Transmitting device and transmitting method

Abstract

To allow for reliable notification of a start position of a transport packet or a transport stream during encapsulation of the transport packet or the transport stream in an error correction block.SOLUTION: The transmission device generates an FEC block on the basis of an input packet or an input stream, generates an FEC frame on the basis of the FEC block, and sends the FEC frame. A header of the FEC block includes type identification information identifying a type of the input packet or the input stream, information detecting a header error, and a minimum fixed length header having start position information of the input packet or the input stream stored in a payload of the FEC frame. The present technology is applicable, for example, to data transport.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This technology is Transmitting Device , and How to send In particular, when a transmission packet or a transmission stream is encapsulated in an error correction block, the head position of the transmission packet or the transmission stream can be reliably notified. Transmitting Device , and How to send Regarding. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, one broadcasting system for terrestrial digital television broadcasting is ISDB-T (Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting-Terrestrial) which is adopted in Japan and other countries (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

[0003] Furthermore, a TLV (Type Length Value) packet, which is a variable-length packet, is known as a transmission packet for transmitting video and audio data (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0004] [Non-Patent Document 1] ARIB STD-B31 Version 2.2 Association of Radio Industries and Businesses [Non-Patent Document 2] ARIB STD-B44 Version 2.1 Association of Radio Industries and Businesses Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Meanwhile, studies are being conducted to enhance the next generation of terrestrial digital television broadcasting. In the next generation of terrestrial digital television broadcasting, data transmission using TLV packets as transmission packets is being considered.

[0006] Here, transmission packets such as TLV packets and transmission streams are encapsulated in error correction blocks such as FEC blocks and transmitted, but a technical method for encapsulating a transmission packet or a transmission stream in an error correction block has not been established. Therefore, a proposal for reliably notifying the start position of a transmission packet or a transmission stream when the transmission packet or the transmission stream is encapsulated in an error correction block has been requested.

[0007] The present technology has been developed in consideration of such circumstances, and makes it possible to reliably notify the beginning position of a transmission packet or a transmission stream when the transmission packet or the transmission stream is encapsulated into an error correction block. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The transmitting device of the present technology includes a first generating unit that generates an FEC (Forward Error Correction) block based on an input packet or an input stream, a second generating unit that generates an FEC frame based on the FEC block, and a transmitting unit that transmits the FEC frame, and the header of the FEC block includes a minimum fixed-length header having type identification information that identifies the type of the input packet or the input stream, information that detects a header error, and position information of the beginning of the input packet or the input stream that is stored in the payload of the FEC frame.

[0009] The transmission method of the present technology includes generating an FEC block based on an input packet or an input stream, generating an FEC frame based on the FEC block, and transmitting the FEC frame, wherein a header of the FEC block includes a minimum fixed-length header having type identification information that identifies the type of the input packet or the input stream, information for detecting a header error, and position information of the start of a packet of the input packet or the input stream that is stored in the payload of the FEC frame.

[0010] In the transmission device and transmission method of the present technology, an FEC block is generated based on an input packet or an input stream, and an FEC frame is generated and transmitted based on the FEC block. The header of the FEC block includes type identification information for identifying the type of the input packet or the input stream, information for detecting a header error, and a minimum fixed-length header having position information of the head of the input packet or the input stream stored in the payload of the FEC frame.

[0011] A receiving device of the present technology includes a receiving unit that receives a signal consisting of an FEC frame transmitted, a first generation unit that generates an FEC block based on the received FEC frame, and a second generation unit that generates an input packet or an input stream based on the FEC block, and the header of the FEC block includes a minimum fixed-length header having type identification information that identifies the type of the input packet or the input stream, and position information of the beginning of the input packet or the input stream that is stored in the payload of the FEC frame.

[0012] A receiving method of the present technology includes receiving a signal consisting of an FEC frame being transmitted, generating an FEC block based on the received FEC frame, and generating an input packet or an input stream based on the FEC block, wherein a header of the FEC block includes a minimum fixed-length header having type identification information that identifies a type of the input packet or the input stream, and position information of the beginning of the input packet or the input stream that is stored in the payload of the FEC frame.

[0013] In the receiving device and receiving method of the present technology, a signal consisting of an FEC frame is received, and an FEC block is generated based on the received FEC frame. Then, an input packet or an input stream is generated based on the FEC block. The header of the FEC block includes type identification information for identifying the type of the input packet or the input stream, and a minimum fixed-length header having position information of the beginning of the input packet or the input stream stored in the payload of the FEC frame. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the present technology, when a transmission packet or a transmission stream is encapsulated in an error correction block, it is possible to reliably notify the start position of the transmission packet or the transmission stream.

[0015] Note that the effects described herein are not necessarily limited to those described herein, and may be any of the effects described in this disclosure. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of a transmission system to which the present technology is applied. [Diagram 2] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a data processing device and a transmission device; [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a receiving device. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the background of the present technology. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a problem that the present technology solves. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram outlining a method for solving the problem. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of generation of FEC blocks. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an FEC block. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a first example of a size of a baseband frame. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a second example of the size of a baseband frame. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a third example of the size of a baseband frame. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an overview of a data format employed in the present technology. [Figure 13] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first format of data employed in the present technology. [Figure 14] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first format of data employed in the present technology. [Figure 15] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first format of data employed in the present technology. [Figure 16] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first format of data employed in the present technology. [Figure 17] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first format of data employed in the present technology. [Figure 18] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first format of data employed in the present technology. [Figure 19] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a second format of data employed in the present technology. [Figure 20] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a second format of data employed in the present technology. [Figure 21] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a third format of data employed in the present technology. [Figure 22] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a third format of data employed in the present technology. [Diagram 23] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a third format of data employed in the present technology. [Figure 24] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a third format of data employed in the present technology. [Diagram 25] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a third format of data employed in the present technology. [Figure 26] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a third format of data employed in the present technology. [Figure 27] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a fourth format of data employed in the present technology. [Figure 28] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of NTP transmission timing. [Figure 29] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of blocks involved in generating FEC blocks. [Diagram 30] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a flow of generating an FEC block. [Diagram 31] 13 is a diagram illustrating the maximum value of the head TLV packet position pointer when the baseband frame size is a middle code. [Diagram 32] 13 is a diagram illustrating the maximum value of the first TLV packet position pointer when the baseband frame size is a long code. [Diagram 33] 13 is a diagram for explaining the maximum value of the head TLV packet position pointer when the baseband frame size is a short code. [Diagram 34] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the format of an FEC block header of Format 1. [Diagram 35] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the format of an EXT byte in Format 1. [Diagram 36] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of padding values ​​of format 1. [Figure 37] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining simplification of the illustration of an FEC block header. [Figure 38] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a detailed example 1 of Format 1. [Figure 39] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a detailed example 1 of Format 1. [Diagram 40] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a detailed example 2 of format 1. [Diagram 41] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a detailed example 2 of format 1. [Diagram 42] A figure showing a detailed example 3 of format 1. [Diagram 43] A figure showing a detailed example 3 of format 1. [Diagram 44] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the format of an FEC block header of Format 2-1. [Diagram 45] A figure showing an example of padding values ​​of format 2-1. [Diagram 46]FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the format of an FEC block header of Format 2-2. [Figure 47] A diagram showing an example of padding values ​​of format 2-2. [Figure 48] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the format of an FEC block header of Format 3. [Figure 49] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the format of an EXT byte in Format 3. [Figure 50] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of padding values ​​of Format 3. [Figure 51] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the format of an FEC block header of Format 3-1. [Figure 52] A diagram showing an example of padding values ​​in format 3-1. [Figure 53] A diagram showing an example of the format of an EXT byte in format 3-1. [Figure 54] A figure showing a detailed example 1 of format 3-1. [Figure 55] A figure showing a detailed example 1 of format 3-1. [Figure 56] A figure showing a detailed example 1 of format 3-1. [Figure 57] A figure showing a detailed example 2 of format 3-1. [Figure 58] A figure showing a detailed example 2 of format 3-1. [Figure 59] A figure showing detailed example 3 of format 3-1. [Figure 60] A figure showing detailed example 3 of format 3-1. [Figure 61] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of the format of an FEC block header of Format 4. [Figure 62] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the format of an EXT byte in Format 4. [Figure 63] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of padding values ​​in format 4. [Figure 64] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of timing for sending time information. [Figure 65] 11 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the transmitting side and the receiving side. [Figure 66]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a computer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present technology will be described with reference to the drawings. The description will be given in the following order.

[0018] 1. System Configuration 2. Overview of this technology 3.Details of this technology (3-1) First Form (3-2) Second Form (3-3) Third Form (3-4) Fourth Form 4. Timing of time information transmission using this technology 5. Operation of sender and receiver 6. Variations 7. Computer Configuration

[0019] <1. System configuration>

[0020] (Example of a transmission system configuration) 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a transmission system to which the present technology is applied. Note that the term "system" refers to a logical collection of multiple devices.

[0021] In FIG. 1, the transmission system 1 is composed of data processing devices 10-1 to 10-N (N is an integer greater than or equal to 1) installed in facilities related to each broadcasting station, a transmitting device 20 installed in a transmitting station, and receiving devices 30-1 to 30-M (M is an integer greater than or equal to 1) owned by users.

[0022] In the transmission system 1, the data processing devices 10-1 to 10-N and the transmitting device 20 are connected via communication lines 40-1 to 40-N. The communication lines 40-1 to 40-N may be, for example, dedicated lines.

[0023] The data processing device 10-1 processes contents such as broadcast programs produced by the broadcasting station A, and transmits the resulting transmission data to the transmitting device 20 via the communication line 40-1.

[0024] In the data processing devices 10-2 to 10-N, similar to the data processing device 10-1, contents such as broadcast programs produced by each broadcasting station, such as broadcasting station B and broadcasting station Z, are processed, and the resulting transmission data is transmitted to the transmitting device 20 via the communication lines 40-2 to 40-N.

[0025] The transmitting device 20 receives transmission data transmitted from the data processing devices 10-1 to 10-N on the broadcasting station side via the communication lines 40-1 to 40-N. The transmitting device 20 processes the transmission data from the data processing devices 10-1 to 10-N, and transmits the resulting broadcast signal from a transmitting antenna installed at the transmitting station.

[0026] As a result, the broadcast signal from the transmitting device 20 on the transmitting station side is transmitted via the broadcast transmission path 50 to the receiving devices 30-1 to 30-M.

[0027] The receiving devices 30-1 to 30-M are fixed receivers such as television receivers, set-top boxes (STBs), recorders, game consoles, and network storage, or mobile receivers such as smartphones, mobile phones, tablet computers, etc. The receiving devices 30-1 to 30-M may also be in-vehicle devices mounted on vehicles, such as in-vehicle televisions, or wearable computers, such as head mounted displays (HMDs).

[0028] The receiving device 30-1 receives and processes the broadcast signal transmitted from the transmitting device 20 via the broadcast transmission path 50, thereby reproducing the content such as a broadcast program in response to a channel selection operation by the user.

[0029] In the receiving devices 30-2 to 30-M, similarly to the receiving device 30-1, the broadcast signal from the transmitting device 20 is processed and content corresponding to a channel selection operation by the user is reproduced.

[0030] In the transmission system 1, the broadcast transmission path 50 is described as being terrestrial waves (terrestrial broadcasting), but it is not limited to terrestrial waves and may be, for example, satellite broadcasting using a broadcasting satellite (BS: Broadcasting Satellite) or a communications satellite (CS: Communications Satellite), or cable broadcasting using a cable (CATV: Common Antenna TeleVision).

[0031] In addition, in the transmission system 1, although not shown, various servers may be connected to a communication line such as the Internet, so that receiving devices 30-1 to 30-M having communication capabilities can access the various servers via a communication line such as the Internet and perform two-way communication to receive various data such as content and applications.

[0032] In the following description, the data processing devices 10-1 to 10-N on the broadcasting station side will be referred to as data processing devices 10 unless there is a need to distinguish them from one another. Also, the receiving devices 30-1 to 30-M will be referred to as receiving devices 30 unless there is a need to distinguish them from one another.

[0033] (Configuration of sending device) FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the data processing device 10 and the transmission device 20 in FIG.

[0034] In FIG. 2, the data processing device 10 includes a component processing unit 111, a signaling generating unit 112, a multiplexer 113, and a data processing unit 114.

[0035] The component processing unit 111 processes component data constituting content such as a broadcast program, and supplies the resulting component stream to the multiplexer 113. Here, the component data is, for example, video, audio, subtitles, etc., and processing such as encoding conforming to a predetermined encoding method is performed on this data.

[0036] The signaling generation unit 112 generates signaling used in higher layer processing such as content channel selection and playback, and supplies the signaling to the multiplexer 113. The signaling generation unit 112 also generates signaling used in physical layer processing such as broadcast signal modulation and demodulation, and supplies the signaling to the data processing unit 114.

[0037] In addition, the signaling is also called control information. In the following description, the signaling used in the processing of the physical layer is called physical layer signaling (L1 signaling), while the signaling used in the processing of the upper layer, which is a layer higher than the physical layer, is called upper layer signaling to distinguish them.

[0038] The multiplexer 113 multiplexes the component stream supplied from the component processing unit 111 and the higher layer signaling stream supplied from the signaling generation unit 112, and supplies the resulting stream to the data processing unit 114. Note that other streams such as applications and time information may also be multiplexed here.

[0039] The data processing unit 114 processes the stream supplied from the multiplexer 113 to generate packets (frames) in a predetermined format. The data processing unit 114 also processes the packets in the predetermined format and the physical layer signaling from the signaling generation unit 112 to generate transmission data, and transmits the data to the transmitting device 20 via the communication line 40.

[0040] In FIG. 2, the transmitting device 20 includes a data processing unit 211 and a modulation unit 212 .

[0041] The data processing unit 211 receives and processes transmission data sent from the data processing device 10 via the communication line 40, and extracts the resulting packets (frames) in a predetermined format and physical layer signaling information.

[0042] The data processing unit 211 processes packets (frames) of a predetermined format and physical layer signaling information to generate a physical layer frame (physical layer frame) that complies with a predetermined broadcasting method (e.g., next-generation terrestrial digital television broadcasting) and supplies it to the modulation unit 212.

[0043] In the configuration of FIG. 2, the physical layer signaling is generated on the data processing device 10 side and transmitted to the transmitting device 20. However, the physical layer signaling may be generated on the transmitting device 20 side.

[0044] The modulation unit 212 performs necessary processing (e.g., modulation processing, etc.) on the physical layer frame supplied from the data processing unit 211, and transmits the resulting broadcast signal (RF signal) from a transmitting antenna installed at the transmitting station.

[0045] The data processing device 10 and the transmission device 20 are configured as described above.

[0046] (Configuration of the receiving device) FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the receiving device 30 of FIG.

[0047] In FIG. 3, the receiving device 30 includes a tuner 311 , a demodulation unit 312 , and a data processing unit 313 .

[0048] The tuner 311 performs necessary processing on a broadcast signal (RF signal) received via an antenna 321 , and supplies the resulting signal to a demodulation unit 312 .

[0049] The demodulation unit 312 is configured as a demodulator such as a demodulation LSI (Large Scale Integration). The demodulation unit 312 performs demodulation processing on the signal supplied from the tuner 311. In this demodulation processing, for example, a physical layer frame is processed in accordance with physical layer signaling, and a packet in a predetermined format is obtained. The packet obtained as a result of this demodulation is supplied to the data processing unit 313.

[0050] The data processing unit 313 is configured as, for example, a system on chip (SoC) or the like. The data processing unit 313 performs a predetermined process on the packets supplied from the demodulation unit 312. Here, for example, a process of decoding or reproducing a stream is performed based on higher layer signaling obtained from the packets.

[0051] Data such as video, audio, and subtitles obtained by processing in the data processing unit 313 is output to a downstream circuit, whereby the receiving device 30 plays back content such as a broadcast program, and outputs the video and audio.

[0052] The receiving device 30 is configured as described above.

[0053] 2. Overview of this technology

[0054] The transmitting device 20 and the receiving device 30 have the following functions.

[0055] That is, the transmitting device 20 includes a first generating unit that generates an FEC (Forward Error Correction) block based on an input packet or an input stream, a second generating unit that generates an FEC frame based on the FEC block, and a transmitting unit that transmits the FEC frame.

[0056] The header of the FEC block includes type identification information for identifying the type of the input packet or input stream, and a minimum fixed-length header having position information of the beginning of the input packet or input stream stored in the payload of the FEC frame.

[0057] When the type identification information is a TLV (Type Length Value) packet, the minimum fixed length header includes, in addition to the type identification information, minimum fixed length identification information that identifies whether the input packet length of the input packet is the minimum fixed length, and a minimum input packet length as information on the input packet length.

[0058] If the minimum fixed length identification information indicates that the input packet length is not the minimum fixed length, the header further includes a variable length header in addition to the minimum fixed length header. The variable length header includes variable length packet length information consisting of the upper bits of the input packet length when the lower bits of the input packet length are taken as minimum input packet length information indicating the minimum input packet length.

[0059] In the transmitting device 20 having the above functions, an FEC block is generated based on an input packet or an input stream, and an FEC frame is generated from the FEC block and transmitted.

[0060] The transmitting device 20 can transmit an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) frame in which an FEC frame is arranged, and can further include a third generating unit that generates a dummy cell for arranging time information at the beginning of the OFDM frame. In this case, the transmitting device 20 can arrange a dummy cell in the OFDM frame as necessary, thereby arranging time information at the beginning of the OFDM frame.

[0061] The receiving device 30 includes a receiving unit that receives a signal consisting of transmitted FEC frames, a first generating unit that generates an FEC block based on the received FEC frame, and a second generating unit that generates an input packet or an input stream based on the FEC block.

[0062] The receiving device 30 having the above functions receives a signal consisting of FEC frames transmitted thereto, generates FEC blocks based on the received FEC frames, and generates input packets or an input stream based on the FEC blocks.

[0063] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the background of the present technology. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the problem that the present technology solves. FIG. 6 is a diagram outlining a method for solving the problem. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining an overview of generation of FEC blocks. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an FEC block. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a first example of the size of a baseband frame. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a second example of the size of the baseband frame. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a third example of the size of the baseband frame. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining an outline of the data format employed in the present technology. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 are diagrams for explaining an example of the first format of data employed in the present technology. 19 and 20 are diagrams for explaining an example of the second format of data employed in the present technology. 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26 are diagrams for explaining an example of the third format of data employed in the present technology. FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating an example of the fourth format of data employed in the present technology. FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an example of NTP transmission timing.

[0064] 4 to 28 show an overview of the present technology, and the details thereof will be described below with reference to FIGS. 29 to 64.

[0065] <3. Details of this technology>

[0066] (FEC block configuration) FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of blocks related to generation of FEC blocks.

[0067] 29, on the transmitting side, blocks related to generation of FEC blocks include a TLV packet generator 151, a TS packet processor 152, an FEC block generator 153, and an FEC frame generator 154. However, each of the blocks from the TLV packet generator 151 to the FEC frame generator 154 is included in either the data processing device 10 (data processor 114 (FIG. 2)) or the transmitting device 20 (data processor 211 (FIG. 2)).

[0068] The TLV packet generator 151 processes an IP (Internet Protocol) stream input thereto to generate TLV packets, and supplies the TLV packets to the FEC block generator 153. Here, the TLV packets include, for example, IP packets and control information (upper layer signaling), etc. Also, the IP packets include UDP (User Datagram Protocol) packets.

[0069] The TS packet processing unit 152 processes the input TS stream (MPEG2-TS stream) to generate TS packets, and supplies them to the FEC block generation unit 153. As processing for this TS stream, for example, processing such as deletion of synchronization bytes is performed.

[0070] The FEC block generation unit 153 is supplied with the TLV packets from the TLV packet generation unit 151 or the TS packets from the TS packet processing unit 152. The FEC block generation unit 153 processes the TLV packets or the TS packets to generate an FEC block, and supplies the FEC block to the FEC frame generation unit 154.

[0071] Here, an FEC block is composed of an FEC block header (FBH) and a data section. A TLV packet or a TS packet is placed in the data section, but here, a case where one or a plurality of TLV packets (part or all) are placed will be described. Also, a TLV packet has a variable length, and a TLV packet placed in a certain FEC block may be placed across to the next FEC block.

[0072] Note that what is placed in the data portion of the FEC block is not limited to input packets (transmission packets) such as TLV packets and TS packets, but may also be, for example, an input stream (transmission stream) such as an IP stream or TS stream.

[0073] The FEC frame generation unit 154 performs processes such as energy diffusion, BCH (Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem) coding, and LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) coding on the FEC block supplied from the FEC block generation unit 153 to generate an FEC frame, and supplies it to a subsequent stage.

[0074] Here, the FEC frame is constructed by adding the parity of the BCH code and the LDPC code to one FEC block. That is, after the variable-length TLV packet is encapsulated in a fixed-length FEC block, the parity of the BCH code or the LDPC code is further added and stored in the fixed-length FEC frame.

[0075] (FEC block generation flow) Fig. 30 is a diagram for explaining the flow of generating FEC blocks. Note that in Fig. 30, the time direction is from the left side to the right side in the figure.

[0076] In the FEC block generator 153 (FIG. 29), when the TLV packet generated by the TLV packet generator 151 (FIG. 29) is input (S1), an FEC block header (FBH) is added to the TLV packet to generate an FEC block (S2). Then, energy diffusion is performed on the FEC block thus obtained (S3).

[0077] Here, among the FEC blocks generated in the FEC block generation process in step S2, if we look at the first FEC block FB1, we see that in this FEC block FB1, two TLV packets (all data of them) are followed by a portion of data of one TLV packet. Also, if we look at the next FEC block FB2, we see that in this FEC block FB2, following the remaining data of the TLV packet whose portion of data is placed in FEC block FB1, one or more TLV packet data are placed.

[0078] That is, a certain TLV packet is arranged across the first FEC block FB1 and the following FEC block FB2. In this case, it is desirable to reliably notify the position (start position) of the first TLV packet arranged following the remaining data of a certain TLV packet (a TLV packet arranged across FEC blocks FB1 and FB2) in FEC block FB2 so that the TLV packet in the FEC block can be reliably extracted.

[0079] Therefore, in this technology, a pointer indicating the position of the first TLV packet in an FEC block (hereinafter referred to as the first TLV packet position pointer) is placed in the FEC block header (FBH) of the FEC block, so that the position of the first TLV packet (first position P in the figure) can be reliably identified by this first TLV packet position pointer.

[0080] For example, if this technology is not applied and a first TLV packet position pointer is not placed in the FEC block header (FBH) of an FEC block, when the receiver is unable to obtain synchronization information due to some reason such as a reception error, it may not be able to extract and process the TLV packet correctly, resulting in data interruption.

[0081] On the other hand, when this technology is applied and a first TLV packet position pointer is placed in the FEC block header (FBH) of the FEC block, the receiver can reliably identify the position of the first TLV packet for each FEC block using the first TLV packet position pointer, and can always extract and process the TLV packets correctly, thereby preventing data interruption.

[0082] The number of bits assigned to the first TLV packet position pointer can be set to any value depending on the data configuration, etc. For example, since the maximum value of the first TLV packet position pointer is determined according to the baseband frame size, the number of bits assigned to the first TLV packet position pointer can be determined accordingly.

[0083] Below, we will explain the number of bits that should be assigned to the first TLV packet position pointer for baseband frame sizes of Middle code with a code length of 69120 bits, Long code with a code length of 276480 bits, and Short code with a code length of 17280 bits.

[0084] (Maximum value of pointer for each code length) FIG. 31 is a diagram for explaining the maximum value of the head TLV packet position pointer when the baseband frame size is a middle code (code length: 69120 bits).

[0085] In Fig. 31, CR (Coding Rate) represents the coding rate of the LDPC code, N_ldpc represents an LDPC code block (unit: bit), and N_bch represents a BCH code block (unit: bit). Also, in Fig. 31, BCH represents N_bch - K_bch (unit: bit), K_bch represents a BCH information block (unit: bit, byte), and Num Bits represents the number of bits required according to K_bch (B: byte).

[0086] As shown in FIG. 31, in the case of a middle code where N_ldpc = 69120 bits, when the coding rate (CR) of the LDPC code is 2 / 16 or 3 / 16, the number of bits (Num Bits) is 11 bits, when the coding rate (CR) of the LDPC code is 4 / 16, 5 / 16, 6 / 16 or 7 / 16, the number of bits (Num Bits) is 12 bits, and when the coding rate (CR) of the LDPC code is 8 / 16, 9 / 16, 10 / 16, 11 / 16, 12 / 16, 13 / 16 or 14 / 16, the number of bits (Num Bits) is 13 bits.

[0087] Thus, in the case of a middle code with a code length of 69120 bits, when the maximum coding rate is CR = 14 / 16, the number of bits (Num Bits) is 13 bits, so the maximum value of the head TLV packet position pointer is 13 bits.

[0088] Fig. 32 is a diagram for explaining the maximum value of the head TLV packet position pointer when the baseband frame size is a long code (code length: 276480 bits). In Fig. 32, the meanings of CR, N_ldpc, N_bch, BCH, K_bch, and Num Bits are the same as those in Fig. 31. That is, here too, Num Bits represents the number of bits required according to K_bch (B: byte).

[0089] As shown in FIG. 32, in the case of a long code where N_ldpc = 276480 bits, when the coding rate (CR) of the LDPC code is 2 / 16 or 3 / 16, the number of bits (Num Bits) is 13 bits, when the coding rate (CR) of the LDPC code is 4 / 16, 5 / 16, 6 / 16 or 7 / 16, the number of bits (Num Bits) is 14 bits, and when the coding rate (CR) of the LDPC code is 8 / 16, 9 / 16, 10 / 16, 11 / 16, 12 / 16, 13 / 16 or 14 / 16, the number of bits (Num Bits) is 15 bits.

[0090] Thus, in the case of a long code with a code length of 276480 bits, when the maximum coding rate is CR = 14 / 16, the number of bits (Num Bits) is 15 bits, so the maximum value of the head TLV packet position pointer is 15 bits.

[0091] Fig. 33 is a diagram for explaining the maximum value of the head TLV packet position pointer when the baseband frame size is a short code (code length: 17280 bits). In Fig. 33, the meanings of CR, N_ldpc, N_bch, BCH, K_bch, and Num Bits are the same as those in Fig. 31. That is, here too, Num Bits represents the number of bits required according to K_bch (B: byte).

[0092] As shown in FIG. 33, in the case of a short code where N_ldpc = 17280 bits, when the coding rate (CR) of the LDPC code is 2 / 16, the number of bits (Num Bits) is 8 bits, when the coding rate (CR) of the LDPC code is 3 / 16, the number of bits (Num Bits) is 9 bits, when the coding rate (CR) of the LDPC code is 4 / 16, 5 / 16, 6 / 16, or 7 / 16, the number of bits (Num Bits) is 10 bits, and when the coding rate (CR) of the LDPC code is 8 / 16, 9 / 16, 10 / 16, 11 / 16, 12 / 16, 13 / 16, or 14 / 16, the number of bits (Num Bits) is 11 bits.

[0093] Thus, in the case of a short code with a code length of 17280 bits, when the maximum coding rate is CR = 14 / 16, the number of bits (Num Bits) is 11 bits, so the maximum value of the head TLV packet position pointer is 11 bits.

[0094] As described above, the maximum value of the first TLV packet position pointer varies depending on the code length of the middle code, long code, short code, etc., and the maximum coding rate (CR), so the length of the first TLV packet position pointer placed in the FEC block header (FBH) varies. Therefore, in this technology, the first to fourth formats are proposed as the formats of the FEC block header (FBH) according to the length of the first TLV packet position pointer.

[0095] (3-1) First Form First, the configuration of the FEC block header (FBH) of the first format (hereinafter also referred to as format 1) will be described with reference to Figs.

[0096] (FEC block header format) FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the Format 1 FEC block header.

[0097] In FIG. 34, the 2-byte base header is composed of a 15-bit top TLV packet position pointer and a 1-bit EXT flag.

[0098] The First TLV Packet Position Pointer is a pointer that indicates the position of the first TLV packet in the FEC block that contains the FEC block header in which it is placed. In the base header of Format 1, 15 bits are reserved for this First TLV Packet Position Pointer, so it can be used as a pointer for all code lengths, including long code, middle code, and short code.

[0099] The EXT flag is a flag that indicates whether an extension area exists. For example, when '0' is specified as the EXT flag, it indicates that there is no extension. In this case, only the 2-byte base header is placed as the FEC block header. On the other hand, when '1' is specified as the EXT flag, it indicates that there is an extension. In this case, the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte.

[0100] If the head of a TLV packet (head TLV byte) does not exist in the target FEC block, '0x7FFF' (111 1111 1111 1111) is assigned to the 15 bits of the head TLV packet position pointer.

[0101] (EXT byte format) FIG. 35 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the EXT byte in Format 1.

[0102] This EXT byte is placed as the next byte after the base header in FIG. 34 when '1' is specified as the EXT flag in FIG.

[0103] In FIG. 35, one EXT byte is composed of a two-bit padding value, a one-bit TS flag, a one-bit CRC flag, and a four-bit reserved area.

[0104] As the padding value of Format 1, for example, a value according to the contents shown in FIG. 36 is specified.

[0105] That is, when the padding value is specified as '00', it means no padding. In this case, there is no additional padding. When the padding value is specified as '01', it means short padding. In this case, one additional byte of padding is added.

[0106] Also, when '10' is specified as the padding value, it means long padding. In this case, the length of the additional padding is indicated in 2 bytes. Furthermore, when '11' is specified as the padding value, it means that it is a reserved area to be used in the future. Note that other meanings of this reserved area may be specified, such as full padding, which means that everything is padded.

[0107] Returning to the explanation of Fig. 35, the TS flag is a flag that indicates whether or not a packet placed in an FEC block is a TS packet. For example, when '0' is specified as the TS flag, this indicates that the packet is not a TS packet. In this case, a TLV packet is placed in the FEC block. On the other hand, when '1' is specified as the TS flag, this indicates that the packet is a TS packet.

[0108] The CRC flag is a flag that indicates whether or not a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check), which is an error detection code, is present. For example, when '0' is specified as the CRC flag, it indicates that there is no CRC. On the other hand, when '1' is specified as the CRC flag, it indicates that there is a CRC. In this case, the CRC is placed immediately after the EXT byte. Note that when a CRC is added, it is always added, so the initial header size of the FEC block header in this case is 3 bytes.

[0109] The reserved area is an area for future use.

[0110] Next, a more specific detailed example of Format 1 will be described. However, in the following explanation, for simplicity, in the FEC block header and TLV packet placed in the FEC block, the FEC block and the TLV packet will be omitted from illustration, and only the FEC block header will be illustrated.

[0111] That is, as shown in FIG. 37, when there is no padding and the EXT flag is specified as '0', the structure will actually be as shown in FIG. 37A, but in the following explanation, for simplification, the structure as shown in FIG. 37B will be illustrated.

[0112] (Detailed example 1 of Format 1) 38 and 39 show a detailed example 1 of Format 1. This detailed example 1 shows a configuration in which padding is added to an FEC block header consisting of a base header and an EXT byte. In this detailed example, the length of the padding is described as "Padding".

[0113] (3-1-1A):Padding = 1,EXT = 1,TS = 0 FIG. 38A shows the configuration of an FEC block header when the EXT flag is set to '1' and the TS flag is set to '0' when the length of padding is 1 byte (1B).

[0114] In A of Figure 38, in addition to the 15-bit first TLV packet position pointer, a 1-bit EXT flag is placed in the base header. Since the EXT flag is set to '1', the next byte after the base header becomes the EXT byte as an optional header.

[0115] In this EXT byte, the first two bits are set to '00' as a padding value, and the following one bit is set to '0' as a TS flag. In addition, the remaining five bits in the EXT byte are used to store the CRC flag, which is set to '0', and bits reserved for the future.

[0116] In this way, in the FEC block header of A in FIG. 38, one byte (1B) of padding is realized by one byte (1B) of EXT byte.

[0117] (3-1-1B):Padding = 2,EXT = 1,TS = 0 FIG. 38B shows the configuration of an FEC block header when the EXT flag is set to '1' and the TS flag is set to '0' when the length of padding is 2 bytes (2B).

[0118] In B of Fig. 38, the EXT flag is set to '1', so the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte. In this EXT byte, the first 2 bits of the padding value are set to '01', so the next byte after the EXT byte is an additional 1B padding.

[0119] In the EXT byte, the one bit following the first two bits is set to '0' as the TS flag. The remaining five bits of the EXT byte are set to a CRC flag set to '0' and a bit reserved for the future.

[0120] In this way, in the FEC block header of B in FIG. 38, a total of 2 bytes (2B) of padding is realized by 1 byte (1B) of EXT byte and 1 byte (1B) of additional padding.

[0121] (3-1-C):Padding = 3,EXT = 1,TS = 0 FIG. 38C shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag is set to '1' and the TS flag is set to '0' when the length of padding is 3 bytes (3B).

[0122] In C of Fig. 38, the EXT flag is set to '1', so the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte. In this EXT byte, the first 2 bits of the padding value are set to '10', so the next 2 bytes after the EXT byte indicate the length of the additional padding.

[0123] Here, the length of the 2-byte additional padding is specified as '0' ('00000000 00000000'), which indicates that no further padding will be added.

[0124] In the EXT byte, the one bit following the first two bits is set to '0' as the TS flag. The remaining five bits of the EXT byte are set to a CRC flag set to '0' and a bit reserved for the future.

[0125] In this way, in the FEC block header of C in Figure 38, a total of 3 bytes (3B) of padding is realized by the EXT byte of 1 byte (1B) and the additional padding length of 2 bytes (2B).

[0126] (3-1-1D):Padding = 4,EXT = 1,TS = 0 FIG. 39D shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag is set to '1' and the TS flag is set to '0' when the length of padding is 4 bytes (4B).

[0127] In D of Fig. 39, the EXT flag is set to '1', so the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte. In this EXT byte, the first 2 bits of the padding value are set to '10', so the next 2 bytes after the EXT byte indicate the length of the additional padding.

[0128] Here, since the length of the 2 bytes of additional padding is specified as '1' ('00000000 00000001'), an additional byte (1B) of padding is added.

[0129] In the EXT byte, the one bit following the first two bits is set to '0' as a TS flag. The five bits in the EXT byte are used to set a CRC flag set to '0' and a bit reserved for the future.

[0130] Thus, in the FEC block header of D in Figure 39, a total of 4 bytes (4B) of padding is achieved by an EXT byte of 1 byte (1B), an additional padding length of 2 bytes (2B), and an additional padding of 1 byte (1B).

[0131] (3-1-1E):Padding = 12348,EXT = 1,TS = 0 FIG. 39E shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag is set to '1' and the TS flag is set to '0' when the length of the padding is 12348 bytes (12348B).

[0132] In E of Fig. 39, the EXT flag is set to '1', so the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte. In this EXT byte, the first 2 bits of the padding value are set to '10', so the next 2 bytes after the EXT byte indicate the length of the additional padding.

[0133] Here, since the length of the 2 bytes of additional padding is specified as '1' ('00110000 00111001'), an additional 12345 bytes (12345B) of padding is added.

[0134] In the EXT byte, the one bit following the first two bits is set to '0' as a TS flag. The five bits in the EXT byte are used to set a CRC flag set to '0' and a bit reserved for the future.

[0135] Thus, in the FEC block header of E in Figure 39, a total of 12348 bytes (12348B) of padding is realized by the EXT byte of 1 byte (1 byte), the additional padding length of 2 bytes, and the additional padding of 12345 bytes (12345B).

[0136] (Detailed example 2 of Format 1) 40 and 41 show a detailed example 2 of Format 1. In this detailed example 2, as in the above detailed example 1, a configuration is shown in which padding is added to an FEC block header consisting of a base header and an EXT byte.

[0137] (3-1-2A):Padding = 1,EXT = 1,TS = 1 A in FIG. 40 shows the configuration of an FEC block header when the EXT flag = '1' and the TS flag = '1' are specified when the length of padding is 1 byte (1B).

[0138] In A of Figure 40, the first TLV packet position pointer and the EXT flag are placed in the base header, but since the EXT flag is specified as '1', the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte as an optional header.

[0139] In this EXT byte, the first two bits are specified as a padding value of '00', and the following one bit is specified as a TS flag of '1'. In this case, the packet placed in the FEC block is a TS packet, so the head TLV packet position pointer indicates the position (head position) of the TS packet in the FEC block. In addition, the remaining five bits in the EXT byte are used to store bits reserved for the future, along with a CRC flag of '0'.

[0140] In this way, in the FEC block header of A in FIG. 40, one byte (1B) of padding is realized by one byte (1B) of EXT byte.

[0141] (3-1-2B):Padding = 2,EXT = 1,TS = 1 FIG. 40B shows the configuration of an FEC block header when the EXT flag is set to '1' and the TS flag is set to '1' when the length of padding is 2 bytes (2B).

[0142] In B of Fig. 40, the EXT flag is set to '1', so the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte. In this EXT byte, the first 2 bits of the padding value are set to '01', so the next byte after the EXT byte is an additional 1B padding.

[0143] In the EXT byte, the bit following the first two bits is set to '1' as the TS flag. The remaining five bits of the EXT byte are set to '0' as the CRC flag and a bit reserved for the future.

[0144] In this way, in the FEC block header of B in FIG. 40, a total of 2 bytes (2B) of padding is realized by 1 byte (1B) of EXT byte and 1 byte (1B) of additional padding.

[0145] (3-1-2C):Padding = 3,EXT = 1,TS = 1 FIG. 40C shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag = '1' and the TS flag = '1' are specified when the length of the padding is 3 bytes (3B).

[0146] In C of Fig. 40, the EXT flag is set to '1', so the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte. In this EXT byte, the first 2 bits of the padding value are set to '10', so the next 2 bytes after the EXT byte indicate the length of the additional padding.

[0147] Here, the length of the 2-byte additional padding is specified as '0' ('00000000 00000000'), which indicates that no further padding will be added.

[0148] In the EXT byte, the bit following the first two bits is set to '1' as the TS flag. The remaining five bits of the EXT byte are set to '0' as the CRC flag and a bit reserved for the future.

[0149] Thus, in the FEC block header of C in FIG. 40, a total of 3 bytes (3B) of padding is realized by the EXT byte of 1 byte (1B) and the additional padding length of 2 bytes (2B).

[0150] (3-1-2D):Padding = 4,EXT = 1,TS = 1 FIG. 41D shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag = '1' and the TS flag = '1' are specified when the length of padding is 4 bytes (4B).

[0151] In D of Fig. 41, the EXT flag is set to '1', so the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte. In this EXT byte, the first 2 bits of the padding value are set to '10', so the next 2 bytes after the EXT byte indicate the length of the additional padding.

[0152] Here, since the length of the 2 bytes of additional padding is specified as '1' ('00000000 00000001'), a further 1 byte (1B) of padding is added following the length of the additional padding.

[0153] In the EXT byte, the bit following the first two bits is set to '1' as the TS flag. The remaining five bits of the EXT byte are set to '0' as the CRC flag and a bit reserved for the future.

[0154] Thus, in the FEC block header of D in Figure 41, a total of 4 bytes (4B) of padding is achieved by the EXT byte of 1 byte (1B), the additional padding length of 2 bytes (2B), and the additional padding of 1 byte (1B).

[0155] (Detailed example 3 of format 1) 42 and 43 show a detailed example 3 of Format 1. This detailed example 3 shows a configuration in which padding is added to an FEC block header consisting of a base header, an EXT byte, and a CRC.

[0156] (3-1-3A):Padding = 1,EXT = 1,CRC = 1 FIG. 42A shows the configuration of an FEC block header when the EXT flag is set to '1' and the CRC flag is set to '1' when the length of padding is 1 byte (1B).

[0157] In A of Figure 42, the first TLV packet position pointer and the EXT flag are placed in the base header, but since the EXT flag is specified as '1', the next byte after the base header becomes the EXT byte as an optional header.

[0158] In this EXT byte, the first two bits are set to '00' as a padding value, and the next bit is set to '0' as a TS flag. The next bit is set to '1' as a CRC flag, so a 1-byte (8-bit) CRC is added after the EXT byte.

[0159] In this way, in the FEC block header of A in FIG. 42, one byte (1B) of padding is realized by one byte (1B) of EXT byte.

[0160] (3-1-3B):Padding = 2,EXT = 1,CRC = 1 FIG. 42B shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag = '1' and the CRC flag = '1' are specified when the length of padding is 2 bytes (2B).

[0161] In B of Fig. 42, the EXT flag is set to '1', so the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte. In this EXT byte, the padding value of the first two bits is set to '01', and the CRC flag of the following bit is set to '1'.

[0162] Therefore, after the EXT byte, one byte of CRC is added, and the next byte after this CRC is an additional 1B padding.

[0163] In this way, in the FEC block header of B in FIG. 42, a total of 2 bytes (2B) of padding is realized by 1 byte (1B) of EXT byte and 1 byte (1B) of additional padding.

[0164] (3-1-3C):Padding = 3,EXT = 1,CRC = 1 FIG. 42C shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag = '1' and the CRC flag = '1' are specified when the length of padding is 3 bytes (3B).

[0165] In C of Fig. 42, the EXT flag is set to '1', so the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte. In this EXT byte, the first 2 bits of the padding value are set to '10', and the following bit of the CRC flag is set to '1'. Therefore, a 1-byte CRC is added after the EXT byte, and the next 2 bytes after this CRC indicate the length of the additional padding.

[0166] Here, the length of the 2-byte additional padding is specified as '0' ('00000000 00000000'), which indicates that no further padding will be added.

[0167] In this way, in the FEC block header of C in FIG. 42, a total of 3 bytes (3B) of padding is realized by the EXT byte of 1 byte (1B) and the additional padding length of 2 bytes (2B).

[0168] (3-1-3D):Padding = 4,EXT = 1,CRC = 1 FIG. 43D shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag = '1' and the CRC flag = '1' are specified when the length of padding is 4 bytes (4B).

[0169] In D of Figure 43, the EXT flag is set to '1', so the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte. In this EXT byte, the first 2 bits of the padding value are set to '10', and the following bit of the CRC flag is set to '1'. Therefore, a 1-byte CRC is added after the EXT byte, and the next 2 bytes after this CRC indicate the length of the additional padding.

[0170] Here, since the length of the 2 bytes of additional padding is specified as '1' ('00000000 00000001'), an additional byte (1B) of padding is added.

[0171] Thus, in the FEC block header of D in Figure 43, a total of 4 bytes (4B) of padding is achieved by the EXT byte of 1 byte (1B), the additional padding length of 2 bytes (2B), and the additional padding of 1 byte (1B).

[0172] The configuration of the FEC block header of the first format has been described above. In this first format, 15 bits are reserved for the base header of the FEC block header in consideration of the maximum value of the first TLV packet position pointer, so that the maximum value of the number of bits (Num Bits) can accommodate all code lengths of the long code with 15 bits, the middle code with 13 bits, and the short code with 11 bits. Therefore, the configuration of the FEC block header can be very simplified.

[0173] (3-2) Second Form Next, the configuration of the FEC block header (FBH) of the second format (hereinafter also referred to as format 2) will be described with reference to Figs.

[0174] In the second format, assuming that the long code does not exist in the target standard, the case where 11 bits corresponding to the short code and 13 bits corresponding to the middle code are reserved as the bits of the first TLV packet position pointer in the base header of the FEC block header is described.

[0175] (FEC block header format) FIG. 44 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the FEC block header of format 2-1.

[0176] In FIG. 44, the 2-byte base header is composed of an 11-bit top TLV packet position pointer and the remaining bits (5 bits).

[0177] The first TLV packet position pointer is a pointer that indicates the position of the first TLV packet in the FEC block that contains the FEC block header in which it is placed. In the base header of format 2-1, 11 bits are reserved for this first TLV packet position pointer, so it can be used as a pointer to the short code.

[0178] The remaining 5 bits are allocated to a 2-bit padding value, a 1-bit TS flag, a 1-bit CRC flag, and a 1-bit reserved area.

[0179] For example, the padding value is specified according to the contents shown in Fig. 45. The padding value of this format 2-1 is the same as the padding value of the above-mentioned format 1 (Fig. 36), so the explanation is omitted here.

[0180] The TS flag is a flag for identifying a TS packet. The CRC flag is a flag for indicating whether or not a CRC, which is an error detection code, is present. The reserved area is an area to be used in the future.

[0181] (FEC block header format) FIG. 46 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the FEC block header of format 2-2.

[0182] In FIG. 46, the 2-byte base header is composed of a 13-bit top TLV packet position pointer and the remaining bits (3 bits).

[0183] The first TLV packet position pointer is a pointer that indicates the position of the first TLV packet in the FEC block that contains the FEC block header in which it is placed. In the base header of format 2-2, 13 bits are reserved for this first TLV packet position pointer, so it can be used as a pointer to the middle code and short code.

[0184] The remaining 3 bits are assigned to a 2-bit padding value and a 1-bit TS flag or a 1-bit CRC flag. That is, in the base header, the padding value is mandatory, but it is optional whether to place the TS flag or the CRC flag.

[0185] For example, the padding value is specified as a value according to the contents shown in Fig. 47. The padding value of this format 2-2 is the same as the padding value of the above-mentioned format 1 (Fig. 36), so the explanation is omitted here.

[0186] The TS flag is a flag for identifying a TS packet. The CRC flag is a flag for indicating whether or not a CRC, which is an error detection code, is present.

[0187] The above describes the configuration of the FEC block header of the second format. In this second format, on the assumption that the long code does not exist in the target standard, 11 bits or 13 bits are reserved in the base header of the FEC block header, so that the maximum value of the number of bits (Num Bits) can be supported for a short code with 11 bits or a middle code with 13 bits. Therefore, when the long code does not exist in the target standard, the configuration of the FEC block header can be very simplified.

[0188] (3-3) Third Form Next, the configuration of the FEC block header (FBH) of the third format (hereinafter also referred to as format 3) will be described with reference to Figs.

[0189] (FEC block header format) FIG. 48 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the Format 3 FEC block header.

[0190] In FIG. 48, the 2-byte base header is composed of a 13-bit top TLV packet position pointer and the remaining bits (3 bits).

[0191] The First TLV Packet Position Pointer is a pointer that indicates the position of the first TLV packet in the FEC block that contains the FEC block header in which it is placed. In the base header of format 3, 13 bits are reserved for this First TLV Packet Position Pointer.

[0192] The remaining 3 bits are assigned to a 1-bit TS flag, a 1-bit CRC flag, and a 1-bit EXT flag. The details of the TS flag and the CRC flag are as described above.

[0193] The EXT flag indicates whether an extension area exists. For example, if the EXT flag is set to '1', the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte.

[0194] An example of the format of the EXT byte is shown in Fig. 49. In Fig. 49, one EXT byte is composed of a 2-bit LEN_MSB, a 2-bit padding value, and a 4-bit reserved area.

[0195] In the case of long codes, the maximum value of the first TLV packet position pointer is 15 bits, which is insufficient for the 13 bits allocated to the base header, so the 2 bits of LEN_MSB are used to make up for the shortfall. Note that in the case of short codes and middle codes, the 13 bits allocated to the base header are sufficient, so the 2 bits of LEN_MSB are unused.

[0196] That is, in the case of short code or middle code, the 13 bits allocated to the base header can be used to accommodate the maximum value of the first TLV packet position pointer (11 bits or 13 bits). On the other hand, in the case of long code, the 13 bits allocated to the base header are insufficient, so an additional 2 bits are used for LEN_MSB to accommodate the maximum value of the first TLV packet position pointer (15 bits).

[0197] For example, the padding value is specified according to the contents shown in Figure 50. The padding value of this format 3 is the same as the padding value of the above-mentioned format 1 (Figure 36), so the explanation is omitted here. The reserved area is an area to be used in the future.

[0198] (FEC block header format) FIG. 51 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the FEC block header of format 3-1.

[0199] In FIG. 51, the 2-byte base header is composed of a 13-bit top TLV packet position pointer and the remaining bits (3 bits).

[0200] Format 3-1 is the same as Format 3 described above in that the number of bits of the first TLV packet position pointer is 13 bits, but it differs in that the remaining 3 bits are assigned to a 2-bit padding value and a 1-bit EXT flag.

[0201] For example, the padding value is specified as a value according to the contents shown in Fig. 52. The padding value of this format 3-1 is the same as the padding value of the above-mentioned format 1 (Fig. 36), so the explanation is omitted here.

[0202] The EXT flag indicates whether an extension area exists. For example, if the EXT flag is set to '1', the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte.

[0203] An example of the format of the EXT byte is shown in Fig. 53. In Fig. 53, one EXT byte is made up of a 2-bit LEN_MSB, a 1-bit TS flag, a 1-bit CRC flag, and a 4-bit reserved area.

[0204] In the case of long codes, the maximum value of the first TLV packet position pointer is 15 bits, which is insufficient for the 13 bits allocated to the base header, so the 2 bits of LEN_MSB are used to make up for the shortfall. Note that in the case of short codes and middle codes, the 2 bits of LEN_MSB are unused.

[0205] That is, in the case of short code or middle code, the 13 bits allocated to the base header can be used to accommodate the maximum value of the first TLV packet position pointer (11 bits or 13 bits).On the other hand, in the case of long code, the 13 bits of the base header and the 2 bits of LEN_MSB, totaling 15 bits, are used to accommodate the maximum value of the first TLV packet position pointer (15 bits).

[0206] The details of the TS flag and the CRC flag are as described above. The reserved area is an area to be used in the future.

[0207] Next, a more specific detailed example of Format 3-1 will be described. In the following description, as in the detailed example of Format 1 described above, the illustration of the FEC block and TLV packet will be omitted, and only the FEC block header will be illustrated.

[0208] (Detailed example 1 of Format 3-1) 54 to 56 show a detailed example 1 of Format 3-1. This detailed example 1 shows a configuration in which padding is added to an FEC block header consisting of a base header.

[0209] (3-3-1A): No Padding, EXT = 0 A in FIG. 54 shows the configuration of the FEC block header when there is no padding and the EXT flag is set to '0'.

[0210] In A of Figure 54, in addition to the 13-bit first TLV packet position pointer, a 2-bit padding value and a 1-bit EXT flag are placed in the base header, but since the padding value is specified as '00', there is no additional padding. Furthermore, since the EXT flag is specified as '0', there is no extension of the EXT byte as an option header.

[0211] In this way, the FEC block header in A of FIG. 54 has a configuration in which padding is not performed.

[0212] (3-3-1B):Padding = 1,EXT = 0 FIG. 54B shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag is set to '0' when the length of padding is 1 byte (1B).

[0213] In B of Figure 54, the padding value is specified as '01', so the next byte after the base header is an additional 1B padding. Note that the EXT flag is specified as '0', so there is no extension of the EXT byte.

[0214] In this way, in the FEC block header of B in FIG. 54, padding of 1 byte (1B) is realized by additional padding of 1 byte (1B).

[0215] (3-3-1C):Padding = 2,EXT = 0 FIG. 54C shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag is set to '0' when the length of padding is 2 bytes (2B).

[0216] In C of Figure 54, the padding value is specified as '10', so the next two bytes after the base header indicate the length of the additional padding. Here, the length of the two bytes of additional padding is specified as '0' ('00000000 00000000'), which indicates that no more padding will be added.

[0217] Since '0' is specified as the EXT flag, there is no extension of the EXT byte.

[0218] Thus, in the FEC block header of C in FIG. 54, padding of 2 bytes (2B) is realized by the length of the additional padding of 2 bytes (2B).

[0219] (3-3-1D):Padding = 3,EXT = 0 FIG. 55D shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag = '0' is specified when the length of padding is 3 bytes (3B).

[0220] In D of Figure 55, the padding value is specified as '10', so the next two bytes after the base header indicate the length of the additional padding. Here, the length of the two bytes of additional padding is specified as '1' ('00000000 00000001'), so one more byte (1B) of padding is added following the length of the additional padding.

[0221] Since '0' is specified as the EXT flag, there is no extension of the EXT byte.

[0222] Thus, in the FEC block header of D in Figure 55, a total of 3 bytes (3B) of padding is achieved by adding 2 bytes (2B) of additional padding and 1 byte (1B) of additional padding.

[0223] (3-3-1E):Padding = 4,EXT = 0 FIG. 55E shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag = '0' is specified when the length of padding is 4 bytes (4B).

[0224] In E of Figure 55, the padding value is specified as '10', so the next two bytes of the base header indicate the length of the additional padding. Here, the length of the 2 bytes of additional padding is specified as '2' ('00000000 00000010'), so 2 bytes (2B) of padding are added following the length of the additional padding.

[0225] Since '0' is specified as the EXT flag, there is no extension of the EXT byte.

[0226] Thus, in the FEC block E of Figure 55, a total of 4 bytes (4B) of padding is realized by the additional padding length of 2 bytes (2B) and the additional padding of 2 bytes (2B).

[0227] (3-3-1F):Padding = 12348,EXT = 0 FIG. 56F shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag = '1' is specified when the length of padding is 12348 bytes (12348B).

[0228] In F in Figure 56, the EXT flag is set to '1', so the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte. Also, the padding value is set to '10', so the next two bytes after the EXT byte indicate the length of the additional padding.

[0229] Here, since the length of the 2 bytes of additional padding is specified as '12345' ('00110000 00111001'), an additional 12345 bytes (12345B) of padding is added.

[0230] In addition, in the EXT byte, by using the 2-bit LEN_MSB, it is possible to support not only the short code and the middle code but also the long code as the head TLV packet position pointer.

[0231] Thus, in the FEC block header of F in Figure 56, a total of 12,348 bytes (12,348B) of padding is achieved by the EXT byte of 1 byte (1B), the additional padding length of 2 bytes (2B), and the additional padding of 12,345 bytes (12,345B).

[0232] (Detailed example 2 of Format 3-1) 57 and 58 show a detailed example 2 of Format 3-1. This detailed example 2 shows a configuration in which padding is added to an FEC block header consisting of a base header and an EXT byte.

[0233] (3-3-2A):Padding = 1,EXT = 1,TS = 1 A in FIG. 57 shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag = '1' is specified when the length of padding is 1 byte (1B).

[0234] In A of Figure 57, in addition to the 13-bit first TLV packet position pointer, the base header contains a 2-bit padding value and a 1-bit EXT flag, but since the padding value is specified as '00', there is no additional padding. On the other hand, since the EXT flag is specified as '1', the next byte of the base header is the EXT byte as an option header.

[0235] In the EXT byte, the TS flag is specified as '1', and the packet placed in the FEC block is a TS packet, so the head TLV packet position pointer indicates the position (head position) of the TS packet in the FEC block.

[0236] In this way, in the FEC block header of A in FIG. 57, 1 byte (1B) of padding is realized by 1 byte (1B) of EXT byte.

[0237] (3-3-2B):Padding = 2,EXT = 1,TS = 1 FIG. 57B shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag is set to '1' when the length of padding is 2 bytes (2B).

[0238] In B of Figure 57, the EXT flag is set to '1', so the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte. Also, the padding value is set to '01', so the next byte after the EXT byte is an additional 1B padding.

[0239] In this way, in the FEC block header of B in Figure 57, a total of 2 bytes (2B) of padding is realized by 1 byte (1B) of EXT byte and 1 byte (1B) of additional padding.

[0240] (3-3-2C):Padding = 3,EXT = 1,TS = 1 FIG. 57C shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag is set to '1' when the length of padding is 3 bytes (3B).

[0241] In C of Figure 57, the EXT flag is set to '1', so the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte. Also, the padding value is set to '10', so the next byte after the EXT byte indicates the length of the additional padding.

[0242] Here, the length of the 2-byte additional padding is specified as '0' ('00000000 00000000'), which indicates that no further padding will be added.

[0243] Thus, in the FEC block header of C in Figure 57, a total of 3 bytes (3B) of padding is realized by the EXT byte of 1 byte (1B) and the additional padding length of 2 bytes (2B).

[0244] (3-3-2D):Padding = 4,EXT = 1,TS = 1 FIG. 58D shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag = '1' is specified when the length of padding is 4 bytes (4B).

[0245] In D of Figure 58, the EXT flag is set to '1', so the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte. Also, the padding value is set to '10', so the next byte after the EXT byte indicates the length of the additional padding.

[0246] Here, since the length of the 2 bytes of additional padding is specified as '1' ('00000000 00000001'), a further 1 byte (1B) of padding is added following the length of the additional padding.

[0247] Thus, in the FEC block header of D in Figure 58, a total of 4 bytes (4B) of padding is achieved by an EXT byte of 1 byte (1B), an additional padding length of 2 bytes (2B), and an additional padding of 1 byte (1B).

[0248] (Detailed example 3 of Format 3-1) 59 and 60 show a detailed example 3 of Format 3-1. This detailed example 3 shows a configuration in which padding is added to an FEC block header consisting of a base header, an EXT byte, and a CRC.

[0249] (3-3-3A):Padding = 1,EXT = 1,CRC = 1 A in FIG. 59 shows the configuration of an FEC block header when the EXT flag = '1' and the CRC flag = '1' are specified when the length of padding is 1 byte (1B).

[0250] In A of Figure 59, in addition to the 13-bit first TLV packet position pointer, the base header contains a 2-bit padding value and a 1-bit EXT flag, but since the padding value is specified as '00', there is no additional padding. On the other hand, since the EXT flag is specified as '1', the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte as an option header.

[0251] In this EXT byte, since the 4th bit is specified as the CRC flag of '1', a 1-byte (8-bit) CRC is added following the EXT byte.

[0252] In this way, in the FEC block header of A in FIG. 59, 1 byte (1B) of padding is realized by 1 byte (1B) of EXT byte.

[0253] (3-3-3B):Padding = 2,EXT = 1,CRC = 1 FIG. 59B shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag = '1' and the CRC flag = '1' are specified when the padding length is 2 bytes (2B).

[0254] In B of Figure 59, the EXT flag is set to '1', so the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte. In this EXT byte, the CRC flag is set to '1' in the 4th bit, so a 1-byte (8-bit) CRC is added after the EXT byte.

[0255] In addition, since the padding value in the base header is specified as '01', the next byte after the CRC becomes an additional 1B padding.

[0256] In this way, in the FEC block header of B in Figure 59, a total of 2 bytes (2B) of padding is realized by 1 byte (1B) of EXT byte and 1 byte (1B) of additional padding.

[0257] (3-3-3C):Padding = 3,EXT = 1,CRC = 1 FIG. 59C shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag = '1' and the CRC flag = '1' are specified when the length of padding is 3 bytes (3B).

[0258] In C of Figure 59, the EXT flag is set to '1', so the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte. In this EXT byte, the CRC flag is set to '1' in the 4th bit, so a 1-byte (8-bit) CRC is added after the EXT byte.

[0259] In addition, in the base header, the padding value is specified as '10', so the two bytes following the CRC indicate the length of the additional padding. Here, the length of the two bytes of additional padding is specified as '0' ('00000000 00000000'), which indicates that no more padding will be added.

[0260] Thus, in the FEC block header of C in Figure 59, a total of 3 bytes (3B) of padding is realized by the EXT byte of 1 byte (1B) and the additional padding length of 2 bytes (2B).

[0261] (3-3-3D):Padding = 4,EXT = 1,CRC = 1 FIG. 60D shows the configuration of the FEC block header when the EXT flag = '1' and the CRC flag = '1' are specified when the padding length is 4 bytes (4B).

[0262] In D of Fig. 60, the EXT flag is set to '1', so the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte. In this EXT byte, the CRC flag is set to '1' in the 4th bit, so a 1-byte (8-bit) CRC is added after the EXT byte.

[0263] In addition, in the base header, the padding value is specified as '10', so the two bytes following the CRC indicate the length of the additional padding. Here, the length of the two bytes of additional padding is specified as '1' ('00000000 00000001'), so one byte (1B) of padding is added.

[0264] Thus, in the FEC block header of D in Figure 60, a total of 4 bytes (4B) of padding is achieved by an EXT byte of 1 byte (1B), an additional padding length of 2 bytes (2B), and an additional padding of 1 byte (1B).

[0265] The configuration of the FEC block header of the third format has been described above. In this third format, when the long code exists in the target standard, 13 bits are reserved in the base header of the FEC block header to accommodate the short code with a maximum number of bits (Num Bits) of 11 bits or the middle code with a maximum number of bits (Num Bits) of 13 bits, and when the long code has a maximum number of bits (Num Bits) of 15 bits, the 2 bits of LEN_MSB of the EXT byte are used to accommodate the long code with a maximum number of bits (Num Bits) of 15 bits. Therefore, when the long code exists in the standard, there is no need to use the LEN_MSB of the EXT byte in the case of the middle code or the short code, and the FEC block header can be efficiently configured.

[0266] (3-4) Fourth Form Finally, the configuration of the FEC block header (FBH) of the fourth format (hereinafter also referred to as format 4) will be described with reference to Figures 61 to 63.

[0267] (FEC block header format) FIG. 61 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the Format 4 FEC block header.

[0268] In FIG. 61, the 2-byte base header is made up of a 13-bit top TLV packet position pointer, a 1-bit TS flag, a 1-bit CRC flag, and a 1-bit EXT flag.

[0269] The head TLV packet position pointer is a pointer that indicates the position of the head TLV packet in the FEC block that contains the FEC block header in which it is placed.

[0270] The remaining 3 bits are assigned to a 1-bit TS flag, a 1-bit CRC flag, and a 1-bit EXT flag. The details of the TS flag and the CRC flag are as described above.

[0271] The EXT flag indicates whether an extension area exists. For example, if the EXT flag is set to '1', the next byte after the base header is the EXT byte.

[0272] An example of the format of the EXT byte is shown in Fig. 62. In Fig. 62, one EXT byte is composed of a 5-bit LEN_MSB, a 2-bit padding value, and a 1-bit reserved area.

[0273] Here, in the above-mentioned Figures 31 to 33, the number of bits (Num Bits) is the number of bits required according to K_bch (B: bytes), but when K_bch (bits) is used, the number of bits (Num Bits) is as follows.

[0274] That is, in the case of a middle code with a code length of 69120 bits, when the maximum coding rate is CR = 14 / 16, the number of bits (Num Bits) is 16 bits, so the maximum value of the head TLV packet position pointer is 16 bits.

[0275] In addition, in the case of a long code with a code length of 276480 bits, when the maximum coding rate is CR = 14 / 16, the number of bits (Num Bits) is 18 bits, so the maximum value of the head TLV packet position pointer is 18 bits.

[0276] In addition, in the case of a short code with a code length of 17280 bits, when the maximum coding rate is CR = 14 / 16, the number of bits (Num Bits) is 14 bits, so the maximum value of the head TLV packet position pointer is 14 bits.

[0277] As described above, when bit representation (K_bch (B:byte)) is used as the number of bits (Num Bits) instead of byte representation (K_bch (B:byte)), the maximum value of the first TLV packet position pointer is 18 bits, 16 bits, and 14 bits for the long code, middle code, and short code, respectively. Therefore, since the 13 bits assigned to the first TLV packet position pointer in the base header are insufficient, the 5 bits of LEN_MSB are used to make up the shortfall.

[0278] In other words, a total of 18 bits, consisting of the 13 bits allocated to the base header and the 5 bits of LEN_MSB, are used as the first TLV packet position pointer. By allocating bits in this way, the first TLV packet position pointer can be expressed in bits.

[0279] Specifically, in the case of long codes, all five bits of LEN_MSB are used, making a total of 18 bits available as bits for the first TLV packet position pointer. In the case of middle codes, three of the five bits of LEN_MSB are used, making a total of 16 bits available. In the case of short codes, one of the five bits of LEN_MSB is used, making a total of 14 bits available.

[0280] That is, in the case of byte representation, the 13 bits allocated to the base header are insufficient for all of the long code, middle code, and short code, so the 5 bits of LEN_MSB are used to accommodate the maximum value of the first TLV packet position pointer (18 bits, 16 bits, or 14 bits).

[0281] The padding value is specified according to the contents shown in Figure 63. The padding value of this format 4 is the same as the padding value of the above-mentioned format 1 (Figure 36), so the explanation is omitted here. The reserved area is an area to be used in the future.

[0282] The configuration of the FEC block header of the fourth format has been described above. In this fourth format, when the long code exists in the target standard, 18 bits are secured by the base header (13 bits) of the FEC block header and the LEN_MSB (5 bits) of the EXT byte, so that the maximum value of the number of bits (Num Bits) can be supported for the short code with 14 bits, the middle code with 16 bits, and the long code with 18 bits. Therefore, when the long code exists in the standard, the head TLV packet position pointer can be expressed in bits.

[0283] <4. Timing of sending time information using this technology>

[0284] Incidentally, the current ISDB-T adopts frequency division multiplexing (FDM) as a method for multiplexing broadcast signals. It is expected that the next generation of terrestrial digital television broadcasting will also adopt the frequency division multiplexing (FDM) method.

[0285] When this frequency division multiplexing (FDM) method is adopted, a predetermined frequency band (for example, 6 MHz) is divided into multiple segments, and hierarchical transmission is performed using the band of one or more segments. In this case, for example, data of different services can be transmitted for each layer consisting of the frequency band of one or more segments obtained by frequency division.

[0286] That is, each layer is a unit that groups together one or more segments. Incidentally, in ISDB-T, OFDM segments are used. Here, in OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing), a large number of orthogonal subcarriers are provided within a transmission band, and digital modulation is performed. Incidentally, a layer (FDM layer) can also be conceptually regarded as a PLP (Physical Layer Pipe). In this case, multiple layers can also be said to be M-PLP (Multiple-PLP).

[0287] In terrestrial digital television broadcasting, time information for synchronizing the transmitting side and the receiving side is transmitted, and synchronization is achieved between the transmitting device 20 on the transmitting side and the receiving device 30 on the receiving side.

[0288] FIG. 64 is a diagram showing an example of the timing of sending out the time information.

[0289] In Fig. 64, the upper side shows a schematic representation of data processed by the transmitting device 20, and the lower side shows a schematic representation of data processed by the receiving device 30. In Fig. 64, the horizontal direction represents time, which runs from the left side to the right side in the figure.

[0290] First, the data processed by the transmitting device 20 will be described.

[0291] In the transmitting device 20, an FEC frame including an FEC block to which a BCH code and an LDPC code are added is obtained by performing necessary processing on the TLV packet. In addition, in the transmitting device 20, a physical layer frame (hereinafter, referred to as an ISDB-T2 frame) is obtained by performing necessary processing on the FEC frame.

[0292] The TLV packet is a variable-length packet, and may have a size of, for example, 4 to 65536 bytes. The TLV packet is represented by "Data" in the figure. Also, NTP time information, which is time information in the NTP (Network Time Protocol) format, is represented by "NTP" in the figure.

[0293] The FEC frame includes an FEC block to which a BCH code and an LDPC code are added. One ISDB-T2 frame is composed of k+1 FEC frames, FEC frame #0 to FEC frame #k. An FEC block header (FBH) is added to the beginning of each FEC frame, and when padding is inserted, additional padding of a predetermined number of bytes is inserted following the FEC block header (FBH).

[0294] As described above, the FEC block header (FBH) includes a first TLV packet position pointer. For example, if we focus on Data#1 as a TLV packet, Data#1-1 and Data#1-2 are arranged across FEC frame #0 and FEC frame #1. The first TLV packet position pointer included in the FEC block header (FBH) added to the beginning of FEC frame #1 indicates the beginning position of Data#2, which is arranged following Data#1-2 in the FEC frame #1.

[0295] The OFDM symbol is represented by "Symbol" in the figure. One ISDB-T2 frame is composed of n+1 OFDM symbols, Symbol #0 to Symbol #n. In other words, this ISDB-T2 frame can be said to be the OFDM frame that is the unit for transmitting data.

[0296] However, when frequency division multiplexing (FDM) is used as the broadcast signal multiplexing method, the OFDM symbol is further divided into segments. A segment is represented by "Seg" in the figure. One OFDM symbol is composed of m+1 segments, Seg#0 to Seg#m.

[0297] In this technology, the NTP time information is inserted so that it is at the beginning of the ISDB-T2 frame (strictly speaking, the NTP time information is inserted following the FEC block header (FBH) added to the first FEC frame #0). This NTP time information includes the beginning time of the ISDB-T2 frame as time information specified by NTP.

[0298] However, when one ISDB-T2 frame is composed of k+1 FEC frames, the NTP time information is not necessarily placed at the beginning of the ISDB-T2 frame. In such a case, by inserting a dummy cell D following the last FEC frame #k constituting a certain ISDB-T2 frame, the NTP time information can be inserted at the beginning of the next ISDB-T2 frame (the beginning of FEC frame #0).

[0299] That is, in order to place the NTP time information at the beginning of the ISDB-T2 frame as an OFDM frame, in the transmission device 20, the dummy cell generating unit 161 generates a dummy cell D as necessary and places it in the OFDM frame in which the FEC frame is placed. In this way, the NTP time information is linked to the frame length of the ISDB-T2 frame as an OFDM frame.

[0300] Thus, looking at the area A in Fig. 64, the transmitting device 20 inserts NTP time information indicating the time of the beginning of the ISDB-T2 frame into the beginning of the ISDB-T2 frame, but the boundaries between the ISDB-T2 frame and the FEC frame may or may not match. If the boundaries do not match, the insertion position of the NTP time information is shifted from the beginning of the ISDB-T2 frame, so a dummy cell D is inserted so that the NTP time information is inserted into the beginning of the ISDB-T2 frame.

[0301] Next, the data processed by the receiving device 30 will be described.

[0302] In the receiving device 30, the TLV packets are obtained by performing necessary processing on the ISDB-T2 frame. Here, from one ISDB-T2 frame, multiple TLV packets and NTP time information placed at the beginning of the packets are obtained. This NTP time information indicates the beginning time of the ISDB-T2 frame.

[0303] In the receiving device 30, since the boundaries between the ISDB-T2 frame and the TLV packet are the same, clock recovery can be performed by referring to the time at the beginning of the ISDB-T2 frame indicated by the NTP time information inserted at the beginning of the ISDB-T2 frame.

[0304] This enables clock synchronization using NTP time information to be achieved between the transmitting device 20 on the transmitting side and the receiving device 30 on the receiving side, and enables the receiving device 30 to process multiple TLV packets (Data #0 to Data #z) for each NTP time information contained at the beginning of the ISDB-T2 frame.

[0305] As described above, by including NTP time information indicating the time at the beginning of the ISDB-T2 frame, the time information can be transmitted with high precision and efficiency, and the receiving device 30 can use the NTP time information to perform clock synchronization (clock recovery).

[0306] <5. Operation of sender and receiver>

[0307] Next, the operation of the transmitting device 20 on the transmitting side and the receiving device 30 on the receiving side will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

[0308] The processes of steps S11 to S13 in Fig. 65 are executed by, for example, the data processing unit 211 and the modulation unit 212 of the transmitting device 20 (Fig. 2). The processes of steps S31 to S33 in Fig. 65 are executed by, for example, the demodulation unit 312 and the data processing unit 313 of the receiving device 30 (Fig. 3).

[0309] In step S11, the FEC block generator 153 processes the TLV packet input thereto to generate an FEC block. An FEC block header (FBH) including a TLV packet position pointer, a TS flag, and a CRC flag is inserted at the beginning of this FEC block.

[0310] In step S12, the FEC frame generating unit 154 processes the FEC block generated in the process of step S11 to generate an FEC frame.

[0311] In step S13, the modulation unit 212 processes the FEC frame generated in the process of step S12, and transmits a signal obtained from the FEC frame. In this manner, the signal transmitted from the transmitting device 20 on the transmitting side is received by the receiving device 30 on the receiving side.

[0312] In step S31, the tuner 311 receives a signal derived from an FEC frame.

[0313] In step S32, the demodulation unit 312 processes the signal received in the processing of step S31 to generate an FEC block.

[0314] In step S33, the data processing unit 313 processes the FEC block generated in the process of step S32 to generate a TLV packet. An FEC block header (FBH) including a TLV packet position pointer, a TS flag, and a CRC flag is inserted at the beginning of this FEC block.

[0315] Here, the TLV packet position pointer can reliably identify the position of the first TLV packet in the FEC block and extract the TLV packet from the FEC block. The TLV packet obtained in this way is further processed by the receiving device 30 (the data processing unit 313 and the processing unit at the subsequent stage) on the receiving side, and the content such as a broadcast program is reproduced.

[0316] The operations on the transmitting side and the receiving side have been described above.

[0317] <6. Variations>

[0318] (Application to other broadcasting systems) In the above explanation, the description has focused on ISDB (Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting), a standard for digital television broadcasting that is adopted in Japan and other countries. However, the present technology may also be applied to ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee), a standard adopted in the United States and other countries, or DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting), a standard adopted in European countries and other countries.

[0319] In addition, the digital television broadcasting standard can be applied to terrestrial broadcasting, as well as satellite broadcasting using broadcast satellites (BS) and communication satellites (CS), and wired broadcasting such as cable television (CATV).

[0320] (Other examples of packets and signaling) The names of the packets, frames, signaling (control information), etc. mentioned above are merely examples, and other names may be used. However, the difference between these names is merely a formal difference, and does not mean that the actual contents of the packets, frames, signaling, etc. are different.

[0321] For example, a TLV packet is an example of a transmission packet, and the transmission packet includes, for example, an ALP (ATSC Link-Layer Protocol) packet, a GSE (Generic Stream Encapsulation) packet, etc., which are variable-length packets. Note that the terms frame and packet may be used interchangeably.

[0322] (Other examples of time information) In the above explanation, the case where time information defined by NTP is used as the time information has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this and any time information can be used, such as time information defined by PTP (Precision Time Protocol) or 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project), time information included in GPS (Global Positioning System) information, or time information in any other independently determined format.

[0323] (Another example of a transmission line) The present technology can also be applied to a transmission path other than a broadcast network, that is, a predetermined standard (a standard other than a digital broadcast standard) that is defined assuming the use of a communication line (communication network) such as the Internet or a telephone network as a transmission path. In that case, a communication line such as the Internet is used as the transmission path of the transmission system 1 (FIG. 1), and the functions of the data processing device 10 and the transmitting device 20 are provided by a communication server provided on the Internet. Then, the communication server and the receiving device 30 perform bidirectional communication via the communication line.

[0324] <7. Computer configuration>

[0325] The above-mentioned series of processes can be executed by hardware or software. When the series of processes is executed by software, a program constituting the software is installed in a computer. Figure 66 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a computer that executes the above-mentioned series of processes by a program.

[0326] In the computer 1000, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1001, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 1002, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 1003 are interconnected by a bus 1004. An input / output interface 1005 is further connected to the bus 1004. An input unit 1006, an output unit 1007, a recording unit 1008, a communication unit 1009, and a drive 1010 are connected to the input / output interface 1005.

[0327] The input unit 1006 includes a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, etc. The output unit 1007 includes a display, a speaker, etc. The recording unit 1008 includes a hard disk, a non-volatile memory, etc. The communication unit 1009 includes a network interface, etc. The drive 1010 drives a removable recording medium 1011 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory.

[0328] In the computer 1000 configured as described above, the CPU 1001 loads a program recorded in the ROM 1002 or the recording unit 1008 into the RAM 1003 via the input / output interface 1005 and the bus 1004, and executes it, thereby performing the series of processes described above.

[0329] The program executed by the computer 1000 (CPU 1001) can be provided by being recorded on a removable recording medium 1011 such as a package medium, for example. The program can also be provided via a wired or wireless transmission medium such as a local area network, the Internet, or digital satellite broadcasting.

[0330] In the computer 1000, the program can be installed in the recording unit 1008 via the input / output interface 1005 by mounting the removable recording medium 1011 in the drive 1010. The program can also be received by the communication unit 1009 via a wired or wireless transmission medium and installed in the recording unit 1008. Alternatively, the program can be installed in the ROM 1002 or the recording unit 1008 in advance.

[0331] Here, in this specification, the processing performed by a computer according to a program does not necessarily have to be performed in chronological order according to the order described in the flowchart. In other words, the processing performed by a computer according to a program also includes processing executed in parallel or individually (for example, parallel processing or object-based processing). In addition, the program may be processed by one computer (processor), or may be processed in a distributed manner by multiple computers.

[0332] The embodiments of the present technology are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present technology.

[0333] Furthermore, the effects described in this specification are merely examples and are not limiting, and other effects may also be obtained.

[0334] Furthermore, the present technology can be configured as follows.

[0335] (1) A first generator for generating a forward error correction (FEC) block based on an input packet or an input stream; a second generating unit for generating an FEC frame based on the FEC block; a transmitter for transmitting the FEC frame; Including, The header of the FEC block includes type identification information for identifying the type of the input packet or the input stream, information for detecting a header error, and a minimum fixed-length header having position information of the beginning of the input packet or the input stream to be stored in the payload of the FEC frame. Transmitting device. (2) When the type identification information is a TLV (Type Length Value) packet, the minimum fixed length header includes, in addition to the type identification information, minimum fixed length identification information for identifying whether the input packet length of the input packet is a minimum fixed length, and a minimum input packet length as information on the input packet length. The transmitting device according to (1) above. (3) if the minimum fixed length identification information indicates that the input packet length is not the minimum fixed length, the header further includes a variable length header in addition to the minimum fixed length header; The variable-length header includes variable-length packet length information consisting of upper bits of the input packet length when the lower bits of the input packet length are minimum input packet length information representing the minimum input packet length. The transmitting device according to (2) above. (4) The FEC frame may further include a third generation unit that generates a dummy cell for placing time information at the beginning of an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) frame in which the FEC frame is placed. A transmitting device according to any one of (1) to (3). (5) generating an FEC block based on the input packets or input stream; generating an FEC frame based on the FEC block; transmitting the FEC frame; Including, The header of the FEC block includes type identification information for identifying the type of the input packet or the input stream, information for detecting a header error, and a minimum fixed-length header having position information of the head of the input packet or the input stream stored in the payload of the FEC frame. Transmission method. (6) a receiving unit for receiving a signal consisting of an FEC frame; a first generating unit for generating an FEC block based on the received FEC frame; a second generator for generating an input packet or an input stream based on the FEC block; Including, The header of the FEC block includes type identification information for identifying the type of the input packet or the input stream, and a minimum fixed-length header having position information of the beginning of the input packet or the input stream to be stored in the payload of the FEC frame. Receiving device. (7) When the type identification information is a TLV packet, the minimum fixed length header includes, in addition to the type identification information, minimum fixed length identification information for identifying whether the input packet length of the input packet is a minimum fixed length, and a minimum input packet length as information on the input packet length. The receiving device according to (6) above. (8) if the minimum fixed length identification information indicates that the input packet length is not the minimum fixed length, the header further includes a variable length header in addition to the minimum fixed length header; The variable-length header includes variable-length packet length information consisting of upper bits of the input packet length when the lower bits of the input packet length are minimum input packet length information representing the minimum input packet length. The receiving device according to (7) above. (9) In the OFDM frame in which the FEC frame is placed, time information is placed at the beginning by inserting a dummy cell. A receiving device according to any one of (6) to (8). (10) receiving an incoming signal consisting of FEC frames; generating an FEC block based on the received FEC frame; generating an input packet or an input stream based on the FEC block; Including, The header of the FEC block includes type identification information for identifying the type of the input packet or the input stream, and a minimum fixed-length header having position information of the beginning of the input packet or the input stream to be stored in the payload of the FEC frame. Receiving method. [Explanation of symbols]

[0336] 1 Transmission system, 10, 10-1 to 10-N Data processing device, 20 Transmitter, 30, 30-1 to 30-M Receiver, 40, 40-1 to 40-N Communication line, 50 Broadcast transmission path, 111 Component processing unit, 112 Signaling generation unit, 113 Multiplexer, 114 Data processing unit, 151 TLV packet generation unit, 152 TS packet processing unit, 153 FEC block generation unit, 154 FEC frame generation unit, 161 Dummy cell generation unit, 211 Data processing unit, 212 Modulation unit, 311 Tuner, 312 Demodulation unit, 313 Data processing unit

Claims

1. A first generator for generating a forward error correction (FEC) block based on an input packet or an input stream; a second generating unit for generating an FEC frame based on the FEC block; a transmitter for transmitting a physical layer frame including the FEC frame; Including, The FEC block header comprises: position information of the beginning of the input packet or the input stream stored in a payload of the FEC frame; padding information indicating at least the addition of a padding of a predetermined fixed length or the addition of a padding of a predetermined length; type identification information for identifying the type of the input packet or the input stream, or error detection information regarding header error detection; Including, Among the bit strings of the base header of the FEC block, upper bits according to a maximum value of the head position information determined according to a baseband frame size of a code excluding a long code having the longest code length are assigned to the head position information, and the remaining bits are assigned to the padding information and the type identification information or the error detection information. Transmitting device.

2. The physical layer frame is a physical layer frame that complies with the next-generation ISDB-T system. The transmitting device according to claim 1 .

3. In the physical layer frame, a dummy cell is inserted to place time information at the beginning of the frame. The transmitting device according to claim 1 .

4. generating an FEC block based on the input packets or input stream; generating an FEC frame based on the FEC block; transmitting a physical layer frame including the FEC frame; Including, The FEC block header comprises: position information of the beginning of the input packet or the input stream stored in a payload of the FEC frame; padding information indicating at least the addition of a padding of a predetermined fixed length or the addition of a padding of a predetermined length; type identification information for identifying the type of the input packet or the input stream, or error detection information regarding header error detection; Including, Among the bit strings of the base header of the FEC block, upper bits according to a maximum value of the head position information determined according to a baseband frame size of a code excluding a long code having the longest code length are assigned to the head position information, and the remaining bits are assigned to the padding information and the type identification information or the error detection information. Transmission method.

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