JP2012253467A - Broadcast receiving apparatus and broadcast receiving method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique capable of improving accuracy of automatic scanning of channels in broadcast reception.SOLUTION: A broadcast receiving apparatus is provided with: channel acquisition means which acquires a reception channel by scanning a physical channel assigned to a broadcast station in a region; and control means which controls the channel acquisition means to perform scanning in a time zone. When the control means detects change/addition of a broadcast station in a time zone, the control means controls the channel acquisition means to perform scanning in another time zone other than the time zone. If the results of the scanning in the one zone and the scanning in the other time zone are equal, the control means changes/adds the broadcast station.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a broadcast receiving apparatus and a broadcast receiving method for setting a reception channel.

With the end of terrestrial analog broadcasting in 2011, TVs are being replaced with terrestrial digital broadcasting compatible TVs.
On the other hand, for channel setting of terrestrial digital broadcasting, it is necessary to search all receivable channels at the reception point and create a service list (receivable frequency table) based on service_id. That is, after setting the viewer's residence area based on the reception point, the service list is acquired by scanning the physical channels 13ch to 62ch. Remote_control_key_id is described in the NIT (Network Information Table) transmitted by broadcast waves, and remote control key numbers 1 to 12 desired by the broadcaster are assigned to each TS.

  As a result, a representative service for each TS is assigned to the remote control key. As described above, the channel setting for terrestrial digital broadcasting requires a search from the physical channels 13ch to 62ch, and this setting was performed in a certain time zone. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an in-vehicle receiver that determines whether to prohibit or allow a change in reception frequency based on prohibition time zone information stored in a memory in a time zone to which the current time belongs. Are listed. This prohibited time zone information is for preventing the reception of local programs at affiliated stations.

  On the other hand, however, there is generally a need for improved accuracy when performing automatic scanning.

JP 2000-209071 A (Claim 5)

  An object of the embodiment of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of further improving the accuracy of automatic channel scanning in broadcast reception.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, according to the embodiment, a broadcast receiving apparatus scans a physical channel assigned to a broadcasting station in a region to acquire a reception channel, and a time in the channel acquisition means. Control means for performing scanning in a band, and when this control means detects a change or addition of a broadcasting station in a certain time zone, the control means performs the scanning in a time zone different from this time zone, If the result is the same, change / add broadcasting stations.

An example of the produced receivable frequency table used for one Embodiment of this invention. The figure of the table used for the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing apparatuses of Examples 1, 2, and 4. The figure of the table which shows the example of the embodiment. The figure which shows the remote control used for the same embodiment. The block diagram which shows roughly the structure of the television receiver concerning the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram illustrating an apparatus according to a third embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7.
(Configuration and operation of broadcast receiver)
First, a television receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a television receiver such as a digital broadcast receiver which is an embodiment of a broadcast receiver to which the system shown in FIGS.

  The television receiver can receive terrestrial analog broadcast waves, BS, CS, and terrestrial digital broadcast waves, and includes a microprocessor 10, digital tuners 11 and 12, digital demodulators 13 and 14, and a TS decoder 15. It has.

  BS, CS, and terrestrial digital broadcast waves are received by the antenna 3, and the received signals are supplied to the digital tuners 11 and 12. The digital tuners 11 and 12 employ a phase-locked loop (PLL) system, and are used to select desired broadcast waves by designating reception parameters such as a center frequency and a bandwidth under the control of the microprocessor 10. It is done.

  For example, in the case of Japanese terrestrial digital broadcasting, the received signal of the broadcast wave selected by the digital tuner 11 is sequentially supplied to an OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) digital demodulator 13 and a TS decoder 15. Demodulated and decoded into digital video and audio signals. Similarly, the received signal selected by the digital tuner 12 is sequentially supplied to the digital demodulator 14 and the TS decoder 15, and is demodulated and decoded into a digital video signal and an audio signal.

  The television receiver further includes a signal processing unit 16, a graphic processing unit 17, an OSD (on screen display) signal generation unit 18, a video processing unit 19, a display 20, an audio processing unit 21, a speaker 22, an operation panel 23, an infrared ray. A light receiving unit 24, a remote controller 25, a flash memory 26, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector 27, a card connector 28, and a network communication circuit 29 are provided. The signal processing unit 16 selectively performs predetermined digital signal processing on the digital video signal and the audio signal from the TS decoder 15 and outputs them to the graphic processing unit 17 and the audio processing unit 21, respectively.

  The graphic processing unit 17 selectively superimposes the OSD signal generated by the OSD signal generation unit 18 on the digital video signal output from the signal processing unit 16 and outputs it. The video processing unit 19 performs conversion such as size adjustment for adapting to the display 20 with respect to the digital video signal output from the graphic processing unit 17. The display 20 displays a video corresponding to the video signal output from the video processing unit 19. The audio processing unit 21 performs conversion such as volume adjustment for adapting the digital audio signal output from the signal processing unit 16 to the speaker 22. The speaker 22 reproduces sound corresponding to the sound signal output from the sound processing unit 21.

  The microprocessor 10 receives the operation information from the operation panel 23 or the operation information transmitted from the remote controller 25 and received by the infrared light receiver 24, and controls each component so that the operation content is reflected. Here, the operation panel or keyboard 23 and the remote controller 25 correspond to an operation module that functions as a user interface. As shown in FIG. 6, the microprocessor 10 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 31 that performs various processes and controls, a ROM (read only memory) 32 that holds a control program for the CPU 31 and various initial data, A random access memory (RAM) 33 that provides a work area for temporarily storing input / output information, an interface 34 for inputting / outputting setting information and control information for each component via an I2C bus, etc., and via broadcast waves and networks A clock circuit 35 that is corrected according to the acquired time information and date information is included.

  The USB connector 27 is provided for connecting various USB devices. The card connector 28 is provided for connecting various media cards. The network communication circuit 29 is connected to the Internet directly or via a LAN (local area network). When the time information is acquired from the broadcast wave, the signal is received by the antenna 1, and when the basic data such as time information is acquired from the network, the time information is acquired by the microprocessor 10 from the network communication circuit 29.

The USB connector 27 and the card connector 28 can read a moving image, a photograph, and music data by connecting a USB device (memory or the like) or a media card from the outside.
The microprocessor 10 captures a video held as a file in a USB memory connected to the USB connector 27 or a media card connected to the card connector 28, and the signal processing unit 16, the graphic processing unit 17, and the video processing unit 19 Through this process, control is performed to display each image on the display 20.

Note that a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector 27, a card connector 28, and the like are not provided in all television receivers.
With the end of terrestrial analog broadcasting in 2011, TVs are being replaced with terrestrial digital broadcasting compatible TVs. On the other hand, for channel setting of terrestrial digital broadcasting, it is necessary to search all receivable channels at the reception point and create a service list (receivable frequency table) based on service_id.

  That is, after setting the viewer's residence area based on the reception point, the service list is acquired by scanning the physical channels 13ch to 62ch. A remote_control_key_id is described in the NIT transmitted by the broadcast wave, and remote control key numbers 1 to 12 desired by the broadcaster are assigned to each TS. As a result, a representative service for each TS is assigned to the remote control key. As described above, the channel setting for terrestrial digital broadcasting requires a search from the physical channels 13ch to 62ch, and this setting was performed in a certain time zone.

Digital TVs currently on sale are equipped with a digital terrestrial broadcast scanning function and a process of automatically scanning when the user powers off.
[Scanning digital terrestrial broadcasting]
In digital terrestrial broadcast scanning, the presence or absence of a broadcasting station is checked for each physical frequency, and information on the received broadcasting station is registered in the broadcasting station list. In the broadcast station list, the frequency for receiving the broadcast station is registered together with the information of the broadcast station.

  When the same broadcast station is received at frequency A and frequency B, the better reception state (C / N ratio: Carrier to Noise Ratio) is registered in the broadcast station list.

  FIG. 1 is an example of the generated receivable frequency table. In the case of terrestrial digital broadcasting broadcast in the UHF band, any one of 13ch to 62ch is one of channel keys 1 to 12 based on the ARIB-TR-B14 standard. Is set.

  Scans physical channels, acquires service_id, network_id, etc. necessary for channel selection, and stores them as a table as shown in FIG. 4 in the NVRAM (flash memory 26) in the TV in association with the remote control key number and channel selection frequency. Is done. An initial scan is performed on the TV, and a receivable frequency table in the installation area as shown in FIG. 1 is created.

[About automatic scanning]
When the user turns off the power, the receiver scans the terrestrial digital broadcast with the panel turned off (automatic scanning). The automatic scan is performed in a state where the user has scanned the terrestrial digital broadcast. When addition / change of a broadcasting station is detected by automatic scanning, information on the broadcasting station list in the nonvolatile memory is updated.

Automatic scanning is performed when the user turns off the power, but considering that there is a broadcasting station that stops at midnight, it is not performed at midnight (there is a time zone during which automatic scanning is not performed).

[problem]
When scanning of terrestrial digital broadcasting is performed in an environment where the same broadcasting station can receive the frequency A and the frequency B, the superiority or inferiority of the reception state (C / N ratio) of the frequency A and the frequency B may vary depending on the time zone.

For example, in the case of “good reception at frequency A when scanning in the daytime, poor reception at frequency B” and “good reception at frequency A when scanning at night, better reception than frequency A at frequency B”, automatic scanning at night Is performed, the frequency B is registered in the broadcast station list (the frequency A is deleted from the broadcast station list). If the user selects a channel in the daytime in this state, the channel is selected at a frequency B having a poor reception state, and the user cannot view correctly.

<Description of the main points of the embodiment>
In a general commercial TV, all receivable channels at a reception point are scanned and a receivable frequency table is created. This is the initial scan operation on the TV.

  FIG. 7 is an example of the generated receivable frequency table. In the case of digital terrestrial broadcasting broadcast in the UHF band, any one of channels 13 to 62 is one of channel keys 1 to 12 based on the ARIB-TR-B14 standard. Is set.

[point]
When a change / addition of a broadcasting station is detected by automatic scanning, the automatic scanning is performed again at a different time (for example, during the daytime), and only when a change / addition of a broadcasting station is detected there, the list of broadcasting stations is changed. To do.

  In addition, by enabling the user to set the “time when automatic scanning is not performed” in the setting menu or the hidden menu, the broadcast station list is not changed frequently in the user environment described above. It is also possible.

(Example 1)
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram that is central in the embodiment of the configuration of the television receiver. The terrestrial digital tuners 1 and 2 correspond to the digital tuners 11 and 12, and the demodulator corresponds to the digital demodulators 13 and 14, respectively. The TS processor 36, the VIDEO decoder 37, and the AUDIO decoder 38 are included in the function of the TS decoder 15.

  The nonvolatile memory 39 may be NVRAM (flash memory 26), but serial EEPROM (Electronically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory) capable of writing processing in units of 1 byte is often used. In this case, a serial EEPROM which is a nonvolatile memory is provided, and the serial EEPROM can be connected to a bus via an IIC (Inter Integrated Circuit) controller. IIC is a method for performing high-speed communication between devices arranged at a short distance such as in the same substrate.

  When scanning terrestrial digital broadcasting, the signals received by the terrestrial digital tuner 1 or 2 are demodulated into TS by the demodulators 13 & 14. The demodulated TS is input to the TS processor 36, and this TS is analyzed to determine the broadcasting station that is transmitting the TS. The receiver can perform scanning using the terrestrial digital tuner 2 even when viewing with the terrestrial digital tuner 1.

  When the user turns off the power of the device, an automatic scan is performed, and if a change / addition of the broadcast station list is detected, the receiver stores “channel addition / change information detected by automatic scan, scan time” in the nonvolatile memory. Keep it. Thereafter, when the user turns on the power, time information is acquired, and if it can be confirmed that it is daytime, automatic scanning is performed again. Here, the addition / change of the channel is detected, and if it matches the “channel addition / change information detected by automatic scan, scan time”, the broadcast station list is updated.

(Example 2)
In Example 1 above, the automatic scan is performed again in the daytime and compared with "Channel addition / change information detected by automatic scan, scan time". The broadcast station list may be updated based on the original.

(Example 3)
FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram that is the center of the configuration of the television receiver in this embodiment. The terrestrial digital tuner 1 corresponds to the digital tuner 11, and the demodulator corresponds to the digital demodulator 13. Further, the TS processor 76 is included in the functions of the TS decoder 15 and has a configuration that can handle one system of TS as compared with the TS processor 36.

Although the first and second embodiments show an example in which two terrestrial digital tuners are mounted, similar processing is possible in the block diagram 7 in which only one terrestrial tuner is mounted.
When the change / addition of the broadcast station list is held by automatic scan, the next time the user turns off the power in the daytime, the scan is performed again, and the result is “Channel addition / change information detected by automatic scan, If it matches the “scan time”, the broadcast station list is updated.

<Points of embodiment>
According to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to prevent the broadcast station list from being changed by nighttime automatic scanning and not to impair user convenience.
(1) When addition / change of a broadcasting station is detected by automatic scanning, the automatic scanning is performed again at a different time zone, thereby improving the detection accuracy of the broadcasting station and preventing erroneous detection.

(2) By installing a means for setting the time when automatic scanning is not performed to the user, it is specified (for example, away from the radio tower, far from the base station, or unable to receive a specific station in the morning) Prevent false detections that occur at the user.

As an effect, it is expected that the accuracy of detection is improved and the broadcast station list is erroneously updated due to erroneous detection so as not to give a disadvantage to the user.
In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, In the range which does not deviate from the summary, it can implement in various modifications. For example, by enabling the user to set the “time when automatic scanning is not performed” in the setting menu or hidden menu, the broadcast station list is not frequently changed in the user environment of the above environment. Is also possible.

  Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above-described embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements according to different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Microprocessor, 16 ... Signal processing part, 17 ... Graphic processing part, 18 ... OSD signal generation part, 19 ... Image processing part, 20 ... Display, 23 ... Operation panel, 24 ... Infrared light-receiving part, 25, R ... Remote control , 26 ... flash memory, 27 ... USB connector, 28 ... card connector, 29 ... network communication circuit, 80a ... channel selection key, 80b ... decision key, 80c ... return key, 80d ... cross key.

Claims (5)

Channel acquisition means for scanning a physical channel assigned to a broadcasting station in the area and acquiring a reception channel;
Control means for causing the channel acquisition means to perform scanning in a certain time zone,
When this control means detects a change / addition of a broadcast station in a certain time zone, the control means causes the scan to be performed in a time zone different from this time zone, and changes / additions of the broadcast station when the results of both scans are the same. Broadcast receiving device to be implemented.   The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit further performs the change / addition to a broadcast station having the same result, and suppresses the change / addition to a broadcast station having the same result.   The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an external setting unit for the time zone, and the channel acquisition unit performs scanning based on the setting of the setting unit.   The broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the setting is a setting of a time zone in which scanning is prohibited. Scan a physical channel assigned to a local broadcasting station in a certain time zone to obtain a receiving channel,
Broadcast reception method for detecting change / addition of a broadcasting station during this time zone, performing the scanning in a time zone different from this time zone, and changing / adding a broadcasting station when the results of both scans are the same .

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