JP2007208725A - Electronic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate troublesomeness of looking for a receiver into which an IC card for which contract has been made for a channel or a program desired to be viewed is inserted or looking for the IC card for which the contract has been made and viewing the channel or the program by substituting the IC card for an IC card of a television without using special standards and dedicated instruments. <P>SOLUTION: A television receiver 10 has an input switching table 15a to which a plurality of digital broadcast receivers 20, 30 and 40 having IC cards 23, 33 and 43 with the contract contents to channels requiring reception contract recorded thereon can be connected and which shows with which of the plurality of digital broadcast receivers 20, 30 and 40 the reception contract has been made for each channel, and the television receiver 10 transmits a control signal to the digital broadcast receiver 20 (or 30 or 40) with which the reception contract has been made and inputs a video image/sound from the digital broadcast receiver 20 (or 30 or 40) with which the reception contract has been made according to setting of the input switching table 15a when a channel selection signal for selecting channels is input by operating a remote controller for the television receiver 10 or a channel selection button of a main body, etc. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device, and more particularly to an electronic device capable of connecting a plurality of digital broadcast receiving devices.

In BS digital broadcasting, terrestrial digital broadcasting, 110-degree CS digital broadcasting, and the like, since video and audio are transmitted and received as digital data, data is encrypted to prevent unauthorized copying.
For this reason, devices (TVs and tuners) that receive digital broadcasts are attached with an IC card on which key data for canceling encryption called a B-CAS card (BS-Conditional Access Systems Card) is recorded. .
In addition, by individually contracting a broadcasting station that requires an individual contract such as a pay channel, contract information for the channel is recorded on the IC card (B-CAS card).
In home environments where multiple digital broadcast receivers are connected to a digital tuner-equipped TV connected to a digital tuner-equipped DVD / HDD recorder, etc., the contents of contracts for each digital broadcast receiver differ with respect to paid channels, etc. The contract information recorded on the IC card is different.

  An example of an environment in which a plurality of digital broadcast receiving devices are used in a general home will be described below. FIG. 1 shows an example in which a digital broadcast receiving device 105 such as a VTR or DVD / HDD recorder equipped with a digital tuner is connected to a television receiver 101 equipped with a digital tuner. In FIG. 1, a television receiver 101 equipped with a digital tuner can receive a digital broadcast by mounting an IC card 102 attached to the television receiver 101. Then, the viewer uses the remote controller 103 attached to the television receiver 101 to turn on / off the power of the television receiver 101 and select a channel.

  In addition, by contracting individually with a broadcasting station that requires an individual contract, such as a paid channel, the contract information for that channel is recorded on the IC card. You can watch this channel.

In FIG. 1, a digital broadcast receiving device 105 is connected via a video / audio connection cable 104 in addition to a television receiver 101 equipped with a digital tuner. Similarly to the television receiver 101, the digital broadcast receiving device 105 can receive a digital broadcast by mounting the IC card 106 attached to the digital broadcast receiving device 105. Then, the remote control 107 attached to the digital broadcast receiving device 105 is used to turn on / off the power of the digital broadcast receiving device 105 and select a channel.
JP 2001-169262 A

  However, in general homes and the like, when a plurality of digital broadcast receiving devices are connected to a TV and used, a contract for a pay channel or the like is required for each IC card installed in each device. Usually, the contract status is different.

  For this reason, the viewer understands which device (IC card) of the plurality of digital broadcast receiving devices has the contract of the channel to be viewed, and in the case of the example of FIG. If the IC card 106 is used, the digital broadcast receiving device 105 is turned on using the remote controller 107 or the like, the channel is selected, and then the remote controller 103 or the like of the television receiver 101 is used. Then, it is necessary to turn on the television receiver 101 and switch the input signal selector of the television receiver 101 to an external input (input from the digital broadcast receiver 105) for viewing.

  Alternatively, it is necessary to take out the IC card 106 of the digital broadcast receiving device 105 with which the channel is contracted and replace it with the IC card 102 of the television receiver 101, and it is troublesome because such a replacement work occurs.

  In order to eliminate such annoyance, Patent Document 1 discloses a pay broadcast receiving apparatus that allows a pay channel to be viewed without replacing an IC card. This pay broadcast receiving device is a means for detecting an external receiving device in which an IC card capable of viewing a selected program is mounted, and descrambles a program of the selected channel to the detected receiving device. Control means for supplying a later signal is provided.

  However, the pay broadcast receiving device described in Patent Document 1 requires an IEEE 1394 standard communication unit and control unit for the pay broadcast receiving device (television receiver) and other receiving devices. Whether or not there is a possible IC card is searched by using a control method and a control signal studied in the IEEE 1394 standard, or not examined in the IEEE 1394 standard, but from a pay broadcast receiving device to ECM (program information) Must be supplied to an external receiver, and ECM (program information) is processed in the IC card to determine whether or not it is valid.

  In other words, the pay broadcast receiving apparatus described above cannot be applied to an external receiving apparatus that does not support IEEE 1394, and is dedicated for searching whether there is an IC card that can view the selected program. Apparatus (communication unit, control unit, etc.) is required, and there is a problem such as high cost.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to search for a digital broadcast receiving device into which an IC card with a contract of a channel to be viewed is inserted, or to search for an IC card with a contract, and to set the IC of a television. As an example, it is possible to eliminate the troublesomeness of viewing by replacing a card without using a special standard or a dedicated device.

  The electronic device according to claim 1 is an electronic device to which a plurality of digital broadcast receiving devices including an IC card in which a contract content for a channel requiring a reception contract is recorded can be connected to each channel, An input switching table indicating which of the plurality of digital broadcast receiving devices has a reception contract is provided, and when a channel selection signal for selecting the channel is input from the selection means, the input switching table is set in accordance with the setting. Thus, the control signal is transmitted to the digital broadcast receiving device with the reception contract, and the video / audio from the digital broadcast reception device with the reception contract is input.

An electronic device according to the present invention is an electronic device to which a plurality of digital broadcast receiving devices including an IC card in which contract contents for a channel requiring a reception contract are recorded can be connected, and each channel receives a plurality of digital broadcasts. An input switching table indicating which of the devices has a receiving contract is provided, and when a channel selection signal for selecting a channel is input from the selection means, the receiving contract is made according to the setting of the input switching table. The best mode is to transmit a control signal to the digital broadcast receiving apparatus and input video / audio from the digital broadcast receiving apparatus with which the reception contract is made.
When a plurality of digital broadcast receiving devices are connected to an electronic device such as a television receiver, the contract state such as a pay channel is usually different for each IC card attached to each device. For this reason, it is troublesome to search for a device in which an IC card with a contract of a channel to be viewed is inserted, or to search for an IC card with a contract and replace it with an IC card of a television receiver for viewing. However, the above configuration can solve this problem without using a special standard or a dedicated device.

Hereinafter, a specific example of an embodiment of an electronic device according to the present invention will be given and described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram in which a plurality of digital broadcast receiving devices are connected to an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a plurality of digital broadcast receiving devices according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the state which connects and uses.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a television receiver 10 which is an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a display unit 11 that displays received video, a digital tuner 12, a control unit 15, an input signal selector 14, and the like. It has. The input signal selector 14 selects any of the video / audio signals output from the digital tuner 12 and the external digital broadcast receiving devices 20, 30, and 40 and causes the display unit 11 to display them.

  The control unit 15 includes an input switching table 15a that associates the automatic switching setting of each channel created by performing setting input in advance. When a channel selection signal from a remote controller or the like is input, this input is performed. According to the setting of the switching table 15a, the switching control of the input signal selector 14, the channel selection operation of each digital broadcast receiving device (digital tuner 12, external digital broadcast receiving device 20, 30, 40), and power on / off are performed. Send the remote control signal to instruct.

  The contents of the input switching table 15a can be displayed on the display unit 11 as an automatic setting switching screen 11a. The display unit 11 is a display screen such as a television receiver, a liquid crystal, or a plasma display.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the television receiver 10 has three digital broadcast receivers (20, 30, 40) such as a VTR and a DVD / HDD recorder connected to each other by video / audio cables 17. ing.

  The television receiver 10 (the digital tuner 12) and the external digital broadcast receiving devices 20, 30, and 40 are equipped with IC cards (13, 23, 33, and 43) attached to the respective devices, thereby enabling digital broadcasting. Can be received.

  The television receiver 10 transmits a remote control signal (control signal) for channel selection operation and power on / off from the infrared transmitter 16 to the infrared receivers 22, 32, 42 of the digital broadcast receivers 20, 30, 40. it can.

  The remote control signal may be transmitted by means other than infrared light, transmitted to the remote control terminal of each digital broadcast receiving device 20, 30, 40 by an electrical signal, or transmitted by means such as wireless communication. May be.

  Next, the operation of the television receiver 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 5 is an example of an automatic switching setting screen.

  First, the automatic switching setting screen 11a (see FIG. 5) is displayed on the display unit 11 of the television receiver 10, and the number of the digital broadcast receiving apparatus with which the channel is contracted is registered for each channel (step S1). .

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the channel 231 has been contracted with the external device 20, an input button such as a remote control is set for the item 51 of “automatic switching” for the channel 231 on the automatic switching setting screen. It is specified by operating, and further, the input button is appropriately operated and set so as to be “Yes (digital broadcast receiving device 20)”.

  Also, “Yes (digital broadcast receiving device 30)” for the “automatic switching” item 52 of the channel 241 and “Yes (digital broadcasting receiving device 40) for the“ automatic switching ”item 53 of the channel 261. To "". Since the channels 101, 102, and 251 have already been contracted with the television receiver 10, “None” is set in the “automatic switching” item. If “None” is set in the initial setting, it can be left as it is.

  After the setting of automatic switching for each channel (step S1) is completed, an input button such as a remote controller is operated to specify a channel to be viewed (step S2).

In the case of setting as shown in FIG. 5, for example, when the button “3” of the remote controller is pressed, the channel 231 is designated.
Next, it is determined whether or not there is an automatic switching setting for the channel designated as described above (step S3).

If there is an automatic switching setting (Yes), the designated digital broadcast receiving device (20, 30 or 40) is automatically turned on and automatically switched to the designated channel (step S4).
Further, the signal input of the television receiver 10 is switched to the designated digital broadcast receiving device (20, 30 or 40) (step S5).
On the other hand, if there is no automatic switching setting in step 3 (No), the digital tuner 12 is switched to the designated channel (step S6).

In the above embodiment, the digital tuner 12 does not necessarily have to be configured by the same casing as the display unit 11 (display), and may be a separate casing. Further, the number of digital broadcast receiving devices connected is not limited to the above three.
Moreover, in the said Example, although the television receiver provided with a digital tuner was shown as an electronic device, the electronic device which concerns on this invention does not necessarily need to be provided with a digital tuner. Alternatively, a television receiver including a plurality of digital tuners may be used.

As described above in detail, the television receiver 10 which is an electronic apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of digital cards including IC cards 23, 33, and 43 in which contract contents for channels requiring a reception contract are recorded. Broadcast receiving devices 20, 30, and 40 are connectable, and each channel is provided with an input switching table 15a that indicates which of the plurality of digital broadcasting receiving devices 20, 30, and 40 has a receiving contract, and a television set. When a channel selection signal for selecting a channel is input by operating a remote control for the receiver 10 or a channel selection button (channel selection means) on the main body, a reception contract is made according to the setting of the input switching table 15a. A control signal is transmitted to the digital broadcast receiving device 20 (or 30 or 40), and from the digital broadcast receiving device 20 (or 30 or 40) to which the reception contract is made To enter the image and sound.
As a result, the IC card 23 (or 33 or 43) for which the channel to be viewed is contracted is searched for, or the contracted IC card is searched for, and the IC card 13 of the television receiver is searched. However, with the above configuration, this can be solved without using a special standard or a dedicated device.

This is a conventional example when a digital broadcast receiving device is connected to a television receiver equipped with a digital tuner. It is the block diagram which connected the some digital broadcasting receiver to the electronic device which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the state which connects and uses several digital broadcasting receivers to the electronic device which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the electronic device which concerns on this Embodiment. It is an example of the automatic switching setting screen in the electronic device which concerns on this Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 Television receiver (electronic equipment)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Display part 12 Digital tuner 13, 23, 33, 43 IC card 14 Input signal selector 15 Control part 15a Input switching table 20, 30, 40 Digital broadcast receiver

Claims (3)

An electronic device to which a plurality of digital broadcast receiving devices including an IC card in which a contract content for a channel requiring a reception contract is recorded,
For each channel, an input switching table indicating which of the plurality of digital broadcast receiving devices has a reception contract is provided,
When a channel selection signal for selecting the channel is input from the selection means, a control signal is transmitted to the digital broadcast receiving apparatus with which a reception contract is made according to the setting of the input switching table, and the reception contract is made. An electronic device that inputs video / audio from a digital broadcast receiving device.   The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit that displays an image of the channel selected by the selection unit. The electronic device according to claim 1, comprising at least one of the plurality of digital broadcast receiving devices.

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