Satellite communications multi-point video transmit system

Abstract: A satellite communications multi-point video transmit system is provided which employs a satellite link and a hybrid system of a telestrial line and is economical. Further, a system configuration is provided for matching a view point of a speaker to a camera. The multi-point video transmit system includes a hybridal transmission path composed of a satellite link for transmitting a video signal from a center station (7, 21) and a telestrial line for transmitting a video signal from a remote station (11, 33). In the center station (7, 21), the image from the remote station (11, 33) is synthesized with the image of the center station (7, 21) and the synthesized image is transmitted. The center station (7, 21) further contains prompter cameras (2, 3) for matching a point of view of a speaker to their cameras.

Description: The present invention relates to a satellite communication multi-point video transmission system according to claim 1. Such a satellite communication multi-point video transmission system may apply to applications for remote educational systems each having the same configuration, a TV presentation or teleconference, and several kinds of inquiries. From GB-A-2 238 691 a multi-party videoconferencing configuration is known where each party is connected by terrestrial means through the public network (PSTN, ISDN or leased lines) but receives the images of all the other parties directly from a geostationary satellite by means of a receive only satellite receiver. Further, there has been heretofore implemented a multi-point TV presentation to be executed through a satellite link. It, however, has employed a system for transmitting a video signal between terminals directly through the satellite as disclosed in JP-A-2-65426 and JP-A-2-73758. Hence, the earth station needs to be a very costly transmit/receive type. This leads to increase the costs of all overall systems. The conventional TV presentation has been arranged in a manner that a camera is not matched in position to a monitor in the equipment. This arrangement incurs the disadvantage that a user's view point is directed not to the camera but to the monitor. Further, when speech is transmitted through the satellite link, the speech is subject to howling due to interference with the speaker source. This also incurs another disadvantage that a speech howling takes place to make a speaker difficult to speak. It is an object of the present invention to provide a satellite communication multi-point video transmission system which is capable of reducing the costs of the overall system in a multi-point TV presentation to be executed through a satellite link. This object is achieved by the subject-matter of claim 1. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall system according to an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is view showing a relation between a point of view of a speaker and a prompter camera used in the present invention; Fig. 3 is a model view showing a hybrid satellite communications system for concurrently connecting a plurality of remote stations and a center station according to another embodiment of the invention; Fig. 4 is a flowchart for describing how the system shown in Fig. 3 operates; Fig. 5 is a circuit diagram showing each internal arrangement of the remote station and the center station; Fig. 6 is a circuit diagram showing an operation principle on which a matrix switcher and a scrambler provided in the center station operate; and Fig. 7 is a circuit diagram showing a relation among a speaking station selecting unit, an operation panel and a matrix switcher. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Now, the description will be oriented to an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 shows in block diagram a multipoint teleconference equipment configuration having a center station 7 and a remote station, the center station having a chairman 1 for progressing certain proceedings and the remote station taking part in a teleconference. For holding a meeting, a date is transmitted to each station in advance. On the date, the meeting is held, when the image and voice of the chairman 1 are transmitted to an earth station provided in the center station 7 through a camera 3 and a microphone 16. The earth station modulates the signal and broadcasts the modulated signal to each receiver of the remote stations 10 and 11 through a communication satellite (CS) 8. In each remote station, the received signal is demodulated into a video signal and an audio signal, specifically a speech signal and then output to a monitor 12. At a time, the video signal is connected to an external video input terminal of a TV phone such as HV-100 manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd. so that the image is displayed on a monitor 14 of the TV phone. In the process of the teleconference, if a person 15 of the remote station 10 wants to speak, the TV phone gives dialling to the center station so that a signal may be transmitted through the ISDN line. By taking a receiver in the center station, the line is connected between the remote station 10 and the center station 7. Then, the image and the voice of the person 15 are sent to the TV phone of the center station through a camera 13 and a microphone 17 on an ISDN line. The image is displayed on the monitor 2 of the prompter camera and output to an image synthesizing unit 6. In the image synthesizing unit 6, the image is synthesized with the image of the chairman 1 and the synthesized image is sent to the modulator of the center station 7. On the other hand, the speaker's voice is monitored by a speaker 18 and is inputted to the center station as voice L. Assuming that the voice of the chairman 1 collected by the microphone 16 is voice R, the voice of the speaker 15 is broadcasted to all the remote stations together with his or her image. In each of the remote stations except the station from which the speaker 16 gives a speech, therefore, the remote station provides one image channel at which the image of the chairman 1 and the image of the speaker 15 are synthesized and a stereo voice channel at which the voices of the chairman 1 and the speaker 15 are assigned to L and R channels. Each remote station, therefore, can watch the image of both persons and listen to their conversation. When the speech of the speaker 15 is terminated, by putting the receiver of the TV phone in the center station and the remote station, the ISDN line is disconnected. Then, the TV phone of the remote station 11 gives dialling to the center station so that a line is newly connected for progressing the proceedings. As such, the images and the voices of the chairman 1 and the speaker of each remote station being switched in sequence are broadcasted to all the remote stations on the satellite link. Since the ISDN line is switched among the remote stations in sequence, the remote stations may be infinitely increased from a theoretical point of view. The cost of the line is defined on the meeting time without having to depend on the number of remote stations. Further, since the station is a receive-only type, the overall system is more economical than the expensive conventional sending and receiving station. In turn, the description will be directed to how a point of view is matched to a camera in this embodiment as referring to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 shows a relation among a speaker's image of a remote station transmitted on the ISDN line, a view point of the chairman 1 and a prompter camera. The image of the speaker of the remote station is received by the TV phones 4 and 5 provided in the center station through the ISDN line as mentioned above. The received video signal is outputted from the video output terminal of the TV phone to the monitor 2 of the prompter camera and the image synthesizing unit 6. On the monitor 2 is displayed a speaker's image. The image is projected onto a half mirror 20 located in the upper part of the monitor 2 so that the chairman 1 may view the image of the speaker. On the other hand, the image of the chairman 1 and the camera 3 are located on the extension of the fact of the chairman 1 and the half mirror 20. In the location, the chairman 1 can take part in the teleconference as viewing the image of the speaker. Hence, the view point of the chairman 1 is directed to' the camera 3 so that the image synthesizing unit 6 may output the synthesized result of the image of the chairman 1 faced in the front and the image of the speaker. The prompter camera may be provided in the remote station. The output of the camera 3 is connected to the video input terminals of the TV phones 4 and 5 in a manner to allow the point of view of the speaker to match to the camera on the image. The foregoing description has been made on the assumption of the multipoint teleconference. The same system configuration may apply to all the applications mainly based on the image broadcast such as a remote educational system or a unidirectional local information communications system. For the remote educational system, by replacing the chairman 1 with a tutor, the remote education can be executed to all remote classrooms. If a student wants to ask the tutor of a question, the student can ask the tutor of a question through the TV phone. Like the foregoing system, all the other remote classrooms can watch the images of the tutor and the student on display screens and listen to the question and the response. In addition, the system dedicated to image broadcast is allowed to be easily expanded to the system according to the present invention. In the foregoing embodiment, the TV phone, the prompter camera and the image synthesizing unit are independent units. It is possible to provide a unit having those functions integrated therein for achieving the system by simple arrangement having a receive only station and the function-integrated unit itself. Further, it is also possible to change the connecting arrangement between the units if necessary so that it may be used as a center device, a remote device or a mere device for a telestrial line. This unit is accommodated in a house. Hence, the person is located off the unit. However, since it is necessary to connect the center station with the device through a telestrial public line such as the ISDN, the terminal having a phone functional body and a microphone is installed by the speaker so that the speaker may operate the terminal. The body may be connected to the terminal wirelessly in a manner to eliminate any connecting cable for simplifying the overall arrangement. The center station can be arranged as an all-in-one type if it may be integrated as a speaking station selecting unit having a function of connecting and holding a line if a plurality of remote stations issue requests for speaking at a time, selectively permitting the station to speak, and executing shut-off control of a feedback voice from the satellite. In this case, the remote station is required to provide functions of receiving a voice control signal from the center station and doing the shut-off control of the voice. Then, the description will be oriented to the system arranged so that one center station interacts with a plurality of remote stations. Fig. 3 shows an illustration of a system for connecting a center station with twelve remote stations at maximum through an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) line. Fig. 5 shows the details of the circuit configuration of Fig. 3. The center station 7 includes a teleconference unit 24 to be connected to the twelve remote stations 10 through a line, a prompter camera 22 serving as input and display means of an image, a microphone 44 serving as input means of sound, an image synthesizing unit 25 for synthesizing the video data of the center station with the video data of a remote station, an image synthesizing unit 26 for synthesizing the video data outputted from the image synthesizing unit 25 with the video data from the teleconference unit 24 on a screen, a monitor TV 23 for displaying the video data, a speaking station selecting unit 27 for switching matrix switchers and shut-off controlling of the feedback voice as being interlocked with the selection of any remote station, matrix switchers 28A to 28C for switching the input viaeo data or speech data into any input data or output data and outputting the data, a scrambler 43 for encrypting the video and the speech data for broadcasting the encrypted data signal to the definitive remote stations, and a center station antenna 21 for transmitting the encrypted video and speech signals to the communication satellite 32. Such limited broadcasting technologies disclosed in U.S. Serial No. 07/802,724 (US-A-5 218 638) filed on December 5, 1991 are applicable to the present embodiment. On the other hand, the remote station 10 is arranged to include a receiving antenna 33, a CS tuner 37 for receiving data sent from the center station, a scramble decoder 38 for decrypting the encrypted signal, a monitor TV 35 for displaying video and speech data, a speech control unit for controlling the speech data of its own to be given through the communication satellite on the basis of the signal sent from the speaking station selecting unit 27 of the center station, a teleconference unit 34 for doing communication through the ISDN line, an operation panel 40, and an imaging unit 39. In Fig. 5, V denotes a video signal, A denotes a speech signal, A(R)/A(L) denotes right/left of a stereo speech, and C denotes a control signal. The "teleconference unit" or "TV presentation unit" referred herein means a combination of the camera 13, the monitor 14 and the microphone 17 as shown in Fig. 1. That is, the essential function of the teleconference unit is just to process the speech data and the video data. Fig. 4 shows in flowchart how this embodiment basically operates. At first, the description will be oriented to the broadcasting communication of the data from the center station through the communication satellite as referring to Figs. 4 and 5. On the center station, the picture data such as a manuscript input in the imaging unit 31 is displayed on the monitor of the prompter camera 22 through the matrix switcher 28. The prompter camera 22 picks up the image on the center station where the proceedings are progressed on the manuscript. The picked up image on the center station 7 is inputted to the matrix switcher 28 through an image distributor 45. The video data on the center station 7 is broadcasted through the center station antenna 21 and the communication satellite 32 to each remote station together with the speech data on the center station inputted from the microphone 44 (step 50). On each remote station 10, the video signal and the speech signal are received through the effect of the antenna 33, the CS tuner 37 and the scramble decoder 38. The broadcast video and speech signals are received in the plurality of remote stations (steps 51 to 52). Later, the video signal and the speech signal are required to be transmitted from the remote station to the center station. In this case, each remote station calls the TV presentation unit 24 of the center station by using the TV presentation unit 34 (steps 53 to 54) and becomes connected to the center station through the ISDN line 42. Assuming that twelve remote stations are connected to the center station through the ISDN line, the video signal of each remote station is sent to the image synthesizing unit 26 through the TV presentation unit 24 and is synthesized with the video data of the image synthesizing unit 25 which is picked up by the prompter camera 22. The synthesized image is inputted to the matrix switcher 28A and is displayed on the monitor television set 23 (step 55). On the center station, the speaking station selecting unit 27 specifies any one remote station as being interlocked with the matrix switcher 28A (step 56). This specification is achieved by selecting any one the matrix switchers 28A to 28C and the TV presentation unit 24 in response to a control signal for selective control sent from the speaking station selecting unit 27. The image synthesizing unit 25 serves to synthesize the video data of the selected TV presentation unit with the video data of the prompter camera 22 as its child screen. The image synthesizing unit 26 operates to synthesize the video data output from the image synthesizing unit 25 with the video data outputted from each TV presentation unit 24. The synthesized data is broadcasted from the satellite (step 57). The broadcast video data is received by the remote station (step 58) in a manner to execute a TV interaction between the remote station and the center station. The speaking station selecting unit 27 has a capability of selecting the broadcast or the monitoring with respect to each of the foregoing various synthesized images, the video data outputted from the image synthesizing unit 25, the video data outputted 'from the image synthesizing unit 26, the video data on the center station sent from the prompter camera 22, and the video data of each TV presentation unit 24. On the other hand, the video data of the selected TV presentation unit can be displayed on the monitor of the prompter camera 22 through the matrix switchers 28B and 28C. The illustration on the side of the center station is just as shown in Fig. 3. Herein, the operation of the matrix switchers 28A to 29C will be described in detail as referring to Figs. 6 and 7. Fig. 6 shows the principle on which the matrix switcher 28A operates. Fig. 7 shows the principle on which the matrix switchers 28B and 28C operate. In Figs. 5, 6 and 7, the matrix switchers 28A to 28C are divided into three for the explanation's convenience. What is required in essence is just one matrix switcher. At first, a description will be made of how the matrix switcher 28A operates as referring to Fig. 6. In this embodiment, the data inputted to the matrix switcher 28A contains (1) the video data output from the prompter camera 22 and distributed by the image distributor 45, (2) the other video data distributed by the image distributor 45 and the video data synthesized with the video data of the remote station permitted to speak and outputted by the matrix switcher 28B, the synthesis being executed in the image synthesizing unit 26, (3) the video data synthesized in the image synthesizing unit 25 and the video data synthesized with the video data of the twelve remote stations outputted from the twelve TV presentation units 24, the synthesis being executed in the image synthesizing unit 26, (4) the speech data inputted from the microphone 44, and (5) the speech data of any remote station permitted to speak and outputted from the matrix switcher 28B. That is, 'three kinds of video data and two kinds of speech data are inputted to the matrix switcher 28A. As an output of the matrix switcher 28A, one system of the video data and two systems of speech data to be applied to the scrambler 43 and one system of the video data to be applied to the monitor TV 23 may be referred to. Those systems are allowed to be outputted independently. Any ones of the video data (1) to (3) and the speech data (4) or (5) are allowed to be systematically selected. Next, a description will be made of how the matrix switchers 28B and 28C operate as referring to Fig. 7. The matrix switcher 28B temporarily holds the video data and the speech data from the twelve TV presentation units 24. As mentioned above, in actual, the matrix switcher 28B is the same as the matrix switcher 28A. If, therefore, any of the remote stations is selected, that is, the remote station is permitted to speak by the speaking station selecting unit 27, the video data of the permitted station is outputted to the image synthesizing unit 25 and the matrix switcher 28C and the speech data of the permitted station is outputted to the scrambler 43 as being interlocked with the operation of the matrix switcher 28B. In actual, the matrix switcher 28C is the same as the matrix switcher 28A or 28B. Hence, the matrix switcher 28C serves to switch the video data of the imaging unit 31 into the video data of the remote station in a manner to monitor the image on the prompter camera 22. As described above, the matrix switcher functions as switching the input video data or speech data into any input data or output data and outputting the switched data. In the basic system arranged to execute both the broadcast to be performed through the communication satellite and the communication through the telestrial line such as the ISDN line, it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented without having to use the matrix switcher or with different switching means. The video data of the imaging unit 31 may be built into the video data and supplied as an output of the matrix switcher 28. Description will be made of the send/receive function of the speech data in the interaction between the center station and the remote station. The speech data of all the remote stations are inputted to the matrix switchers 28A to 28C together with the video data. Of them, only the speech data of the remote station selected by the speaking station selecting unit 27 is fed to the monitor TV 23 from the matrix switchers 28A to 28C. The speech data of any remote station is transmitted to all the remote stations through the scrambler 43, the center station 7 and the communication satellite 32 together with the speech data inputted from the microphone 44 of the center station and the any one of the foregoing video data (which is not necessarily same as the video data displayed on the monitor TV 23). This makes it possible for all the remote stations to receive the video and speech data of interaction between the center station and any remote station which is permitted to speak. In the selected remote station, however, since its own speech data is fed back through the center station 7 and the communication satellite 32, howling may take place and an unfavorable situation resulting from a signal delay on a satellite link may also take place. To overcome such disadvantages as howling, the speech data inputted to the center station and the speech data of any remote station are separated into the L side and the R side of the stereo sound used in the communication satellite in advance. On the center station, the speaking station selecting unit 27 selects any one of the remote stations. At a time, the center station transmits a control signal to the TV presentation unit 34 of the selected remote station through the TV presentation unit connected to the selected remote station. In response to the control signal, the remote station operates the TV presentation unit 34 to control the speech control unit 36. If the center station transmits the speech data from the L (left) side of the stereo sound only, the speech control unit 36 cuts off the speech data at the R (right) side, that is, the return of the speech data of the selected remote station itself. This makes it possible to realize a smooth interaction between the center station and each remote station. In the remote station shown in Fig. 5, the speech data inputted to the speech control, unit 36 is transmitted from the R side of the stereo sound only. In place, however, all the speech data, for example, the speech data at the R and the L sides are inputted to the speech control unit 36 for selecting or cutting off any one of the speech data at the R and the L sides. In the present embodiment, the identification as to if the speech data is for the center station or for the remote station depends on the R side or the L side of the stereo sound. If the speech data can be identified, any means may be used for preventing hauling in the remote station. The center station may have a configuration of the remote station to monitor the broadcasted video and speech data, for example. According to the foregoing embodiment, the system is employed for transmitting an image of a speaker from any station except the center station to the center, chairman station on the telestrial line such as an ISDN. Hence, each remote station may be a receive only type. As a result, the total cost of the remote stations is reduced. Concretely, the cost of each station on the earth is about 1/6 time as small as that of the conventional system. In addition, the system in which the receive only type stations have been installed for another purpose may be expanded to the bidirectional system. Further, the increase of a receive only type station and a TV phone or a TV presentation makes it possible to easily expand the network. As compared to the network connected through the telestrial lines only, which limits the number of stations taking part in the teleconference, the present embodiment does not limit the number of the stations taking part in the teleconference and increase the operating cost. The use of the prompter camera makes it possible to have a conversation as watching an image of an opponent. The resulting image becomes natural and as if all the participants are in actual discussion. The prompter camera may be operated for its original purpose, that is, enables to display a manuscript thereon. Further, the same system configuration may apply to a different application rather than the TV presentation, for example, an education application.

Claims: A satellite communication multipoint video signal transmission system, comprising: a center station (7); a plurality of remote stations (10, 11); means (34), included in said remote stations (10, 11), for transmitting request signals to said center station (7) requesting video signals from the center station (7) via a terrestrial line (42) from said plurality of remote stations (10, 11) in an arbitrary sequence; means (24) for receiving and buffering the request signals received from said remote stations (10, 11) in said center station (7); means for selecting one of the video signals provided from a TV presentation unit (24) in said center station (7) in response to said received and buffered request signals to produce a selection signal; means for transmitting the selected video signal via a satellite link (8, 32) as a center station video signal; and means (34, 35), included in said remote stations (10, 11), for receiving said selection signal from said center station (7) via the terrestrial line to control reception of the video signal transmitted via said satellite link (8, 32).

Inventors: IKEHAMA SATOSHI, IKEHAMA, SATOSHI
Applicants: HITACHI LTD, HITACHI, LTD.
Application year: 1993
Main classification: H04N7
IPC codes: H04N7