JPH08336112A - Video program distribution device and video distribution system using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Structure] In a video distribution system, a multiple video disk server in which a plurality of video disk players are housed in a home VTR size housing is used, and a menu screen is generated from the video output of this server. Added a circuit. [Effect] A video distribution system using a multiple video disk server can save space and easily meet the demand for multiple channels. Further, by assigning the menu broadcast generated by the menu screen generation circuit to a single channel, it becomes possible to inform the customer of the contents of the pay broadcast free of charge, and it is possible to provide a user-friendly video program service.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video program distribution device for distributing a video program consisting of video and audio data, and a video distribution system using the same, and more particularly to a video server of the video distribution system. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video program distribution device including a plurality of video disc players, which is suitable for use in, for example, and a video distribution system using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, in an accommodation facility such as a hotel, as an example of a service for guests, an example in which an original video distribution system is provided in the hall is increasing. This video distribution system has the function of receiving terrestrial waves such as general TV broadcasts and satellite broadcasts all at once, distributing these broadcasts to guest rooms in the hotel, and broadcasting independent programs unique to the hotel. Often have.

The above-mentioned independent program is broadcast by a method such as playing a recorded video tape on a VCR.

[0004]

By the way, in the video distribution system using a large number of video decks as described above, since each video deck is bulky, it is a problem to secure the installation place. Therefore, the first problem is that the larger the number of broadcasting channels of the independent program, the larger the installation place is required.

Next, as means for informing the guest of the contents of the independent program in the video distribution system, generally,
The method of making printed materials and distributing them to each guest room is adopted. Customers rely on this printed material to select their favorite programs, but since they often pay for paying for their own programs, they have to be careful not to make a mistake and make extra charges. Occurs. in this way,
The second problem is that the means for transmitting the contents of pay broadcasting is poor and the amount of information is small.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a video program distribution device capable of saving space in order to meet the demand for multi-channelization of independent programs. It is in. Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to convey the contents of pay independent broadcasting to the guests in an easy-to-understand manner.

On the other hand, as the contents of the independent program, sometimes it is necessary to target only a specific viewer or, conversely, to restrict the viewers. Therefore, in the case where it is necessary to limit the grasp of the content of the pay-for-self-broadcasting as described above, it is also an object of the present invention to make it difficult to grasp the content only for the program.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention stores a plurality of video disc players such as a video CD player, for example, four in a housing of a VTR deck size for home use, such as four units. Further, the control device for controlling these four video CD players also has a four-series video CD reproducing means (four-series video C) housed in the same housing.
D server) is provided so that four independent NTSC outputs can be obtained from this four-series video CD reproducing means.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides
For example, 4 obtained from the above-mentioned 4-series video CD reproducing means.
Using the NTSC output of the book, a reduced screen showing the contents of these four NTSC signals is generated, and a guide screen is created by superimposing these reduced screens on one screen. A means for displaying is provided.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention further provides an information display means for displaying characters and the like on the reduced screen for guide and a video signal for changing the characteristic of the reduced screen in the guide screen. An effect processing (video effect) means is provided.

[0011]

For example, according to the above-mentioned four-series video CD reproducing means, the output of four units can be obtained with the capacity of one conventional home video deck, so that the space can be saved and the number of channels can be increased. It is easy to meet the demand of.

Further, according to the above-mentioned guide screen creating / displaying means, it becomes possible to inform the customer of the contents of the pay broadcast free of charge with good visibility, and the guidance of the program to be charged can be easily and surely provided. As a result, a user-friendly video program service can be realized.

Furthermore, according to the above-mentioned information display means and video effect means, it is possible to perform processing such as making the reduced screen on the guide screen difficult to see, if necessary, so that the audience rating of pay broadcasting is lowered. If the program is a program that is not suitable for viewing by young people, it is possible to perform processing such as not being able to grasp the content of the program only.

[0014]

The details of the present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. In the following description, the reference numerals in the drawings are the same components, but those having a possibility of performing different operations are distinguished by adding different alphabets after the same Arabic numeral. I decided to do it. Further, when referring to any unspecified one of the constituent elements to which the alphabet is added or all of the constituent elements, only the Arabic numerals excluding the alphabet are described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a wired video broadcasting system (video distribution system) according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a system using two video program distribution devices is shown. However, the number of video program distribution devices is arbitrary. In the following embodiments, the multiple video disc server shown as the video program distribution device is represented by a four-series video CD server having four video CD players, but an appropriate video disc player other than the video CD player. It is also possible to use a plurality of video disc players other than four. The video disc player used in the video program distribution device (multiple video disc server) is a CD
It is preferable to handle a video disc of a size or less from the viewpoint of space factor.

In FIG. 1, 101a and 101b are
Four NTSC (National Television System C) can be installed by installing four video CD players inside and setting a predetermined video CD in each player.
ommittee) 4 video CD servers that can output 10
3a and 103b are menu generation circuits for generating a guide broadcast program using the NTSC output signals from the four-series video CD server 101, and 104a to 104j are NTSC signals from the four-series video CD server 101 and the menu generation circuit 103. An RF modulator 105 that superimposes the output on a carrier wave having a predetermined frequency and outputs the carrier wave.
The mixer 106, which arranges RF (Radio Frequency) signals output from 4a to 104e or 104f to 104j in a continuous transmission frequency band, receives a control command from the set top 112 described later, and receives this command from the server controller. The control PC 107 that transmits the data to the FSK (Frequency Shift) when transferring a message from the control PC 106 to the set top 112 described later.
Keying) FSK modulator for modulating, 108 is an FSK demodulator for demodulating the command which is FSK modulated and transmitted from the set top 112, 109 is a mixer 105
a function of a mixer for further mixing the outputs of a and 105b, and a command from the set top 112 to the control PC 106
And a demultiplexer having the function of a demultiplexer for demultiplexing an FSK-modulated command from an RF signal for sending to
Reference numeral 0 is a bidirectional amplifier, 111 is a bidirectional transmission path constructed by a coaxial cable, and 112a to 112e receive programs output from the four-series video CD server 101 and send them to a TV monitor 113 described later and use them. Set tops 113a to 113e for receiving various operation inputs from a person and transmitting them to the control PC 106 reproduce and broadcast the program data transmitted from the set top 112.
V monitor.

FIG. 2 shows a quad video CD server 1 of FIG.
It is a block diagram of 01, and the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same component as FIG.

In FIG. 2, 201 is a video C which will be described later.
A CPU for controlling the operation of the D player 207, 20
2 is an RS232C driver for communicating with the control PC 106 by the RS232C protocol; 203 is the CPU 2
ROM (Read Only Memory) holding a software program for operating 01, 204 is the CPU 20
RAM (Random Access) used by 1 as a work area
Memory), 205a to 205d are communication control units for exchanging commands and status signals with the video CD player 207, and 206 is a CPU bus used when exchanging data between the above-mentioned components.
7a to 207d are video CD players.

In the communication control unit 205, 21
0 and 213 are bidirectional gates, 211 is a transmission RAM for buffering status messages sent from the video CD player 207 to the CPU 201, 212
Is a reception RA for buffering commands sent from the CPU 201 to the video CD player 207.
M and 214 are communication LSIs that actually perform communication with the video CD player 207, and general-purpose LSIs can be used.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the menu generation circuit 103 in FIG. 1, and the same components as those in FIGS. 1 and 2 are designated by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes a background image drawing device for generating a background image of the menu screen, which is constructed by using, for example, a PC. Reference numeral 302 denotes a frame memory that stores a background image output from the background image drawing device 301, 303 is a synchronization signal generation circuit, 304 is an address generation circuit that generates an address for reading an image serving as the background of the menu screen from the frame memory 302, 305 is a D / A converter,
306 is an NTSC encoder, 307a to 307d are
The video CD player 2 is added to the background image for the menu converted into the NTSC signal by the NTSC encoder 306.
A picture-in-picture unit 308 for superimposing the output video signal from the 07, an on-screen display device 308 for superimposing and displaying character information on the output NTSC signal from the picture-in-picture unit 307d, and 309 are on Screen display device 3
It is a control microcomputer for controlling 08.

In the following, first, the four-series video CD server 101
The basic operation of will be described with reference to FIG. After that,
The description will proceed assuming that each video CD player 207 of the quadruple video CD server 101 has a video CD disc required for playback already loaded.

The CPU 201 sends a disc playback request (play command) from the control PC 106 to the RS232C.
Received via the driver 202. Play commands include
Information such as the number of the player to be played (1 to 4) and where to play the disc is attached. For example, a command such as "play player 1 from the beginning" is sent.

Play command (here, video C
No. D player 207a. No. 1 and No. CP that received 1 as the command to play from the beginning)
U201 transmits this command to the video CD player 207a via the communication control unit 205a.
At this time, the communication control unit 205a sends a command as follows. CPU bus 206 to bidirectional gate 210
The command passed through is temporarily buffered in the reception RAM 212. The communication LSI 214 regularly receives the RAM 2
12 is being monitored, and when a new command is recognized in the reception RAM 212, the command is read out through the bidirectional gate 213 and is read out by the video CD player 207.
Send to a.

As a result, the video CD player 20
7a starts playing from the beginning of the disc, and as a result,
The NTSC signal is output to the outside. At this time, at the same time, a status signal indicating successful reproduction is output, which is received by the communication LSI 214 and buffered in the transmission RAM 211 through the bidirectional gate 213. CPU201
Monitors the transmission RAM 211 on a regular basis, and if it recognizes a new status signal, it monitors the bidirectional gate 210.
And take in via the CPU bus 206. If any trouble occurs during reproduction, a status signal for notifying the trouble is also output from the video CD player 207a.

Thereafter, a new command is sent to the control PC 106.
Every time it is issued from, the same operation as above is repeated,
Accordingly, each video CD player 207 to NTS
The C signal is output.

Next, the menu dedicated channel will be described. In the video distribution system of the present embodiment, a menu-dedicated channel (program guide channel) is provided as a means for informing the viewer of the broadcast content of the independent program.

In this embodiment, the four-series video CD server 1
One menu channel is provided for every four NTSC outputs 01. FIG. 4 shows an example of a display screen of this guide channel. In FIG. 4, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 4, 401 is a background image of the program guide broadcast, 402a to 402d are character data for displaying the broadcast content and genre of each channel drawn on the background image 401, and 403a to 403d are four consecutive data. Video C
Reduced images displaying each NTSC output of the D server as a picture-in-picture screen, 404a to 404d are character data indicating channel guidance information drawn on the reduced image 403 by using the on-screen display function. In this example, the characters 402a to 402d represent the genre of the broadcast content, and the on-screen display character data 404a to 404d represent the channel numbers to be distributed.

The operation of the circuit for generating the menu screen as shown in FIG. 4 will be described below with reference to FIG.

First, the background image 401 and the character data 40
2 is created by the background image drawing device 301. A general-purpose PC or the like can be used as the background image drawing device 301. The output image from the background image drawing device 301 is
Once stored in the frame memory 302. On the other hand, the synchronization signal generator 303 generates a reference synchronization signal for driving the NTSC encoder 306 for converting the image data into an NTSC signal, and the image from the frame memory 302 is synchronized with the synchronization signal. The address generating circuit 304 serving as a reference for reading out is driven.

The image read out from the frame memory 302 in this way is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 305, and is sent by the NTSC encoder 306 to NT.
It is converted into an SC video signal.

The picture-in-picture units 307a to 307d are used for this NTSC video signal to produce a video C
The NTSC video signals from the D players 206a to 206d are superimposed on the on-screen display device 308.
As a result, the character information is overlaid to complete the screen as shown in FIG. On-screen display device 308
The contents, position, size, etc. of the character information drawn by
It is set and controlled by the control microcomputer 309. In Fig. 4, a large channel number is displayed on the reduced screen that displays the contents of each channel so as to hide it. However, by displaying such a reduced number, the reduced image of the menu channel can be displayed for viewing the pay broadcast. This has the effect of preventing actions that lead to a decline in the viewership rate of pay broadcasts, such as being paid for by watching.

Next, the operation of the video distribution system of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, by using two four-series video CD servers, a maximum of 8 channels of independently broadcast programs can be output, and a guide program of 1 channel is added to each of the 4 channels, so that a total of 10 channels are output.

First, a mode (broadcast mode) in which a viewer tunes in and views a self-broadcasting program to be broadcast will be described.

The NTSC signal from the video CD player 207 output according to the procedure described in FIG. 2 is input to the RF modulator 104 and the menu generation circuit 103 (internal operation has already been described in FIG. 3). It R for each
The NTSC signals of a total of 10 systems input to the F modulators 104a to 104j are modulated with carrier waves having different frequencies to become RF signals. As a result, channel allocation to each program is determined. RF modulator 104a
The RF signals output from ~ 104j are mixed by the mixer 105.
a, 105b, and the mixing / branching device 109,
It is arranged in one transmission frequency band. An example of the transmission frequency band at this time is shown in FIG.

Voluntary program broadcasting is usually performed by SHF (Super High
It is placed in the frequency band called Frequency). Within this band, the transmission channel can be set freely.

In this way, N arranged on the carrier wave
The TSC signal is transmitted to the bidirectional amplifier 110 and the bidirectional transmission line 11
Set top 112a installed in each guest room, etc.
~ 112e. The programs received by the set top 112 are reproduced on the TV monitors 113a to 113e,
Is displayed.

Here, the channel selection operation performed by the set top 112 will be described. In most cases, the independent program broadcast is often paid. Therefore, the viewer of the guest room needs to know the content of the pay broadcast in advance when selecting the pay broadcast. Therefore, the viewer first selects a menu-dedicated channel by a not-shown channel selection means (using a general-purpose TV set remote controller or the like). The menu-only channel will be broadcast free of charge. Then, the viewer grasps the contents of the pay broadcast on the screen as shown in FIG. 4 of the called menu-only channel,
Select a channel on which a desired broadcast is made.

At this time, if there is no desired broadcast in the corresponding menu, another menu channel is selected,
Then, the channel selection operation described above is performed to view the desired broadcast.

When the viewer selects a pay channel, the set top 112 generates a message signal to that effect, performs FSK modulation, and superimposes it on the low subband band within the transmission frequency band. Bidirectional transmission line 11
Send to 1. Only the low subband FSK signal is demultiplexed by the mixing / demultiplexing unit 109 into the upstream signal, and the FS signal is obtained.
It is demodulated by the K demodulator 108 and input to the control PC 106. As a result, the control PC 106 recognizes the set top 112 that is watching the pay broadcast and manages the charge.

As described above, in the broadcast mode, the viewer selects a self-broadcasting program sent from the four-series video CD server 101 on the set top 112, and the control PC 106 monitors this viewing state. Manage billing. In this case, the uplink control (uplink) from the control PC 106 to the quad video CD server 101 is not performed.

Next, the special playback mode performed by using the four-series video CD server 101 will be sequentially described. In this case, the control PC 106 communicates with the quad video CD server 101 to control the trick play.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation in the NOD (Near On Demand) mode. Currently available video CDs can be played back for up to about 1 hour. If one program is composed of one disc, in order for the viewer to start watching the desired broadcast from the beginning, a waiting time of 1 hour occurs at the worst time to start watching.

The NOD mode was conceived to solve this problem, and the same disc is reproduced by all four video CD players built in the four-series video CD server 101. At this time, the program is broadcast by the scheduling as shown in (1) of FIG. 6 by performing playback by shifting the playback start time of each video CD player (drives A to D) by 15 minutes. In this way, the waiting time for the viewer is 15 minutes at the worst.

Further, as shown in (2) of FIG. 6, the channels of the programs reproduced from the respective video CD players (drives A to D) are all different channels as indicated by A to D in the figure. Assign to.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation in the alternate reproduction mode. As described above, the maximum length of a program that can be recorded on a video CD is about one hour, so a long-time program such as a movie is divided into two or more discs. In the alternate playback mode, the outputs of two video CD players are assigned to the same channel, and the playback of one player is finished and the playback of the other player is started at the same time. Play the program continuously. In the example shown in (1) of FIG. 7, a drive A and a drive B continuously reproduce a certain program, and a drive C
With drive D, another program is continuously played.
At this time, as shown in (2) of FIG.
The channel of the program reproduced from the drive is allocated to one channel, and the channel of the program reproduced from the drives C and D is allocated to the other channel.

The programs reproduced by the drives A and B and the programs reproduced by the drives C and D may be different as described above, but may be the same. As described above, when the programs reproduced by the drives A and B and the programs reproduced by the drives C and D are the same program, the same program is reproduced with a time difference by combining with the NOD mode, and the viewer's It is possible to reduce the waiting time.

In this example shown in FIG. 7, one channel is assigned to a program reproduced by two drives,
An example of repeatedly broadcasting one program on two discs with one channel has been shown, but if one or more programs can be completed and recorded on one disc, they are assigned to the same channel. If different discs are played back by two different drives, a plurality of different programs will be broadcast on the same channel with a time difference, so that a wide variety of services will be provided.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation in the linked reproduction mode. This mode is a development of the alternate reproduction mode described above, and enables continuous reproduction for a longer time. That is, in the example shown in (1) of FIG. 8, one program is continuously reproduced by the four drives A to D sequentially.
As shown in (2) of the above, all the outputs of the four drives A to D are arranged in the same channel. This allows the VTR
It becomes possible to reproduce for an average length of time.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, one channel is assigned to the programs reproduced by the four drives,
An example of repeatedly broadcasting one program over four discs with one channel has been shown, but if one or more programs can be completed and recorded on one disc, the channels are assigned to the same channel. If 4 different drives play different discs, 4 or more programs with different time differences will be continuously broadcast on the same channel.
Wide variety of services.

Any one of the special reproduction modes described above is used.
It is possible to provide a wider variety of video distribution services by switching and using these reproduction modes on a weekly basis, a daily basis, a day of the week, etc., instead of using one of these methods fixedly.

Next, a method in which another function is added to the menu generating circuit 103 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a modified example of the menu generation circuit 103, in which the same components as those in FIG. 3 are designated by the same reference numerals. In FIG. 9, 901a to 901d
Is a video effector for processing a video signal to give a visual change.

In the video distribution service provided in various hotels and the like, in some cases, the self-broadcasting programs include those which are not suitable for young people to view (so-called adult movies). In such a case, if the menu channel shown in FIG. 4 is distributed, the above-mentioned program can be viewed for free, although it is a reduced screen.
Not preferred.

Therefore, the menu generation circuit of FIG. 9 is provided with the video effector 901 so that it is possible to select only a specific channel to make it difficult to see it. In the configuration of FIG. 9, the video output from each video CD player 207 is temporarily output by the video effector 901.
To the picture-in-picture unit 307, and then, superimposes it on the background image 401. As a result, the contents of any one of the reduced screens in the screen of the menu channel can be made invisible or difficult.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the video distribution system, four units are provided in a VTR size casing.
By using a four-series video CD server containing one video CD player, the installation space can be significantly reduced compared to the conventional one.

As a means for allowing the viewer to confirm the broadcast content, a menu-dedicated channel is provided so that the viewer can select programs more smoothly. It is possible to reduce the charging trouble caused by mistakenly selecting a non-program.

Further, according to the NOD mode, which is a special playback mode provided in the four-series video CD server, the same discs are loaded into all four players and the playback is started with a fixed time difference. It is possible to reduce the reproduction start waiting time.

Furthermore, according to the alternate reproduction mode and the concatenated reproduction mode, it is possible to distribute a program for a long time even if a video CD having a maximum recording time of about 1 hour is used.

Furthermore, a variety of video distribution services can be provided by using a combination of these special reproduction modes or by switching these modes on a date, day of the week, or weekly basis.

If the reproduction of the video CD is started when the viewer requests, the same number of viewers as the number of channels providing the unique program service can start watching from the beginning of the program. . At this time, even if all the channels are in the playback state as a result of responding to the requests from a plurality of viewers, other viewers should select and watch one of the programs being broadcast at that time. Therefore, it is possible to avoid falling into a monopoly state of a specific viewer.

The menu-dedicated channel generation circuit described in the above-mentioned embodiment uses the 4-series video C as the signal source of the video signal to be superimposed on the background image in picture-in-picture.
Although the D server is used, the same operation can be performed with other signal sources, so that the same effect can be obtained even if the D server is applied to a video distribution system including a VTR or a laser disk.

The background image drawing device 301 is a general-purpose PC.
However, the effect does not change even if the image data created in advance by another means is stored in a storage medium such as a ROM and is read out.

Further, FIG. 4 is an example of the menu screen, and the number of reduced screens, the contents of characters to be displayed, the design, etc. are not limited to this.

[0065]

As described above, according to the video program distribution device (for example, four-series video CD server) including the multiple video disk server of the present invention, the volume of one conventional home VCR is Since a plurality of (for example, four) outputs can be obtained, it is possible to save space and easily meet the demand for multiple channels.

Also, by assigning the menu broadcast generated by the menu screen generating circuit to a single channel, it is possible to inform the customer of the contents of the pay broadcast free of charge, which simplifies the management of billing and at the same time the customer A user-friendly video program service can be obtained from the side as well.

Furthermore, since the reduction screen on the menu screen is configured so as to be difficult to see as necessary, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the audience rating of pay broadcasting.
In addition, if the program is not suitable for young people to watch, it is possible to perform processing such as not being able to understand the content of that program only.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a video distribution system (wired video broadcasting system) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a quad video CD server in FIG.

3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a menu generating circuit in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen of a menu channel in the video distribution system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a transmission frequency band in the video distribution system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation in a NOD (Near On Demand) mode in the video distribution system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation in the alternate reproduction mode in the video distribution system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation in a linked reproduction mode in the video distribution system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a block diagram showing another configuration example of the menu generating circuit in FIG. 1. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 Quadruple Video CD Server 103 Menu Generation Circuit 104 RF Modulator 105 Mixer 106 Control PC 112 Set Top 113 TV Monitor

Front page continued (72) Inventor Kuji Yonede 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa, Ltd. Information & Video Division, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Masami Nishida 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Hitachi, Ltd. Information & Video Division (72) Inventor Masayoshi Sato, 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of video disc players in a housing, a video disc control means for independently controlling the plurality of video disc players, and video and audio signals independently from the plurality of video disc players. And a video / audio output means for outputting a plurality of systems to the video program distribution device. 2. The video disc control means according to claim 1, further comprising a reproduction start time designation control means for independently designating an operation start time of each of the plurality of video disc players to start reproduction. A video program distribution device characterized by the above. 3. The video program distribution according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the video disc control unit includes a concatenation reproducing unit that temporally concatenates and reproduces the plurality of video disc players. apparatus. 4. The video disc control means according to claim 1, wherein the video disc control means selects any two of the plurality of video disc players to be temporally connected and reproduced. A video program distribution device comprising a connection reproduction means. 5. The video disc control unit according to claim 2, wherein the video disc control unit selects any one of the reproduction time designation control unit, the connection reproduction unit, and the selection connection reproduction unit. Or, a video program distribution device characterized by reproducing any one of a plurality of combinations. 6. The video program distribution device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of video disc players provided in the housing are four video CD players. . 7. At least one of the video program distribution devices according to claim 1, a transmission path for transmitting the video programs, and a video program reproduction device for receiving and reproducing the video programs. A video distribution system characterized by having. 8. The RF modulating device according to claim 7, wherein the output video signal from the video program distributing device is RF (Radio Frequency) modulated at different carrier frequencies, and the RF modulating device performs RF modulation. Mixing and transmitting means for mixing the RF signals into one transmission frequency band and transmitting them to the transmission path, wherein the video program reproducing device selects and demodulates the RF signals mixed by the mixing and transmitting means. A video delivery system comprising means for performing. 9. The temporally connected video signal reproduced by the connection reproduction means or the selective connection reproduction means according to claim 8, wherein the RF modulation means performs RF modulation at the same carrier frequency. Video distribution system characterized by. 10. The background video signal generation means for generating a background video signal according to claim 7, and each output video signal of the video program distribution device, the background video signal generation means. And a composite video signal generating means for generating a composite video signal by superimposing the background video signal on the background video signal in a picture-in-picture format, and the composite video signal generated by the composite video signal generating means is A video distribution system used for the purpose of informing a viewer of the contents of each output video signal of the video program distribution device. 11. The video distribution system according to claim 10, further comprising character information display means for displaying text information superimposed on the composite video signal generated by the composite video signal generation means. . 12. The video distribution system according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the composite video signal is generated by the composite video signal generation means in units of the video program distribution device. 13. The video distribution system according to claim 10, wherein the composite video signal is distributed by an independent carrier wave. 14. The composite video signal generation means according to claim 10, wherein the composite video signal generation means includes video processing means for applying special effect processing to each output video signal of the video program distribution device, A video distribution system characterized in that the video signal superimposed on the background video signal generated by the background video signal generation means is a video signal subjected to special effect processing by the video processing means. 15. A video distribution system using at least one video program distribution device comprising video / audio output means for independently outputting a plurality of video and audio signals from a plurality of video / audio sources. , A background video signal generating means for generating a background video signal and each output video signal of the video program distribution device are superimposed on the background video signal generated by the background video signal generating means in a picture-in-picture format. And a composite video signal generating means for generating a composite video signal, and the composite video signal generated by the composite video signal generating means informs a viewer of the contents of each output video signal of the video program distribution device. A video distribution system characterized by being used for the purpose. 16. The video distribution system according to claim 15, further comprising character information display means for displaying text information superimposed on the composite video signal generated by the composite video signal generation means. . 17. The video distribution system according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the composite video signal is generated by the composite video signal generation means in units of the video program distribution device. 18. The video distribution system according to claim 15, wherein the composite video signal is distributed by an independent carrier wave. 19. The composite video signal generation means according to claim 15, wherein the composite video signal generation means includes video processing means for applying special effect processing to each output video signal of the video program distribution device, A video distribution system characterized in that the video signal superimposed on the background video signal generated by the background video signal generation means is a video signal subjected to special effect processing by the video processing means.