JP2001148832A - Recording and reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording and reproducing device that can be compatible with reproduction of a plurality of channels of any combination. SOLUTION: The recording and reproducing device that operates n-sets (n is a natural number of 2 or over) storage devices in parallel so as to conduct simultaneous recording and reproduction by m-channels (m is natural number of 2 or over and n or below), separates m-channels of stream data into blocks in the unit of k-sets (k is a natural number of (m) or over but (n) or below) of images, and shares the blocks as divisions of each channel to n-sets of the storage devices, which record the blocks sequentially.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording / reproducing apparatus, and particularly to the case where simultaneous recording / reproducing with a plurality of channels is performed in a limited storage device, the arrangement of each recording file in each storage device is affected. The present invention relates to a recording / reproducing apparatus capable of reproducing without being reproduced.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, developments have been made with the aim of improving services such as digitizing broadcast radio waves, improving image quality, improving sound quality, increasing the number of channels, and responding to data broadcasting. For this reason, a device that receives such a broadcast wave needs to newly handle digital data, and further requires a recording device for recording such digital data.

[0005] By the way, as a storage device for constituting a recording device, a VTR using a tape-shaped recording medium such as a magnetic tape and a disk device using a disk-shaped recording medium such as an optical disk are generally considered. Considering that the data to be recorded is digital data, it is also possible to use a data storage such as a hard disk drive (HDD).

The above-described storage media have advantages and disadvantages in their performance. For example, a magnetic tape has an advantage of having a large storage capacity, but has a disadvantage that it takes time to access a random position on the tape. Further, the optical disc has a certain storage capacity and has an advantage that a desired position can be accessed at a relatively high speed, but has a disadvantage that a long time is required for recording. Furthermore,
The HDD has the advantage that it can be accessed at high speed, but has the disadvantage that it is difficult to exchange media and that its storage capacity is smaller than that of the above-mentioned storage media.

Therefore, by using a plurality of types of storage devices hierarchically, the recording speed and
It is possible to satisfy the conditions regarding storage capacity and high-speed access.

For example, JP-A-8-292842 discloses that
An optical disk drive with a low-cost, low-speed, large-capacity automatic media exchange mechanism and a memory, which is composed of high-priced, high-speed, small-capacity semiconductors and acts as an output buffer, have a hard disk with intermediate properties between them. A video server is disclosed.

[0007] As described above, when reproducing images and sounds, the images are reproduced once by a high-speed HDD, and when the reproduction preparation is completed in a VTR, a disk device, or the like, the images are quickly displayed by switching the reproduction to these devices. Operability is improved.

In addition to the above-described storage device, a nonvolatile RA
By using M (hereinafter, referred to as RAM), higher-speed recording / reproducing becomes possible.

Attempts have been made to simultaneously realize an apparently high access speed and a large storage capacity while hierarchically recording data in these storage devices and making use of the respective advantages. That is, when recording, the beginning of the program to be recorded is
For example, the data is temporarily recorded on a high-speed storage device such as a hard disk drive, and then recorded on a tape having a large storage capacity although it takes time to prepare for reproduction. At the time of reproduction, reproduction of a program by a high-speed HDD is started, and when reproduction of the tape device is ready, the reproduction is switched to tape reproduction.

[0010] Incidentally, the above-mentioned recording apparatus is an existing VT.
In addition to exclusive recording and reproduction of only one channel like R, a plurality of channels can be simultaneously recorded and reproduced, and can also serve as a video server.

In digital broadcasting, HD (H
(High Definition) level broadcasting is possible, but when recording this, the transfer rate of one channel becomes as large as about 20 Mbps = 2.5 MB / s, and HD
D also requires considerable performance. Further, in the case of simultaneous recording of a plurality of channels, the transfer speed needs to be an effective transfer speed obtained by multiplying the above-described transfer speed of one channel by the number of channels (an integer multiple), and H is a relatively high transfer speed.
Even with a DD, it becomes difficult to perform recording on a plurality of channels by itself.

As a possible countermeasure, first,
This is an improvement of the HDD itself. Improve internal transfer speed, seek speed, use two carriage arms,
Although there are methods such as adopting parallel transfer, all of them lead to an increase in cost of the HDD and are not practical.

Second, if data is allocated to a plurality of HDDs while satisfying the required total capacity by using a plurality of HDDs, the effective transfer speed can be increased to the number of HDDs. it can. As a result, the storage capacity of one HDD can be set to 1 / the number of HDDs, so that a relatively low-order model can be used and a low-cost configuration can be achieved.

[0014]

However, when the above-described recording / reproducing apparatus is used as a video server for simultaneous recording and simultaneous reproduction of a plurality of channels, both a high transfer rate and a large storage capacity are required. In addition, performance for maintaining continuous transfer is required.

In particular, since a high transfer rate is required to record an HD broadcast as described above, a single HDD can record and reproduce only one channel. Therefore, when the above-described second method is adopted, for example, two HDDs are used in parallel so that simultaneous recording of two channels is possible. With this configuration, a stream of a plurality of channels (in this case, two channels) input to the recording / reproducing apparatus is distributed to each HDD for recording on a channel basis. In this example, the number of channels that can be simultaneously recorded is two, but if not simultaneous recording, a plurality of contents can be distributed to each HDD and recorded.

However, in the case of simultaneously playing back the recorded contents in two channels, if the files of the respective contents are separately arranged in the respective HDDs, it is possible to simultaneously play back the two HDDs by simultaneously playing the respective HDDs. However, if content files to be reproduced simultaneously are arranged in the same HDD, one HDD
In this case, since only one channel can be reproduced, there is a case where the reproduction cannot be performed on two channels at the same time, and there is a problem that the service capability as a video server is reduced.

[0017]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, n (n is a natural number of 2 or more) recording / reproducing means are operated in parallel to provide m channels (m is a natural number of 2 or more and n or less). A recording / reproducing apparatus that performs simultaneous recording / reproducing of: a separating unit that divides m-channel stream data to be simultaneously recorded into n pieces, and sequentially allocates the divided stream data to the n pieces of the recording / reproducing means. Control means for recording on a recording medium mounted on each recording / reproducing means, wherein the divided stream data is reproduced from each recording / reproducing means for each channel, and reconstructed to perform m-channel simultaneous reproduction. A recording / reproducing apparatus characterized in that the recording / reproducing apparatus is performed.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system including a recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention. First, a digital broadcast wave from a broadcast satellite 1 (broadcast source) is received by a broadcast antenna 2 and received by a broadcast receiver 3.
At this time, if the data transmitted by the digital broadcast wave is encoded by a method such as MPEG, the broadcast receiver 3 decodes the data and supplies the image and the sound to the TV monitor 4. As a broadcast source, not only the above-mentioned broadcast satellite 1 but also a terrestrial wave, a cable, or the like can be adopted.

A program desired by a viewer is recorded by a recording / reproducing apparatus 5 having a recording / reproducing means such as an HDD. The recorded program can be viewed on the TV monitor 4, but if the digital broadcast wave is recorded in the recording / reproducing apparatus 5 in a state of being encoded by MPEG or the like, the broadcast receiver 3 is not reproduced at the time of reproduction. Need to be decrypted.

The recording / reproducing apparatus 5 has a first HDD 7a and a second HDD 7b which are relatively quick to access and have a large capacity.
It is configured by a combination with the RAM 6 which has a smaller capacity, is more expensive than the first HDD 7a and the second HDD 7b, and has a quick access.

In the system according to the present embodiment, as described above, the content recorded by the recording and
A usage method of directly reproducing the content on the monitor 4 or distributing the content to each room through a home network for viewing is conceivable.

Digital broadcasts have specifications that are multi-channel and have high image quality such as HD. In response to this, a recording / reproducing apparatus performs exclusive recording of only one channel like a conventional VTR. There is a need for a recording / reproducing apparatus capable of simultaneous recording on a plurality of channels, not a reproducing apparatus. If a recording / reproducing apparatus is considered as a video server using a home network as described above, a recording / reproducing apparatus capable of simultaneously reproducing a plurality of channels is required. Equipment is also required. Such a recording / reproducing apparatus is required to have both high transfer speed and large storage capacity.

Each of the first HDD 7a and the second HDD 7b is limited to 1
Since only exclusive recording and reproduction of channels can be performed, two HDDs are operated in parallel and recording and reproduction are simultaneously performed on two HDDs, so that a transfer speed of two channels can be apparently secured. In this embodiment, the buffer RAM 6 having a higher transfer speed is provided in order to absorb a change in the transfer speed of the first HDD 7a and the second HDD 7b.

Next, an embodiment of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is an internal configuration diagram of the recording / reproducing device 5. Video and audio data is received from a broadcast receiver or the like via the serial interface 11. The main controller 12 controls the entire recording apparatus such as separating data from the serial interface 11 into commands and data.

Further, there is a memory controller 18 for controlling the buffer RAM 6, and there is a data controller 13 for controlling division and combination of stream data. The stream data is stored in two HDDs 7a,
7b via the bus controller 14 for controlling the first H
The data is divided and recorded and reproduced on the DD 7a and the second HDD 7b. Further, a microprocessor 18 that controls the recording / reproducing device 5 is connected to the main controller 12.

When the multiplexed stream data is recorded by the recording / reproducing apparatus 5, the file arrangement shown in FIG. 3 is generally obtained. According to the figure, the first HDD 7a
And the second HDD 7b are arranged as storage / reproducing means. The stream data S1 is already recorded in the first HDD 7a, and the stream data S3 is already recorded in the second HDD 7b. S2 and stream data S4 are newly multiplexed and sent. Here, the stream data S2 and the stream data S4 are separated by the dividing means constituted by the data controller 13, the bus controller 14, and the like, and the respective channels are recorded on the respective HDDs 7a and 7b. This makes it possible to apparently record two channels simultaneously.

When the stream data recorded with the file arrangement as shown in FIG. 3 is reproduced, the process is as shown in FIG. Here, like the combination of the stream data S1 and the stream data S4, the two HDDs 7a and 7b
In the case of reproducing the stream data S1 and S4 arranged in each of the HDDs 7a and 7b, one channel may be reproduced from each HDD 7a and 7b. However, it becomes impossible to simultaneously play back stream data arranged in the same HDD 7a like the stream data S1 and the stream data S2. To solve this, the same stream data is transferred to both HDDs 7a and 7b as shown in FIG.
Or both HDDs 7a, 7b
However, the same stream data always exists in two HDDs.
The free space of D7a, 7b is pressed.

Therefore, by changing the file arrangement in the recording / reproducing apparatus 5 described above, it is possible to respond to a request for simultaneous reproduction of stream data in any combination. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the original stream data is converted into image units (GOP, etc.).
, And convert to a recording format for recording. When the stream data S2 and the stream data S4 are multiplexed and transmitted, each image unit is composed of a continuous unit such as S2-1, S2-2,. 1-
1, S2-1-2, S2-2-1, S2-2-2,...
Is divided into two. Similarly, the stream data S4 is composed of continuous units such as S4-1, S4-2,.
4-1-2, S4-2-1, S4-2-2,... Then, S2-1-1, S2 is stored in the first HDD 7a.
4-1-1, S2-2-1, S4-2-1 are recorded, and S2-1-2, S4-1-2, S2-2 are stored in the second HDD 7b.
-2-2 and S4-2-2 are recorded. At this time, each HD
S7-1-1 and S2-1-2 are simultaneously performed on D7a and 7b, and S4-1-1 and S4-1-2 are simultaneously performed in half the time of each image unit (S2-1 and S4-1). Record. Thereafter, the recording is similarly performed to the end.

As a result, in each of the HDDs 7a and 7b, an image unit of the stream data of each channel divided into halves is recorded alternately. Further, the stream data S1 and the stream data S3 are divided and recorded in advance as in the present embodiment.

When the stream data S1 and the stream data S2 are simultaneously reproduced from the stream data recorded in this manner, each HDD 7
a, 7b to S2-1-1 and S2-1-2 simultaneously,
1-1-1 and S1-1-2 are simultaneously read out in half the time of each image unit, and are stored in the RAM 6 as a buffer. Similarly, the image unit divided in half is reconstructed, and two stream units are combined to reproduce the original stream data.

With the file arrangement shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to simultaneously read out the stream data S1 and the stream data S4. Regardless of the combination of the stream data, the data of the channel designated from the two HDDs 7a and 7b can be read. By simultaneously reading and reconstructing half of the image units, two channels can be reproduced simultaneously.
Moreover, since the same file is not arranged in the two HDDs 7a and 7b, the storage capacity of each HDD 7a and 7b is not reduced.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the data controller 13 of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention. First, the multiplexed stream data is received from the main controller 12, the data detector 13a detects a break of the stream data, and sends a detection signal to the sequencer 13c. The sequencer 13c generates a timing signal for the subsequent stream data based on the detection signal. The stream data passes through a buffer 13b, is separated by a channel by a demultiplexer 13d, and is further divided into two blocks of image data by channel for each channel by a divider 13e. The divided block data is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 13f, and is input to the bus controller 14 as divisional stream data alternately configured by the multiplexer 13g. The bus controller records data in each of the HDDs 7a and 7b in actual recording units of the HDDs 7a and 7b. These operations are performed by the microprocessor 15 shown in FIG. 2, and the operation opposite to the above-described recording operation is performed during reproduction.

Although the above embodiment has been described based on the case where the number of HDDs is two, it goes without saying that the same processing can be performed even if the number of HDDs increases. Specifically, n
Using m (n is a natural number of 2 or more) HDDs, m channels (m is a natural number of 2 or more and n or less) can be simultaneously recorded and reproduced. At this time, the number of divided stream data of each channel is n. Individual.

[0034]

As described above in detail, according to the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, at the time of recording, the image unit of each channel is divided and recorded on each HDD alternately, so that any combination of For multiple channel playback requests,
There is an effect that simultaneous reproduction can always be performed without recording the same file on all HDDs.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system including a recording / reproducing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing recorded stream data in a conventional recording / reproducing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of recorded stream data in a conventional recording / reproducing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing recorded stream data in the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a data controller in the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Broadcast satellite 2 Broadcast antenna 3 Broadcast receiver 4 TV monitor 5 Recording / reproducing device 7a First HDD 7b Second HDD 8 RAM 11 Serial interface 12 Main controller 13 Data controller 14 Bus controller 15 Microprocessor 18 Memory controller

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A recording and reproducing apparatus for simultaneously recording and reproducing m channels (m is a natural number not less than 2 and not more than n) by operating n (n is a natural number not less than 2) recording and reproducing means in parallel, Separating means for dividing the m-channel stream data to be simultaneously recorded into n pieces of data; control for sequentially allocating the divided stream data to the n pieces of recording and reproducing means and recording the divided stream data on a recording medium mounted on each of the recording and reproducing means Means for reproducing the divided stream data from the respective recording / reproducing means for each channel and reconstructing the divided stream data to simultaneously reproduce m channels.