Control information generating apparatus for broadcast system

A control information generating apparatus for use in a broadcast system comprising:

• a control information generating circuit that is adapted to receive program schedule information on a program to generate control information on the program and is adapted to output a signal indicative of the control information, said control information generating circuit including:
• input circuit adapted to receive schedule information,
• a table preparing circuit adapted to prepare table information as the control information based on program schedule information,
• a version management circuit adapted to assign at least one consecutive version number to the table information prepared by the table preparing circuit,
• a TS packetizing circuit adapted to packetize the table information to which a version number has been assigned,
• a bandwidth adjusting circuit adapted to determine a transmission bandwidth and a transmission cycle of the table information, and
• an output circuit for said generated control information, adapted to output a signal indicative of the table information;
• and
• control information outputting circuits each including:
• an input circuit adapted to receive the signal indicative of the table information from said control information generating circuit,
• a storage device adapted to store therein the table information inputted through the input circuit,
• a scheduler adapted to control the timing of the output, of the table information stored in the storage device, from the output circuit according to the transmission cycle determined by the bandwidth adjusting circuit of said control information generating circuit, and
• an output circuit,
• wherein:
• the table preparing circuit is adapted to prepare table information elements, in sequence, as the control information,
• the version management circuit is adapted to assign at least one consecutive version number, in sequence, for each of the table information elements,
• the output circuit of said control information generating circuit being adapted to output signals indicative of the table information elements to said control information outputting circuits, and
• wherein, when a version number skip has occurred when the version management circuit assigns the version numbers to the table information elements, the version management circuit is adapted to determine the greatest version number that was last successfully assigned to the table information element supplied to said control information outputting circuits, and a version number following the omitted one of the consecutive version numbers as a maximum value and the smaller thereof as an initial value, and is adapted to reassign one of the consecutive version numbers between the initial value and the maximum value, in sequence, to the table information element where the version number skip has occurred.