Apparatus and method of managing reception state of data in digital broadcasting system

• US 7,594,251 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2004
• Issued: 09/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kwon, Hung-Rok
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller; John W
• Assistant Examiner(s): McGahey; Christopher S
• Application Number:
  US11/009,715
• Publication Number:
  US 20060031905A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,744 Days
• Field of Search: 725 1-153, 348192-193, 714/43, 714/48
• US Class Current: 725/107
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/12 Arrangements for observation, testing or troubleshooting
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44209 Monitoring of downstream path of the transmission network originating from a server, e.g. bandwidth variations of a wireless network arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4623 Processing of entitlement messages, e.g. ECM [Entitlement Control Message] or EMM [Entitlement Management Message] arrangements for conditional access to broadcast information or to broadcast-related services H04H60/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6168 involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6582 Data stored in the client, e.g. viewing habits, hardware capabilities, credit card number arrangements where receivers interact with the broadcast H04H20/38
• 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 7/17309 Transmission or handling of upstream communications

Abstract

An apparatus and method of managing a reception state of data in a digital broadcasting system has monitoring functions of a cable network, a broadcasting channel and received data realized for a set-top box as a digital broadcasting receiver of the digital broadcasting system, and a notification message depending on generated reception error of the data is transmitted to a head end, thereby efficiently managing data transmission of the cable network, the broadcasting channel and each server of the head end.

Claims

1. A digital broadcasting system comprising:

a service-providing server providing data for providing digital broadcasting services; and

a digital broadcasting receiver monitoring a state of the data received through a network connected with said service-providing server;

said digital broadcasting receiver generating a first notification message including intrinsic information on a generated error when said data received from said service-providing server have a received power level beyond a predetermined range;

said digital broadcasting receiver generating a second notification message including intrinsic information on a generated error when a value of signal to noise ratio exceeds a predetermined value;

said digital broadcasting receiver generating a third notification message including intrinsic information on a generated error when the data are not received from the service-providing server at a predetermined cycle time;

said digital broadcasting receiver transmitting the generated notification messages to said service-providing server, wherein the service-providing server generates and outputs an alarm message according to the intrinsic information on each error included in the notification messages received from said digital broadcasting receiver.

2. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 1, wherein said service-providing server comprises:

a first server providing service data including program information and event information provided to said digital broadcasting system;

a second server encoding, compressing and providing broadcasting data including video data and audio data;

a third server providing conditional access data including key information capable of decoding the encoded broadcasting data and information on authority of a subscriber to watch each program; and

a fourth server outputting the alarm message according to the intrinsic information on each error included in the notification messages received from said digital broadcasting receiver.

3. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 2, wherein said fourth server generates a notification signal according to the intrinsic information included in the notification messages and transmits the generated notification signal to a corresponding server.

4. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 2, further comprising a cable modem termination system converting data of an Internet protocol packet format received through an Internet protocol network into data packets capable of being transmitted through a cable network, and converting the notification messages into data of the Internet protocol packet format capable of being transmitted to the fourth server.

5. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 4, wherein said digital broadcasting receiver comprises:

a cable modem receiving the data converted at said cable modem termination system and transmitting the generated notification messages to said fourth server through said cable modem termination system;

a service information processor storing the service data transmitted from said first server and generating a service data report signal, and when the conditional access data are received from said third server, generating a first conditional access data report signal;

a data processor decompressing the broadcasting data transmitted from said second server, converting the decompressed broadcasting data into broadcasting signals and generating a broadcasting data report signal, and when the conditional access data are received from said third server, generating a second conditional access data report signal; and

an error sensor monitoring at least one of a generation state of each generated report signal and a reception state of the data received through the network, generating the notification messages including the intrinsic information according to the generated errors, and transmitting the generated notification messages to said fourth server.

6. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 5, wherein said data processor comprises a sniffer for generating said second conditional access data report signal when the conditional access data of an entitle control message format is sniffed from said third server and transmitting the generated second conditional access data report signal to said error sensor.

7. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 5, wherein said data processor decompresses the broadcasting data received from said second server according to a certain coding scheme including a moving picture experts group coding scheme and transmits the broadcasting data report signal to said error sensor.

8. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 5, wherein said error sensor comprises:

a sensing information setter setting intrinsic information on each type of the errors generated in said digital broadcasting system;

a sub-sensor finding out information on types of the errors according to a generation state of each report signal and a reception state of the data received through the network, and generating the notification messages including the intrinsic information according to the error; and

a message transmitter transmitting the notification messages generated at said sub-sensor to said fourth server through said cable modem.

9. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 8, wherein the sub-sensor includes:

a network sub-sensor generating a network notification message when the data received from each server have either a received power level beyond a predetermined range or a value of signal to noise ratio exceeding a predetermined value;

a service data sub-sensor generating a service data notification message when the service data report signal is not received from the service information processor at a predetermined cycle time;

a conditional access data sub-sensor generating a conditional access data notification message when any one of the first conditional access data report signal received from said service information processor and the second conditional access data report signal received from a sniffer is not received at a predetermined cycle time; and

a broadcasting data sub-sensor generating a broadcasting data notification message when the broadcasting data report signal is not received from the data processor by a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time.

10. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 9, wherein the error sensor further comprises a sensing controller preventing each data notification message from being generated for a predetermined time when a network notification message is generated at said network sub-sensor.

11. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 8, wherein said sensing information setter sets at least one of address information of said fourth server, telephone number information, intrinsic information of the corresponding digital broadcasting receiver, transmission cycle time information of the notification messages, and intrinsic information on each error.

12. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 8, wherein the error sensor generates the notification messages including at least one of intrinsic information of the digital broadcasting receiver, intrinsic information on each error and additional information according to the errors on the basis of transmission cycle time information.

13. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 8, wherein said error sensor transmits graphic data including failure information corresponding to set telephone number information and the intrinsic information on each error to said data processor when the generated notification messages are not transmitted to said fourth server.

14. The digital broadcasting system according to claim 13, wherein said data processor refreshes graphic signals according to the graphic data to be added to the broadcasting signals according to the broadcasting data when the graphic data are received from said error sensor, and accommodates a subscriber to recognize the telephone number information and the failure information.

15. A digital broadcasting receiver of a digital broadcasting system including a service information server, a conditional access server, a digital broadcasting server and a management server, the digital broadcasting receiver comprising:

a service information processor generating a service data report signal when service data including program information transmitted from said service information server are received, and generating an entitle management message conditional access data report signal when conditional access data are received from the conditional access server in an entitle management message format;

a data processor generating a broadcasting data report signal when broadcasting data are received from the digital broadcasting server, and generating an entitle control message conditional access data report signal when the conditional access data are received from the conditional access server in an entitle control message format; and

an error sensor monitoring errors of each server and an error of a network according to a generation state of each report signal, generating notification messages including intrinsic information on each error when said data received from said information server have a received power level beyond a predetermined range, a value of signal to noise ratio exceeds a predetermined value, said service data report signal is not received at a predetermined cycle time or said broadcasting data report signal is not received at a predetermined cycle time, and transmitting the generated notification messages to said management server.

16. The digital broadcasting receiver according to claim 15, wherein said data processor comprises:

a decoder decompressing the broadcasting data transmitted from said digital broadcasting server according to a certain coding scheme including moving picture experts group coding scheme and generating the broadcasting data report signal; and

a sniffer sniffing the conditional access data transmitted from said conditional access server in the entitle control message format and generating the entitle control message conditional access data report signal.

17. The digital broadcasting receiver according to claim 15, wherein said error sensor includes at least one of:

a network sub-sensor generating a network notification message when the respective data received through the network have either a received power level beyond a predetermined range or a value of signal to noise ratio exceeding a predetermined value;

a service data sub-sensor generating a service data notification message when the service data report signal is not received from the service information processor at a predetermined cycle of time;

a broadcasting data sub-sensor generating a broadcasting data notification message when the broadcasting data report signal is not received from the decoder by a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time; and

a conditional access data sub-sensor generating a conditional access data notification message when any one of the entitle management message conditional access data report signal generated at said service information processor and the entitle control message conditional access data report signal generated at a sniffer is not received at a predetermined cycle of time.

18. The digital broadcasting receiver according to claim 17, further comprising:

a sensing controller interrupting monitoring functions of each data sub-sensor for a predetermined time when the network notification message is generated at said network sub-sensor; and

a message transmitter transmitting each notification message to said management server through the network.

19. The digital broadcasting receiver according to claim 15, further comprising:

a subscriber application providing graphic data according to program information based on the service data by a request of a subscriber; and

a display refresher refreshing image signals according to the graphic data provided at said subscriber application to be included in broadcasting signals according to the broadcasting data.

20. A method of managing a reception state of data in a digital broadcasting system, comprising:

setting sensing information including intrinsic information on each error;

monitoring the reception state of the data transmitted from a service-providing server according to a received power level, a value of signal to noise ratio and a cycle time of receiving the data from the service-providing server;

finding out types of the errors according to the data reception state, generating notification messages including the intrinsic information on each error, and transmitting the generated notification messages to said service-providing server; and

outputting, at said service-providing server, alarm messages according to the notification messages accommodating a manager recognizing the notification messages, wherein generating the notification messages comprises;

generating a network notification message when the data have either a received power level beyond a predetermined range or have a value of signal to noise ratio exceeding a predetermined value;

generating a broadcasting data notification message when broadcasting data are not received by a predetermined number of frames for a predetermined time;

generating a service data notification message when service data are not received at a predetermined cycle time; and

generating a conditional access data notification message when conditional access data are not received at a predetermined cycle of time.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the sensing information includes at least one of address information of a management server corresponding to a destination of the notification messages, telephone number information, intrinsic information of a corresponding area, transmission cycle time information of the notification message, and intrinsic information on each error.

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein monitoring the reception state of the data includes at least one of:

checking whether or not the data received through a network have either a received power level beyond a predetermined range or a value of signal to noise ratio exceeding a predetermined value;

determining whether or not broadcasting data received through the network are received by a predetermined number of frames for a predetermined time;

determining whether or not service data including program information are received at a predetermined cycle of time; and

determining whether or not conditional access data including key information and information on authority of a subscriber to watch each program are periodically received.

23. The method according to claim 20, wherein generating the notification messages further includes interrupting monitoring functions accommodating a prevention of the notification messages of the respective data from being generated for a predetermined time when the network notification message is generated.

24. The method according to claim 20, further comprising:

determining whether or not the notification messages are transmitted to a management server and, when the notification messages are not transmitted to said management server, generating graphic data including set telephone number information and failure information corresponding to the intrinsic information on each error; and

refreshing image signals according to the graphic data to be added to broadcasting signals according to broadcasting data transmitted from said service-providing server.

25. The method according to claim 20, further comprising:

storing program information included in service data and displaying the program information by request of a subscriber;

checking whether or not the subscriber has authority to watch corresponding program information and, when the subscriber has authority to watch corresponding program information, decoding encoded broadcasting data according to key information included in conditional access data; and

decompressing the decoded broadcasting data according to a moving picture experts group coding scheme and transmitting broadcasting signals to a digital television.

26. A method of managing a reception state of data at a digital broadcasting receiver of a digital broadcasting system having a management server, the method comprising:

setting sensing information including intrinsic information on each error, intrinsic information of said management server and telephone number information of a manager;

generating a network notification message including intrinsic information, when said data received from said information server have either a received power level beyond a predetermined range or a value of signal to noise ratio exceeding a predetermined value;

generating data report signals according to the data received through the network;

generating data notification messages including intrinsic information, when said data report signals are not received at a predetermined cycle time, and preventing each data notification message from being generated for a predetermined time when the network message is generated;

transmitting the generated data notification messages to said management server according to the intrinsic information of the management server; and

displaying failure information corresponding to the telephone number information and the intrinsic information on each error when the data notification messages are not transmitted to said management server.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein generating the data report signals includes at least one of:

decompressing broadcasting data received from a digital broadcasting server to generate a broadcasting data report signal;

storing service data received from a service information server to generate a service data report signal; and

generating a conditional access report signal according to conditional access data received from a conditional access server in any one of an entitle management message format and an entitle control message format.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein generating the data notification messages includes at least one of:

generating a broadcasting data notification message when the broadcasting data report signal is not received by a predetermined number of times within a predetermined time;

generating a service data notification message when the service data report signal is not received at a predetermined cycle of time; and

generating a conditional access data notification message when the conditional access data report signal is not received at a predetermined cycle of time.