Patent ID: 8108889
Filing Date: 2012-01-31
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. A digital television receiver module for use in a digital television receiver, wherein the digital television receiver module connects decoders of devices with front-end circuits and conditional access (CA) modules made differently for respective broadcast specifications, the digital television receiver module comprising: a first connecting device having a plurality of terminals for electrically connecting to one external substrate among external substrates which receives digital television signals of broadcasting systems different from each other; a first common terminal group commonly assigned in the first connecting device based on a predetermined terminal table, the first common terminal group connecting front-end circuits provided in the external substrates and that are compliant with the broadcasting systems; a decoding device for executing a decoding processing on a digital television signal inputted from a demodulator provided on the external substrate via the first connecting device, so as to convert the digital television signal into a video signal and an audio signal, and for outputting the video signal and audio signal via the first connecting device; a control device for controlling an operation of the digital television receiver module; a second common terminal group commonly assigned in the first connecting device based on the predetermined terminal table, the second common terminal group connecting a plurality of types of CA modules having terminal specifications including input and output directions of one of signal types and signals different from each other; and an interface device for executing input and output processing on a plurality of signals communicated among the CA modules, the decoding device and the control device, wherein the interface device comprises at least one set of a first input buffer, a first output buffer, and a second input buffer, the first input buffer including an input terminal connected to one terminal of the second common terminal group, and an output terminal connected to the decoding device, the first output buffer includes an input terminal connected to the control device, and an output terminal connected to one terminal of the second common terminal group, the second input buffer including an input terminal of another terminal of the second common terminal group and an output terminal connected to the decoding device, and the control device controls the interface device by changing a signal type, input direction and output direction of the signal communicated via a terminal of the second common terminal group by controlling on-off states of the first input buffer, on-off states of the first output buffer, and on-off states of the second input buffer, based on the predetermined terminal table so as to conform to the terminal specifications of a connected CA module and in response to at least one of a broadcasting system of an inputted digital television signal and a type of the connected CA module, and based on a type-classifying data signal inputted from a memory mounted on the external substrate via the first connecting device.