Digital broadcast transmitter, receiver and method of receiving thereof

• US 7,254,312 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2001
• Issued: 08/07/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Visual Solutions Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamada, Masahiro, Hirota, Atsushi, Sakamoto, Noriya
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Thai Q.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fletcher; James A.
• Application Number:
  US09/794,216
• Publication Number:
  US 20010038744A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,351 Days
• Field of Search: 386/35, 386/40, 386/66, 386/83, 386/94, 386/124, 386/125
• US Class Current: 386/257
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/17 on recording information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/18 on copying information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91328 the copy protection signal being a copy management signal, e.g. a copy generation management signal [CGMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/23473 by pre-encrypting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4542 Blocking scenes or portions of the received content, e.g. censoring scenes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4627 Rights management associated to the content security in data switching network management H04L41/28; security management or policies for network security H04L63/20; access security in wireless networks H04W12/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8355 involving usage data, e.g. number of copies or viewings allowed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/913 for scrambling ; for copy protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/162 Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/1675 Providing digital key or authorisation information for generation or regeneration of the scrambling sequence pseudo-random number generators in general G06F7/58

Abstract

A receiver for the digital broadcasts with which an appropriate copy regulation is executed for a temporal recording. Regarding the temporal recording of the programs of the digital broadcasts, either of the signals of the system including at least the signals, which represent “recording permitted” or “recording prohibited”, is received as the temporal record control data and the record control is executed in accordance with the temporal record control data to execute the temporal recording of the received broadcast program or not to execute the temporal recording.

Claims

1. A digital transmitter, comprising:

an encoder configured to encode a digital broadcast program;

a first definer configured to define copy generation control information;

a second definer configured to define retroactive view control information;

a multiplexer configured to multiplex the digital broadcast program decoded by the encoder with the copy generation control information defined by the first definer and the retroactive view control information defined by the second definer; and

a transmitter configured to transmit a signal multiplexed by the multiplexer,

wherein the copy generation control information specifies one of the copy modes of “

copy-freely”

, “

copy-once” and

“

copy-protected”

,

and wherein the retroactive view control information specifies a predetermined length time frame and allows a retroactive view operation by making a determination that a difference between a present time and a program start time is less than the predetermined length time frame, even if the transmitted copy generation control information is in the “

copy-protected”

mode.

2. A digital broadcast transmitter according to claim 1, wherein

the encoder sequentially encode a digital broadcast program, and

a sequencing data for sequencing digital broadcast program is transmitted through the transmitter in connection with the copy generation control information.

3. A digital broadcast transmitter as claimed in claim 2, wherein said sequencing data is either of a PMT (Program Map Table), an EIT (Event Information Table) and an SDT (Service Definition Table).

4. A method for receiving a digital broadcast program comprising:

receiving a multiplexed broadcast signal including at least a digital broadcast program, copy generation control information specifying any one of copy modes of “

copy-freely”

, “

copy-once” and

“

copy protected” and

retroactive view control information comprising a predetermined length time frame;

demultiplexing the broadcast program, the copy generation control information from the received multiplexed broadcast signal and the retroactive view control information; and

controlling copy generation of the received demultiplexed digital broadcast program in accordance with the demultiplexed copy generation control information, and the retroactive view control information allowing a retroactive view operation by making a determination that a difference between a present time and a program start time is less than the predetermined length time frame, even if the transmitted copy generation control information is in the “

copy-protected”

mode.

5. A digital broadcast receiver, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive multiplexed broadcast signals including at least a digital broadcast program, copy generation control information specifying any of “

copy-freely”

, “

copy-once” and

“

copy-protected” and

retroactive view control information specifying a predetermined length time frame;

a demultiplexer configured to demultiplex the broadcast program, the copy generation control information and the retroactive view control information from the received multiplexed broadcast signal; and

a controller configured to control copy generation of the received digital broadcast program in accordance with the copy generation control information, and the retroactive view control information allowing a retroactive view operation by making a determination that a difference between a present time and a program start time is less than the predetermined length time frame, even if the transmitted copy generation control information is in the “

copy-protected”

mode.

6. A digital broadcast receiver according to claim 5, further comprising a recording device for recording the received broadcast program.

7. A digital broadcast receiver according to claim 5, wherein a copy generation of the broadcast program is executed depending on whether a replay request is directed or not before a termination of recording operations.

8. A digital broadcast receiver according to claim 5, wherein a copy generation of the broadcast program is executed depending on whether a replay request has been entered before a predetermined time or not.

9. A digital broadcast receiver according to claim 5, wherein a copy generation of the broadcast program is executed depending on whether the number of past replays is less than or more than a predetermined value.

10. A digital broadcast receiver, comprising:

a control data receiver configured to receive a multiplexed broadcast signal including at least a digital broadcast program, retroactive view control information specifying a predetermined length time frame, and copy generation control specifying any of copy-modes of “

copy-freely”

, “

copy-once” and

“

copy-protected”

;

a demultiplexer configured to demultiplex the broadcast program and the copy generation control information from the received multiplexed broadcast signal;

a controller for controlling retroactive view of the received digital broadcast program in accordance with the retroactive view control information and the copy generation control information allowing a retroactive view operation by making a determination that a difference between a present time and a program start time is less than the predetermined length time frame, even if the transmitted copy generation control information is in the “

copy-protected”

mode.

11. A digital broadcast receiver as claimed in claim 10,wherein said sequencing data is either of a PMT (Program Map Table), an EIT (Event Information Table) and an SDT (Service Definition Table).

12. A digital broadcast receiver, comprising:

a broadcast program receiver configured to receive a multiplexed broadcast including at least a digital broadcast program, temporal record data specifying a predetermined length time frame and copy generation control information specifying any one of copy-modes of “

copy-freely”

, “

copy-once” and

“

copy protected”

a demultiplexer configured to demultiplex the broadcast signal, the temporal record control data and the copy generation control data; and

a controller configured to control permission/prohibition of a recording of the received broadcast program in accordance with the temporal record control data and the copy generation control data demultiplexed by the demultiplexer.

13. A digital broadcast receiver, comprising:

receiving means configured to receive a digital broadcasting program including copy generation control information specifying any copy-modes of “

copy-freely”

, “

copy-once” and

“

copy-protected” and

retroactive view control information specifying a predetermined length time frame;

recording means configured to record the broadcast program received by the program receiving means on a recording medium; and

reproducing means configured to reproduce the recorded program within the time frame defined by the retroactive view control information, in case of the copy generation control information recorded on the recording medium specifying the copy mode of “

copy protected”

.

14. A digital broadcast receiver as claimed in claim 13, further comprising:

erasing means configured to erase a portion of recorded program passed beyond the shifting time frame between a present time and a program start time from the recording medium.

15. A method of receiving digital broadcast, comprising:

receiving digital broadcasting program including copy generation control information specifying any one of copy-modes of “

copy-freely”

, “

copy-once” and

“

copy-protected”

in association with the digital broadcast program, and retroactive view control information defining a predetermined length time frame allowing retroactive view of the program from the present;

recording the broadcast program received by the program receiving means on recording medium; and

reproducing the recorded program retroactive within the time framed defined by the retroactive view control information, in case of the copy generation control information recorded on the recording medium specifying the copy mode of “

copy-protected”

.