JP2001359050A - Decoder and its method, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a decoding method by which only reproducible contents files are outputted in a form of list. SOLUTION: A control section of a set-top box reads a Descriptor of an AV recorder via an IEEE 1394 interface and an IEEE 1394 bus in a step S11. The control section in a step S12 selects contents files that can be reproduced by the set-top box on the basis of attribute information recorded in the Descriptor and gives a discrimination result to a GUI generating section. The GUI generating section in a step S13 generates a GUI list that includes information of the contents files selected so as to be reproducible and does not include information of contents files selected so as not to be reproducible among contents files recorded in the AV recorder and outputs the list to an output section.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a decoding apparatus, a decoding method, and a recording medium. For example, the present invention relates to a decoding apparatus suitable for reading and decoding encoded AV data recorded on an information recording medium. The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method, and a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when recording AV data (synchronized audio data and video data) such as television broadcasts, a video cassette tape or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) is used as a recording medium, and the audio data is recorded. For recording, MD (Mini Disc) and audio cassette tape have been used as recording media. Further, when used in a personal computer, AV data, audio data, and video data are sometimes recorded on a hard disk.

[0003] In recent years, the capacity and cost of hard disks have been increasing, and it is conceivable that hard disks will be used as recording media shared by different types of AV equipment in the future.

Specifically, for example, a hard disk and an IE
A plurality of different types of AV equipment are connected via the EE1394 bus, and various formats of A supplied from each AV equipment are connected.
V data may be recorded as a content file on a hard disk, and each AV device may present a list of contents recorded on the hard disk to a user, and may be used for reading and reproducing a content file selected by the user. Conceivable.

[0005]

As described above, when AV data of different formats are recorded as content files on one hard disk, the following problems may occur.

For example, an AV device that can decode only AV data of a specific format includes five content files F1 to F5 (including a content file F2 of AV data of a format that cannot be decoded by the AV device). When a user is presented with a list of content files recorded on the hard disk in which the content of the AV data is in a format that cannot be decoded by the AV device, as shown in the display example of the list shown in FIG. The file F2 is also presented to the user, which may confuse the user.

Further, when the user selects a content file F2 that cannot be decoded and instructs reproduction, processing such as muting the output of video and audio is required, or the AV equipment malfunctions. It is assumed that the situation will happen.

[0008] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a single hard disk is used for a plurality of different AVs.
When AV data in different formats is recorded as a content file shared by devices, only a reproducible content file can be presented as a list.
It is intended to realize V equipment.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a decoding apparatus comprising: an acquiring unit for acquiring attribute information of a file recorded on an information recording medium; and a file recorded on the information recording medium based on the attribute information. Determining means for determining whether or not to decode the data constituting, based on the determination result of the determining means,
Generating means for generating a list of files recorded on the information recording medium, receiving means for receiving selection information from a user corresponding to the list generated by the generating means, and reading a file corresponding to the selected information from the information recording medium Reading means, and A from the file read by the reading means.
It is characterized by including decoding means for extracting and decoding V-encoded data, and display control means for controlling display of a list and decoding results of the decoding means.

[0010] The decoding apparatus of the present invention uses A as a broadcast signal.
Receiving means for receiving V-encoded data, recording the AV-encoded data received by the receiving means into a file and recording it on an information recording medium, and recording attribute information corresponding to the AV encoded data on the information recording medium Means can further be included.

[0011] The generation means may include a filtering means for filtering a file recorded on the information recording medium based on the attribute information.

[0012] The predetermined system may be an MPEG2 system.

According to the decoding method of the present invention, an acquisition step of acquiring attribute information of a file recorded on an information recording medium, and decoding of data constituting a file recorded on the information recording medium based on the attribute information A generating step of generating a list of files recorded on the information recording medium based on a result of the determination in the processing of the determining step, and a list corresponding to the list generated in the processing of the generating step. A receiving step of receiving selection information from a user, a reading step of reading a file corresponding to the selection information from the information recording medium, and a decoding step of extracting and decoding AV encoded data from the file read in the processing of the reading step And a display control step of controlling display of a decoding result in the processing of the list and the decoding step. And wherein the Mukoto.

According to the present invention, there is provided a program for a recording medium, comprising: an acquiring step of acquiring attribute information of a file recorded on an information recording medium; and data constituting a file recorded on the information recording medium based on the attribute information. A determining step of determining whether or not decoding is possible, a generating step of generating a list of files recorded on the information recording medium based on the determination result of the processing of the determining step, and a list generated by the processing of the generating step A receiving step of receiving selection information from a corresponding user, a reading step of reading a file corresponding to the selection information from the information recording medium, and extracting and decoding AV encoded data from the file read in the processing of the reading step Display control for controlling the decoding step and the display of the decoding result in the processing of the list and the decoding step Characterized in that it comprises a step.

[0015] In the decoding device and method of the present invention, and the program of the recording medium, attribute information of a file recorded on the information recording medium is obtained, and the file recorded on the information recording medium is obtained based on the attribute information. It is determined whether or not the data constituting the data can be decrypted, and based on the determination result,
A list of files recorded on the information recording medium is generated. Further, selection information from the user corresponding to the generated list is received, a file corresponding to the selection information is read from the information recording medium, AV encoded data is extracted and decoded from the read file, The display of the list and the decryption result is controlled.

[0016]

FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of an AV recorder sharing system including a set-top box to which the present invention is applied. In this AV recorder sharing system, CS (Communicat) represented by SkyPerfecTV (trademark)
ions Satellite) broadcast signal and BS (Broadcast Satell)
ite) A set-top box (STB) 1 for receiving a digital broadcast signal is connected via a IEEE1394 bus 3 to a large-capacity recording medium such as a hard disk and an AV recorder 4 having a descriptor structure. The AV recorder 4 is further connected to the AV recorder 4 via the IEEE1394 bus 3, for example,
AV equipment such as a digital video cassette recorder (DVCR) 4 and a mini disc deck (MD) 5 can be connected.

The set top box 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of the set-top box 1. Receiver 1 of set-top box 1
1 is an MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Grou
p) Broadcast signal encoded in two systems (ie,
MPEG2 transport stream, hereinafter MPEG2-TS
And the decoding unit 12 or IEEE13
94 to the interface (I / F) 14. Decoding section 1
2 decodes the MPEG2-TS supplied from the receiving unit 11 or the IEEE1394 interface 14 and outputs the obtained video data and audio data to the output unit 13. The output unit 13 outputs the video data and audio data input from the decoding unit 12 or the GUI video data input from the GUI generation unit 15 to the monitor 2.
And outputs it to the monitor 2.

The IEEE 1394 interface 14 is connected to the receiving unit 1
The MPEG2-TS supplied from the control unit 1 and the attribute information of the MPEG2-TS supplied from the control unit 16 are output to the AV recorder 4 via the IEEE1394 bus 3. The IEEE1394 interface 14 is also input from the AV recorder 4,
The attribute information recorded in the Descriptor in the AV recorder 4 is output to the GUI generator 15. The IEEE1394 interface 14 is also provided with an MPEG2-T input from the AV recorder 4.
S is output to the decoding unit 12.

The GUI generation unit 15 outputs the set-top box 1 of the content files recorded in the AV recorder 4 based on the attribute information recorded in the Descriptor of the AV recorder 4 and inputted from the IEEE1394 interface 14. Is a GUI (Graphical User) consisting of a list of items that can be reproduced (that the decoding unit 12 can decode).
Interface) is generated and output to the output unit 13.

The control unit 16 controls the drive 17 to
Magnetic disk 18, optical disk 19, magneto-optical disk 2
0 or a control program stored in the semiconductor memory 21 is read, and each unit of the set-top box 1 is controlled based on the read control program or a command input by a user. Further, the control unit 16
Attribute information is extracted from the broadcast signal received by the receiving unit 11
Output to the IEEE1394 interface 14. Further, the control unit 16 controls the recording operation and the reading operation of the AV recorder 4 via the IEEE1394 interface 14.

Returning to FIG. The monitor 2 displays an image corresponding to the video data input from the output unit 2 of the set-top box 1, and emits a sound corresponding to the audio data. The IEEE1394 bus 3 is an IEEE (Institute of Elec)
trical and Electronics Engineers) is a serial data bus specified by not only source data such as AV data but also, for example, a control unit 1 of a set-top box 1.
6 also transmits control data for controlling the AV recorder 4.

The AV recorder 4 makes a file of the MPEG2-TS input via the IEEE 1394 bus 3 under the control of the set-top box 1 and records it. At this time, the attribute information of the MPEG2-TS is recorded in the Descriptor.

Here, the attribute information refers to the title, recording start time, program start time, program time, parental rating (parental rating) of a program corresponding to MPEG2-TS, which is extracted from a broadcast signal or set by a user. Information), unviewed / viewed information, SD / HD information (image quality information), original network ID (original network ID), transport stream ID (transport stream ID), service ID (serviceID), and country code (country)
code), and the MPEG2-
It indicates a recording time generated based on the TS and a video signal mode (video_signal_mode).

The AV recorder 4 reads the attribute information recorded in the Descriptor under the control of the set-top box 1 and outputs it to the set-top box 1 via the IEEE1394 bus 3. The AV recorder 4 further reads the recorded file under the control of the set-top box 1 and outputs the file to the set-top box 1 via the IEEE1394 bus 3.

Further, the AV recorder 4 records data other than MPEG2-TS (for example, data in DV format, data stream such as self-encoding, etc.) as a content file under the control of another AV device. It is possible to read and output via the IEEE1394 bus 3. Note that the large-capacity recording medium constituting the AV recorder 4 is not limited to a hard disk.

Next, the processing of the set-top box 1 for controlling the recording operation of the AV recorder 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step S1, the control unit 16 of the set-top box 1
The attribute information is extracted from the broadcast signal received in step 1, and the extracted attribute information is output to the AV recorder 4 via the IEEE1394 interface 14 and the IEEE1394 bus 3 together with a control command for instructing recording of the attribute information.

In response to the control command, the Descriptor of the AV recorder 4 records attribute information extracted from the broadcast signal.

In step S2, the control unit 16 of the set-top box 1 transmits the MPEG2-TS of the broadcast signal received by the receiving unit 11 and a control command instructing the recording of the MPEG2-TS to the IEEE1394 interface 14 and the IE.
The data is output to the AV recorder 4 via the EE1394 bus 3.

In response to the control command, the AV recorder 4 records an MPEG2-TS as a content file.

After the recording of the MPEG2-TS is completed, in step S3, the AV recorder 4
The recording time and the video signal mode not supplied from the control unit 16 of the set-top box 1
Record in riptor.

In the attribute information, information not included in the broadcast signal and set by the user of the set-top box 1 (parental rating, SD / HD information, etc.)
Is set at an arbitrary timing (for example, several minutes after the start of recording).
6 outputs the information and a control command instructing recording of the information to the AV recorder 4 via the IEEE1394 interface 14 and the IEEE1394 bus 3.

According to the recording control processing described above, the AV recorder 4 sends the MPEG2-
TS is recorded as a content file, and the MPEG2
-TS attribute information is recorded in the Descriptor.

Here, the Descriptor in which the attribute information is recorded
Will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 5A shows the Descriptor's top layer The
The structure of the General Object List Descriptor is shown.
Number_of_entr of The General Object List Descriptor
In the ies field, the total number of entries recorded in the AV recorder 4 is recorded. Information of each entry is recorded in object_entry.

FIG. 5B shows the structure of the object_entry. Attribute information is entry_specific_i of object_entry
Recorded in nformation. FIG. 5C shows the entry_sp
The structure of ecific_information is shown.

The video signal mode of the attribute information is video_signal_mode_ of entry_specific_information.
Recorded in info_block. More specifically, FIG.
As shown in (A), video_signal_mode_info_block
Recorded in the video_signal_mode field. FIG.
(B) shows the meaning of the value recorded in the video_signal_mode field. In this case, the video signal mode is MP
Since it is EG2-TS, 01 is recorded in the video_signal_mode field.

When the video signal mode is MPEG2-TS, video_sig following the video_signal_mode field
FIG. 6 shows the nal_mode_specific_information field.
As shown in (C), the bit rate is recorded.

The original network ID, transport stream ID, service ID,
And country code are entry_specific_information
Recorded in video_stream_format_subtype_info_block. More specifically, as shown in FIG.
networkinf of video_stream_format_subtype_info_block
Recorded in the ormation table. FIG. 7 (C) shows the netw
3 shows a configuration of an ork information table. In addition, net
The original network ID, transport stream ID, service ID, and country code recorded in the work information table, and flags indicating the validity / invalidity of each are video_stream_format_subtype_info
validity where the address offset of _block is 0006
It is recorded in the flags field. FIG. 7B shows vali.
Indicates the meaning of the value recorded in the dity flag field.

The program start time, program time, parental rating, SD / HD information, unviewed / viewed information, and service name in the attribute information are entry_specific.
It is recorded in program_attribute_info_block of _information. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 8A, program_starting of program_attribute_info_block
_date_time field, program_duration field,
Recorded in the parental_rating field, the program_modes field, and the service_name field, respectively.

FIG. 8B shows program_starting_date_ti
Shows the structure of the me field. FIG. 8C shows the program_du
Shows the structure of the ration field. FIG. 8D shows that parent
Indicates the meaning of the value recorded in the al_rating field. FIG. 8E shows values recorded in the program_mode field. FIG. 8F shows the configuration of the service_name field.

Next, a GUI generation process at a stage before the set top box 1 reads out and reproduces a content file recorded in the AV recorder 4 will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. In step S11, the control unit 16 of the set-top box 1
A via the interface 14 and the IEEE1394 bus 3
Read the Descriptor of the V recorder 4.

In step S12, the control unit 16 of the set-top box 1 selects a content file that can be reproduced by the set-top box 1 based on the attribute information recorded in the Descriptor, and sends the determination result to the GUI generation unit 15. Supply.

The process of selecting a content file that can be reproduced by the set-top box 1 will be specifically described. First of all, The General Ob
The total number of content files recorded on the AV recorder 4 is read from the number_of_entries field of the jectList Descriptor, and the following ob
The process of reading attribute information from ject_entry is repeated.

Entry_specific_informati of object_entry
From on, video_sign of video_signal_mode_info_block
The value recorded in the al_mode field is read,
It is determined whether the value is 01 (indicating that the video signal mode is MPEG2-TS). If it is determined that the value is not 01, it is determined that the corresponding content file cannot be reproduced.

When it is determined that the value recorded in the video_signal_mode field is 01, entry_specif
video_stream_format_subtype_info_b of ic_information
recorded in the validity flags field from the lock,
A flag indicating valid / invalid of the original network ID and a flag indicating valid / invalid of the country code are read, and it is determined whether both flags indicate valid.

If it is determined that both flags indicate valid, then video_stream_format_subtype_info_block
The original network ID and the country code recorded in the network information table are read out from, and it is determined whether the original network ID indicates SkyPerfecTV or BS digital broadcasting and whether the country code indicates Japan. Is determined.
Original network ID is SkyPerfecTV or BS
When the content file indicates digital broadcasting and the country code indicates Japan, it is determined that the corresponding content file can be reproduced. If it is determined that the original network ID does not indicate SkyPerfecTV or BS digital broadcasting, or that the country code does not indicate Japan, it is determined that the corresponding content file cannot be reproduced.

However, in the above description, the criterion for the original network ID and country code is the country or region where the set-top box 1 is used,
Change according to the broadcast service received.

When it is determined that the flag indicating the validity / invalidity of the original network ID recorded in the validity flags field and the flag indicating validity / invalidity of the country code indicate invalidity,
The FI (Format Identi) recorded in the flags field
A flag indicating valid / invalid of fier) is read, and it is determined whether the flag indicates valid. If it is determined that the flag indicates valid, the corresponding content file is determined to be unreproducible, and if it is determined that the flag indicates invalid, the corresponding content file is unknown (reproducible Is impossible to determine).

As described above, based on the attribute information recorded in the Descriptor, each content file is selected as reproducible, non-reproducible, or unidentified, and the selected information is supplied to the GUI generator 15. .

In step S13, the GUI generation unit 15
Contains information of content files that are selected to be reproducible among content files recorded on the AV recorder 4 based on the selection information, and does not include information of content files that are selected to be unreproducible. 10
A list as a GUI as shown in FIG.
Output to Thereafter, the GUI image data is output to the output unit 13.
Is output to the monitor 2 and displayed.

It should be noted that, among the content files recorded in the AV recorder 4, the handling of the information of the content file that is identified as unknown is not included in the GUI list, included in the GUI list, or GUI
For example, measures such as presenting to the user that the user is unknown in the list may be considered.

As described above, the set-top box 1
According to the GUI generation processing, among the content files of various formats recorded in the AV recorder 4, only the information of the content files that can be reproduced in the set-top box 1 is listed and presented to the user as a GUI. It is possible to prevent a situation in which the user instructs reproduction of an impossible content file.

In the process of step S13, the information of the content file selected as unreproducible is also displayed in the GUI.
May be included in the list, and the user may be informed that the content file cannot be reproduced.

Further, whether or not to be included in the GUI list may be filtered based on the attribute information. For example, even if the content file can be played back, the content file for which the parental rating of the attribute information sets the viewing restriction is not included in the list, or the unviewed / viewed information of the attribute information is not viewed. A certain content file may not be included in the list, or only a content file obtained by recording a program of a specific channel may be included in the list based on the service name of the attribute information. Note that the filtering conditions of the content file are not limited to the above-described example.

The present invention can be applied to a digital television receiver capable of receiving BS digital broadcasting and CS broadcasting, and any other AV equipment.

Incidentally, the series of processes described above can be executed by hardware, but can also be executed by software. When a series of processing is executed by software, a program constituting the software can execute various functions by installing a computer built into dedicated hardware or installing various programs. It is installed from a recording medium into a possible general-purpose personal computer or the like.

As shown in FIG. 3, the recording medium is a magnetic disk 18 (including a floppy disk) on which the program is recorded and an optical disk 19 which are distributed separately from the computer to provide the program to the user.
(CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory), DVD (Digit
al Versatile Disc), magneto-optical disc 20 (M
D (including Mini Disc)), or a packaged medium including the semiconductor memory 21 and the like, which is provided to the user in a state of being incorporated in a computer in advance, and a ROM or a hard disk in which a program is recorded. It consists of.

In this specification, the step of describing a program recorded on a recording medium is not limited to processing performed in chronological order according to the described order, but is not necessarily performed in chronological order. Alternatively, it also includes individually executed processing.

In this specification, the system is
It represents the entire device composed of a plurality of devices.

[0060]

As described above, according to the decoding apparatus and method of the present invention, and the program of the recording medium, based on the attribute information of the file recorded on the information recording medium,
Since it is determined whether data constituting a file recorded on the information recording medium can be decrypted and a list of files recorded on the information recording medium is generated based on the result of the determination, a content file that can be reproduced is determined. Alone can be presented as a list.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an example when information of a plurality of content files having different formats recorded on one recording medium is listed.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an AV recorder sharing system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a set-top box 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a recording control process of the set-top box 1.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a Descriptor structure of the AV recorder 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a Descriptor structure of the AV recorder 4.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a Descriptor structure of the AV recorder 4.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a Descriptor structure of the AV recorder 4.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a GUI generation process of the set-top box 1.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a GUI generated by the GUI generating unit 15 of the set-top box 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 set-top box, 2 monitors, 3 IEEE
E1394 bus, 4 AV recorder, 11 receiver,
12 decoding unit, 13 output unit, 14 IEEEE1394
Interface, 15 GUI generation unit, 16 control unit, 17 drive, 18 magnetic disk, 19
Optical disk, 20 magneto-optical disk, 21 semiconductor memory

Continued on the front page F-term (reference) 5C053 FA22 FA23 GA11 GB38 HA40 JA21 JA30 LA06 LA11 5C059 KK00 MA00 RC34 SS12 SS20 UA05 5D077 AA22 AA23 AA30 AA38 BA18 CA02 CA11 DC39 DE08 DE13 EA33 EA34 HC12 HC26 HC27 5D15A19A13 DA01 DA11 DB09 DB17 DC06 DE04

Claims (6)

[Claims] An AV compressed and encoded by a predetermined method.
A decoding device for decoding encoded data, comprising: an acquiring unit for acquiring attribute information of a file recorded on an information recording medium; and configuring the file recorded on the information recording medium based on the attribute information. Determining means for determining whether data can be decrypted; generating means for generating a list of the files recorded on the information recording medium based on the determination result of the determining means; Receiving means for receiving selection information from a corresponding user; reading means for reading the file corresponding to the selection information from the information recording medium; and reading the file from the file read by the reading means.
A decoding apparatus comprising: decoding means for extracting and decoding V-encoded data; and display control means for controlling display of the list and the decoding result of the decoding means. 2. Receiving means for receiving the AV encoded data as a broadcast signal, file-forming the AV encoded data received by the receiving means and recording the file on the information recording medium, and receiving the AV encoded data. The decoding device according to claim 1, further comprising a recording unit that records the attribute information corresponding to data on the information recording medium. 3. The decoding device according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit includes a filtering unit that filters the file recorded on the information recording medium based on the attribute information. 4. The decoding device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined method is an MPEG2 method. 5. An AV compressed and encoded by a predetermined method.
In a decoding method of a decoding device for decoding encoded data, an acquisition step of acquiring attribute information of a file recorded on an information recording medium, and the file recorded on the information recording medium based on the attribute information. A determining step of determining whether or not data constituting the data can be decrypted; a generating step of generating a list of the files recorded on the information recording medium based on a determination result in the processing of the determining step; A receiving step of receiving selection information from a user corresponding to the list generated in the processing of the above, a reading step of reading the file corresponding to the selection information from the information recording medium, and a reading step of reading the file corresponding to the selection information. A decoding step of extracting and decoding the AV encoded data from the file, A display control step of controlling display of the list and a decoding result in the processing of the decoding step. 6. An AV compressed and encoded by a predetermined method.
A decoding program for decoding encoded data, comprising: an acquisition step of acquiring attribute information of a file recorded on an information recording medium; and the recording program recorded on the information recording medium based on the attribute information. A determining step of determining whether data constituting a file can be decrypted; a generating step of generating a list of the files recorded on the information recording medium based on a determination result in the processing of the determining step; A receiving step of receiving selection information from the user corresponding to the list generated in the processing of the step, a reading step of reading the file corresponding to the selection information from the information recording medium, and reading in the processing of the reading step A decoding step of extracting and decoding the AV encoded data from the file obtained, A display control step of controlling display of the list and a decoding result in the processing of the decoding step. A recording medium storing a computer-readable program.