JP2005341008A - Digital broadcast receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that it is not realizable to securely back up viewer data, since there are data such as personal information desired to back up and data such as points set to programs themselves etc. forbidden to back up in viewer data stored on a nonvolatile memory, based on the data broadcast, but there is no means for discriminating between these data. <P>SOLUTION: A broadcast carrier adds identifiers for discriminating between data which may be copied and those which may not be copied to viewer data stored on a nonvolatile memory, based on the data broadcast. A broadcast receiver has a means for discriminating between data such as personal information of viewers to be copied and data such as points set to programs themselves to be not copied, thus securely backing up the viewer data without causing an unauthorized copy, etc. of the points set to the programs themselves, etc. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to data broadcasting in digital broadcasting, and more particularly to a method for storing viewer data.

  In recent years, digitalization of television broadcasting has been promoted, and digital broadcasting in which video and audio are digitized and compressed and transmitted has been put into practical use. Furthermore, in addition to video and audio, data related to broadcast programs is transmitted, and broadcast programs are composed of a combination of video, audio and data. Digital TV is changing from a TV that only sees to a TV where viewers participate. Interactivity is increasing.

  Data content is activated by the data broadcast activation software built in the digital broadcast receiver, drawn on the screen of the digital broadcast receiver, and the viewer can participate in the program by operating the remote controller of the digital broadcast receiver Can do.

  In data content, it is possible to determine the reaction to the viewer's remote control operation, register the viewer's personal information, calculate the points set by the program, etc. on the non-volatile memory provided in the digital broadcast receiver It is also possible to use the data area as a storage area.

  By storing the viewer data in the non-volatile memory, functions such as continuous use of personal information and a program unique point addition system can be realized even when the digital broadcast receiving apparatus is turned on again.

  However, when the receiver is replaced due to a failure or replacement of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus, it is necessary to input the stored personal information of the viewer again. In addition, points unique to the program have been reset.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an apparatus that enables backup of viewer data to an external storage device is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-344939 A

  However, the viewer data includes data to be backed up such as personal information and data that should not be backed up such as points set by the program, and the conventional apparatus has no means for identifying this data. Therefore, fraudulent acts such as backup and reuse of points set by the program can be easily realized.

  In other words, when the receiver is replaced due to a failure or replacement of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus, it is necessary to input the stored personal information of the viewer again. In addition, points unique to the program have been reset. In addition, even if the viewer data is backed up to avoid these, there is a possibility of causing illegal copying of points.

  The present invention relates to data that can be copied, such as viewer personal information, by adding an identifier for identifying data that can be copied and data that cannot be copied to viewer data stored in a non-volatile memory based on data broadcasting. By providing the digital broadcast receiving device with a means to identify data that cannot be copied, such as points set independently for the program, viewer data can be safely backed up without causing illegal copying such as points set independently for the program. To do.

  The digital broadcast receiving apparatus of the present invention makes it possible to share viewer personal information of viewer data based on data broadcasting among a plurality of digital broadcast receiving apparatuses in the home. In addition, it is possible to safely take over the points set by the viewer data based on the data broadcast at the time of failure or replacement without causing illegal copying.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows a digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus 106 includes a tuner control unit 107, an MPEG decoder unit 108, a video decoding unit 109, an audio decoding unit 110, an SI / PSI acquisition unit 111, a data content acquisition unit 112, and a remote control light receiving unit 113. A channel selection unit 114, a system setting unit 115, a data activation unit 116, a data content execution unit 117, an OSD display control unit 118, a receiver authentication unit 119, an external center communication unit 120, an internal storage device 121 and an external storage device control unit 122. Here, an explanation will be given by taking an example of an STB (set top box) that does not incorporate a receiver (display device) as the digital broadcast receiver 106, but it will be described again that the present invention is expressed in a form that incorporates a receiver. Needless to do.

  The digital broadcast receiving apparatus 106 acquires the data broadcast content by the data content acquisition unit 112, starts the data content by the data activation unit 116, and executes it by the data content execution unit 117. The broadcaster can create data content that saves viewer data in a nonvolatile memory by using the internal storage device 121 in which a broadcaster area is preset. Furthermore, the broadcaster can create data content in which a copy attribute descriptor describing information indicating whether copying is possible is added to the stored viewer data.

The copy attribute descriptor is, for example, if the data content has a write function that specifies the file name to write and the data to write:
Number write PersistentNumber (
input String filename,
input Number data
)
Viewers that can write viewer data to the normal broadcaster area with a filename specification of “nvram: // ˜ / 0” and can be copied with a filename specification of “nvram: // ˜ / c / 0” It can be interpreted as a data write instruction. In addition, the viewer data is written to the normal broadcaster area by specifying “nvrram: //// 0” as distinguished by the scheme, and is copied by specifying the filename “nvrmc: //// 0”. It may be instructed to write possible viewer data. In addition, the following function can be used by adding a copy attribute to the argument of the function.

Number write PersistentNumber (
input String filename,
input Number data,
input Flag copy_flag
)
The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention includes viewer data copy attribute determination means 202 that determines the above-described copy attribute descriptor.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The data contents are accessed by the broadcaster area access means 201 to the broadcaster area 204 of the internal storage device 121, and the viewer data copy attribute determination means 202 distinguishes whether or not the viewer data can be copied. The broadcast data is stored in the broadcaster area 204 by the broadcaster data storage unit 203. By simultaneously writing a data block and a copy attribute corresponding to the data block, it is possible to determine whether or not the viewer data in the broadcaster area 204 can be copied.

  Further, the digital broadcast receiving apparatus may perform the operation shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating another operation of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The data contents are accessed by the broadcaster area access means 301 to the broadcaster area 304 of the internal storage device 121, and the viewer data copy attribute determination means 302 distinguishes whether or not the viewer data can be copied. The data is written in the broadcaster area 304 by the provider data storage unit 303. The broadcaster area 304 is divided into two areas, a copyable data area and a non-copyable data area, and the area to be stored is allocated according to the result of the viewer data copy attribute determination means 302. It is possible to determine whether the person data can be copied.

  By determining whether or not viewer data based on data broadcasting can be copied as described above, it is possible to backup viewer data that can be copied such as personal information of the viewer, and a plurality of digital broadcast receiving devices in the home. Can be shared between.

  Next, backup of viewer data that can be copied will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The user interface is urged to start backup processing of viewer data that can be copied, and when it is started, insertion of the external storage device 105 is first detected in step 401. If not, exit. If inserted, the discriminable viewer data that can be copied is copied from the internal storage device 121 to the external storage device 105 via the external storage device control unit 122 in step 402. In this way, backup of viewer data that can be copied can be realized.

  Next, the operation of copying the data backed up to the external storage device 105 to the internal storage device 121 of the digital broadcast receiving device 106 via the external storage device 122 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The user interface is urged to start the write-back processing of the viewer data that can be copied, and when started, the insertion of the external storage device 105 is detected in step 501. If not, exit. If it has been inserted, it is checked in step 502 whether or not viewer data exists in the external storage device 105, and if it exists, it is copied to an appropriate broadcaster area in the internal storage device 121 in step 503. If not, exit. In this way, the viewer data backup can be copied to another digital broadcast receiver in the home.

(Embodiment 2)
As described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, in the first embodiment, it is possible to determine whether or not the viewer data stored in the broadcast provider area of the internal storage device 121 can be copied. Here, a means for discriminating viewer data that should not be backed up, such as program-linked viewer points based on data broadcasting, and safely transferring them to another receiver in the event of a failure, replacement, etc. is shown in FIGS. Will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The start of the process of uploading viewer data that cannot be copied to the external center is prompted by a user interface or the like, and when started, connection to the external center is established in the external center communication unit 120 in step 601. Exit if connection cannot be established. If the connection is established, receiver authentication registration is performed in step 602. This is a means for authentication when the uploaded viewer data is downloaded, and is realized by the receiver authentication unit 119 using, for example, an IC card. When the authentication registration is completed, in step 603, viewer data that cannot be copied is uploaded. At the same time as uploading, the viewer data in the internal storage device 121 is naturally deleted.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The start of the process of downloading viewer data that cannot be copied from the external center is prompted by a user interface or the like, and when started, connection to the external center is established in the external center communication unit 120 in step 701. Exit if connection cannot be established. If the connection is established, in step 702, the receiver authentication unit 119 checks whether the viewer data matching the authentication exists in the external center. If not, the process ends. If there is, the viewer data is downloaded to an appropriate address in the internal storage device 121. At the same time as downloading, the viewer data in the external center is deleted.

  As described above, according to the digital broadcast receiving apparatus of the second embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to safely set a point that is set independently for a program of viewer data based on data broadcast at the time of failure or replacement without causing illegal copying. Can take over.

  It has a function to determine the copy attribute descriptor added to the viewer data based on the data broadcast and distinguishes whether the viewer data stored in the non-volatile memory can be copied. This has the effect of solving the problem of illegally copying program-linked points together, and is useful for data broadcasting in digital broadcasting, particularly for viewer data storage methods.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital broadcast receiver according to Embodiments 1 and 2 of the present invention. Schematic explaining operation | movement of the digital broadcast receiver which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. Schematic explaining another operation of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart explaining operation | movement of the digital broadcast receiver which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The flowchart explaining operation | movement of the digital broadcast receiver which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. The flowchart explaining operation | movement of the digital broadcast receiver which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. The flowchart explaining operation | movement of the digital broadcast receiver which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 106 Digital broadcast receiver 107 Tuner control part 108 MPEG decoder part 109 Video | video decoding part 110 Audio | voice decoding part 111 SI / PSI acquisition part 112 Data content acquisition part 113 Remote control light-receiving part 114 Tuning part 115 System setting part 116 Data starting part 117 Data content Execution unit 118 OSD display control unit 119 Receiver authentication unit 120 External center communication unit 121 Internal storage device 122 External storage device control unit

Claims (10)

An internal storage device provided in the digital broadcast receiver for storing viewer data based on the received data broadcast, in which a broadcaster area used by the broadcaster is preset, and broadcasting to the internal storage device Broadcaster data storage means for storing viewer data for use by the operator, and viewer data for interpreting a copy attribute descriptor that is added to the viewer data and describes whether or not copying is possible. Copy attribute determining means, and storing copyable viewer data such as user registration information and non-copyable viewer data such as program-linked viewer points in association with each other. A digital broadcast receiving apparatus characterized by clarifying whether or not the stored viewer data can be copied. An internal storage device provided in the digital broadcast receiver for storing viewer data based on the received data broadcast, in which a broadcaster area used by the broadcaster is set in advance, and broadcast to the internal storage device Broadcaster data storage means for storing viewer data for use by the operator, and viewer data for interpreting a copy attribute descriptor that is added to the viewer data and describes whether or not copying is possible. A copy attribute determining means, and when storing copyable viewer data such as user registration information and non-copyable viewer data such as program-linked viewer points, depending on the copy attribute, Whether the stored viewer data can be copied by allocating to the copyable data area and the non-copyable data area Digital broadcast receiving apparatus characterized by clarity. External storage device mounting means for detachably mounting the external storage device, and viewer data external storage device for storing viewer data stored in the internal storage device in the external storage device via the external storage device mounting means 2. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a writing unit, wherein the copy attribute determining unit stores only copyable data in the external storage device via the external storage device writing unit. External storage device mounting means to which the external storage device is detachably mounted and viewer data that can be copied stored in the external storage device are read via the external storage device mounting means. A viewer capable of copying in combination with the viewer data external storage device writing means by storing the viewer data read from the external storage device in the broadcaster area of the internal storage device. 4. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 3, wherein data backup is possible. External storage device mounting means for detachably mounting the external storage device, and viewer data external storage device for storing viewer data stored in the internal storage device in the external storage device via the external storage device mounting means 3. The digital broadcasting according to claim 2, further comprising a writing unit, wherein the viewer data stored in the copyable data storage area is stored in the external storage device via the viewer data external storage device writing unit. Receiver device. External storage device mounting means to which the external storage device is detachably mounted, and viewer data external storage device reading means for reading copyable viewer data stored in the external storage device via the external storage device mounting means And the viewer data read from the external storage device is stored in a copyable data storage area in the broadcast provider area of the internal storage device, in combination with the viewer data external storage device writing means 3. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 2, wherein backup of viewer data that can be copied is enabled. An external communication means for communicating with an external center via a network or a modem, a digital broadcast receiving apparatus authentication means for enabling only a specific digital broadcast receiving apparatus to communicate with the external center using an IC card, and the digital broadcast receiving Viewer data upload means for moving and transferring non-copyable viewer data from an internal storage device to a viewer data center where viewer data can be uploaded and downloaded by the device authentication means, and the copy attribute determination means The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein viewer data that cannot be copied is deleted from the digital broadcast receiving apparatus and stored in the center. An external communication means for communicating with an external center via a network or a modem, a digital broadcast receiving apparatus authentication means for enabling only a specific digital broadcast receiving apparatus to communicate with the external center using an IC card, and the digital broadcast receiving Viewer data download means for moving and transferring stored non-copyable viewer data to an internal storage device from a viewer data center where viewer data can be uploaded and downloaded by the device authentication means, 8. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 7, wherein it is possible to take over non-copyable viewer data to another digital broadcast receiving apparatus by combining with viewer data uploading means. An external communication means for communicating with an external center via a network or a modem, a digital broadcast receiving apparatus authentication means for enabling only a specific digital broadcast receiving apparatus to communicate with the external center using an IC card, and the digital broadcast receiving Viewer data upload means for moving and transferring non-copyable viewer data from an internal storage device to a viewer data center where viewer data can be uploaded and downloaded by the device authentication means, and the non-copyable data 3. The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the viewer data in the area is deleted from the digital broadcast receiving apparatus and stored in the center. An external communication means for communicating with an external center via a network or a modem, a digital broadcast receiving apparatus authentication means for enabling only a specific digital broadcast receiving apparatus to communicate with the external center using an IC card, and the digital broadcast receiving Viewer data downloading means for moving and transferring stored non-copyable viewer data to the non-copyable data area from a viewer data center where viewer data can be uploaded and downloaded by the device authentication means; The digital broadcast receiving apparatus according to claim 9, wherein by combining with the viewer data uploading means, viewer data that cannot be copied can be transferred to another digital broadcast receiving apparatus.

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