JPH0946674A - Receiving device, viewing history transmitting method, transmitting device and transmitting method, and broadcasting system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Problem] To enable smooth transmission and reception of a viewing history. An EEPROM 55 stores an upload time transmitted together with a program. When the select button 49 is operated, the descrambler 44 starts descramble, which allows the user to watch the program. Further, the memory 54 stores the program descrambled by the descrambler 44, that is, the program history of the viewed program. When the current time becomes equal to the upload time stored in the EEPROM 55, the upload control unit 56 reads the viewing history from the memory 54, and sends it to a predetermined center station via the transmission control unit 45, the modem 48, and the public network 6. Send.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a receiving device, a viewing history transmitting method, a transmitting device and a transmitting method, and a broadcasting system. In particular, the present invention relates to a receiving device, a viewing history transmitting method, a transmitting device and a transmitting method, and a broadcasting system that are suitable for use in, for example, scrambling a program for broadcasting.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In pay broadcasting, a so-called scramble broadcasting is often used.
In this scrambled broadcast, the original signal is intentionally disturbed on the broadcast station (center station) side by a predetermined method, so that even if a person who does not have a contract with the broadcast station receives the broadcast, a normal image or Voice and other data cannot be used. In addition, by giving a decoder that descrambles (descrambles) using a predetermined key to those who have contracted with the broadcasting station, by descramble the scrambled data to the original form, It is designed so that normal images, sounds and data can be obtained.

By the way, as a contract form (reception form) of scrambled broadcasting, there are those called a flat system and a pay-per-view system, for example. What is the flat method?
The pay-per-view method pays the reception fee on a channel basis, and the pay-per-view method pays the reception fee according to the program viewed.

Therefore, in the case of the flat system, the broadcasting station side may basically perform a fixed amount billing process.
In the pay-per-view system, when charging is performed after viewing the program, it is necessary to check the program viewed by the contractor and perform the charging process according to the program. For this reason, in the case of such a pay-per-view system, the receiving side stores the viewing history of the program viewed by the contractor in a storage medium such as a memory, and this is stored in a storage medium such as a telephone line (public network). , And the charging process is performed on the broadcast station side based on the viewing history.

[0005]

By the way, in the above broadcasting system, when the transmission of the viewing history from the receiving side to the broadcasting station side is concentrated at the same time, the link with the broadcasting station is established. Not established, making it difficult to send viewing history. Therefore, there is a method of increasing the number of lines to the broadcasting station, but this increases the load on the viewing history receiving processing at the broadcasting station.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and makes it possible to smoothly transmit and receive a viewing history.

[0007]

The receiving device of the present invention comprises a time storage means for storing a transmission time at which the viewing history stored in the viewing history storage means should be transmitted to a predetermined center station, and a time. Is provided with a viewing history transmitting means for transmitting the viewing history to a predetermined center station at the transmission time stored in the time storage means.

The viewing history transmitting method of the present invention is characterized in that when the time reaches the transmission time stored in the time storage means, the viewing history is transmitted to a predetermined center station.

The transmitting apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that the receiving apparatus is provided with transmitting means for transmitting the viewing history of the program to the predetermined center station together with the program.

The transmission method of the present invention is characterized in that, together with the program, the receiving device transmits the viewing history of the program to the predetermined center station at the transmission time.

In the broadcasting system of the present invention, the receiving device stores the transmission time, which is the time at which the viewing history stored in the viewing history storage means should be transmitted to a predetermined center station, and the time is And a viewing history transmitting means for transmitting the viewing history to a predetermined center station when the transmission time stored in the time storage means comes, and the transmitting device has a transmitting means for transmitting the transmission time together with the program. Is characterized by.

In the receiving device of the present invention, the time storage means stores the transmission time, which is the time at which the viewing history stored in the viewing history storage means should be transmitted to a predetermined center station,
The viewing history transmitting means is adapted to transmit the viewing history to a predetermined center station when the time reaches the transmission time stored in the time storage means.

In the viewing history transmitting method of the present invention, the viewing history is transmitted to a predetermined center station when the time reaches the transmission time stored in the time storage means.

In the transmitting apparatus of the present invention, the transmitting means transmits the program viewing history together with the program at the transmission time, which is the time at which the program should be transmitted to a predetermined center station.

In the transmitting method of the present invention, the receiving device transmits the viewing history of the program together with the program at the transmission time, which is the time at which the program should be transmitted to a predetermined center station.

In the broadcasting system of the present invention, the time storage means stores the viewing history stored in the viewing history storage means,
The transmission time, which is the time to be transmitted to a predetermined center station, is stored, and when the time reaches the transmission time stored in the time storage means, the viewing history transmission means transmits the viewing history to the predetermined center station. It is done like this. The transmitting means is adapted to transmit the transmission time together with the program.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below, but before that, in order to clarify the correspondence between each means of the invention described in the claims and the following embodiments. The features of the present invention are described as follows by adding a corresponding embodiment (however, an example) in parentheses after each means.

That is, the receiving apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is to receive and listen to the transmitted program (for example, the tuner 30 shown in FIG. 6) and the program received by the receiving means. Selection means for selecting things (eg,
6), output means for outputting the program selected by the selection means (for example, descrambler 44 shown in FIG. 6), and viewing history of the program output from the output means. Viewing history storage means (for example,
And a memory 54 shown in FIG. 6), which is a time storage means (for example, a time storage means for storing a transmission time at which the viewing history stored in the viewing history storage means should be transmitted to a predetermined center station). , EEPROM (Electr
ic Erasable Programmable ROM) 55, etc.) and the time becomes the transmission time stored in the time storage means,
Viewing history transmitting means for transmitting the viewing history to a predetermined center station (for example, the transmission control unit 45 and the modem 48 shown in FIG. 6).
Etc.) and are further provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the viewing history transmitting method includes receiving means for receiving the transmitted program (for example, the tuner 30 shown in FIG. 6) and viewing of the programs received by the receiving means. A selection means for selecting an item (for example, a selection button 49), an output means for outputting the program selected by the selection means (for example, the descrambler 44 shown in FIG. 6), and a program output from the output means. A viewing history storage unit (for example, the memory 54 shown in FIG. 6) that stores the viewing history and a transmission time when the viewing history stored in the viewing history storage unit should be transmitted to a predetermined center station are stored. A viewing history transmitting method in which a receiving device including a time storage means (for example, the EEPROM 55 shown in FIG. 6) transmits a viewing history to a predetermined center station, and the time is a time record. When it becomes the stored transmission time to the unit, and transmits the viewing history to a predetermined center station.

A transmitter according to claim 5 is a transmitter for transmitting a program to a receiver, at which time the receiver should transmit the viewing history of the program to a predetermined center station. It is characterized in that it is provided with a transmitting means (for example, the encoders 11A to 11E, the scramble control system 13, the multiplexer 15 and the processing circuit 25 shown in FIG. 2) for transmitting the transmission time.

A broadcasting system according to a seventh aspect is a broadcasting system comprising a transmitting device for transmitting a program and a receiving device for receiving the program, wherein the receiving device receives the transmitted program. (For example, the tuner 30 shown in FIG. 6) and the program received by the receiving means,
Selection means for selecting what to watch (for example, selection button 49 shown in FIG. 6), output means for outputting the program selected by the selection means (for example, descrambler 44 shown in FIG. 6), and output means The viewing history storage means (for example, the memory 54 shown in FIG. 6) which stores the viewing history of the program output from the program, and the viewing history stored in the viewing history storage means at a time when it should be transmitted to a predetermined center station. Time storage means for storing a certain transmission time (for example, EE shown in FIG. 6)
PROM55) and the time, when the time reaches the transmission time stored in the time storage means, the viewing history transmission means (for example, the transmission control unit 45 and the modem 48 shown in FIG. 6) that transmits the viewing history to a predetermined center station. And the like), and the transmitting device includes transmitting means (for example, the encoders 11A to 11E, the scramble control system 13, the multiplexer 15, and the processing circuit 25 shown in FIG. 2) for transmitting the transmission time together with the program. It is characterized by having.

Of course, this description does not mean that each means is limited to those described above.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an embodiment of a scramble broadcasting system (pay broadcasting system) to which the present invention is applied. In this scrambled broadcasting system, for example, a program consisting of images, sounds, and other data is digital and scrambled for broadcasting.

In the center station 1, the program is scrambled, further subjected to necessary processing, and transmitted as an electric wave from an antenna (parabolic antenna) 2. This radio wave is received by a receiver-side antenna (parabolic antenna) 4 via a satellite (broadcast satellite or communication satellite) 3 and supplied to a receiving terminal 5. In the receiving terminal 5, the received signal (program) supplied from the antenna 4 is descrambled,
After further necessary processing, it is displayed on a monitor or output from a speaker (neither is shown). In the receiving terminal 5, the descrambled program, that is, the viewing history of the viewed program is stored in the memory 54 shown in FIG. 6, which will be described later, via the public network 6, for example, periodically or when necessary. Sometimes, it is transmitted to the center station 1.
When the viewing history is received from the receiving terminal 5, the center station 1 performs, for example, a billing process or a viewing rate calculation process based on the viewing history.

Next, FIG. 2 shows a more detailed configuration example of the center station 1. The video, audio, and other data forming the program are encoded by the encoder 11 (encoders 11A to 1A).
1E) and digitized there. Further, under the control of the program control system 12, the encoder 11 compresses the digitized data on a program-by-program basis (for example, compression processing conforming to the MPEG standard) and performs other necessary processing (for example, audio processing). Different processing is performed depending on whether the mode is the stereo mode or the bilingual mode, or different processing depending on whether or not there is an independent voice, and the result is output to the multiplexer 15 (hereinafter, appropriately).
The data output from the encoder 11 is called program data).

In this embodiment, the encoder 11 is
It consists of five encoders 11A to 11E, and
The programs for five channels can be simultaneously supplied to the multiplexer 15. However, the number of encoders 11 is not limited to 5, and
One may be used, or a plurality other than 5 may be used.

On the other hand, in the viewing information collection processing system 22, the processing circuit 25 reads the individual key from the individual key storage section 24 and supplies it to the scramble control system 13. Here, the individual key is a key peculiar to the receiving terminal 5 that the viewer who subscribes for the reception contract has. Therefore, the individual key storage unit 24 stores the individual keys for all the receiving terminals that have the subscription contract. There is.

Further, when the modem 21 receives the contract request from the viewer via the public network 6, the contract request is supplied to the viewing information collection processing system 22. In this case, in the viewing information collection processing system 22, the contract information generation unit 23 generates contract information according to the contract request from the viewer, and this is also supplied to the scramble control system 13. Here, the contract request includes information such as whether the contract form is a flat system or a pay-per-view system, and when the contract form is a flat system, which channel the viewing is contracted. The contract information generation unit 23 converts such information into contract information in a predetermined format.

In the scramble control system 13, individual information used by each receiving terminal is generated according to the contract status of each receiving terminal and is supplied to the multiplexer 15. When the contract information is supplied from the viewing information collection processing system 22, this individual information is updated according to the contract information.
Further, in the scramble control system 13, a work key for encrypting the scramble key is generated and output to the related information sending device 14. At the same time, this work key is encrypted using the individual key supplied from the viewing information collection processing system 22, is included in the above-mentioned individual information, and is supplied to the multiplexer 15. In addition to the above-mentioned information, the individual information includes a decoder identification number for identifying each receiving terminal attached to the receiving terminal that uses the individual information, and if necessary, each receiving terminal. When transmitting the viewing history to the center station 1, the upload time (transmission time), the telephone number of the center station 1 to which the viewing history is transmitted, and the viewing history are transmitted. When the line connection with the center station 1 fails, the number of re-calls (the number of retries) and the re-calling interval (retry interval) are included.

The related information transmitting device 14 generates a scramble key for scrambling the program and supplies it to the scrambler 16. At the same time, this scramble key is encrypted by using the work key supplied from the scramble control system 13 and included in the common information (program information) which is information associated with each program. In addition to the work key from the scramble control system 13, the related information transmission device 14 is also supplied with a program number as a unique number for identifying the program processed by the encoder 11 from the program control system 12. In the related information sending device 14, this program number is also included in the common information. The program number may include information for identifying the broadcasting station (in this embodiment, the center station 1) that broadcasts the program corresponding to the program number, and the program may be video, audio, or the like. Alternatively, information for identifying which of the data is included is included.

Further, the related information sending device 14 arranges other necessary information about the program in the common information and outputs it to the multiplexer 15.

The multiplexer 15 time-division-multiplexes the program data from the encoder 11, the individual information from the scramble control system 13, and the common information from the related information transmitting device 14, and the multiplexed data is packetized. In the form of,
Output to the scrambler 16. In scrambler 16,
The program portion of the multiplexed data from the multiplexer 15 is scrambled using the scramble key from the related information transmitting device 14 and output to the error correction unit 17.

The error correction unit 17 adds an error correction code to the output of the scrambler 16 and supplies the output to the modulator 18. In the modulator 18, the output of the error correction unit 17 is
For example, phase modulation (for example, 4-phase modulation) is performed, and the resulting modulation signal is output to the up converter 19. The up-converter 19 up-converts the frequency of the modulation signal to a predetermined frequency and outputs the up-converted signal to the power amplifier 20. In the power amplifier 20, the modulated signal from the up converter 19 is power-amplified and supplied to the antenna 2. Upconverter 19 from antenna 2
From the satellite, which is transmitted via satellite 3
It is sent to the recipient side.

The processing circuit 25 constituting the viewing information collection processing system 22 controls reading / writing of data from / to the individual key storage section 24 and the viewing information storage section 28, and also upload time allocated to the above-mentioned individual information,
The center station 1 is configured to perform a process of generating a telephone number, the number of retries, a retry interval, and the like, and a process of receiving a viewing history transmitted from each receiving terminal (details will be described later). In addition, the viewing information collection processing system 22
The viewing information storage unit 28 constituting the
The viewing history transmitted from the receiving terminal 5 is stored.

Next, FIG. 3 shows a packet format of the individual information and the common information (hereinafter, both are appropriately referred to as related information) output from the multiplexer 15. In this embodiment, for example, MPE is output from the multiplexer 15.
A packet (transport packet) conforming to the G (Moving Picture Experts Group) 2 standard is output. That is, one packet is composed of 188 bytes, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the first 4 bytes (32 bits) of which is a header, and the remaining 184
The byte is the data part.

The header is composed of a sync byte, a packet ID, and other information, and from the beginning, a 8-bit sync byte, three 1-bit information, a 13-bit packet ID, two 2-bit information, One 4-bit information is sequentially arranged. Information for synchronization on the receiving side is arranged in the synchronization byte, and the packet ID includes
Information is placed to identify whether the packet is of related information or otherwise. The packet of the program data output from the multiplexer 15 is also a packet similar to the format shown in FIG. 3, and when the packet is of the program data, the information for identifying it is It is placed in the packet ID of the header.

Here, in MPEG2, the transport stream is defined as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7A, the transport stream (MPEG_transport_stream ()) is composed of transport packets (transport_packet ()), and the details thereof are defined as shown in FIG. Note that in FIG. 9B, sync_byte to the 11th line represent the definition of the header.

The above-mentioned information is appropriately arranged in the data section. That is, when the packet has common information, for example, as shown in FIG. 5 (A), the data section includes a scramble key (encrypted using a work key), a program number, and other programs. Information is placed. If the packet is for individual information, for example, as shown in FIG. 5B, the data section has a decoder identification number, a work key (encrypted using the individual key), an upload time, The telephone number of the center station 1 and other information (for example, the number of retries and the retry interval described above, the contract form of the contractor of the receiving terminal corresponding to the decoder identification number, etc.) are arranged.

Next, FIG. 6 shows a detailed configuration example of the receiving terminal 5. Here, it is assumed that the contractor having the receiving terminal 5 has a contract of, for example, a pay-per-view method.

The receiving terminal 5 includes a tuner 30 and a decoder 4
0 and a security module 50. The tuner 30 includes a demodulator 31 and an error correction unit 3
2, the decoder 40 includes a separation circuit 4
1, descrambler 44, transmission controller 45, modem 4
8 and a selection button 49. Also,
The security module 50 includes decoders 42 and 43, memories 51 to 54, an EEPROM 55, an upload control unit 56, and a separation circuit 59. The security module 50 is attachable to and detachable from the receiving terminal 5 so that it can be replaced as needed. Further, the security module 50 is designed to be provided only to the contractor who has a reception contract.

Radio waves transmitted from the center station via the satellite 3 are received by the antenna 4, converted into a signal having a predetermined intermediate frequency (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as an IF signal), and supplied to the tuner 30. In the tuner 30, the demodulator 31 subjects the IF signal from the antenna 4 to down conversion and other necessary processing, and then demodulates a signal of a predetermined channel, and the demodulated signal is the error correction unit 3.
2 is output. In the error correction unit 32, the demodulated signal from the demodulator 31 is subjected to error correction processing, and the decoder 4
0 is supplied.

In the decoder 40, the output (packet) from the error correction section 32 is input to the separation circuit 41. In the separation circuit 41, whether the packet from the error correction unit 32 is a program data packet or a related information packet is identified by referring to its header (packet ID). Then, if the packet from the error correction unit 32 is a packet of program data, the packet is supplied to the descrambler 44.

The packet from the error correction unit 32 is
If it is a packet of related information, the separating circuit 41 sends the packet to the separating circuit 5 of the security module 50.
Output to 9. The separation circuit 59 identifies whether the packet of the related information supplied from the separation circuit 41 is the packet of the common information or the packet of the individual information by also referring to the header (packet ID) of the packet. When the related information packet is the common information packet, the packet is output to the decoder 43. On the other hand, when the packet of the related information is the packet of the individual information, the separation circuit 59 is stored in the memory 51.
The decoder ID unique to the receiving terminal 5 is read out, and this decoder ID is compared with the decoder identification number included in the individual information.

Then, the separation circuit 59 outputs the individual information to the decoder 42 only when the decoder ID and the decoder identification number match. That is, only when the individual information is to be used by the receiving terminal 5, the individual information is
It is output to the decoder 42.

Upon receiving the individual information, the decoder 42 reads the master key from the memory 53. Here, this master key corresponds to the individual key stored in the individual key storage unit 24 of the center station 1. Therefore, according to the master key, the encrypted work key included in the individual information can be decrypted.

The decryptor 42 decrypts the work key included in the individual information using the master key read from the memory 53, and outputs it to the memory 52 for storage.

When the viewer desires to view the program, he or she selects the program desired to be viewed by operating the selection button 49. When the selection button 49 is operated, an operation signal corresponding to the operation is output to the decoder 43. When the decoder 43 receives the operation signal from the selection button 49, it reads the work key from the memory 52, and uses this work key to write the encrypted scramble key included in the common information supplied from the separation circuit 59. The data is decrypted and output to the descrambler 44.

Upon receiving the scramble key from the decoder 43, the descrambler 44 descrambles the program data supplied from the separation circuit 41 using the scramble key. The descrambled program data is output to a circuit (not shown) and subjected to necessary processing (for example, MPEG decoding processing) and then displayed on a monitor or a speaker as described in FIG. Is output from.

Therefore, the viewer can watch the program he / she wants to watch by operating the selection button 49.

After the descrambler 44 has started descrambling, when the descrambled program ends or the selection button 49 is operated again, the decoder 43 causes the scramble key Stop decoding. As a result, the program becomes unviewable.

When the descrambler 44 starts descrambling, the decoder 43 extracts the program number of the descrambled program from the common information and supplies it to the memory 54 as viewing information for storage. Let Every time the viewer operates the selection button 49 to watch the program, the above-described processing is performed, whereby the history of the program watched by the viewer, that is, the viewing history is stored in the memory 54 as the program number. Are stored in the form of a list.

The viewing history stored in the memory 54 as described above is transmitted to the center station 1 based on the upload time stored in the EEPROM 55 as follows.

That is, in the center station 1, the processing circuit 25 sets the upload time to be transmitted to each receiving terminal. It should be noted that the upload time is set to such a time that transmission of the viewing history from each receiving terminal is not concentrated at the same time. Specifically, for example, the processing circuit 25
However, if access from M receiving terminals can be accepted at one time, the same upload time is
It is set for M or less receiving terminals.

In this specification, the time (upload time) is expressed in hours, minutes, or seconds, and if necessary, for example, includes year, month, day, day of the week, and the like. Let's assume. Therefore, when the time is represented by, for example, hours, minutes, and seconds, it means that time on a daily basis, and when the time is represented by, for example, days, hours, and minutes, on a monthly basis, Means the time. Furthermore, the time is
When represented by year, month, day, hour, minute, and second, it means the time.

The upload time set in the processing circuit 25 is supplied to the scramble control system 13 together with the telephone number of the center station 1, the number of retries, and the retry interval (hereinafter collectively referred to as upload information). As described above, it is included in the individual information and output to the multiplexer 15. Then, in the center station 1, the individual information is transmitted together with the program in the same manner as described above.

In this case, in the receiving terminal 5, the separation circuit 59
At, the individual information including the upload information is extracted from the related information and output to the decoder 42. Decoder 4
When the individual information includes the upload information, 2 supplies the upload information to the EEPROM 55 to be stored therein.

When the upload information is stored in the EEPROM 55, the receiving terminal 5 performs the processing according to the flowchart of FIG. That is, the transmission control unit 45
First of all, in step S1, wait N seconds,
In step S2, the upload controller 56
Queries whether the current time is equal to the upload time (including when the upload time has passed). Upon receiving the inquiry from the transmission control unit 45, the upload control unit 56 reads the upload time from the EEPROM 55, and in step S3, it is determined whether the current time is equal to the upload time. When it is determined in step S3 that the current time is not equal to the upload time, the process returns to step S1.

Therefore, the transmission controller 45 makes an inquiry to the upload controller 56 every N seconds as described above. Note that the waiting time N seconds in step S1 is set to a time such as 10 seconds that does not increase the load on the decoder 40.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S3 that the current time is equal to the upload time, the process proceeds to step S4, in which the upload controller 56 stores the memory 54.
The viewing history is read out from the EEPROM 5
5, the upload information is read out, and the transmission control unit 45
Is supplied to. Then, the transmission control unit 45 transmits the viewing history to the center station 1 in step S5.

That is, the transmission control unit 45 controls the modem 48 to call the telephone number of the center station 1 in the upload information received from the upload control unit 56. Then, when a communication link between the modem 21 of the center station 1 and the modem 48 is established via the public network 6,
The transmission control unit 45 transmits (uplink) the viewing history together with the decoder ID to the center station 1.

Here, it is assumed that the upload time is set to, for example, day, hour, and minute. Therefore, in this case, at the time represented by the upload time every month, the viewing history transmission process is performed.

In the modem 21 of the center station 1, the modem 48
The viewing history and the decoder ID transmitted from the public network via the public network 6 are received. The viewing history and the decoder ID are supplied to the viewing information collection processing system 22.
In the viewing information collection processing system 22, the viewing history is associated with the decoder ID transmitted together with it,
Further, after it is confirmed that the viewing history is valid, the viewing history is supplied to and stored in the viewing information storage unit 28.

The viewing history is associated with the decoder ID so that it is possible to know from which receiving terminal the viewing history is transmitted.

After the viewing history is stored in the viewing information storage unit 28, in the processing circuit 25 incorporated in the viewing information collection processing system 22, as described above, based on the viewing history, for example, billing processing and viewing. A rate calculation process or the like is performed.

Upon receipt of the valid viewing history, the processing circuit 25 causes the modem 21 to transmit a clear code for clearing the viewing history stored in the memory 54. This clear code is received by the upload control unit 56 via the public network 6, the modem 48, and the transmission control unit 45,
Upon receiving the clear flag, the upload control unit 56 clears (deletes) the viewing history stored in the memory 54 in step S6. As a result, the memory 54
The storage area is secured, and a new viewing history can be stored in the memory 54.

After clearing the memory 54, the process returns to step S1 and the processing from step S1 onward is repeated again.

Therefore, in the case of the present embodiment, the viewing history will be transmitted again at the upload time of the next month.

As described above, since the upload time at which the viewing history should be sent is sent from the center station 1, the upload time is set to the processing circuit 2 as described above.
5 is set to a time at which the viewing information reception process can be performed, so that the viewing history transmissions from many receiving terminals (more than the center station 1 can process) are concentrated at the same time. Can be prevented, and as a result,
The viewing history can be transmitted and received smoothly.

In the center station 1, as described above,
The charging process is performed based on the viewing history, and the reception fee is charged based on the result of the charging process. For this reason,
There is a case where an illegal act such as falsification of the viewing history is performed in order to avoid the collection of the reception fee, and in order to collect the legitimate reception fee, it is necessary to prevent such an illegal act.

Therefore, after the communication link between the modem 21 of the center station 1 and the modem 48 of the receiving terminal 5 is established, the center station 1 is authenticated between the processing circuit 25 and the transmission control section 45. Center station authentication information and the module authentication information for authenticating the security module 50 are exchanged, whereby the viewing history is exchanged after it is confirmed that the other parties are legitimate communication partners. It is designed to be done. As a result, an imitation viewing history is read by connecting a device imitating the center station 1 to the modem 48, reading the viewing history, clearing the memory 54, or setting a module imitating the security module 50 in the receiving terminal 5. It is designed to be able to prevent you from sending.

The information transmitted from the receiving terminal 5 to the center station 1 is encrypted by the transmission controller 45 or the upload controller 56, for example.
As a result, it is possible to prevent the viewing history output from the modem 48 from being tampered with. In the encryption process, it is preferable that a different ciphertext can be obtained each time encryption is performed, even when the same information is encrypted.

Furthermore, the remaining storage capacity (remaining capacity) of the memory 54 becomes smaller (or the remaining capacity is lost),
When the viewing history cannot be stored, the descrambler 44 does not descramble. As a result, if the telephone line is disconnected from the modem 48 to prevent the collection of the reception fee and the viewing history cannot be transmitted,
The memory 54 is not cleared, and as a result, it is possible to prevent subsequent unauthorized reception.

However, in such a case, even if a legitimate receiver views a large number of programs before the next viewing history is transmitted, the viewing history should be stored in the memory 54. It may not be possible to watch the program as a result. Therefore, in step S2 of FIG. 7, when there is an inquiry from the transmission control part 45, the upload control part 56 not only performs the comparison process of the current time and the upload time, but also the remaining capacity of the memory 54. The detection processing of is also performed. And the upload control unit 5
6 determines whether or not the detected remaining capacity of the memory 54 is less than or equal to a predetermined value. If the remaining capacity of the memory 54 is less than or equal to the predetermined value, the receiving terminal 5 performs steps S4 and below in FIG. Processing is performed. As a result, it is possible to prevent a legitimate recipient from being unable to view the program.

In this case, since the viewing history is not transmitted at the upload time, the communication link with the center station 1 is not established, and the memory 54 may not be immediately cleared. is there. And in this case,
Even if the select button 49 is operated, the descrambler 44 does not perform descrambling, and therefore a legitimate recipient may mistakenly think that the device is out of order.
Therefore, when the remaining capacity of the memory 54 becomes less than or equal to a predetermined value, a message indicating that viewing of the program is restricted because the memory 54 is not cleared (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as viewing restriction message) is issued by the security module From the decoder 4 to the decoder 40.
It is possible to provide a display unit at 0 and display the parental control message on the display unit. This can prevent a legitimate recipient from misunderstanding that the device is out of order.

Although the present invention has been described as applied to a scramble broadcasting system for digitally broadcasting scrambled information, the present invention is also applicable to a system based on a broadcasting system for broadcasting without scramble and others. Applicable. Further, the present invention can be applied to a device for transmitting information in analog as well as a device for transmitting information in digital, or a device for transmitting information in a mixture of digital and analog.

In this embodiment, the satellite line is used to
Although the program data is transmitted, the program data can be transmitted not only through a satellite line but also through a transmission line such as a CATV network or the like.

Further, in the present embodiment, the uplink information such as the uplink time is included in the individual information and transmitted via the satellite line. However, the uplink information is transmitted via the public network 6 or the like, for example. It is also possible to send.

In this embodiment, the individual key is
Although it is stored in the individual key storage unit 24 incorporated in the viewing information collection processing system 22, the individual key may be stored and managed by the scramble control system 13 in addition to the above.

Further, in FIG. 6, the decoder 40 and the security module 50 are shown to be connected by a plurality of lines, but when the receiving terminal 5 is actually configured, the decoder 40 and the security module 50 are connected. What is 50
For example, it is possible to physically connect with one line and exchange data between them by, for example, half-duplex communication.

Further, in the present embodiment, the format of the packet output from the multiplexer 15 is adapted to comply with MPEG2, but the format of this packet is not limited to this.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the transmission of viewing histories from many receiving terminals from concentrating at the same time. Even if you make a call to
For example, when the traffic of the public network 6 increases, the communication link between the receiving terminal 5 and the center station 1 may not be established. Therefore, in such a case, the communication control unit 45 can be configured to control the modem 48 so that the modem 48 is retried at the retry interval included in the uplink information at most the number of retries.

Further, in this embodiment, from the center station 1,
By transmitting the individual information including the uplink time, the receiving terminal 5 is made to transmit the viewing history when the current time becomes the uplink time. It is possible to transmit including the history transmission instruction command, and to have the receiving terminal 5 transmit the viewing history when receiving the individual information including such a transmission instruction command.

In this embodiment, the receiving terminal 5 makes a call and the viewing history is transmitted to the center station 1. However, in addition to this, for example, the center station 1 makes a call and the receiving terminal It is also possible to instruct 5 to transmit the viewing history.

Further, in the present embodiment, after the viewing history is read from the memory 54 of the security module 50 and transmitted to the transmission control unit 45 of the decoder 40, the communication link between the receiving terminal 5 and the center station 1 is established. Then, the viewing history is transmitted, but other than that, for example, after the communication link between the receiving terminal 5 and the center station 1 is established, the viewing history is read from the memory 54 and transmitted to the center station 1. It is also possible. However, this causes an overhead of exchanging the viewing history between the decoder 40 and the security module 50 when the receiving terminal 5 communicates with the center station 1. Therefore, as described above. Further, it is preferable to transmit the viewing history after transmitting the viewing history to the transmission control unit 45 and then establishing a communication link between the receiving terminal 5 and the center station 1.

[0085]

As described above, according to the receiving apparatus and the viewing history transmitting method of the present invention, when the transmitted program is received and the one to be viewed is selected, the selected program is In addition to being output, the viewing history of the program is stored. Then, when the time reaches the transmission time stored in the time storage means, the viewing history is transmitted to a predetermined center station. Therefore, by properly setting the transmission time, it becomes possible to prevent access to a predetermined center station from concentrating at the same time.

According to the transmitting apparatus and the transmitting method of the present invention, the transmission time, which is the time at which the receiving apparatus should transmit the viewing history of the program to a predetermined center station, is transmitted together with the program. Therefore, the transmission side can specify the transmission time at which the viewing history of the program should be transmitted, so that it is possible to prevent access to a predetermined center station from concentrating at the same time.

According to the broadcasting system of the present invention, the receiving apparatus receives the transmitted program, and when the one to be viewed is selected, the selected program is output and the program The viewing history is stored. Then, when the time reaches the transmission time stored in the time storage means, the viewing history is transmitted to a predetermined center station. On the other hand, the transmission device transmits the transmission time together with the program. Therefore, it becomes possible to specify the transmission time on the transmitting device side, so by setting this to an appropriate time,
Access to a predetermined center station from the receiving device
It is possible to prevent concentration at the same time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a scramble broadcasting system (pay broadcasting system) to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration example of a center station 1 in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a packet format.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a transport stream and transport packets.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing packets of common information and individual information.

6 is a block diagram showing an example of a detailed configuration of a receiving terminal 5 in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a viewing history transmission process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 center station 2 parabolic antenna 3 satellite 4 parabolic antenna 5 receiving terminal 6 public network 11 encoder 12 program control system 13 scramble control system 14 related information sending device 15 multiplexer 16 scrambler 21 modem 22 audience information collection processing system 25 processing circuit 28 viewing information storage unit 30 tuner 40 decoder 41 separation circuit 42, 43 decoder 44 descrambler 45 transmission control unit 48 modem 50 security module 51 to 54 memory 55 EEPROM 56 upload control unit 59 separation circuit

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. Receiving means for receiving the transmitted program, selecting means for selecting one of the programs received by the receiving means for viewing, and outputting the program selected by the selecting means. And a viewing history storage means for storing the viewing history of the program output from the output means, wherein the viewing history stored in the viewing history storage means is stored in a predetermined center. Time storage means for storing a transmission time, which is the time to be transmitted to the station, and, when the time reaches the transmission time stored in the time storage means, the viewing history is transmitted to the predetermined center station. A receiving device, further comprising: history transmitting means. 2. The viewing history transmitting means transmits the viewing history to the predetermined center station even when the remaining storage capacity of the viewing history storage means becomes a predetermined value or less. Item 2. The receiving device according to item 1. 3. The transmission time is transmitted together with the program, and the receiving unit receives the transmission time together with the program and stores the transmission time in the time storage unit. Item 2. The receiving device according to item 1. 4. Receiving means for receiving the transmitted program, selecting means for selecting one of the programs received by the receiving means for viewing, and outputting the program selected by the selecting means. Output means, a viewing history storage means for storing the viewing history of the program output from the output means, and the viewing history stored in the viewing history storage means at a time to be transmitted to a predetermined center station. A viewing history transmitting method in which a receiving device including a time storing means for storing a certain transmission time transmits the viewing history to the predetermined center station, wherein the time is the transmission time stored in the time storing means. When, the viewing history is transmitted to the predetermined center station. 5. A transmission device for transmitting a program to a reception device, the transmission time being a time at which the reception device should transmit the viewing history of the program together with the program to a predetermined center station. A transmitting device comprising a transmitting means for transmitting. 6. A transmission method for transmitting a program to a receiving device, the transmission time being a time at which the receiving device should transmit the viewing history of the program together with the program to a predetermined center station. A transmitting method characterized by transmitting. 7. A broadcasting system comprising a transmitting device for transmitting a program and a receiving device for receiving the program, wherein the receiving device includes a receiving means for receiving the transmitted program, and the receiving means. Of the received programs, selection means for selecting one to be viewed, output means for outputting the program selected by the selection means, and viewing for storing a viewing history of the program output from the output means History storage means, time storage means for storing a transmission time, which is the time at which the viewing history stored in the viewing history storage means should be transmitted to a predetermined center station, and time is stored in the time storage means. And a viewing history transmitting unit that transmits the viewing history to the predetermined center station when the transmission time comes, and the transmission device transmits the transmission time together with the program. A broadcasting system characterized by having a transmitting means for receiving.