with
Equipped with a,
The notification control means includes
A subscribe event transmission process for transmitting a subscribe event for declaring receipt of a DII message change event from the data decoding means to the received data holding means;
After transmitting the subscribe event, an event number transmission process for transmitting the event number set in the subscribe event from the received data holding means to the data decode means;
After the transmission of the event number, the data decoding means transmits the data ID indicating the data of interest to the received data holding means from the data decoding means, and then the data indicated by the transmitted data ID is A data ID / module ID transmission process for transmitting a module ID indicating a module to which the module belongs to the data decoding unit from the received data holding unit;
An event for transmitting an event occurrence notification request for requesting the occurrence of an event from the data decoding means to the received data holding means after the transmission of the data ID and the module ID by the data ID / module ID transmission processing. Occurrence notification request transmission processing,
As a response to the event occurrence notification request, the DII message in the data received by the receiving means is stored, and when the version information of the module reflecting the data update in the corresponding module is changed, A DII message change event transmission process is executed in which the DII message change event with the same event number transmitted by the event number transmission process is transmitted from the received data holding means to the data decoding means. Being
Broadcast receiving device. The broadcast is described and transmitted by the MHEG method by the carousel method under the DSM-CC method, and has a DDB message including a data portion forming one or more modules and a DII message corresponding to each module. Receiving means for receiving carousel data;
Received data holding means for reconstructing data forming a module acquired from the DDB message received by the receiving means and holding the data as MHEG data;
The decoding process is performed using the MHEG data held by the received data holding means, and the data held by the received data holding means in response to the notification of the version change for the module A data decoding means for obtaining the changed data,
Based on the version information in the DII message received by the receiving means, the received data holding means to the data decoding means in response to detecting the version change for the module corresponding to the DII message. The process for notifying the switching of the version of the module is the same as the interface standard of the U-U API standard for the data decoding means to access the data held in the received data holding means. And a notification control means to be executed with
With
The notification control means includes
Along with the data ID of the data of interest, a subscribe event for declaring receipt of a module update event for the module storing the data indicated by this data ID is transmitted from the data decoding means to the received data holding means. Subscribe event transmission processing,
A module update event ID setting process for setting a module update event ID corresponding to the received subscribe event in response to reception of the subscribe event in the received data holding means;
A module update event ID transmission process for transmitting the module update event ID set by the module update event ID setting means under the interface standard from the received data holding means to the data decoding means;
In response to the reception of the module update event ID by the data decoding means, table information in which the received module update event ID is associated with the data ID transmitted from the data decoding means by the subscribe event transmission processing. Table information generation processing to be generated,
An event occurrence notification request transmission process for transmitting an event occurrence notification request for requesting an occurrence notification of a module update event from the data decoding means to the received data holding means under the interface standard;
When the DII message in the data received by the receiving means is stored as a response to the event occurrence notification request, and the version information reflecting the data update in the corresponding module has changed, this version information An event occurrence notification for transmitting the occurrence notification of the module update event added with the module update event ID set corresponding to the module for which a change has occurred to the data decoding means from the received data holding means Transmission processing,
In response to receipt of the occurrence notification of the module update event in the data decoding means, the data ID associated with the received module update event is identified from the table information, and the data indicated by the identified data ID is Execute update data identification processing that identifies as updated data ,
Broadcast receiving device. The notification control means includes
Further executing table information generation processing for generating table information in which the data ID and module ID transmitted by the data ID / module ID transmission processing are associated with each other;
In the DII message change event transmission process, the DII message change event is transmitted by adding a module ID indicating a module in which the version information has been changed,
A search process for searching the table ID for the data ID associated with the module ID added to the DII message change event received by the data decoding means;
The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1 . The transmission of the subscribe event by the subscribe event transmission process is executed in response to the start of a program executed by the broadcast receiving apparatus in order to realize the function as the data decoding means.
The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 . The transmission of the subscribe event by the subscribe event transmission process is executed in response to the data of the carousel whose data content itself has been changed on the ground station side being received by the receiving means.
The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 . The event occurrence notification request transmission process is as follows:
Once the event occurrence notification request is transmitted, if an event occurrence notification is made in response to the event occurrence notification request, the next event occurrence notification request is immediately transmitted.
The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 . The broadcast is transmitted by being described by the MHEG method by the carousel method under the DSM-CC method, and having a DDB message including a data portion forming one or more modules and a DII message corresponding to each module. A reception procedure for receiving carousel data;
A received data holding procedure for reconstructing data forming a module acquired from the DDB message received by the receiving procedure and holding the data as MHEG data ;
The decoding process is executed using the MHEG data held by the received data holding procedure, and the data held by the received data holding procedure in response to the notification of the version change for the module. A data decoding procedure for obtaining the changed data,
Based on the version information in the DII message received by the reception procedure, the received data holding procedure to the data decoding procedure in response to detecting the version change for the module corresponding to the DII message. The process for notifying the switching of the version of the module is the same as that of the interface standard of the U-U API standard for the data decoding procedure to access the data held in the received data holding procedure. And a notification control procedure executed in
The execution,
The notification control procedure is as follows:
A subscribe event transmission process for transmitting a subscribe event for declaring receipt of a DII message change event from the data decoding procedure to the received data holding procedure;
After transmitting the subscribe event, an event number transmission process for transmitting the event number set in the subscribe event from the received data holding procedure to the data decode procedure;
After the transmission of the event number, the data ID indicating the data that the data decoding procedure is interested in is transmitted from the data decoding procedure to the received data holding procedure, and then the data indicated by the transmitted data ID is A data ID / module ID transmission process for transmitting a module ID indicating a module to which the module belongs to the data decoding procedure from the received data holding procedure;
An event for transmitting an event occurrence notification request for requesting the occurrence of an event from the data decoding procedure to the received data holding procedure after the transmission of the data ID and the module ID by the data ID / module ID transmission process. Occurrence notification request transmission processing,
As a response to the event occurrence notification request, the DII message in the data received by the reception procedure is stored. A DII message change event transmission process is executed in which the DII message change event with the same event number that was transmitted by the event number transmission process is transmitted from the received data holding procedure to the data decoding procedure. Being
Broadcast receiving method.

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