JP2001231014A - Video information reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve problem that a conventional video information reproducing device such as a video camera has difficulty of freely selecting contents by a method using a PC against the limit on the number of buttons on the video camera and the need of a simple operating method such as holding the video camera by one hand and operation by the other hand and there is a lack of the concept of designated and succeeding contents by the PC because files are independently in existence in the PC against the needs of a simple selection of a reproduction method of reproduction of designated and succeeding contents or only designated contents. SOLUTION: The video information reproducing device is provided with a thumbnail display means that displays thumbnail pictures on an output video image at the same time, a thumbnail selection cursor used to select an optional thumbnail picture on the thumbnail display image, and a selection button that is used to select a mode of reproducing designated thumbnail and succeeding pictures or a mode of selecting a single or a plurality of thumbnail pictures.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for reproducing video information, and more particularly to an apparatus for reproducing a plurality of types of video information such as recorded moving images and still images on a randomly accessible medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a moving image recording / reproducing apparatus, there is a conventional apparatus using a video tape such as VHS, beta, or 8 mm video, and recording / reproducing is performed using these magnetic tape media. When using a videotape, a single tape may contain multiple contents (for TV broadcasting, for each program, for camera shooting, for each shot, etc.) It is difficult to grasp whether or not the video is recorded, or to find a video to watch. As a means for solving this problem, a video cassette recorder "EV-NS9000" using an 8 mm video tape manufactured by Sony Corporation has a visual scan function. An index signal is recorded on the 8 mm video tape in advance at the beginning of the content, and when the visual scan button on the main unit or the remote control is pressed, the position where the index signal is recorded from the beginning to the end of the tape is recorded. Is automatically scanned, an image at a location where the index signal is present is taken out as a still image, and the still images are displayed on a 3 × 3 = 9 scene screen on the television screen in the order in which they are found. Then, when the user presses a play button when a scene to be viewed comes out, the reproduction after the scene is performed.

[0003] However, in order to perform a visual scan, it is necessary to scan from the beginning to the end of the video tape, and it takes a lot of time. On the other hand, means for digitizing captured moving images and still images and recording them on a randomly accessible medium such as a hard disk or an optical disk are being put into practical use. With this method, recording on one medium is possible. It is possible to quickly and quickly display a plurality of contents on a thumbnail display screen such as a scene screen of 3 × 3 = 9 screens in an extremely short time.

[0004] When a photographed image can be accessed at a high speed in units of contents, there is a need to select some images to be reproduced and to continuously reproduce the images.
A method of listing a plurality of files and selecting an arbitrary file from these files is described in
Windows, one of Microsoft S
For example, a method of selecting a file with a mouse while holding down the ctrl key has been realized.

[0005]

In a video cassette recorder and especially a video camera, the number of buttons that can be set on the device is limited, or the device is held with one hand and operated with the other hand. Therefore, a simple operation method is required, and it is difficult to freely select contents by using the personal computer. Further, as in the video cassette recorder, it is necessary to easily switch between a reproduction method for reproducing the specified content and thereafter and a reproduction method for reproducing only the specified content. Exist independently of each other, and there is no concept itself after the designated content, and it is impossible to perform this designation.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a thumbnail display means for simultaneously displaying a plurality of thumbnail screens on an output image of a video cassette recorder or a video camera; , A thumbnail selection cursor for selecting an arbitrary thumbnail, a selection button for switching between a mode for reproducing the specified thumbnail and subsequent ones, and a mode for selecting one or a plurality of thumbnails are provided.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A specific example of an embodiment of a video information reproducing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a video information reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.
It is a block diagram showing an example of an internal configuration.

[0009] The video information reproducing apparatus is composed of various devices connected as shown in the figure, centering on a CPU 100 and a bus 109 connected thereto. An image captured by the lens and the sensor 101 is sent to the encoding circuit 103 via the camera DSP and the bus 109. The image data subjected to the compression processing by the encoding circuit 103 is transmitted to the optical disk 10
7 is stored. The image data stored on the optical disk is sent to the decoding circuit 104 at the time of reproduction, and is subjected to decompression processing. A memory 105 is provided as a work area for performing these processes, and a button 108 is provided for a user to input an instruction to perform shooting, playback, and thumbnail display and operation described later.

FIG. 2 shows a video information reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.
It is a figure showing the example of the appearance where the operation button was arranged.

This embodiment is an example of a video camera, and each operation button is arranged on a video camera main body 200. A cursor key 201 for selecting a thumbnail, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 3, an Enter key 202 for issuing a command such as reproduction for a specified thumbnail, and a command for canceling a command once designated.
ancel key 203, Menu key 205 for selecting an operation to be performed on a thumbnail, DEL key 206 for deleting image data corresponding to the specified thumbnail, Display key for displaying additional information such as date and time of image data during reproduction 207, and a selection key 204 for instructing selection of a thumbnail according to the present invention. In addition, there may be keys, such as Play, Stop, Pause, fast forward, and rewind keys, not shown, which are provided in a normal video camera or video cassette recorder.

FIG. 3 shows a video information reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a thumbnail display screen.

FIG. 3A shows a screen 301 of this embodiment.
, Two rows × 3 columns = six screens of thumbnail images 302 are displayed side by side, and one of them is indicated by a cursor shown by a frame line. At the bottom of the screen, the shooting date of the thumbnail pointed by the cursor, the total number of pages of the thumbnail display screen, the number of the currently displayed page, and the remaining amount of the optical disk 107 in FIG. 1 are displayed. In each thumbnail image, the title name, shooting time, and moving image (Movi
In the case of e) and audio (Audio), the time and the shooting mode are displayed as overlays. Here, the thumbnail is an image in the case of a still image (Still), but in the case of a moving image, the leading image or a representative image in the moving image can be used.

FIG. 3B shows a screen 303 of the present embodiment.
, The thumbnail images 305 of 1 row × 3 columns = 3 screens are displayed side by side, and one of them is indicated by the cursor shown by the frame line. 3A is different from FIG. 3A in that a thumbnail is displayed on the right side of the screen, and a title name, a shooting time, a moving image (Movie), and a sound (Audio) are given for each image on the captured image in an area on the left side of the screen. In the case of, the time and the shooting mode are displayed. By not overlaying, only three thumbnails can be displayed on this screen, but by not overlaying the information on the thumbnails instead, the thumbnail images are not checked.

FIG. 4 shows a video information reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a method of designating and reproducing a thumbnail.

FIG. 4A shows the thumbnail display screen 400 shown in FIG. 3A.
One thumbnail is indicated.

FIG. 4B shows the state of video information reproduced when, for example, the Enter key 202 of FIG. 2 is pressed in the state of FIG. 4A. Reference numeral 402 denotes an information stream of all the videos recorded on the optical disc according to the present invention. Reference numeral 403 denotes an image indicated by the thumbnail pointed to in FIG. By pressing the Enter key, 40
The reproduction starts from the pointer of No. 4, and the area indicated by the arrow 405 is reproduced. That is, playback is performed from the thumbnail indicated by the cursor to the end of the disc. Where 4
When it is desired to reproduce only the image 03 or a plurality of images including the image 403, a function of selecting a thumbnail indicating the image to be reproduced is required.

FIG. 5 shows a video information reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a structure of a video information stream, auxiliary information, and a method for using the information.

FIG. 5 (a) shows the contents of the information streams of all the videos recorded on the optical disk according to the present invention shown in FIG. 4 (b). The contents of the video information stream 500 include the first MPEG2 compressed image (MPEG2-1), the second MPEG2 compressed image (MPEG2-2), and the first MPEG1 compressed image (MPEG1-
1), 1st still image by JPEG compression (JPEG-1), MPEG2
It is arranged continuously with the third compressed image (MPEG2-3). These are arranged in the order of photographing or recording, and the order is not changed on this data. FIG. 5 (b)
Indicates auxiliary information of the video information stream. The auxiliary information includes a video ID (502), a title (503), thumbnail data (504), related information (505), and the like. In particular, by placing the thumbnail data 504 separately from the video information stream, FIG. In displaying the thumbnail display screen shown,
Since there is no need to scan the entire video information stream to create a thumbnail, a high-speed thumbnail display screen can be displayed. Further, the attribute of the image indicated by each thumbnail can be described in the related information. For example, FIG. 5B shows an example in which a skip attribute setting is described in the related information. When a certain image 507 in the video information stream 506 has the skip attribute set in the related information in the auxiliary information in FIG. 5A, when this video information stream is reproduced from the beginning, the part of the intermediate video 507 is deleted. Skip (509), that is, reproduction that skips without reproducing. In the related information, fade-in / fade-out can be set at the beginning or end of the image. As described above, the attribute can be specified for each image. However, in order to perform the work efficiently, it is necessary to perform an operation of selecting a plurality of images and setting the attribute collectively.

FIG. 6 shows a video information reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a method for selecting a thumbnail.

FIG. 6A is a screen showing a method of selecting an image pointed by a thumbnail. When the selection key 204 is pressed in the external view of FIG. 2, the mode is changed to the selection mode, and a message of “multiple selection” is displayed at the lower right of the screen. At this time, the thumbnail 600 pointed by the cursor is selected. When the cursor is moved to the right in this state, the thumbnail 601 is also selected as shown in FIG. FIG. 6C shows a reproducing operation when the Enter key in the external view of FIG. 2 is pressed in this state. An image 60 corresponding to one or more selected thumbnails in the video information stream 605
3 and the reproduction is started from 602 by pressing the Enter key. Then, the image 60 corresponding to the selected thumbnail
The reproduction is performed up to the end point 604 of No. 3 and stopped there. The stopped state may be a still image in the last frame of the image 603, or may return to the thumbnail selection screen in FIG. 6A or 6B.

FIG. 7 shows a video information reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation of skipping according to a selected thumbnail.

FIG. 7A shows an operation of skipping and reproducing the image pointed to by the selected thumbnail.
As shown in FIG. 6 (b), two consecutive thumbnails are selected, and FIG.
The skip attribute is set in the additional information shown in (b). Thereafter, when reproduction is performed from the beginning of the video information stream, the beginning position 70 of the image
When the reproduction pointer comes to 2, the reproduction is skipped and the reproduction is continued again from the end point position 703 of the image 701. At this time, as shown in the block diagram of FIG. 1, the video information stream written on the optical disk 107 is read in advance, expanded in the memory 105, and then reproduced using the decoding circuit 104, as shown in the block diagram of FIG. 702 of playback pointer
The movement from to 703 is performed instantaneously, and seamless reproduction can be performed as if the image 701 is not included in the video information stream.

FIG. 7B shows a function for reproducing only the selected image, contrary to the skip setting. In particular, FIG.
In contrast to this, the operation when a discontinuous image is selected and reproduced is shown. Selection of a thumbnail indicating a discontinuous image will be described later with reference to FIG. Two continuous images 704 and one image 708 are selected, and the program reproduction attribute is set in the additional information of these images instead of the skip attribute. The video information reproducing apparatus in the present embodiment
(1) All stream playback mode, (2) Skip playback mode,
(3) There are three program playback modes, (1) mode to play all images regardless of the set attributes, (2) mode to skip and play images with skip attributes set, and (3) is a mode for reproducing only an image for which the program reproduction attribute is set. When the reproduction is performed in the program reproduction mode of (3), reproduction starts from the head position 705 of the image 704, and when it reaches the end point 706 of the image 704, skips the intermediate image, reproduces the image 708, and ends reproduction. 7 (a) and 7 (b), the reproduction is performed while sequentially reading the additional information shown in FIG. 5 (b). A reproduction image list file is separately created based on this information, and the A format for reproduction may be used.

FIG. 8 shows a video information reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation method for selecting a plurality of thumbnails.

FIG. 8 (a) shows the same screen as in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b), showing the movement of the cursor after the selection key is pressed to enter the multiple selection mode and the state of thumbnail selection accordingly. It is shown. With the cursor on the second thumbnail from the left, pressing the select key to switch to the multiple selection mode and then moving the cursor to the right selects the thumbnail through which the moved cursor has passed. In this case, if you move the cursor back to the left again, the thumbnail through which the cursor passes will be selected in such a way that it will be filled, and you can not deselect the thumbnail once selected, press the select key again to completely select multiple selection mode There is no other way but to release it.

FIG. 8B shows a method of selecting a region up to a destination where the cursor has moved based on a position where the cursor was initially located. First, the selection key is pressed while the cursor is on the second thumbnail from the left, the mode is switched to the multiple selection mode, and two cursors are moved to the right, so that a total of three thumbnails are selected. Here, when the cursor is moved one position to the left, the rightmost selected thumbnail is deselected. As a result, although it is a continuous area, selection and redoing of a thumbnail can be freely performed.

FIG. 8C is an explanatory diagram showing a method of selecting discontinuous thumbnails. In the present embodiment, there are two multiple selection modes.
(A) or the operation of FIG. 8 (b) is performed, and when the button is pressed again, the mode is changed to the arbitrary selection mode. At this time, when the cursor is moved and the Enter key is pressed on the thumbnail to be selected, the thumbnail is selected. Pressing the DEL key on the selected thumbnail once cancels the selection. By repeating the above, an arbitrary plural selection becomes possible. When the selection key is pressed again when the selection of the target thumbnail is completed, FIG.
(A) or the state shown in FIG. 8 (b).
The thumbnail specified by the Enter key is played.

An instruction on what to do with the image pointed to by the thumbnail selected in advance in these operations is given from a menu (not shown) displayed by pressing the Menu key, for example, skip attribute setting, program playback attribute setting, image data body May be set in advance, and the instruction currently set in the selection screen may be displayed, for example, in the status line at the bottom of the screen.

The color of the cursor and that of the thumbnail-selected mark may be changed in the same form, or the selection mode shown in FIG. 8C may be distinguished by the color of the cursor. Alternatively, a distinction that the user can recognize may be given by changing the shape of the cursor or the form of the cursor line such as a dotted line instead of the color of the cursor.

[0031]

According to the present invention described above, in a video cassette recorder for recording video using a medium that can be randomly accessed, and particularly in a video camera, complicated screen display and operation buttons are not required, and arbitrary contents can be obtained. Can be selected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an internal configuration of a video information reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an appearance of a video information reproducing apparatus according to the present invention in which operation buttons are arranged.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a thumbnail display screen according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a method of designating and reproducing a thumbnail according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a structure of a video information stream, auxiliary information, and a method of using the same according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a method of selecting a thumbnail according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation of skipping according to a selected thumbnail according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation method for selecting a plurality of thumbnails according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

106: video output, 107: optical disk, 201: cursor key, 202: Enter key, 204: selection key, 3
02 ... thumbnail, 402 ... video information stream, 50
1. Additional information.

Continuing from the front page (72) Keiji Nagayama 1410 Inada, Hitachinaka-shi, Ibaraki Digital Media Products Division, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Hirotaka Kobayashi 1410 Inada, Hitachinaka-shi, Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Digital Media Hitachi, Ltd. 5D018 AB02 AB10 AB11 FA02 FA03 FB03 HA09 5C053 FA21 FA23 GB01 GB21 HA30 KA01 KA24 LA01 LA06 5D066 CA07 CA11 5D077 AA29 AA30 HA07 HC50 HD02 5E501 AA20 AC15 AC16 CB14 EA10 EB04 FA

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A video information reproducing apparatus for reproducing a video using a medium on which a video has been recorded by a method of continuously recording a plurality of video information including a moving image on a video information stream. A thumbnail display means for simultaneously displaying thumbnail screens showing a plurality of videos recorded on the first screen overlaps with a cursor movable on a thumbnail displayed on the thumbnail display screen, and a first pointer indicating an arbitrary thumbnail by the cursor is displayed. A video information reproducing apparatus provided with a selection button for switching between a mode and a second mode for selecting a single or a plurality of thumbnails. 2. A video information reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the first mode, the video subsequent to the thumbnail pointed to by the cursor is reproduced, and in the second mode, one or a plurality of selected thumbnails are reproduced. A video information reproducing apparatus for reproducing only a corresponding video. 3. The video information reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the cursor is moved in the second mode, an image corresponding to a thumbnail within a range where the cursor is moved is selected. . 4. The video information reproducing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the thumbnail corresponds to a thumbnail located between the thumbnail where the cursor was located at the time of switching to the second mode and the thumbnail to which the cursor was moved. A video information reproducing apparatus wherein an image is selected. 5. The video information reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the second mode, when the cursor is moved, a first sub-mode in which an image corresponding to a thumbnail within a range where the cursor is moved is selected; A video information reproducing apparatus having a second submode in which an image corresponding to a thumbnail at a cursor position is selected by moving and pressing a specific button other than the selection button. 6. A video information reproducing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said first mode, said first sub-mode and said second sub-mode are switched by pressing a selection button. Playback device. 7. The video information reproducing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the first sub-mode and the second sub-mode are switched in a system setting of the video information reproducing apparatus. 8. A video information reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a color or a shape of a cursor is changed for each mode. 9. A video information reproducing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the mark and the cursor indicating that the thumbnail is selected have the same outer shape, and the difference between the two is indicated by the color or pattern of the cursor. A video information reproducing apparatus characterized by distinction. 10. The video information reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an attribute used at the time of reproduction can be set for an image corresponding to the selected thumbnail. 11. The video information reproducing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said attribute is a skip attribute for skipping and reproducing a selected image. 12. The video information reproducing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said attribute is recorded in a predetermined area on a medium.