JPH10322672A - Data broadcast receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a data broadcast receiver capable of reducing a waiting time when a text broadcast program called from an intertext broadcast program is displayed again. SOLUTION: When a teletext program calling determination circuit 51 is provided, when a teletext program is called from an intertext broadcast program being received, data of the called teletext program is stored in a data storage memory 50. In advance,
When the same teletext program is called again, the data stored in the data storage memory 50 can be read and displayed, and the waiting time until the program is displayed can be reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data broadcast receiver provided with means for demodulating an intertext broadcast superimposed on a vertical retrace period of a television broadcast signal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a teletext program has been realized in which text and graphic data are multiplexed and transmitted on a normal television broadcast signal. Teletext programs currently being provided with services include news, weather forecasts, traffic information, tourist information, television shopping, and the like. In some programs, a questionnaire survey is conducted for viewers.

[0003] By the way, current television broadcast programs and teletext broadcasts are systems in which television stations unilaterally provide information to viewers. Therefore, in the case of television shopping, when a shopping information program is broadcast by teletext, the viewer makes a memo of a desired product number or a telephone number of a mail order company while looking at the characters displayed on the screen, and looks at the memo. You will have to do it using your phone. Also, in a case where a questionnaire survey is performed on the viewer during the program, the response from the viewer takes a telephone number or the like as a memo and uses the telephone while watching the memo. In such a case, a problem such as a wrong telephone call due to a wrong dial or a wrong telephone call when a telephone number is erroneously written down occurs.

[0004] As described above, in the conventional teletext broadcasting program, a one-sided broadcast from a television station is performed, and the response period is long because the system waits for a telephone call from a viewer. . In addition, there is a problem that many wrong calls are generated.

In order to solve such a problem, as one of the television multiplex broadcasting, additional contents of the television broadcasting program such as subtitles and detailed information of the program are displayed in accordance with the contents of the television broadcasting program. Data to make
2. Description of the Related Art An inter-text broadcast (IT vision broadcast) has been developed in which data for displaying contents necessary for an interactive program in which a viewer participates is multiplexed and transmitted in a vertical blanking period of a television broadcast.

In intertext broadcasting, computer program data (also referred to as script data) is transmitted from a broadcasting station in a manner superimposed on a vertical retrace period of television broadcasting, and a receiver executes a program for executing the computer program. Means for displaying pictures and characters on the screen, and when the viewer gives an operation input, the program executing means automatically sets the dial of the telephone via the communication control means. A ring is performed to automatically transmit the input data of the viewer. In this way, the number of missed calls is reduced, and the response time to the collection station is close to real time.

[0007] In the inter text broadcasting, in addition to a service linked to a television program, such as displaying additional contents to a television program and interactive display of a program attended by a viewer, a program being displayed is simultaneously transmitted from the program being displayed. There is a service function for specifying and displaying a text broadcast program. The function of displaying the teletext program is for enabling the viewer to use the receiver effectively even when there is no TV program-linked service.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a general intertext broadcasting system. Television receiver (hereinafter referred to as TV receiver) 11, broadcasting station 12, telephone network 1
3 and a network including a collection station 14. The broadcast station 12 uses a teletext channel to broadcast script data for realizing interactivity as an intertext broadcast program in synchronization with a normal television program. Alternatively, it is repeatedly broadcast within a predetermined time as an independent broadcast. The script data is a kind of application program describing a procedure of the two-way communication system, and is transmitted while being superimposed on a vertical flyback period of a TV broadcast signal.

This script is stored in the memory of the TV receiver 11 that has received the TV broadcast signal.
The program is executed by a program execution device (script decoder) incorporated in the receiver 11. The script decoder displays a symbol mark "i" indicating that the current program is an interactive broadcast program on the screen, notifies the viewer of the symbol mark, and starts script execution in response to an operation input from the viewer. Then, a response such as display of program capturing information is performed.

The response may end on its own in the TV receiver 11, but the result of the response is sent to a computer system (collection station 14) provided in each place via the telephone network 13. Depending on the case, it is also possible to reflect the program contents provided by the broadcasting station 12 in real time.

This system extends the function of an existing teletext broadcasting system by software. A response from the viewer is sent to the collection station 14 via the telephone network 13. Further, even if the script data is added to the teletext, the current TV broadcast, teletext, and TV receiver are not affected at all.

The TV receiver 11 includes a circuit for receiving and detecting a TV broadcast, a circuit for processing a video signal, a circuit for demodulating an RGB signal, and a normal TV including a character multiplex decoder.
In addition to the broadcast receiver, a script decoder and a modem are provided to realize the interactive function. The script decoder extracts script data from a signal obtained by detecting a TV broadcast signal transmitted from the broadcast station 12, and
By executing it, two-way communication is realized. If the viewer responds to send the upstream data, T
A response is made using a remote controller for V operation. When data is transmitted to the collection station 14, automatic dialing is performed by a modem connected to the TV receiver 11, and connection is made to the collection station 14. The upstream data may be transmitted immediately,
Alternatively, transmission can be performed after waiting at night or the like.

The modem added to the TV receiver 11 has a function of automatically dialing, so that it is not necessary for the viewer to dial for upstream data transmission. The telephone number of the automatic dial destination is transmitted by embedding it in the script data from the broadcast station 12 side for each bidirectional data multiplex broadcast program. The telephone number may be one or plural, and in the case of plural telephone numbers, a viewer can select a destination.

The script decoder is realized by a processor that executes a computer program (script). However, since a character multiplex decoder usually has a built-in processor, the script decoder can be actually realized by extending the function of the character multiplex decoder by software. Therefore, the script decoder is composed of the character multiplex decoder and the program RO.
M and many circuits are shared with the character multiplex decoder.

When a broadcast station 12 broadcasts a program of a viewer participation system in which a response of a viewer is reflected on the program, the broadcast station 12 inserts script data into a broadcast signal containing normal video and audio and transmits the broadcast signal. I do. A program production system for reproducing and inserting script data can be composed of a personal computer and a multiplexing device.

The broadcasting station 12 inserts script data into a TV broadcast radio wave in addition to a normal TV program to broadcast. The script data to be added is broadly classified into those produced by the broadcasting station itself and those produced and provided by a third party such as an advertising company or a mail order company. Furthermore, there are those produced by broadcasting stations that can be prepared in advance, and those that are inserted live, such as when broadcasting sports.

When executing the script data, first, screen components such as a screen background and operation buttons are displayed. When the viewer selects the operation button, a program corresponding to the button is activated.

A response data processing method is registered in the collection station 14 in advance, and the collected contents can be redistributed to a broadcasting station, an advertising company, a sponsor, a mail order company, and the like in accordance with the registration method.

The form of the interactive program which can be realized by this interactive communication system can be roughly classified into the following three.

(1) Supplementary information program-Selectively displays additional information about the advertising product.

Data for sports broadcasting is selectively displayed.

Display of program contents.

[0024] The cooking resuspie is stored and displayed later.

-Respond to answers to questions in an early childhood education program.

In a quiz program, respond to the viewer's answer.

(2) Response feedback program-Take a questionnaire on politics, economy, and social reporting.

Take a questionnaire in a sports program.

Displaying statistics of authorized persons and conducting tournaments in a quiz program for viewer participation.

(3) Program with transaction (using collection station)-An order is accepted at the server (collection station) for television shopping.

A server (collection station) accepts a catalog request or the like in an advertisement with a request such as information.

For the audience rating survey, with the consent of the viewer, send the viewing program data to the server (collection station).

Hereinafter, a TV receiver having the above-described intertext broadcast receiving function will be described.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of a conventional TV receiver having an intertext broadcast receiving function.

The TV receiver 11 includes a TV broadcast receiving unit 20
And character / graphic information decoding unit 40 and remote control receiving unit 70
And a telephone interface unit 80.

The TV broadcast receiving section 20 converts a TV broadcast signal input from the antenna 21 into a television signal receiving circuit 22.
, And detects the detected signal.
3 and to the luminance amplification / color demodulation circuit 24. The video switching circuit 26 includes a luminance amplification / color demodulation circuit 2
4 and a video signal output from the character / graphic information decoding unit 40, and outputs the same. The output signal is amplified by a video amplifier circuit 28 and sent to a display unit 30 such as a CRT. Displayed as video information. Also,
The audio switching circuit 25 switches or mixes and outputs the audio signal from the audio demodulation / amplification circuit 23 and the audio signal output from the character / graphic information decoding unit 40. The signal is amplified and output as audio information to the speaker 29.

The character / graphic information decoding unit 40 decodes the video signal received by the TV signal receiving circuit 22 into a character / graphic image, and controls the character / graphic information decoding unit 40.
PU 41, a receiving circuit 42 for extracting character / graphic information of intertext broadcasting as digital data from a video signal from the TV signal receiving circuit 22, a RAM 43 used as a work area of the CPU 41, and a ROM 44 for storing a program for controlling the CPU 41. A display memory 46 for storing character / graphic information decoded by the CPU 41; a display processing circuit 45 for combining the character / graphic information stored in the display memory 46 with RGB signals; A character generator 48 used for decoding to video, an additional sound decoder 47 for processing additional sound data included in character / graphic information, a data receiving memory 49 for storing received data, And a data storage memory 50 for storing .

The remote controller 60 as an operating means remotely controls various operations of the TV broadcast receiving section 20 and the text / graphic information decoding section 40 and selection of text / graphic information (selection of intertext broadcast or text broadcast).

The remote control receiving section 70 receives a signal from the remote control 60 and controls a remote control receiving circuit 71 for instructing selection of character / graphic information and the like, and a character / graphic information decoding section 40 for data from the remote control receiving circuit 71. The control microcomputer 72 communicates to the CPU 41.

The telephone interface section 80 includes a modem circuit 81 for transmitting and receiving data to and from a telephone line, and a line connection circuit 82 for connecting the modem circuit 81 to a telephone line terminal 83.

The operation of the TV receiver having the data multiplex broadcast receiving function configured as described above will be described.

The television signal input from the antenna 21 is demodulated by a television signal receiving circuit 22, and a video signal and an audio signal are extracted. The video signal is input to the receiving circuit 42 of the character / graphic information decoding unit 40. Receiving circuit 4
In step 2, data superimposed in the vertical blanking period of the video signal is extracted. This data is stored in the data receiving memory 49. By operating the remote controller 60, the viewer can use the character generator 48 in accordance with the contents of the program stored in the ROM 44 based on the data stored in the data reception memory 49 and as necessary. Then, the character / graphic information is converted into a character / graphic image and stored in the display memory 46. The character / graphic image stored in the display memory 46 is formed into RGB signals by the display processing circuit 45. The additional sound data included in the character / graphic information is converted by the additional sound decoder 47 into an additional sound signal.

On the other hand, the television signal received by the television receiving circuit 22 is supplied to an audio demodulating / amplifying circuit 23 and a luminance amplifying / color demodulating circuit 24. The audio signal is demodulated and amplified by the audio demodulation / amplification circuit 23, and the audio switching circuit 25
Given to. The audio switching circuit 25 switches between the audio signal output from the character / graphic information decoding unit 40 and the television audio signal, so as to display the former when displaying a character / graphic image and the latter when displaying a television image. Select and input to the speaker 29 through the audio amplification circuit 27. On the other hand, the luminance amplification / color demodulation circuit 24 amplifies the luminance signal and further demodulates the color difference signal. These signals are supplied to the video switching circuit 26. Video switching circuit 26
Switches between a video signal output from the character / graphic information decoding unit 40 and a television video signal from the luminance amplification / color demodulation circuit 24, so that the former is used when displaying intertext broadcast information. Is displayed, the latter can be selected and displayed on the display unit 30 through the video amplification circuit 28.

When the viewer selects an inter-text broadcast program using the remote controller 60, the CPU 41 performs a decoding process based on the inter-text broadcast data from the data stored in the data reception memory 49.
When the viewer designates a teletext program using the remote controller 60, decoding processing is performed based on teletext data from data stored in the data reception memory 49. By switching the processing in the CPU 41 based on the operation of the remote controller 60, an intertext broadcast program and a teletext broadcast program can be selectively displayed. further,
At the receiver, from the intertext broadcast program being received,
The remote control 60 also has a function of designating and calling a teletext program and displaying the program.

Since an increase in the capacity of the data receiving memory 49 increases costs, it is limited to a minimum capacity. Therefore, this data is updated at any time as needed. For example, when displaying an intertext broadcast program, only the data of the intertext broadcast is stored, and when displaying the teletext program, only the data of the teletext broadcast is stored. In some cases, only data of a currently displayed program is stored, and data of a program not being displayed is not stored. Therefore, the program data designated (or registered) by the viewer is stored in the data storage memory 50. Thus, when displaying the stored program, by calling the data from the data storage memory 50, it is not necessary to store the received data again, so that the program can be displayed quickly.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show a period during which teletext data is transmitted in a hybrid teletext TV multiplex broadcast signal. That is, the teletext data is transmitted from the 14th H (the 277H) to the vertical flyback period.
16th (279th) and 21H (284th)
H). In this vertical blanking period, there is a margin for further multiplexing data.
The script data described above can be multiplexed and transmitted from (273H) to 13H (276H). As described above, the script data may be multiplexed at a position different from the current character multiplexing position, but may be transmitted in a time-division manner to the same position as the current character multiplexing signal. Also, teletext data can be transmitted on one sub-channel of the audio multiplex signal, and in this case, the data from the FM receiving unit is taken in.

By the way, in a receiver having a function of receiving both the script data and the teletext data as described above, a text broadcast program is designated and called out of the received intertext broadcast program. When displaying the program, the operation to accumulate the teletext data of the specified program in the data reception memory starts after the teletext program number is specified, so a waiting time is required until the program is displayed. There was a problem of becoming.

[0047]

As described above, in the conventional receiver, when a text broadcast program is specified and called from the received intertext broadcast program and the program is displayed, the text broadcast is not performed. Since the storage of the teletext data of the specified program is started after the program number is designated, there is a problem that it takes time to display the program.

In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a data broadcast receiver capable of reducing the waiting time when a text broadcast program called from an intertext broadcast program is displayed again. The purpose is.

[0049]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data broadcast receiver comprising: first means for demodulating intertext broadcast data superimposed on a vertical retrace period of a television broadcast signal; A second means for demodulating teletext data superimposed during a vertical flyback period of a John broadcast signal; an operation means for selecting an intertext broadcast or a text broadcast program; and Means for displaying an intertext broadcast program or teletext program demodulated by the first means or the second means on a display unit; data storage means for storing the demodulated teletext data; The program contents of the called teletext program are stored in the data storage means, and when the same teletext program is called again, the data is stored in the data storage means. It is obtained and means for displaying a teletext program reads data.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when a text broadcast program is called from an intertext broadcast program, the data of the called program is stored in a data storage memory. When the same teletext program is called again, the data is read from the data storage memory, decoded, and displayed. This makes it possible to reduce the waiting time when the teletext program called from the intertext broadcast program is displayed again.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the data broadcast receiver according to the first aspect, a character broadcast program called out of an intertext broadcast program and a program stored in the data storage means is received. It is characterized by comprising means for detecting that the data of the program has been updated, and updating the program contents of the data storage means.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the teletext program being displayed is already stored in the data storage means, it is determined whether or not the content of the program is the same as the content of the received program. The content of the program in the data storage means can be automatically updated.

[0053]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a data broadcast receiver according to one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the same components as those in FIG. The difference from FIG. 4 is that a teletext program calling determination circuit 51 is connected to the data reception memory 49, the data storage memory 50, and the CPU 41.

The TV receiver 11A includes a TV broadcast receiving unit 20
Character information decoding section 40A, remote control receiving section 70
And a telephone interface unit 80.

The TV broadcast receiving section 20 has the same configuration as that of FIG. The TV broadcast signal input from the antenna 21 is received and detected by the television signal receiving circuit 22, and the detected signal is supplied to the audio demodulation / amplification circuit 23 and to the luminance amplification / color demodulation circuit 24. Video switching circuit 26
Is for switching and outputting a video signal from the luminance amplification / color demodulation circuit 24 and a video signal output from the character / graphic information decoding unit 40A.
Amplified at 8 and displayed as video information on a display unit 30 composed of a CRT or the like. The audio switching circuit 25 switches or mixes and outputs the audio signal from the audio demodulation / amplification circuit 23 and the audio signal output from the character / graphic information decoding unit 40A. 2
The audio is amplified by the speaker 7 and output to the speaker 29 as audio information.

The character / graphic information decoding section 40A decodes a video signal received by the TV signal receiving circuit 22 into a character / graphic image, and includes a CPU 41 for controlling the character / graphic information decoding section 40A, and a TV signal receiving circuit. A receiving circuit 42 for extracting character / graphic information of intertext broadcasting as digital data from a video signal from the CPU 22;
A RAM 43 used as a work area of the CPU 4, a ROM 44 storing a program for controlling the CPU 41,
1 and a display processing circuit 45 for synthesizing the character / graphic information stored in the display memory 46 with the RGB signal.
A character generator 48 used when decoding character / graphic information into a character / graphic image, an additional sound decoder 47 for processing additional sound data included in the character / graphic information, and a data reception for storing received data. Memory 49 and a data storage memory 50 for storing received data.
When a text broadcast program is called from an inter-text broadcast program, the data of the called program is stored in the data storage memory 50, and the same text broadcast program is called again. Is called,
A teletext program calling circuit 51 for reading data from the data storage memory 50 is provided.

When a text broadcast program is called from an intertext broadcast program, the text broadcast program call determination circuit 51 stores the data of the program in the data storage memory 50.
Is stored in the data storage memory 50, the CPU 41 is instructed to read data from the data storage memory 50. If not stored, the data received from the data receiving memory 49 is stored in the data
An instruction is given to the PU 41, the data reception memory 49, and the data storage memory 50.

The remote controller 60 as an operating means is for remotely operating various operations of the TV broadcast receiving section 20 and the text / graphic information decoding section 40 and selection of text / graphic information (selection of intertext broadcast or text broadcast).

The remote control receiving section 70 receives a signal from the remote control 60 and controls a remote control receiving circuit 71 for instructing selection of character / graphic information and the like, and a character / graphic information decoding section 40A for data from the remote control receiving circuit 71. CPU 41
And a control microcomputer 72 that transmits the information to the control microcomputer 72.

The telephone interface unit 80 includes a modem circuit 81 for transmitting and receiving data to and from a telephone line, and a line connection circuit 82 for connecting the modem circuit 81 to a telephone line terminal 83.

The operation of the TV receiver having the data multiplex broadcast receiving function configured as described above will be described.

The television signal input from the antenna 21 is demodulated by a television signal receiving circuit 22, and a video signal and an audio signal are extracted. The video signal is input to the receiving circuit 42 of the character / graphic information decoding unit 40. Receiving circuit 4
In step 2, data superimposed in the vertical blanking period of the video signal is extracted. This data is stored in the data receiving memory 49. By operating the remote controller 60, the viewer can use the character generator 48 in accordance with the contents of the program stored in the ROM 44 based on the data stored in the data reception memory 49 and as necessary. Then, the character / graphic information is converted into a character / graphic image and stored in the display memory 46. The character / graphic image stored in the display memory 46 is formed into RGB signals by the display processing circuit 45. The additional sound data included in the character / graphic information is converted by the additional sound decoder 47 into an additional sound signal.

On the other hand, the television signal received by the television receiving circuit 22 is supplied to an audio demodulating / amplifying circuit 23 and a luminance amplifying / color demodulating circuit 24. The audio signal is demodulated and amplified by the audio demodulation / amplification circuit 23, and the audio switching circuit 25
Given to. The audio switching circuit 25 switches between the audio signal output from the character / graphic information decoding unit 40 and the television audio signal, so as to display the former when displaying a character / graphic image and the latter when displaying a television image. Select and input to the speaker 29 through the audio amplification circuit 27. On the other hand, the luminance amplification / color demodulation circuit 24 amplifies the luminance signal and further demodulates the color difference signal. These signals are supplied to the video switching circuit 26. Video switching circuit 26
Switches between a video signal output from the character / graphic information decoding unit 40 and a television video signal from the luminance amplification / color demodulation circuit 24, so that the former is used when displaying intertext broadcast information. Is displayed, the latter can be selected and displayed on the display unit 30 through the video amplification circuit 28.

The receiver has both functions of an intertext broadcast receiving process and a text broadcast receiving process, and in a normal receiving state, for example, is in an intertext broadcast receiving state. This is because it is necessary to constantly monitor the reception of the script data in order to notify the viewer of the start of the inter-text broadcast program by, for example, displaying an “i” mark on the screen. This processing state is switched under the control of the CPU 41 based on the operation of the remote controller 60.
When an intertext broadcast program is selected after the “i” mark is displayed, the CPU 41 performs a decoding process based on the intertext broadcast data from the data stored in the data reception memory 49. When a teletext program is designated, the data receiving memory 4
The decoding processing is performed based on the data of the teletext from the data stored in 9. Even if the “i” mark is not displayed (that is, even if the inter-text broadcast program has not been started), when the remote control 60 selects the teletext program, the teletext data is stored in the data reception memory 49. The stored data can be used by the CPU 41 to decode a teletext program. Thus C
By switching the processing in the PU 41, an intertext broadcast program and a teletext broadcast program can be selectively decoded and displayed on the display unit 30. Further, it is also possible to designate and call a teletext program from the intertext broadcast program being received by the remote controller 60 and display the specified teletext program.

Next, an operation when a text broadcast program is called from an intertext broadcast program being received will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, it is determined whether an intertext broadcast program is being executed (step S1) and a text broadcast program is being called (step S2). If the above conditions are met,
It is determined whether the data of the designated teletext program is stored in the data storage memory 50 (step S3).
If the corresponding teletext program is not stored in the memory 50, the data of the corresponding program is stored in the data reception memory 49.
And stores it in the data storage memory 50 (step S5) to display a teletext program (step S6).
). If the corresponding teletext program has already been stored in the data storage memory 50, the data is read out (step S4) and the corresponding program is displayed (step S6).

Next, it is determined whether the program being displayed is the same as the program being received (step S7). If not, the process returns to step S5, and the program data being received is stored in the data storage memory 50. Store and display. If it is the same in step S7, the display end is determined (step S8). If it is continued, the operation returns to step S6 to repeat the operations in steps S6 to S8 so as to maintain the display of the text broadcast program.
Thereby, even when the data stored in the data storage memory 50 is changed, the latest program content can be displayed.

[0068]

As described above, according to the present invention, a character broadcast program called once from an intertext broadcast program is also stored in the storage memory so that the same program can be displayed again. , It is possible to reduce the reception waiting time until it is displayed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a data broadcast receiver according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a two-way communication system using intertext broadcasting.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a conventional data broadcast receiver.

FIG. 5 is a waveform diagram of a television signal for explaining a teletext signal and an intertext broadcast signal.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 30 display unit 45 display processing circuit 46 display memory 40A character / graphic information decoding unit 41 CPU 49 data reception memory 50 data storage memory 51 text broadcast program call determination circuit

Claims (2)

[Claims] A first method for demodulating intertext broadcast data superimposed during a vertical flyback period of a television broadcast signal.
Means for demodulating teletext data superimposed during a vertical retrace period of a television broadcast signal; operating means for selecting an intertext broadcast or teletext program; and selecting the operation means. The first means or the second means
Means for displaying an intertext broadcast program or a teletext program demodulated by the means on a display unit; data storage means for storing the demodulated teletext data; and a teletext program called from the intertext broadcast program. Means for storing program contents in the data storage means, and reading out data from the data storage means to display the text broadcast program when the same teletext program is called again. Receiving machine. 2. For a teletext program called out of an intertext broadcast program, for a program stored in the data storage means, it is detected that the data of the program being received has been updated, and the data storage means 2. The data broadcast receiver according to claim 1, further comprising means for updating program contents.