KR100228487B1 - Set-top box with built-in pager function and its control method - Google Patents

Abstract

end. The technical field to which the invention described in the claims belongs:

Video On Demand (VOD) System

I. The technical problem the invention is trying to solve:

A set-top box with built-in pager function and its control method are implemented.

All. The gist of the solution of the invention:

The present invention can remotely control the set-top box through a built-in pager that is supplied with independent power to the set-top box. In addition, the power of the set-top box can be controlled. In the power-on state of the set-top box, the received pager message can be viewed as numeric or text information through a TV, which is an external output device currently serving VOD. You can also listen to the audio.

la. Important uses of the invention:

For set-top boxes in video on demand systems

Description

Set-top box with built-in pager function and its control method

The present invention relates to a Video On Demand (hereinafter referred to as "VOD") system, and more particularly, to a Set Top Box (STB), also called a Set Top Unit (STU).

After the standardization of Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) 2 has reached its peak, the world's attention has begun to move toward realizing MPEG 2 application services. In particular, the experiment of the practical use of VOD service that can be seen through the network at the time desired by the user by combining MPEG 2 and the computer network is actively conducted worldwide. The movement to realize the application service of MPEG 2 is not only technical, but also accelerates the development of applications such as on-demand movies, remote shopping, network games, on-demand news, and distance education based on the VOD system. have. Against this backdrop, which has been around since 1993, the DAVIC (Digital Audio Visual Council) was established in March 1994 and is currently actively standardizing activities for interactive multimedia services such as VOD.

VOD service is a service that allows subscribers to see the program they want when they want to see it at any time. Representatives that subscribers can receive VOD services include movies, but there are also TV programs, education programs, and sports recently broadcast. In the VOD service, there are a content provider, a producer of video information, an information provider, an end user, a consumer (subscriber) of the information, and a network provider in charge of distributing information therebetween. Characteristic three elements of the VOD system consists of an application server 6, a network 8, and a set-top box 10, as shown in the example of the VOD system configuration shown in FIG. The various image information in the content (eg, videotape) 2 provided by the content provider are provided to the application server 6 by the input server 4. The application server 6 collectively stores the image information and application software for controlling the image information and selectively transmits the image information to the end user device (set top box, indoor receiving device) according to the end user's request. The application server 6 may be understood to be a virtual movie theater or department store amusement center existing in the network. Network 8 should consist of a broadband network capable of delivering information in units of several Mbps for full-scale video distribution. In particular, in the access network, various transmission media such as optical fiber, coaxial, spiral pair cable (telephone line), and satellite may be applied. Set-top box 10 is installed in the end user's home, serving as the destination of the broadband transmission line, and decodes the digital information of the application server 6 and displays it on a TV (TeleVision) or executes various applications. It also communicates the end user's request to the application server 6 using the remote control.

As shown in FIG. 1, if the set-top box 6 installed in the end user's home is a set-top box employing an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network, the set-top box 6 is a network interface unit having a high speed modem function for demodulating and demodulating ATM cell data. Interface unit) and an MPEG decoder and a video and audio output unit for providing video and audio data to the external device such as a TV, which is viewed by the final subscriber under the control of the main controller. .

When a user watches a movie, a recently aired TV program, an educational program, or a sport using a set-top box, a front panel control panel or a remote controller provided in the set-top box is generally used for viewing selection.

If the user can control the set-top box from outside or outside the home without using the front control panel or remote control, it will be convenient in many ways. And when the user is in the house, especially when watching a movie of the VOD service using the set-top box, it will be more convenient if the user can receive the pager message.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a set-top box remote automatic control method using a built-in pager and a built-in pager.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a control method for visually displaying a pager message and outputting audio using a set-top box with a built-in pager.

According to the above object, the present invention, in the set-top box of the on-demand video system, the pager unit for notifying that the pager message is received after controlling the power supply of the set-top box in response to receiving the pager message by wireless call, the pager And a control device that reads the pager message received on the pager based on the negative pager message reception notification and displays the pager message on the monitor of the external output device and outputs the audio through the audio unit of the external output device.

The present invention also provides a method for controlling a set-top box of a video system with a built-in pager, the first step of controlling the set-top box to operate as a pager message is received by the pager by pager radio call using a telephone. And a second process of remotely controlling the set-top box according to the message received by the embedded pager in the set-top box operation state.

1 is an example of the configuration of the VOD system,

2 is a block diagram of a built-in pager function according to an embodiment of the present invention,

3 is a control flowchart performed by the pager 24 of FIG. 2 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a control flowchart performed by the central processing unit 20 of FIG. 2 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In an embodiment of the present invention, the set-top box is remotely controlled through a telephone with a built-in pager receiving independent power.

2 is a block diagram of the set-top box built-in according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, a central processing unit (CPU) 20, a memory, a network interface unit 24, an MPEG decoder 26, a video and audio output unit 28, a remote control receiver 30, a key input unit 32, and a set-top box power supply 40 are provided in a general set-top box. Configuration. According to the present invention, a newly provided configuration includes a pager 34, a local power supply 36, and a power control unit 38.

CPU 20 controls the overall operation of the set-top box. The memory 22 is composed of a program ROM (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM). Various control programs of the CPU 20 are mapped to the ROM, and in particular, the pager management software according to the embodiment of the present invention is also mapped. RAM stores various data under the control of the CPU 20. The network interface unit 24 is connected to the network through a transmission medium such as a telephone line or an optical cable, and performs transmission and reception interfacing between the network and the MPEG decoder 26. The MPEG decoder 26 is controlled by the CPU 20 through the system bus and decodes the MPEG data stream applied through the network interface 24 to output the audio data and the video data. In the video and audio output unit 28, the video output unit converts the digital video processed by the MPEG decoder 26 into an analog form and outputs it to the monitor of the TV 42, which is an external device. The audio output unit converts the digital audio processed by the MPEG decoder 26 into an analog form, amplifies it, and outputs it to the speaker of the TV 42 which is an external device. The remote control receiver 30 receives an infrared signal emitted from a remote controller (REMOCON: REMOte CONtroller) based on a user's remote controller key selection and outputs it to the CPU 20. The key input unit 32 is a front panel control panel of the set top box and outputs key data according to the pressing of a key provided in the front panel control panel to the CPU 20.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the built-in pager 34 is operated by an independent pager self-power source. That is, the self-power is supplied from the local power supply unit 36 implemented by a battery or the like. The pager 34 controls the power controller 38 to supply power to the set-top box in response to the pager message by wireless call, and then informs the CPU 20 of the pager message reception. The power controller 38 controls the set-top box power supply 40 to supply power applied to each circuit unit or to cut off the power supplied under the control of the pager 34. According to the present invention, the CPU 20 performs the control as shown in FIG. 4. That is, based on the pager message reception notification of the pager 34, the pager message received by the pager 34 is read and displayed on the monitor of the TV 42, which is an external output device, and is output as audio through the audio unit of the TV 42.

3 is a control flowchart performed by the pager unit 24 of FIG. 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a control flowchart performed by the central processing unit 20 of FIG. 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a control operation according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4. The pager service function has a scheduled call service function. The reservation calling service function is a function of making a wireless call according to the time when the user who wants to make a wireless call reserves the desired time through the telephone. Therefore, when a user makes a wireless call to the pager 34 built in the set-top box using the reserved call service function or makes a wireless call directly through a telephone, the pager 34 of FIG. Will receive. Hereinafter, the operation of the pager 34 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 3. The pager unit 34 determines whether a pager message is received in step 100, and proceeds to step 102 when the pager message is received. The pager 34 checks the current power state of the set-top box through the power controller 38 in step 102 and determines whether it is in a power-on state in step 104. If the power is not turned on, the control proceeds to step 106 to control the power controller 38 to control the power of the set-top box power supply 40 to be supplied to each circuit of the set-top box. Then proceed to step 108. If the current power state is the power-on state, the flow proceeds directly to step 108. The current power state is the power-on state VOD service subscriber is receiving the VOD service using the set-top box. In other words, they are watching movies provided to the VOD system through TV 42. In the power-on state, the pager 34 proceeds to step 108 and transmits pager message reception to the CPU 20.

When the pager message is received from the pager 34, the CPU 30 performs a control operation as shown in FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 4, the CPU 20 determines whether the pager message reception delivery has been received in step 200. If it is received, the process proceeds to step 202 to read the received pager message in the pager unit and stores it in the RAM of the memory 22. Thereafter, in step 204, the received pager message is displayed on the monitor screen of the TV 42 using the pager management software mapped on the ROM of the memory 22, and the user is informed as audio through the audio unit of the TV 42. The pager message displayed on the monitor screen of the TV 42 may be text information and numeric information, which is a telephone number. When displaying a pager message on the monitor screen of the TV 42, it is preferable to display in the form of an OSD (On Screen Display). And when outputting a pager message as audio, it can be the same as the alarm sound of the current pager, and can also output audio by giving a sound effect. It can also be output as a premapped pager reception guide voice.

In the above description of the present invention, the external output device is described as a TV, but the present invention can be applied to an external output device such as a personal computer (PC) in addition to the TV. Although the operation of powering on the set-top box using the pager built in the set-top box has been described, it should be understood that the operation of powering off the set-top box is also possible. That is, in the present invention, the set-top box can be remotely controlled from outside the house by using the pager built in the set-top box. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be defined by the described embodiments, but should be defined by the equivalents of the claims and the claims.

As described above, the present invention can remotely control the set-top box through a built-in pager that receives power independently from the set-top box. In addition, the power of the set-top box can be controlled. In the power-on state of the set-top box, the received pager message can be viewed as numeric or text information through a TV, which is an external output device currently serving VOD. You can also listen to the audio.

Claims (8)

In the set-top box of the video system on demand, A pager for controlling the power of the set-top box to be supplied with the pager message by wireless call and then delivering the received pager message to the internal memory of the set-top box so that the controller of the set-top box can display the received pager message. Built-in pager function set-top box, characterized in that built in the set-top box. The set top box according to claim 1, wherein the built-in pager operates by its own independent power source. The set top box according to claim 2, wherein the display of the received pager message performed by the controller is in the form of an on-screen display. In the set-top box of the video system on demand, A pager unit for controlling the power supply of the set-top box as a pager message by wireless call is received and informing that the pager message is received; And a control device that reads the pager message received by the pager on the monitor of the external output device and outputs the audio through the audio unit of the external output device based on the pager message reception notification of the pager unit. Set-top box with built-in pager function. The set-top box according to claim 4, wherein the built-in pager is operated by its own independent power source. 5. The set top box with a pager function according to claim 4, wherein the external output device is a television connected with the set top device. In a method of controlling a set-top box of a video system with a built-in pager, A first step of controlling the set-top box to operate as a pager message is received by the built-in pager by pager radio call using a telephone; And a second process of remotely controlling the set-top box according to the message received by the embedded pager in the set-top box operation state. The method of claim 7, wherein the second process is And reading a pager message received in the built-in pager and displaying the pager message on a monitor of an external output device and outputting the audio through an audio unit of the external output device.

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