Method for digital broadcast interpolation and digital broadcast receiving system

• US 20030081671A1
• Filed: 03/20/2002
• Published: 05/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Tomobe, Osamu, Ishida, Takaharu, Kawamata, Yukihiro, Yamaashi, Kimiya
• Application Number:
  US10/101,486
• Publication Number:
  US 20030081671A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/240
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/12 Arrangements for observation, testing or troubleshooting
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/12 wherein another information is substituted for the portion of broadcast information

Abstract

In a receiving terminal, while a dropout of digital data is predicted which is caused by an instantaneous interruption of digital broadcasting electromagnetic waves, such digital data whose dropout may be predicted is previously acquired via a communication from a broadcasting station, or via a broadcasting electromagnetic wave. Then, the acquired digital data is stored on the side of the receiving terminal. When a dropout of digital data actually occurs, this dropped digital data is interpolated based upon previously prepared interpolation data on the side of the receiving terminal so as to prevent an interruption of the digital broadcast. When the dropout of the digital data is predicted, it is not only predicted that the digital data is completely dropped, but also such a condition where a dangerous state is expected is predicted with margin.

Claims

1. In a digital broadcast interpolating method used in a digital broadcast receiving terminal for receiving a digital broadcasting electromagnetic wave transmitted from a data broadcast transmitting station and for outputting desirable data,

said digital broadcast interpolating method comprising:

a process step for predicting that a reception level of a digital broadcasting electromagnetic wave becomes lower than, or equal to a predetermined value;

a process step for previously storing into the receiving terminal, such data that a data dropout of a digital broadcasting electromagnetic wave to be received is predicted based upon a result of said predicting process step; and

a process step for interpolating dropped data by using said previously stored data when the predicted data dropout happens to occur.

2. In a digital broadcast receiving apparatus used in a digital broadcast receiving terminal for receiving a digital broadcasting electromagnetic wave transmitted from a data broadcast transmitting station and for outputting desirable data,

said digital broadcast receiving apparatus comprising:

an electromagnetic wave strength monitoring apparatus for measuring a reception level of a digital broadcasting electromagnetic wave so as to predict that said reception level becomes lower than, or equal to a predetermined value; and

a storage area for storing thereinto such data that a data dropout of a digital broadcasting electromagnetic wave to be received is predicted based upon a prediction result of said electromagnetic wave strength monitoring apparatus;

wherein;

when said predicted data dropout happens to occur, said dropped data is interpolated by using the data stored in said storage area.

3. A digital broadcast transmitting system for transmitting contents data as a data broadcast, wherein:

broadcast data is constituted by a plurality of data packets;

two sorts of data, the reproduction time instants of which are different from each other, and the bit rates of which are different from each other, are stored into the same data packet; and

said digital broadcast transmitting system includes a data encoder for adding headers having a series of index numbers to the respective data packets in such a case that after contents to be transmitted are converted into digital data, said digital data are converted into said data packets transmitted as digital broadcast.

4. In a digital broadcast receiving method used in a digital broadcast receiving terminal for receiving a digital broadcasting electromagnetic wave transmitted from a data broadcast transmitting station and for outputting desirable data,

said digital broadcast receiving method comprising:

a process step for predicting that a reception level of a digital broadcasting electromagnetic wave becomes lower than, or equal to a predetermined value;

a process step for previously storing into the receiving terminal, such data that a data dropout of a digital broadcasting electromagnetic wave to be received is predicted based upon a result of said predicting process step; and

a process step for interpolating dropped data by using said previously stored data when the predicted data dropout happens to occur;

wherein;

both a deterioration index of a data bit stream, which is represented by strong/weak levels of electromagnetic waves at either a peripheral position of the digital broadcast receiving terminal or a move prediction position of the digital broadcast receiving terminal, and also a dropout of digital broadcast data during reception are predicted;

said dropped data which is predicted based upon said prediction result is previously required to a transmission station; and

desirable data of said receiving terminal is received from the transmission station in response to said request.

5. A digital broadcast receiving method as claimed in claim 4 wherein:

as a deterioration index of said data bit stream, at least one of the following indexes is employed, namely, a strength of electromagnetic waves in the receiving terminal, a discontinuity of transport stream packets, a quantizing scale error in the case that decoded voice/image are reproduced, a total number of not-existing error data which are produced during decoding operation, a macroblock number except for a determined value, a total number of incompleted decoding operations for 1 frame within a preselected time duration, and a parity check of a bit stream.

6. A digital broadcast receiving system in which a digital broadcast wave is received which is broadcasted by adding data heads exclusively allocated so as to prepare a dropout of a bit stream to same contents having an arbitrary sort of data qualities, the received data is temporarily stored in a storage apparatus, and desirable data is outputted which is derived from either said storage apparatus or the received electromagnetic waves, wherein:

at the receiving terminal of said digital broadcast, both a deterioration index of a data bit stream, which is represented by strong/weak levels of electromagnetic waves at either a peripheral position of the digital broadcast receiving terminal or a move prediction position of the digital broadcast receiving terminal, and also a dropout of digital broadcast data during reception are predicted;

in the case that an occurrence of a dropout of said data bit stream is predicted based upon a result of said prediction, if the relevant data is present in the data which have been temporarily stored in said storage apparatus, then said relevant data is previously stored into a cache, whereas if the data dropout actually occurs, then the dropped data is interpolated by using said data stored in the cache.

7. A digital broadcast receiving method as claimed in claim 6 wherein:

as a deterioration index of said data bit stream, at least one of the following indexes is employed, namely, a strength of electromagnetic waves in the receiving terminal, a discontinuity of transport stream packets, a quantizing scale error in the case that decoded voice/image are reproduced, a total number of not-existing error data which are produced during decoding operation, a macroblock number except for a determined value, and a parity check of a bit stream.

8. A digital broadcast receiving system in which a digital broadcast wave is received which is broadcasted by adding data heads exclusively allocated so as to prepare a dropout of a bit stream to same contents having an arbitrary sort of data qualities, the received data is temporarily stored in a storage apparatus, and desirable data is outputted which is derived from either said storage apparatus or the received electromagnetic waves, wherein:

at the receiving terminal of said digital broadcast, both a deterioration index of a data bit stream, which is represented by strong/weak levels of electromagnetic waves at either a peripheral position of the digital broadcast receiving terminal or a move prediction position of the digital broadcast receiving terminal, and also a dropout of digital broadcast data during reception are predicted;

in the case that an occurrence of a dropout of said data bit stream is predicted based upon a result of said prediction, if the relevant data is present in the data which have been temporarily stored in said storage apparatus, then said relevant data is previously stored into a cache;

in such a case that said dropout-predicted data is not present in the data temporarily stored in said storage apparatus, said dropout-predicted data is requested for a transmission station, and data transmitted from said transmission station is temporarily stored into the storage apparatus; and

if the data dropout actually occurs, then the dropped data is interpolated by using said stored data.

9. A digital broadcast receiving method as claimed in claim 8 wherein:

as a deterioration index of said data bit stream, at least one of the following indexes is employed, namely, a strength of electromagnetic waves in the receiving terminal, a discontinuity of transport stream packets, a quantizing scale error in the case that decoded voice/image are reproduced a macroblock number except for a determined value and a parity check of a bit stream.