Receiving device, broadcasting system, receiving method, and program

Abstract

To efficiently provide an adjustment function for a partial component of a broadcasted voice of a broadcasted content.SOLUTION: A separation unit separates control information indicating the constitution of a broadcast program and a voice asset of at least the broadcast program from a broadcast signal. When the control information includes adjustable information indicating that the properties of an element component being a partial component of the voice asset is adjustable, a voice processing unit outputs adjustment guide information for guiding adjustment of the properties and adjusts the properties of the element component in response to an input.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a receiving apparatus, a broadcast system, a receiving method, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] In video and audio content to be broadcast, it has been proposed to emphasize the voices of the lines spoken by the characters. For example, a function has been proposed that extracts the portions where lines are spoken from the received voice, and adjusts the volume of the extracted voice separately from other background sounds. The lines and their spoken parts included in the content are sometimes also called dialogues.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a receiving apparatus that detects voice data of dialogue voices to be reproduced on a predetermined channel from received voice data based on auxiliary information regarding the voice of a broadcast program. The receiving apparatus controls the volume of a dialogue dedicated channel for reproducing dialogue voices among a plurality of channels and the volume of other channels, respectively, and outputs notification information regarding the detected dialogue voices.

[0004] In the audio format of next-generation broadcasting, the adoption of the Dolby (registered trademark) AC-4 system (referred to as the "AC-4 system" in the present application) is under consideration. In the AC-4 system, specifications for transmitting parameters for extracting the voice components of lines from the entire voices of multiple channels are defined. Such parameters can be obtained by analyzing the frequency components of the voices acquired during content production or the voices of existing lines.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] When viewers adjust the characteristics of spoken audio, it is being considered to detect the presence or absence of adjustment functions for spoken audio at the time of audio reception and display a screen showing the adjustable items. On the other hand, in next-generation broadcasting, only one audio stream containing diverse audio material may be provided. In order to achieve display at the same hierarchical level as the audio switching menu in conventional systems, a means is required to extract the parameters decoded from the audio decoder and then display the presence or absence of adjustment functions and the adjustment range. In other words, it was not possible to determine the presence or absence of adjustment functions without going through the audio decoder. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention was made to solve the above problems, and one aspect of the present invention is control information indicating the structure of a broadcast program from a broadcast signal. and before The audio assets of the broadcast program acquisition do acquisition When the control information includes adjustable information indicating that the characteristics of an element component, which is a part of the audio asset, are adjustable, the unit outputs adjustment guidance information to guide the adjustment of the characteristics. Regarding the adjustment of the aforementioned characteristics The receiving device includes an audio processing unit that adjusts the characteristics of the elemental components according to the input. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently provide an adjustment function for some components of the broadcasted audio. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a broadcasting system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a broadcasting device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a receiving device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] This is a schematic block diagram showing an example configuration for generating a speech voice enhancement parameter set. [Figure 5] This is a schematic block diagram showing a first example configuration related to the emphasis of spoken language. [Figure 6] This is a schematic block diagram showing a second example configuration related to the emphasis of spoken language. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of the configuration of an MH-Voice Component Descriptor. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of an MPT configuration. [Figure 9] This figure shows an example of the configuration of an MH-AC-4 voice descriptor. [Figure 10] This figure shows an example of a selection screen according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] This figure shows an example of the audio adjustment menu screen according to the first embodiment. [Figure 12] This is a flowchart showing an example of voice reception processing according to the first embodiment. [Figure 13] This is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a receiving device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 14] This figure shows an example of how an electronic program guide is displayed according to the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] <First Embodiment> Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, an overview of the broadcasting system 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the broadcasting system 1 according to this embodiment. Broadcasting system 1 consists of a broadcasting device 10 and a receiving device 20. In the example in Figure 1, there is one receiving device 20, but generally there can be multiple.

[0011] The broadcast device 10 multiplexes control information indicating the configuration of a broadcast program and the package of the broadcast program to generate multiplexed data. The broadcast device 10 transmits a broadcast signal carrying the generated multiplexed data to the broadcast transmission path BT. A package refers to a unit of content corresponding to a broadcast program (event) and is associated with a broadcast service. In the present embodiment, a single audio asset is included as a component of one package. One package may also include other types of components such as a video asset and a data broadcast asset.

[0012] An audio asset includes one or more components. As a component, for example, audio data of multi-channel audio may be included. The audio data of one system of multi-channel audio is composed of a plurality of channel audio signals. Generally, audio content is not limited to one audio material, but is produced by mixing (mixing) audio materials of a plurality of different sound sources as element components. The audio material may include an audio signal indicating spoken voice. In the present application, "spoken voice" is audio for the purpose of transmitting language information, and is not limited to the audio generated by speaking, and may be, for example, audio generated by text-to-speech synthesis processing. In the present application, spoken voice may also be referred to as "line", "dialogue", etc. That is, the "line" in the present application is not limited to the "script" or language information according to the script, but may also include audio that transmits language information improbably. Also, generally, "dialogue" means a conversation or conversation made by a plurality of people, but in the present application, it may also include utterances that are not intended for transmitting information to a specific interlocutor, such as a monologue (monologue) and a narration voice (narration). Also, the channel of the audio signal may be called an "audio channel" to distinguish it from the "broadcast channel" which is a channel for carrying a broadcast signal.

[0013] The control information includes information regarding components that make up a package. In the present embodiment, the control information may include adjustable information. The adjustable information is information indicating that the listening characteristics of element components, which are some components of the voice transmitted by the voice asset, can be adjusted. As characteristics of the uttered voice forming the element components, the adjustable information indicates that one or both of the volume and the volume ratio between channels can be adjusted.

[0014] Note that depending on the encoding method related to multi-channel acoustics, the audio stream obtained by encoding may include a parameter set used to relatively emphasize the components of the uttered voice from the audio signals of multiple channels. Relatively emphasizing the components of the uttered voice may also be referred to as extraction, dialogue enhancement, etc. In the following description, this parameter set may be referred to as the "uttered voice emphasis parameter set".

[0015] The broadcast transmission path BT is a transmission path that enables the one-way transmission of a broadcast signal to the receiving device 20 as unspecified and multiple destinations. The broadcast transmission path BT is typically formed by a broadcast wave in a predetermined frequency band corresponding to a broadcast channel. The broadcast transmission path BT may be configured to include a communication network in a part thereof. Such a communication network may be any type of network such as the Internet, a public wireless network, an in-house network, a dedicated line, etc.

[0016] The receiving device 20 receives the broadcast signal transmitted using the broadcast transmission path BT and separates the control information and the audio assets of the broadcast program from the multiplexed data carried by the received broadcast signal. The receiving device 20 determines whether the separated control information contains adjustable information, and if it determines that it does, it outputs adjustment guidance information to guide the adjustment of the characteristics of the elemental components. As adjustment guidance information, for example, a menu screen may be presented to guide the viewer in adjusting the volume of the spoken audio that constitutes the elemental components of multi-channel audio and the volume ratio between channels. The receiving device 20 accepts operation input from the viewer, adjusts the characteristics of the elemental components according to the instructed characteristics, and outputs audio including the adjusted elemental components.

[0017] Next, an example of the functional configuration of the broadcasting device 10 according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the broadcasting device 10 according to this embodiment. The broadcasting device 10 is composed of a content compilation unit 120, a multiplexing unit 126, a modulation unit 128, and a transmission unit 130.

[0018] The content compilation unit 120 acquires multiple source content as element content and compiles the content of a broadcast program containing the acquired element content into broadcast content. The compiled broadcast content forms a single package and is broadcast as a program. Broadcast content typically includes multiple components. These components include a single audio asset and a video asset. The audio asset includes an audio stream, that is, temporally continuous audio data. Broadcast content may also include data broadcast content. The content compilation unit 120 outputs content data indicating the compiled broadcast content to the multiplexing unit 126.

[0019] The content compilation unit 120 generates an audio signal that forms audio content by mixing multiple different sound sources as components, in accordance with the creator's instructions. For example, the audio for dramas and movies includes the voices of characters, sound effects, music, etc. In some cases, multi-channel audio signals are used in audio assets. When producing audio content that supports multi-channel audio, the content compilation unit 120 may adjust the volume of each audio material, as well as the volume ratio between audio channels. For audio content that supports multi-channel audio, the content compilation unit 120 may set whether or not volume adjustment and / or volume ratio adjustment are possible for each audio material. That is, audio material for which either or both volume adjustment and / or volume ratio adjustment are indicated as adjustable elemental components.

[0020] The content compilation unit 120 includes an audio processing unit 122 and a video processing unit 124. The audio processing unit 122 acquires an audio signal compiled as the audio of a broadcast program and generates an audio asset that forms a single audio stream using a predetermined audio encoding scheme. For example, AC-4 can be used as the audio encoding scheme. AC-4 is one of the multi-channel audio encoding schemes. AC-4 can encode audio signals with up to 11.1 channels. AC-4 can also be applied to encoding audio signals with fewer channels, for example, 7.1 channels or 5.1 channels. An audio stream encoded by AC-4 may contain multiple audio materials as elemental components. Spoken audio may be applied to each individual elemental component.

[0021] Audio content may include elements whose playback characteristics, such as volume or volume ratio, can be adjusted. In such cases, the audio processing unit 122 calculates a set of speech enhancement parameters for each predetermined audio frequency band based on the audio signals of each channel to be encoded and the audio signals that constitute the adjustable elemental components. The audio processing unit 122 includes the speech enhancement parameter set in the audio stream and outputs it to the multiplexing unit 126 as an audio asset.

[0022] The video processing unit 124 acquires video data compiled as video for a broadcast program and generates video assets that form a video stream from the acquired video using a predetermined video encoding scheme. For example, VVC (Versatile Video Coding) can be used as the video encoding scheme.

[0023] The multiplexing unit 126 receives content data related to the content of a broadcast program from the content compilation unit 120. The input content data includes the audio assets and video assets mentioned above. The multiplexing unit 126 multiplexes the input content data and the multiplexing information (control information) that indicates the information constituting its package using a predetermined multiplexing method, and generates multiplexed data. For example, the MMT-TLV (MPEG Media Transport-Type Length Value) method can be used as the multiplexing method. In the MMT-TLV method, the multiplexing information is described using MMT-SI (MMT-Signaling Information).

[0024] MMT-SI includes an MMT Package Table (MPT). The MPT is an information table that describes the assets that make up the package and the attributes of each asset. If an audio asset includes spoken speech as an element component in which either volume or volume ratio characteristics or both can be adjusted, the multiplexing unit 126 describes adjustable information in the MPT indicating that the audio asset includes an element component in which playback characteristics can be adjusted. The multiplexing unit 126 describes the set of spoken speech enhancement parameters input from the audio processing unit 122 in the MPT in association with the element components of the corresponding audio asset.

[0025] In addition, the creator of the audio content may set the initial values ​​for the volume of the audio material that constitutes the elemental components and the audio channels to which they are distributed. In that case, the multiplexing unit 126 may further associate the set initial values ​​with the elemental components of the corresponding audio assets and describe them in the MPT. If there are multiple audio channels to which the audio is distributed, the volume is set for each audio channel. The volume of each audio channel indicates the volume ratio between the audio channels. The attributes of the audio assets are described using the MH-Audio Component Description.

[0026] The multiplexing unit 126 subdivides the content data and multiplexing information into blocks having a predetermined amount of information to generate MMTP packets. The multiplexing unit 126 constructs TLV packets that store the MMTP packets acquired at predetermined transmission time intervals. The multiplexing unit 126 outputs a TLV stream consisting of a series of TLV packets to the modulation unit 128 as multiplexed data.

[0027] The modulation unit 128 modulates the multiplexed data input from the multiplexing unit 126 using a predetermined modulation scheme and converts it into a broadcast signal. Examples of predetermined modulation schemes include 64QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) and 256QAM. The modulation unit 128 outputs the converted broadcast signal to the transmission unit 130.

[0028] The transmitting unit 130 transmits the broadcast signal input from the modulation unit 128 to the broadcast transmission line BT. The transmitting unit 130 is, for example, a transmitter and is connected to an antenna. The transmitting unit 130 upconverts the input broadcast signal from the base frequency to a predetermined carrier frequency and supplies it to the antenna as a transmission signal. The antenna then transmits a broadcast wave that carries the broadcast signal.

[0029] Next, an example of the functional configuration of the receiving device 20 according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the receiving device 20 according to this embodiment. The receiving device 20 is composed of a receiving unit 212, a demodulation unit 214, a separation unit 216, an audio decoding unit 222, an image decoding unit 224, a reception processing unit 240, a playback unit 250, a display unit 260, and an input unit 270.

[0030] The receiving unit 212 receives the broadcast signal transmitted via the broadcast transmission line BT and outputs the received broadcast signal to the demodulation unit 214. The receiving unit 212 is, for example, a tuner and is connected to an antenna. The receiving unit 212 downconverts the carrier frequency component of the received signal obtained by the antenna to the base frequency and outputs it to the demodulation unit 214 as a broadcast signal. The carrier frequency is specified by the receiving processing unit 240 and corresponds to the broadcast channel.

[0031] The demodulation unit 214 demodulates the broadcast signal input from the receiving unit 212 using a predetermined demodulation method and converts it into multiplexed data. The demodulation unit 214 outputs the converted multiplexed data to the separation unit 216. The demodulation method used corresponds to the modulation method used to modulate the transmitted multiplexed data.

[0032] The separation unit 216 separates the multiplexing information and content from the multiplexed data input from the demodulation unit 214. The separation of multiplexing information is also called demultiplication. When the MMT-TLV method is used as the multiplexing method, the separation unit 216 extracts MMTP packets from the TLV packets, which are the units of the TLV stream that make up the multiplexed data. The separation unit 216 can extract the multiplexing information and content data from the extracted MMTP packets. The separation unit 216 separates an information table describing various types of multiplexing information from the multiplexed data and outputs the separated information table to the receiving processing unit 240. The separated information table includes MPT.

[0033] The separation unit 216 refers to the MPT and identifies audio assets and video assets as assets that constitute the package components. The separation unit 216 separates the identified audio assets and outputs the separated audio assets to the audio decoding unit 222. The separation unit 216 separates the identified video assets and outputs the separated video assets to the video decoding unit 224. If the content data includes data broadcasting content, the separation unit 216 outputs the data broadcasting content to the receiving processing unit 240.

[0034] The audio decoding unit 222 decodes the audio asset input from the separation unit 216 using a predetermined audio decoding method and outputs the decoded audio signal to the receiving processing unit 240. The audio decoding unit 222 may use an audio decoding method that corresponds to the audio encoding method used to encode the audio signal. The video decoding unit 224 decodes the video stream, which constitutes the video asset input from the separation unit 216, using a predetermined video decoding method, and outputs the video data obtained by decoding to the receiving processing unit 240. The video decoding unit 224 may use a video decoding method that corresponds to the video encoding method used to encode the video stream.

[0035] The receiving processing unit 240 performs processing to present the broadcast content received via broadcast. The functions of the receiving processing unit 240 can be realized by running a browser as a pre-installed program and executing commands written in the data content on the browser. That is, the functions of the receiving processing unit 240 may be realized by the computer system of the receiving device 20 analyzing the commands written in the data broadcast content input from the separation unit 216 and executing the processing indicated by the analyzed commands, as processing instructed by the commands written in the browser. The data broadcast content may, for example, instruct the start and end of the presentation of elemental content constituting the broadcast content, the display area of ​​the video, etc. In this application, the execution of processes indicated by instructions written in application programs such as browsers, or other programs, may be referred to as "executing a program" or "program execution."

[0036] The receiving processing unit 240 controls the reception of broadcast content and the presentation of the received broadcast content based on instructions from the operation signals input from the input unit 270. For example, the receiving processing unit 240 instructs the receiving unit 212 to start receiving broadcast content based on the operation signal (start receiving). At this time, the receiving processing unit 240 starts outputting a playback signal representing audio based on the audio signal input from the audio decoding unit 222 to the playback unit 250. The receiving processing unit 240 also starts outputting display data representing video based on video data input from the video decoding unit 224 to the display unit 260.

[0037] Furthermore, the receiving processing unit 240 instructs the receiving unit 212 to stop receiving the broadcast content based on the operation signal input from the input unit 270 (stop reception). At this time, the receiving processing unit 240 stops outputting the playback signal indicating the audio based on the audio signal input from the audio decoding unit 222 to the playback unit 250. The receiving processing unit 240 also stops outputting the display data representing the video based on the video data input from the video decoding unit 224 to the display unit 260. The receiving processing unit 240 notifies the receiving unit 212 of the broadcast channel indicated by the operation signal and initiates reception of broadcast content on the notified broadcast channel (channel switching).

[0038] The receiving processing unit 240 includes an audio processing unit 242 and a display processing unit 244. The audio processing unit 242 performs processing for playing back the audio represented by the audio asset input from the audio decoding unit 222. The audio processing unit 242 determines whether or not adjustable information is included in the MPT input from the separation unit 216 for the audio asset related to the audio signal input from the audio decoding unit 222.

[0039] If adjustable information is included, the audio processing unit 242 generates an audio adjustment menu screen as a setting screen to guide the user in adjusting the playback characteristics of the spoken audio that constitutes the elemental components related to the adjustable information, and outputs it to the display processing unit 244. The display processing unit 244 outputs display data superimposed with the audio adjustment menu screen input from the audio processing unit 242 to the display unit 260. The user can see the adjustment guidance information displayed on the audio adjustment menu screen and understand that the received audio includes spoken audio whose characteristics can be adjusted. In other words, the user is guided to adjust the volume of the spoken audio included in the audio content, or the volume ratio between channels, through operation.

[0040] If adjustable information is included, the audio asset includes a speech enhancement parameter set for extracting elemental components. The audio processing unit 242 extracts the speech enhancement parameter set from the input audio asset. The audio processing unit 242 uses the extracted speech enhancement parameter set to generate an audio signal in which the speech components are enhanced as elemental components (speech enhancement) in the multi-channel audio signal obtained by decoding. Speech enhancement processing is also called dialogue enhancement (DE). The audio processing unit 242 adjusts the volume of the speech according to the volume indicated by the operation signal. The audio processing unit 242 adjusts the distribution ratio of the speech between audio channels according to the distribution ratio indicated by the operation signal. The distribution ratio between audio channels determines the volume of the speech emitted from the playback sound source corresponding to each audio channel. Based on the volume ratio of the speech between playback sound sources at different locations, the direction in which the speech is perceived (localized) by the user (listener) is adjusted. The audio processing unit 242 outputs an audio signal containing components of spoken speech, in which either the volume or distribution ratio of each audio channel has been adjusted, to the playback unit 250 as a playback signal.

[0041] If the MPT has initial values ​​set for volume and the audio channels to which it will be distributed, the audio processing unit 242 generates an audio signal with the spoken audio component emphasized before an operation signal is input. The audio processing unit 242 then adjusts the volume for each audio channel of the generated audio signal so that the volume set for each audio channel is distributed to the set audio channel, and outputs the resulting audio signal to the playback unit 250 as a playback signal. A specific example of the audio adjustment menu screen will be described later.

[0042] The display processing unit 244 performs processing to reproduce the video represented by the video data input from the video decoding unit 224. The display processing unit 244 generates a display screen in which the video represented by the video assets is arranged in a predetermined display area, and outputs display data representing the generated display screen to the display unit 260. The display processing unit 244 outputs display data representing various setting screens or electronic program guides to the display unit 260 based on the instructions of the operation signals input from the input unit 270. The setting screens or electronic program guides used for various parameter settings may be displayed in parallel with the broadcast program display screen.

[0043] The playback unit 250 is equipped with multiple speakers for reproducing the sound indicated by the audio signal input from the receiving processing unit 240. The multiple speakers are expected to be positioned at locations specified by a predetermined playback method. Each speaker corresponds to one audio channel and emits sound based on that audio channel. The number of speakers in the playback unit 250 should be equal to or greater than the number of channels specified by the playback method. The display unit 260 includes a device for displaying various display screens indicated by display data input from the receiving processing unit 240. The display unit 260 includes, for example, a display.

[0044] The input unit 270 receives user input and outputs an operation signal corresponding to the received input to the receiving processing unit 240. The input unit 270 may be equipped with general-purpose components such as a mouse or touch panel, or it may be equipped with dedicated components such as buttons, levers, or knobs. The touch sensor used as the input unit 270 and the display used as the display unit 260 may be integrated so as to overlap each other and configured as a touch panel. The input unit 270 may include an operation signal sensor that detects operation signals from other devices (for example, a remote control device, a smartphone, etc.). The operation signal sensor outputs the detected operation signal to the receiving processing unit 240.

[0045] Next, the method for generating the speech voice enhancement parameter set in the content organization unit 120 will be described. In the example shown in Figure 4, the speech processing unit 122 includes a speech analysis unit 122a and a speech encoding unit 122b. The audio analysis unit 122a receives in parallel audio signals from multiple channels to be transmitted (multichannel audio signals) and speech audio signals representing spoken speech. The audio analysis unit 122a performs band division on each audio signal and speech audio signal, each of which is a predetermined frequency band, at predetermined intervals (frames, e.g., 15-100 ms). For each frequency band, the audio analysis unit 122a determines the weighting coefficients for each audio channel so that the difference between the weighted sum (the sum of multiplicative values ​​obtained by multiplying the band components of each audio channel by a weighting coefficient) and the band components of the spoken speech is minimized. The audio analysis unit 122a outputs a parameter set obtained by accumulating the weighting coefficients determined for each audio channel across frequency bands as a spoken speech enhancement parameter set to the audio coding unit 122b. The speech coding unit 122b outputs to the multiplexing unit 126 an audio stream having a code sequence obtained by performing a predetermined speech coding process on the multichannel audio signal at predetermined intervals of a set length, along with a set of speech enhancement parameters input from the speech analysis unit 122a.

[0046] Next, the method for enhancing spoken speech in the receiving processing unit 240 will be described. In the example shown in Figure 5, the speech processing unit 242 comprises a spoken speech enhancement control unit 242a and a spoken speech enhancement processing unit 242b. The speech voice enhancement control unit 242a receives the speech voice enhancement parameter set from the speech decoding unit 222 and identifies the volume indicated by the user's operation signal. The speech voice enhancement control unit 242a outputs the input speech voice enhancement parameter set and the identified volume to the speech voice enhancement processing unit 242b. The volume ratio between voice channels is expressed using the volume of each individual voice channel. The volume of each voice channel corresponds to the product of the volume ratio and the volume common to all voice channels. The voice channel that accepts a volume instruction through operation is called the speech voice channel and is distinguished from other voice channels. If no specific speech voice channel is indicated, one speech voice channel may be predetermined.

[0047] The speech enhancement processing unit 242b receives a multi-channel audio signal obtained by performing audio decoding processing on the audio stream input from the separation unit 216. The speech enhancement processing unit 242b calculates the bandwidth components by bandwidth-dividing the audio signal of each audio channel. In a certain frequency band, the weighted sum, which is the sum of the multiplied values ​​obtained by multiplying the bandwidth components of each audio channel by a weighting coefficient, is estimated as the speech component (hereinafter referred to as the "estimated speech component"). The above multiplied values ​​are estimated as the speech components contained in each audio channel (hereinafter referred to as the "speech channel-specific speech component"). Therefore, the residual component obtained by subtracting the speech channel-specific speech component from the bandwidth component of each audio channel is estimated as the component other than the speech component related to that audio channel (hereinafter referred to as the "estimated residual component").

[0048] Therefore, the speech enhancement processing unit 242b calculates a band component as the band component after speech enhancement by adding a multiplicative value obtained by multiplying the estimated residual component by a first gain (hereinafter referred to as the "attenuated residual component") to a multiplicative value obtained by multiplying the estimated speech component by a second gain corresponding to the volume instructed for that speech channel (hereinafter referred to as the "gain-adjusted speech component") for each speech channel. The first gain is a parameter that indicates the magnitude of the estimated residual component. The first gain is a predetermined real number greater than 0 and less than or equal to 1. The second gain is a parameter that indicates the magnitude of the estimated speech component to be redistributed to each individual speech channel. If the number of speech channels to which the components are redistributed is 1 channel, the second gain is a real value greater than the first gain. For each speech channel, the speech enhancement processing unit 242b synthesizes the calculated band components across frequency bands to generate the speech signal after speech enhancement. The speech enhancement processing unit 242b outputs the generated audio signal as a playback signal to the playback unit 250. In this embodiment, the methods described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-534904 can be used as methods for generating the speech enhancement parameter set and for generating the audio signal after speech enhancement.

[0049] Furthermore, a multi-channel audio playback method is applied to the decoded audio signal from the audio stream generated using AC-4. According to AC-4, it is possible to encode audio signals of up to 11.1 channels. In addition, the speaker arrangement used for multi-channel sound playback is specified. Twelve speakers are used for 11.1 channel playback. Of the twelve speakers, seven are placed at the same height as the listening position. The directions of the seven speakers are as follows, with the direction directly in front of the listening position being 0 degrees: 0 degrees in front (C), 22-30 degrees left front (FL), 22-30 degrees right front (FR), 90-110 degrees left rear (L), 90-110 degrees right rear (R), 135-150 degrees left rear (RL), and 135-150 degrees right rear (RR). Of the twelve speakers, four are placed at a position higher than the listening position. The elevation angles of the four speakers are set to 30-55 degrees, and they are positioned to the left rear (CRL), left front (CFL), right front (CFR), and right rear (CRR) of the listening position, respectively. The four speakers are typically installed on the ceiling of the room. The remaining speaker is a subwoofer, primarily used for reproducing low-frequency components below 200Hz. The subwoofer is installed to the left front of the listener, but does not contribute to directional perception. Due to this speaker arrangement, the maximum number of audio channels applicable to AC-4 is sometimes expressed as 7.1.4ch.

[0050] AC-4 is sometimes used to encode audio signals with fewer channels. In the reproduction of a 7.1 channel audio signal, eight floor-mounted speakers are used instead of the four ceiling-mounted speakers. In the reproduction of a 5.1 channel audio signal, six of the eight floor-mounted speakers are used. The six speakers are positioned in front of the listening position, front left, front right, rear left, rear right, and a subwoofer.

[0051] Of the seven speakers positioned at the same height as the listening position, three speakers—0 degrees forward (C), 22-30 degrees left-front (FL), and 22-30 degrees right-front (FR)—are distributed across the screen panel forming the display unit 260. Therefore, these three speakers are sometimes used to ensure localization of the voice of a person projected onto the screen panel. In AC-4, each of the three speakers, or the audio channel corresponding to the front-front speaker, is designated as a dedicated dialogue channel for distributing spoken audio. In other words, channels corresponding to any of the front-front, left-front, or right-front speakers, or some or all of them, can be used as audio channels that allow for adjustable volume of spoken audio. The dedicated dialogue channels correspond to the spoken audio channels mentioned above.

[0052] Generally, the perceived direction of sound can be adjusted by changing the volume ratio between audio channels. For example, if speech is emitted at the same volume from a speaker in front and a speaker in front of the left, a listener at the listening position will perceive the speech as coming from a direction midway between those speakers. By adjusting the volume ratio so that the volume from the front speaker is relatively louder than that from the front of the left speaker, the perceived direction of sound shifts from front of the left to front. Conversely, by adjusting the volume ratio so that the volume from the front speaker is relatively louder than that from the front speaker, the perceived direction of sound shifts from front to front of the left. As a relationship between the target direction in which sound is perceived and the volume ratio between audio channels, methods such as the sine law, tangent law, and VBAP (Vector Based Amplitude Panning) can be used to adjust the volume ratio.

[0053] The above explanation primarily focuses on the use of AC-4 as the audio encoding method for broadcast programs, but is not limited to this. The audio processing unit 122 of the broadcasting device 10 may generate audio streams as audio assets by encoding them using other encoding methods, separate from AC-4. The multiplexing unit 126 may further multiplex the generated audio assets to construct multiplexed data. The constructed multiplexed data is transmitted to the receiving device 20 using the broadcasting transmission path BT.

[0054] In contrast, in the receiving device 20, the audio decoding unit 222 decodes audio streams of multiple decoding methods and converts them into audio signals of one or more channels. As illustrated in Figure 6, the receiving device 20 includes a selection unit 226 between the separation unit 216 and the audio decoding unit 222. The selection unit 226 receives audio streams of multiple decoding methods from the separation unit 216, selects the audio stream with a decoding method corresponding to the audio mode instructed by the audio processing unit 242, and outputs the selected audio stream to the audio decoding unit 222. The selection unit 226 may be configured to include a dedicated selector. When audio streams of multiple decoding methods are transmitted, the audio processing unit 242 generates a selection screen as a setting screen to guide the selection of the audio mode, and displays the generated selection screen on the display unit 260 using the display processing unit 244.

[0055] The audio processing unit 242 can detect audio streams of multiple decoding methods by referring to the audio mode described for each audio asset described in the MPT. If adjustable information is included for an audio asset related to AC-4, information to guide the user in adjusting the playback characteristics of the spoken audio may also be displayed in the AC-4 display field as the decoding method on the settings screen. In that case, the user can select an audio mode considering that the playback characteristics of the spoken audio are adjustable. Thus, in this embodiment, since adjustable information is described in the MPT, clues for selecting an audio mode can be obtained before decoding individual audio streams.

[0056] Next, an example of an MH-Audio_Component_Descriptor will be described. An MH-Audio_Component_Descriptor is provided for each audio asset in the asset descriptor area (asset_descriptors_byte) of the MPT (Figure 8), and is used to describe the parameters set for that audio asset. In this embodiment, as illustrated in Figure 7, the MH-Audio_Component_Descriptor sets the type and level of the audio mode using a new parameter nga_profile_level in the 4-bit free area that was conventionally designated as the free area (reserved_future_use). In other words, the audio processing unit 242 can identify the type and level of the audio mode using the setting value of the parameter nga_profile_level described in the MH-Audio_Component_Descriptor set for the audio asset in the MPT.

[0057] More specifically, one of the four bits assigned to the parameter nga_profile_level represents the type of Next Generation Audio (NGA). NGA refers to the audio provided in next-generation television broadcasting services. The type of NGA can be either AC-4 or MPEG-H 3DA (3D Audio). A value of "1" indicates AC-4, and a value of 0 indicates MPEG-H 3DA. Three of the four bits represent whether or not it is an NGA and the level. Therefore, the audio processing unit 242 can determine whether the provided audio mode, i.e., the encoding scheme, is AC-4, based on whether or not the value of the parameter nga_profile_level is "1". Of the three bits, 0 indicates no NGA, and 1 to 5 indicate levels 1 to 5, respectively. The level is an indicator of the required hardware resources, such as processing load and memory usage. The level indicates, for example, the combination of sampling frequency and maximum number of elements for each audio channel. The maximum number of elements is the maximum sum of the number of audio channels and the number of objects. Here, an object refers to a single physical sound source. In this embodiment, a human speaker can also be an object.

[0058] As another example, in the MH-Audio component descriptor, a new audio mode may be indicated by a value that has not been used conventionally among the 4 bits assigned to stream_content. Conventionally, 0x03 was assigned to MPEG-4 AAC and 0x04 to MPEG-4 ALS, but in this embodiment, 0x06 indicates MPEG-H 3DA and 0x07 is assigned to AC-4.

[0059] For audio assets where a value indicating AC-4 as the audio mode is described, more detailed information is further described in the asset descriptor area of ​​the MPT (Figure 8) using an MH-AC-4 audio descriptor (MH-AC-4 Audio_Descriptor). The MH-AC-4 speech descriptor illustrated in Figure 9 includes the following parameters: The descriptor tag (descriptor_tag) indicates that the descriptor is an MH-AC-4 speech descriptor. The descriptor length (descriptor_length) indicates the amount of information contained in the descriptor. The next-generation speech type (nga_type) indicates AC-4 as the type of next-generation speech. The next-generation speech type is not necessarily required in an MH-AC-4 speech descriptor. The profile level (Profile_level) indicates the profile level. The profile level is a pair of profile and level. A profile represents a set of functions defined for a specific purpose or application. A profile is, for example, a predetermined set of parameters related to AC-4 functionality. That is, the profile level indicates the functionality and scale required for AC-4 execution. These depend on the number of channels in the audio stream, the number of preset voices, and the sampling frequency of the voice per channel.

[0060] The "Preset Voice (presentation)" item describes whether or not preset voices are included in the voice asset, and if so, the number of preset voices. The "Preset Voice" item may contain the same content as "ac4_presentation" as defined in ETSI TS103 190-2. Some or all of the set preset voices may be subject to dialogue enhancement. Dialogue enhancement (dialogue_enhancement) is set for each preset voice. In the example of Figure 9, N corresponds to the number of preset voices. This "Dialogue Enhancement" item describes whether or not dialogue enhancement is applied to each preset voice, and the adjustments made if dialogue enhancement is enabled. The adjustments include items that can be adjusted by operation, such as volume and volume ratio. The content may contain the same content as "dialog_enhancement" as defined in ETSI TS (European Telecommunications Standards Institute Technical Specification) 103 190-1 or 190-2. In this embodiment, it is sufficient that at least one parameter corresponding to "b_de_data_present" from the "dialog_enhancement" section is set in the preset voice item. "b_de_data_present" is a 1-bit value indicating the presence or absence of dialogue enhancement data. A value of "1" for "b_de_data_present" indicates that dialogue enhancement is present, and a value of "0" indicates that dialogue enhancement is not present. This value indicating the presence or absence of dialogue enhancement can be used in this embodiment to express whether or not adjustments can be made to the spoken voice.

[0061] Therefore, for an audio asset whose encoding scheme has been determined to be AC-4, the audio processing unit 242 can refer to the MH-AC-4 audio descriptor from the MPT and determine whether or not adjustable information is included in the audio asset based on the presence or absence of dialogue enhancement settings in the preset audio (presentation) and dialogue enhancement (dialog_enhancement) items, or the setting value thereof. The MH-AC-4 audio descriptor may include an independent speech enhancement parameter set for each line of dialogue or section. The set speech enhancement parameter set is used to adjust the dialogue in each line of dialogue or the corresponding section. In this case, the speech enhancement parameter set does not need to be included in the audio stream obtained by encoding. The audio processing unit 242 may also determine whether or not adjustable information is included in the audio asset based on the presence or absence of a speech enhancement parameter set in the preset audio item.

[0062] Next, the selection screen according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 10 is a diagram showing an example of the selection screen according to this embodiment. The selection screen illustrated in Figure 10 is a screen for guiding the user to select one audio service to be used for playback from a set of broadcast services provided by four audio streams transmitted by the selected broadcast channel. In the example in Figure 10, it is possible to select any of the four audio streams by operation. Of the four audio streams, the first stream is an 11.1ch audio stream related to AC-4, and includes Japanese and English audio, and it is possible to select either one by operation. The Japanese and English audio each include dialogue that allows the playback characteristics to be adjusted, and it is possible to select whether or not dialogue emphasis is required. That is, the first stream provides four types of services, such as the language being Japanese with or without dialogue emphasis, and the second stream provides the language being English with or without dialogue emphasis. The selection screen guides the user to select one of the services. In Figure 10, the filled area represents the selected item. In other words, 11.1ch audio is selected as the audio mode, Japanese as the language, and dialogue emphasis is set to "dialogue emphasis required" (dialogue emphasis enabled).

[0063] The second system shown in the diagram is a 5.1ch audio stream related to MPEG-4 and includes Japanese audio. The third system is a 2ch stereo stream related to MPEG-4 and includes Japanese audio. The fourth system is a 2ch stereo stream related to MPEG-4 and includes English audio. None of the streams in the second through fourth systems contain audio material that enables dialogue emphasis.

[0064] Next, an example of the audio adjustment menu screen according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 11 is a diagram showing an example of the audio adjustment menu screen according to this embodiment. The audio adjustment menu screen illustrated in Figure 11 is displayed when dialogue emphasis is selected for Japanese dialogue audio. The display of "Japanese Dialogue" on the audio adjustment menu screen indicates that Japanese dialogue audio is selected as the audio to be played. The display of "Emphasis ON" indicates that dialogue emphasis is selected. The dial with the string "Dialogue Volume" is used to adjust the volume of the dialogue audio selected by the operation. The slider with the string "Balance" is used to indicate the direction in which the dialogue audio selected by the operation is perceived by adjusting the volume ratio between audio channels.

[0065] In this example, the direction of the dialogue audio can be adjusted from the front left, through the front, to the front right, based on a predetermined listening position. The audio processing unit 242 determines the volume ratio between the audio channels of the left front speaker and the front speaker, or between the audio channels of the front speaker and the right front speaker, for the estimated speech audio component that makes up the selected dialogue audio. The audio processing unit 242 reduces the volume of each audio channel of the estimated residual component other than the dialogue audio relatively compared to the volume of the dialogue audio.

[0066] The timing at which the example settings screen is generated and displayed may be, for example, each time a channel is selected, or at any point when an operation signal is input from the input unit 270. Furthermore, if spoken audio is provided for a multi-channel audio signal in a past broadcast program, the audio processing unit 242 may apply the same settings to the spoken audio provided in the broadcast program currently being received as it did to the spoken audio provided in the past. In that case, it is not necessarily required to display the settings screen.

[0067] Next, an example of the voice reception processing according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the voice reception processing according to this embodiment. (Step S202) The demodulation unit 214 of the receiving device 20 demodulates the broadcast signal received by the receiving unit 212 and acquires multiplexed data. (Step S204) The separation unit 216 separates the MPT from the acquired multiplexed data. The separation unit 216 refers to the separated MPT to identify the components that make up the broadcast program package and separates the identified audio assets from the multiplexed data.

[0068] (Step S206) The audio processing unit 242 refers to the MH-audio component descriptor described in the MPT to determine the audio mode of the separated audio asset. (Step S208) The audio processing unit 242 determines whether the acquired audio assets include an audio asset with an audio mode of AC-4. If it determines that it does include one (Step S208 YES), the process proceeds to step S210. If it determines that it does not include one (Step S208 NO), the process proceeds to step S212.

[0069] (Step S210) The audio processing unit 242 refers to the MPT and determines whether or not there is adjustable information for the audio asset whose audio mode is AC-4. Then proceeds to step S212. (Step S212) The voice processing unit 242 configures a selection screen to guide the user to select a service that can be provided from the acquired voice asset, based on the identified voice mode, adjustable information, language information, and other parameters transmitted by MPT. The voice processing unit 242 outputs the configured selection screen to the display processing unit 244 and displays it on the display unit 260. (Step S214) The audio processing unit 242 determines whether a service with adjustable playback characteristics has been selected based on the operation signal. If it is determined that a service has been selected (Step S214 YES), the process proceeds to Step S216. If it is determined that a service has not been selected (Step S214 NO), the audio signal related to the selected service is output to the playback unit 250.

[0070] (Step S216) The voice processing unit 242 refers to the MPT, identifies adjustable items for the selected service, and generates a voice adjustment menu screen for adjusting the identified items by operation. The voice processing unit 242 outputs the voice adjustment menu screen to the display processing unit 244, which then outputs it to the display unit 260. (Step S218) The audio processing unit 242 determines whether or not an operation signal indicating an adjustment parameter has been input. If it is determined that an output has been made (Step S218 YES), the process proceeds to step S220. If it is determined that no output has been made (Step S218 NO), the process of step S218 is repeated. (Step S220) The audio processing unit 242 adjusts the playback characteristics of the spoken dialogue based on the acquired adjustment parameters. The audio processing unit 242 outputs an audio signal representing the spoken dialogue with adjusted playback characteristics to the playback unit 250 as a playback signal. After that, the process shown in Figure 12 is terminated.

[0071] <Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description, the differences from the first embodiment will be the main focus, and unless otherwise specified, common parts with the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals and their descriptions will be used accordingly.

[0072] In the broadcast system 1 according to this embodiment, the multiplexing unit 126 (Figure 2) of the broadcasting device 10 generates multiplexed data using the MMT-TLV multiplexing method. The MMT-SI that constitutes the multiplexed data further includes an MH-Event Information Table (MH-EIT). The MH-EIT is an information table that describes information about individual broadcast programs. The MH-EIT includes information about broadcast programs that will be broadcast not only now, but also in the future or in the past. The multiplexing unit 126 acquires information about individual broadcast programs in advance and stores it temporarily. As information about broadcast programs, the MH-EIT describes the name (program name (title)), broadcast date and time, broadcast channel, and information about audio assets and video assets that are components of the broadcast program. Information about audio assets is described using MH-Audio Component Descriptors, similar to MPT. Therefore, it is communicated whether or not the audio contains elemental components whose playback characteristics can be adjusted for each broadcast program. In the following description, information about individual broadcast programs may be referred to as "event information".

[0073] Next, an example of the functional configuration of the receiving device 20 according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 13 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the receiving device 20 according to this embodiment. The receiving device 20 according to this embodiment includes a receiving processing unit 240, an audio processing unit 242, a display processing unit 244, and a reservation processing unit 246. The display processing unit 244 constructs an electronic program guide based on the MH-EIT input from the separation unit 216. The display processing unit 244 refers to the MH-EIT to identify the broadcast time and broadcast channel from the event information for each broadcast program and extracts predetermined types of elemental information from the event information. The elemental information extracted from the MH-EIT includes, for example, the broadcast date and time, title, and audio mode. The display processing unit 244 includes information on the presence or absence of dialogue audio, which allows for adjustment of playback characteristics, in the electronic program guide depending on the presence or absence of adjustable information for each broadcast program. The display processing unit 244 can construct an electronic program guide by arranging predetermined types of display items from the extracted elemental information in order of broadcast time in each column corresponding to the broadcast channel. The display processing unit 244 outputs display data including the constructed electronic program guide to the display unit 260. The display unit 260 displays the electronic program guide based on the display data input from the display processing unit 244.

[0074] Figure 14 shows an example of the display of an electronic program guide according to this embodiment. The illustrated electronic program guide displays the broadcast start time, title, audio mode, and adjustable information for each broadcast program. The adjustable information is represented using the character "セ" (se), which is an abbreviation for "serif" (serif). This indicates the presence of dialogue audio with adjustable playback characteristics. In the illustrated example, the display of the broadcast program with adjustable information displayed differs from the display of the broadcast program without adjustable information in that the background brightness is lower. This difference in display allows the user to immediately identify broadcast programs with adjustable information. The audio mode set for broadcast programs without adjustable information is always AC-4. However, even if the audio mode is AC-4, adjustable information may not be displayed. The absence of adjustable information indicates that there is no dialogue audio with adjustable playback characteristics.

[0075] Returning to Figure 13, the reservation processing unit 246 performs processing related to reservations for displaying the content of a broadcast program (playback reservation) or reservations for recording (recording reservation). The reservation processing unit 246 identifies the broadcast channel and broadcast time indicated by the operation signal input from the input unit 270. The reservation processing unit 246 refers to the MH-EIT and identifies the broadcast program to be broadcast on the specified broadcast channel at the specified broadcast time. The reservation processing unit 246 may identify the broadcast channel and broadcast time explicitly stated in the operation signal, or it may identify the broadcast channel and broadcast time of a specific broadcast program whose press was detected from among the display fields of multiple broadcast programs placed in the electronic program guide. Here, "press" includes not only an actual press but also the acquisition of an operation signal indicating a position within the display area. The reservation processing unit 246 then determines whether the function indicated by the operation signal is a playback reservation or a recording reservation.

[0076] When a playback reservation is instructed by an operation signal, the reservation processing unit 246 notifies the receiving unit 212 of the instructed broadcast channel when the current time reaches the start time of the broadcast, and begins receiving the broadcast signal transmitted on that broadcast channel. The receiving processing unit 240 performs processing related to the presentation of the content of the broadcast program based on the broadcast signal received as described above. Therefore, a broadcast program in which the playback characteristics for elemental components can be adjusted is presented during that broadcast time.

[0077] When a recording reservation is instructed by an operation signal, the reservation processing unit 246 notifies the receiving unit 212 of the instructed broadcast channel when the current time reaches the start time of the broadcast, and begins receiving the broadcast signal transmitted on that broadcast channel. The receiving processing unit 240 records recording data that associates the components of the broadcast program, including the audio assets separated from the separation unit 216, with control information including MPT. In response to the instruction by the operation signal, the reservation processing unit 246 starts processing related to the presentation of the broadcast program based on the recorded recording data (recording and playback). Therefore, a broadcast program in which the playback characteristics for the elemental components can be adjusted is presented at any time after recording.

[0078] As described above, the receiving device 20 according to the above embodiment includes a separation unit 216 that separates control information (e.g., MPT) indicating the structure of a broadcast program from a broadcast signal and at least the audio assets of the broadcast program, and an audio processing unit 242 that, when the control information includes adjustable information indicating that the characteristics (e.g., volume, volume ratio between audio channels) of elemental components (e.g., spoken voice) which are components of some of the audio assets are adjustable, outputs adjustment guidance information (e.g., an audio adjustment menu screen) to guide the adjustment of the characteristics and adjusts the characteristics of the elemental components according to the input (e.g., an operation signal). This configuration allows users to be informed that the characteristics of the transmitted audio components can be adjusted without decoding or analyzing the audio, and they can adjust the characteristics of the components to their desired specifications through input. Therefore, the guidance and execution of adjusting the characteristics of the components can be streamlined for individual users.

[0079] Furthermore, the audio processing unit 242 may adjust the volume as a characteristic of the elemental components according to the input. This configuration allows the user to arbitrarily adjust the volume of the elemental components via input. By listening to elemental components with the desired volume, the user can increase their interest in the broadcast program.

[0080] Furthermore, the audio asset includes audio signals from multiple audio channels, and the audio processing unit 242 may adjust the volume ratio between the audio channels that distribute the elemental components as a characteristic of the elemental components, depending on the input. This configuration allows the user to arbitrarily adjust the balance between the audio channels of the elemental components via input. Since the user can perceive the sounds constituting the elemental components in a direction corresponding to a desired volume ratio, their interest in broadcast programs can be enhanced.

[0081] The receiving device 20 may also include a display processing unit 244. The separation unit 216 may separate event information (e.g., MH-EIT) related to programs provided by the broadcasting service from the control information. Based on the separated event information, the display processing unit 244 may determine whether the characteristics of the element components can be adjusted based on the presence or absence of adjustable information, and output program guide information to the display unit 260 indicating the presence or absence of element components whose characteristics can be adjusted for each program. This configuration displays program guide information indicating the presence or absence of elemental components whose characteristics can be adjusted for each program. Therefore, users can easily select programs to watch by viewing the program guide information and based on the presence or absence of elemental components whose characteristics can be adjusted.

[0082] Furthermore, the receiving device 20 may include a reservation processing unit 246 that identifies a program instructed by the input based on event information and reserves the presentation of content including the audio of the program or the recording of data of the content. This configuration allows the system to play or record programs selected based on the displayed program guide information. Therefore, users can easily choose to watch or record their selected scheduled programs.

[0083] Furthermore, when the audio processing unit 242 determines that the audio mode of an audio asset is AC-4 based on the MMT package table (MPT) which describes the control information, it may also determine whether or not a value indicating adjustable information is described in the MH-AC audio descriptor for that audio asset. This configuration makes it possible to determine whether or not the playback characteristics of audio transmitted using the AC-4 audio encoding scheme can be adjusted, without decoding or analyzing the transmitted audio.

[0084] Although embodiments of this invention have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configurations are not limited to the embodiments described above, and include designs and the like that do not depart from the spirit of this invention. The configurations described in the embodiments described above can be combined in any way.

[0085] For example, the audio material that constitutes the elemental components included in an audio asset is not necessarily limited to spoken audio, but may also include the sounds of musical instruments, noises, etc. Furthermore, the number of elemental components in a broadcast program is not limited to one, but may be two or more. The adjustable characteristics of the elemental components are not limited to volume or the volume ratio between audio channels, but may include other types of characteristics such as frequency characteristics. The position, size, and display information of various display screens can be arbitrarily set. The audio processing unit 242 may also determine whether adjustments based on the adjustable information obtained from the control information can be realized by the processing capabilities of the audio decoding unit 222 or the audio processing unit 242. The audio processing unit 242 may discard adjustable information that it determines cannot be realized and may not include it in the settings screen. Additionally, a parameter set that serves as the premise for adjusting individual elemental components can be transmitted to the receiving device 20, and the audio processing unit 242 of the receiving device 20 may estimate the elemental components from the transmitted parameter set and the multi-channel audio signal. In that case, even if an audio stream generated using an encoding scheme other than AC-4 is transmitted, the audio processing unit 242 may output adjustment guidance information to guide the adjustment of the playback characteristics of the elemental components and adjust the playback characteristics based on the operation signal.

[0086] Furthermore, some components of the receiving device 20 may be omitted, or other components may be added. For example, in the receiving device 20, any one of the playback unit 250, the display unit 260, and the input unit 270, or any combination thereof, may be omitted if they can be connected to other functional units of the receiving device 20 in an input / output manner. Alternatively, the functionality of the receiving device 20 described above may be realized by recording a program for realizing the functions of part or all of the receiving device 20, for example, the separation unit 216, the audio decoding unit 222, the video decoding unit 224, and the receiving processing unit 240, on a computer-readable recording medium, and then loading and executing the program recorded on this recording medium into a computer system. Here, "computer system" includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. Furthermore, "computer system" may also include multiple computer devices connected via a network including communication lines such as the Internet, WAN, LAN, and dedicated lines.

[0087] Furthermore, "computer-readable recording media" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, as well as storage devices such as hard disks built into computer systems. Thus, the recording media on which the program is stored may also be non-transient recording media such as CD-ROMs. In addition, recording media include internal or external recording media accessible from the distribution server for the purpose of distributing the program. The program code stored on the distribution server's recording media may be different from the program code in a format executable on the terminal device. In other words, as long as it can be downloaded from the distribution server and installed in a format executable on the terminal device, the format in which it is stored on the distribution server is irrelevant.

[0088] Furthermore, the program may be divided into multiple parts, downloaded at different times, and then integrated on the terminal device, or different distribution servers may be used to distribute each of the divided programs. The programs for realizing the functions of each part may be configured individually. For example, the function of the receiving processing unit 240 may be realized by the computer system executing a browser as a program. Here, as processing related to the browser, the computer system may syntactically parse the instructions written in the application that is transported as part of the content or separately from the content in the broadcast signal, and execute the processing instructed by the identified instructions to realize part of the function of the receiving processing unit 240. "Computer-readable recording medium" includes volatile memory (e.g., RAM) inside the computer system that acts as a server or client when a program is transmitted over a network, which holds the program for a certain period of time. In addition, the above program may be for realizing part of the functions described above. Furthermore, the above functions may be realized in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system, a so-called differential file (differential program).

[0089] 1…Broadcasting system, 10…Broadcasting equipment, 20…Receiving equipment, 120…Content compilation unit, 122…Audio processing unit, 124…Video processing unit, 126…Multiplexing unit, 128…Modulation unit, 130…Transmission unit, 212…Receiving unit, 214…Demodulation unit, 216…Separation unit, 222…Audio decoding unit, 224…Video decoding unit, 226…Selection unit, 240…Receiving processing unit, 242…Audio processing unit, 244…Display processing unit, 246…Reservation processing unit, 250…Playback unit, 260…Display unit, 270…Input unit

Claims

1. An acquisition unit that acquires control information indicating the structure of a broadcast program and audio assets of the broadcast program from a broadcast signal, When the control information includes adjustable information indicating that the characteristics of an element component, which is a part of the audio asset, are adjustable, the audio processing unit outputs adjustment guidance information to guide the adjustment of the characteristics and adjusts the characteristics of the element component according to the input regarding the adjustment of the characteristics. A receiving device equipped with the following features.

2. The audio processing unit adjusts the volume of the elemental components as a characteristic according to the input. The receiving device according to claim 1.

3. The aforementioned audio asset includes audio signals from multiple audio channels, The audio processing unit adjusts the volume ratio between audio channels that distribute the elemental components as a characteristic, in response to the input. The receiving device according to claim 2.

4. Equipped with a display processing unit, The acquisition unit acquires event information related to programs provided by the broadcasting service from the control information, The display processing unit outputs program guide information to the display unit for each program, indicating the presence or absence of elemental components whose characteristics can be adjusted based on the presence or absence of the adjustable information in the event information. The receiving device according to claim 1.

5. Based on the aforementioned event information, the system includes a reservation processing unit that identifies the program instructed by the input and reserves the presentation of content including the audio of the program or the recording of data of the content. The receiving device according to claim 4.

6. When the audio processing unit determines that the audio mode of the audio asset is AC-4 based on the control information, it determines whether or not a value indicating the adjustable information is described in the descriptor for the audio asset. The receiving device according to claim 1.

7. On the computer, An acquisition step of acquiring control information indicating the structure of a broadcast program and audio assets of the broadcast program from a broadcast signal, When the control information includes adjustable information indicating that the characteristics of an element component, which is a part of the audio asset, are adjustable, the audio processing step outputs adjustment guidance information to guide the adjustment of the characteristics, and adjusts the characteristics of the element component in accordance with the input regarding the adjustment of the characteristics. A program to execute.

8. A receiving method in a receiving device, The receiving device performs an acquisition step of acquiring control information indicating the structure of a broadcast program and audio assets of the broadcast program from a broadcast signal. When the control information includes adjustable information indicating that the characteristics of an element component, which is a part of the audio asset, are adjustable, the audio processing step of outputting adjustment guidance information to guide the adjustment of the characteristics and adjusting the characteristics of the element component in accordance with the input regarding the adjustment of the characteristics is executed. Reception method.

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