JP2003051176A - Video recording and reproducing device and video recording and reproducing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate a necessity for specifying a disk medium when starting the recording of a video/sound whose recording capacity up to a recording termination is unknown in a video recording device having a plurality of disk media (hard disk etc.), distributed by a high speed bus (IEEE 1394 etc.). SOLUTION: A device controller tabulates, in advance, recording priority, available capacity, etc., of all connected disk media. When video/sound recording is requested, a device control part determines a disk medium on which a video/ sound is recorded using prepared table data and issues a command for starting the recording to a corresponding medium.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plurality of large-capacity and high-speed accessible disk media such as a hard disk drive, a device control unit for controlling a plurality of data recording media, and IEEE 1394. The present invention relates to a device for improving operability when recording video and audio data in an environment connected by a high-speed bus such as a high-speed serial bus (hereinafter referred to as IEEE 1394 bus) or a high-speed network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a video tape recorder (hereinafter referred to as VTR) using a tape medium has been widely used for recording a television broadcast in a general home. This V
TR has the advantage that one tape can record TV broadcast for 6 hours or more. However, there are drawbacks that random access is not possible, recording and reproduction cannot be performed at the same time, and it is difficult to find an empty area during recording. Furthermore, when a plurality of VTRs are used, the tape in the first VTR has been recorded, so that recording is continued using the tapes of other VTRs, so-called relay recording cannot be realized. It was difficult.

With respect to this VTR, a large-capacity and high-speed accessible disk medium represented by a hard disk drive (hereinafter referred to as HDD) and a DVD-RAM is increasing in capacity and price. The use as a recording medium for video and audio is expanding. For this reason, there has been devised a device for connecting a plurality of disk media to further increase the capacity.

For example, FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a video recording / reproducing apparatus 101 in which a plurality of disk media are connected. The device is a high-speed network 10 that connects the device control unit 103, the MPEG stream source 106, the disk medium 105, and the three.
4 and an operation unit. Device control unit 10
Reference numeral 3 internally holds a management table 107, and the disk medium 105 includes one or more HDDs.

In the management table 107, all Hs from HDD1 to HDD4 connected by the high speed network 104 are stored.
Holds the available recording capacity of the DD. The MPEG stream source 106 outputs a stream file in which the number of bytes of the content is known in advance. In the above configuration, FIG. 2 shows a procedure until the HDD to be recorded is determined when the recording command from the user is issued through the operation unit 102.

Immediately after the start of recording device selection 201 in FIG. 2, the free capacity of all HDDs connected by the high-speed network 104 is acquired and listed in descending order of free capacity (step 202). MP in the next step 203
The size of the stream to be output from the EG stream source 106 and the management table 107 are referenced to determine whether there is a recordable HDD. If you can record H
If there is a DD, the device control unit 103 determines that the HDD
A recording command will be issued to. Recordable H
If there is no DD, recording fails.

However, when the degree of insufficient capacity required for recording is slight, it is possible to reduce the total number of bytes of the recorded stream by lowering the bit rate of the MPEG stream. In step 204, the presence or absence of a recordable HDD is checked in the reduced state, and if the corresponding HDD exists, the device control section 103 issues a recording command (in this case, the image quality of the recorded stream deteriorates).
If there is no HDD capable of recording even with the bit rate lowered, recording fails.

The device control unit determines the HDD for recording in the above procedure, so that the operability at the start of recording can be improved.

Further, FIG. 3 shows a DVD which is the same disk medium.
-An example of the video recording / reproducing apparatus 301 using RAM is shown. This example aims at facilitating the start of reproduction of a recorded program desired by a user in a device with a changer function capable of mounting a plurality of DVD-RAMs. Figure 3
In the video recording / reproducing apparatus 301, the operation contents of the user are sent to the device control unit 303 through the operation unit 302.

The device control section includes a D containing a program to be reproduced.
The VD-RAM is selected from the DVD-RAM disk group 307, and the changer unit 304 is instructed to switch to the DVD-RAM drive 305. The stream of the reproduced program is sent from the DVD set in the DVD-RAM drive 305 to the decoder unit 306 to reproduce the video.

A plurality of DVD-RAMs having the structure shown in FIG.
A problem with a video recording / playback apparatus capable of controlling the above is to find out which DVD-RAM contains a desired program and start playback. As a measure against this problem, in FIG. 3, one DVD-RAM included in the DVD-RAM group 307 is treated as a dedicated disk for recording the head data. That is, at the start of recording, the head data storage disk 308 is always used to record the head data 331 of the program A, for example.

When 5 minutes have passed after the start of recording, the DVD
-Other DVD-RA included in RAM disk group 307
Switching to M, the remaining data 321 of the program A is recorded.
Similarly, the head data storage disk 308 stores the head data 332 of the program B, the head data 333 of the program C, and the program D.
And the remaining data is recorded on each disk.

When selecting a program to be reproduced with this configuration,
As with the start of recording, the head data storage disk 308 is D
It is set in the VD-RAM drive 305. The user decides the program to watch by using the inter-program search in the DVD-RAM in which only the top data is collected. The device control unit 303 continues the reproduction after the changer unit 304 switches to the DVD-RAM containing the remaining data when the reproduction of the first data portion is completed. DVD-for playback during disc switching
By using the RAM drive 305 or the buffer area included in the decoder unit 306, the break of the image is made inconspicuous.

The above configuration can be replaced with a plurality of HDDs, etc., and the selection and reproduction of the program recorded on the disk medium can be facilitated.

[0015]

However, there are some problems in the prior art regarding recording / reproduction control when a plurality of HDDs are connected.

When recording is started by the procedure of FIG. 2, it is necessary to know the capacity of the program to be recorded, that is, the number of bytes in advance. However, the capacity of the program can be known in advance only when the bit rate and the recording time are known, such as during reserved recording, or when dubbing between disk media. Therefore, when it is not known when recording will end, such as when recording is started by the recording button in the operation panel using the GUI, the user needs to specify the device used for recording.

Also, the method of packing by reducing the bit rate used in step 204 of FIG. 2 cannot be an effective method when the image quality is not desired to be reduced or when a stream such as BS digital is recorded as it is. .

Further, regarding the method of designating the reproduced program according to the configuration of FIG. 3, it is necessary to have a medium for storing the first data without fail, or a medium containing the remaining data is taken out and used in another video reproducing apparatus. Then, there is a problem that the top data cannot be seen.

To solve the above problems, the control unit automatically selects the disk medium to be used at the start of recording a program whose ending time is unknown (hereinafter, a program having an indefinite length) to improve operability. . In addition, since the capacity that can be used gradually decreases when recording an indefinite length program, it is necessary to realize a method for continuing the recording.

Regarding the problem at the start of reproduction, the operability is improved by implementing a method of selecting a program to be viewed without using a special medium such as a head data recording disk.

[0021]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems relating to recording, a plurality of HDs connected to a device control unit.
The order in which recording is performed (hereinafter, recording priority) is assigned to D in advance.

The device control section acquires available capacity from all HDDs connected at the time of startup and creates a management table. When an instruction to start recording is given to the device control unit, an HDD to be used for recording is selected from the recording priority and available capacity of the table created by the above method, and a recording command is issued. According to the present invention, it is not necessary to select the HDD to be used each time the user tries to start recording, and the operability can be improved.

The device controller is connected to the HDD.
If the data is recorded in step 2, the available capacity of the corresponding HDD is periodically acquired and the data in the management table created above is updated. When the usable capacity of the HDD used for recording in the updated management table becomes smaller than a certain value, one is selected from the other connected HDDs and relay recording is performed.

In order to perform the relay recording, it is necessary to determine the HDD for continuous recording, but the management table held by the device control unit is used as in the method of determining the HDD when recording is started. Determines the HDD to continue to. By starting recording on the HDD of the continuation destination before stopping the HDD of the continuation source, it is possible to prevent loss of the video by creating a time zone in which the video is recorded in duplicate.

The HDD handles the data recorded from the start of recording to the stop of recording as one program, but the HDD assigns a unique ID to each program. At the time of relay recording, the identification number of the HDD of the continuation destination and the ID of the created program are written in the area for recording the information of the program recorded on the continuation source HDD. Conversely, the identification number of the continuation source HDD and the program ID are written in the information area of the continuation destination program. ID of the program written in both program attributes
By referring to, it is possible to maintain the dependency relation of the relay-recorded program.

Further, in order to achieve the above-mentioned problem regarding reproduction, the device control unit previously provides information such as a program name, a recording start time, and a recording time recorded for each program recorded in a plurality of connected HDDs. Read in. The read data is collected as one management table regardless of the recorded HDD. The video reproducing device displays the program list using the created management table. The viewer can start the reproduction without specifying the recorded HDD by simply specifying the program to be reproduced from the displayed program list.

Through the present invention as described above, a plurality of H
Even in the environment where the DD is connected, the user can
It is possible to maintain the same operability as when controlling the DD.

[0028]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A video recording / reproducing apparatus will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a video recording apparatus 401 according to an embodiment of the present invention. An instruction is given to the device control unit 403 through the operation unit 402 regarding the contents operated by the user. If the given instruction is to start recording, the device control unit issues a recording start command to the internal HDD 405 or the external HDD 406. HDD is MPE from MPEG stream source 407
The G stream data is received via the IEEE 1394 bus 404 and recorded. The device control unit 403 manages all HDDs connected to the IEEE 1394 bus 404 by using a capacity management table 4
08 is held inside.

The internal HDD 405 and the external HDD 40
6 is whether or not it is physically contained in the same housing as the device control unit 403 (shown by the outer frame 410 in FIG. 4), and there is no particular difference on the IEEE 1394 bus 404. . Also, the MPEG stream source 407
Exists inside or outside the housing.

The HDD used here is IEEE1.
394 Trade Associate (hereinafter, 139)
4TA), which is a hard disk device for recording video / audio streams. This HDD
Then, from the start to the stop of recording is treated as one program.
Furthermore, Root Content List (hereinafter, R
CL) is defined, and is composed of a header part for managing the capacity of the entire HDD and the number of recorded programs, and an entry part for holding attribute data such as the program name and recording time of each program. A table structure is used when describing the structure of the entry part of the RCL.

The operation of the video recording apparatus according to the present invention having the above configuration will be described. Immediately after the video recording / reproducing device 401 is started up or after the bus reset process of the IEEE 1394 bus 404 is completed, if it is confirmed that a new HDD is connected to the same bus, the priority when using the new HDD for recording Assign This priority can be set to two levels, high and low.

First, the built-in HDD 405 is a device control unit 403.
Since it is in the same housing as the above, it is desired to use it for recording with the highest priority, so the priority is set to "high". On the other hand, for the external HDD 406 that can be freely attached and detached, at which timing IEEE1
The priority is set to "low" because it is not known if the bus will be removed from the 394 bus 404. The set priority is recorded in the EEPROM or the like of the device control unit 403, and the recorded information can be used from the next startup. It is also possible to divide the priority into levels from 1 to n according to the number of connected units, and to specify each by the user through the operation unit 402. In this case, the new IEEE
Regarding the HDD connected on the 1394 bus 404,
Initially, the priority will be set to the lowest level.
It is also possible to set the priority to the same level.

The device control section 403 sets the IEEE1
Built-in HDD 40 connected on the 394 bus 404
5, and the usable capacity is acquired from each of the external HDD 406. At this time, the HDD may be in a state of not accepting control commands other than the power command of IEEE 1394 (hereinafter, power supply standby state). In this case, since the usable capacity cannot be acquired, the device control unit 403 issues a power on command to the HDD in the power standby state. After the HDD is activated, the available capacity is acquired and added to the capacity management table 408. In addition, if there is an HDD for which acquisition of the usable capacity has failed and the HDD cannot be acquired even after retrying several times, 0 byte is set as the usable capacity.

In parallel with the acquisition of the usable capacity, the recording priority of each HDD is acquired from the EEPROM of the device control unit 403, and the usable capacity and the priority are set in the capacity management table 408 together with the device number. The user operates the operation unit 40.
When the recording start is instructed through 2, the device control unit 40
3 is from the data set in the management table 408,
Select the HDD to use for recording.

Further, the device control section 403 acquires the status of each HDD at regular time intervals. At this step, the available capacity is also acquired at the same time, and if there is a change in the capacity, the capacity management table 408 is updated. Alternatively, even when a part of the HDD in FIG. 4 is replaced with a DVD-RAM drive, if the usable capacity of the inserted DVD can be acquired, it is set in the capacity management table 408 like other HDDs. be able to. Also, when the DVD is replaced, the capacity management table 408 can be updated by using the process of acquiring the usable capacity at regular intervals. Furthermore, if the DVD is not inserted in the drive, 0 bytes is set as the usable capacity.

Alternatively, when DVD-RAM drives are mixed, the priority level is set to, for example, "high" or "medium".
It is also possible to define it in three stages of "low". In the case of this level division, the internal HDD is set to “high”, the external HDD is set to “medium”, the DVD-RAM is set to “low”, and the DV is set.
The recording on the D-RAM can be the last. By always keeping the capacity management table 408 in the latest state, there is no step of updating the management table when the recording start command is received, and the response to the operation can be improved.

HDD used by the device controller 403 for recording
5 and 6 show the procedure until the determination is made. Step 5
In the initial setting of 02, the values of the variables used in this processing are initialized, and the priority comparison level is set to the highest value.
The priority determination 1 in step 503 is the connected HDD
Check whether or not each unit meets the priority comparison level. If yes, step 504.
In the capacity determination 1 of 1., it is determined whether or not the usable capacity remains in the relevant HDD.

When the flag remains, the process proceeds to the flag determination 1 in step 505, but the flag in this step is the priority determination 1 in step 503 and the capacity determination 1 in step 504.
It is set to TRUE when an HDD that conforms to the above condition already exists. If there is a candidate HDD that already matches among the checked devices, the check in the capacity determination 2 in step 506 is added. If the usable capacity of the candidate HDD is larger than the HDD being checked,
Since the candidate HDD will be used, step 508
The process goes directly to the loop judgment of. If there is no candidate HDD or if the usable capacity of the HDD being checked is larger, the variable is set in step 507 so that the HDD being checked becomes a candidate HDD.

If it is determined in step 508 that all connected HDDs have been checked in the loop determination, the process proceeds to flag determination 2 in step 601. If the candidate HDD is not determined, step 6
In the priority determination 2 of 04, the priority comparison level is confirmed. If the comparison level at the time of determination is the lowest, it means that the HDD usable for recording is not connected, and the recording device selection in step 605 fails.

If the priority comparison level is not the lowest, one comparison level is dropped in the priority change in step 602, and the priority judgment 1 in step 503 is performed again.
The check process from is started. Finally, step 60
If there is a candidate HDD in the flag determination 2 of 1, the recording device selection is determined in step 603, and the device control unit issues a recording start command.

The above procedure will be described with reference to FIG. 4 as an example. The video recording / playback device 401 has a total of four HDDs.
Are connected. According to the above procedure, the capacity management table 40
8 is already prepared. In response to the recording start command from the operation unit 402, the device control unit 403 starts selecting the device to be used. In the capacity management table 408, the HDD
Since the priority of 1 is set to "high", step 5
Although the priority judgment 1 of 03 is passed, it is not a candidate HDD because the usable capacity is 0 in the capacity judgment 1 of step 504.

Since there is no other device having the priority "high", there is no candidate HDD even if the flag judgment 2 of step 601 is reached. Therefore, by changing the priority in step 602, the priority comparison level is lowered to "Low", and the check process is started again. All of the HDDs 2 to 4 have a low priority comparison level, so all of them are candidates for the device to be used, but the HDD 4 having the largest usable capacity in the capacity determination 2 in step 506 is the recording and using device. If HDD
If the usable capacity of both HDD 2 and HDD 4 is 1200 Mbytes, the HDD 2 to be determined first becomes the recording and using device.

FIG. 7 shows a connection diagram when the HDD used for recording is determined and recording is performed. Device control unit 703
Between the MPEG stream source 707 and the HDD 4
I of int-to-point (hereinafter, p-to-p)
After connecting the sochronos connection (hereinafter, referred to as ISO connection) 709, a recording command is issued to the HDD 4 to send an MP from the MPEG stream source 707.
Recording of EG stream data is started.

Although the IEEE 1394 bus 704 is used as a method of connecting the HDD and the MPEG stream source, other high-speed bus capable of transferring at a practical bit rate (about 7 Mbps or more) or a network such as a high-speed network may be used. Is also possible. Further, although the MPEG stream is mentioned as the format to be recorded, it can be applied to a format such as DV.

(Second Embodiment) Next, the first embodiment will be described.
A description will be given of relay recording in which recording is continued in another HDD because the usable recordable capacity has decreased after recording has been started in.

In FIG. 7, the MPEG stream from the MPEG stream source 707 is recorded in the HDD 4. The device control unit 703 acquires the usable capacity of the connected HDD at regular intervals, but since the HDD 4 is recording, the usable capacity of the HDD 4 in the capacity management table 708 is constantly updated. As a result, 1500M in the capacity management table 408 of FIG. 4 at the start of recording.
The usable capacity that has been in bytes is reduced to 100 Mbytes in the capacity management table 708 of FIG. 7. When the usable capacity of the HDD 4 falls below a certain value (here, 100 MB), the device control unit 703 determines that another HDD
To start the relay recording process.

When starting the relay recording, the device control section 703 selects the HDD as the continuous recording destination by using the procedure shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 at the time of starting the recording. This time,
The HDD 4 currently being recorded is not checked. When actually applying the example of FIG. 7, first, the priority is “high”.
HDD 1 exists, but capacity determination 1 in step 504
Since the usable capacity is 0, it is not a candidate HDD. Therefore, if the comparison priority is lowered to "Low", the remaining HDD
2, HDD3.

The HDD 2 having a large usable capacity according to the capacity determination 1 in step 504 is set as the continuous recording destination HDD. It should be noted that in this case, the HDD of the continuous recording destination could be determined, but it is possible that the HDD usable for recording is not connected. In this case, relay recording cannot be performed, and the recording process ends when the available capacity of the HDD being recorded runs out.

When the continuous recording destination HDD is determined, the state shown in FIG. 8 is passed and finally the state shown in FIG. 9 is entered. First, the device control unit 803 in FIG.
ISO connection 81 between 07 and continuous recording destination HDD2
Establishes 0. After that, the device control unit 803 issues a recording start command to the HDD 2 to start recording.

At this time, on the IEEE 1394 bus 804, from the MPEG stream source 807 to the HDD2, HDD4
, ISO connections 809 and 810 are doubly stretched. When recording on both HDDs is started in this state, the same stream from the MPEG stream source 807 can be recorded. That is, in the state of FIG. 8, the streams from the MPEG stream source 807 are doubly recorded.

After the double recording state is continued for a while, finally, the recording is shifted to the HDD 2 shown in FIG.
The device control unit 903 issues a stop command to the HDD 4 when 30 seconds have elapsed after starting the double recording in the HDD 2 and the HDD 4. After stopping the HDD 4, the ISO connection between the MPEG stream source 907 and the HDD 4 is disconnected. A series of processes for relay recording from the HDD 4 to the HDD 2 can be performed by the above procedure.

In the above procedure, the control unit 903 determines that the HDD
Although the stop command is issued to HDD 4, double recording can be continued until the available capacity of HDD 4 is exhausted and the HDD 4 is automatically stopped. In this case, it is necessary to record the time of the double recording in the HDD 2 or the HDD 4.

The state of relay recording in the above procedure is shown in time series in FIG. It is assumed that the recorded video stream 1001 is output from the MPEG stream source 407 and that the time progresses from left to right. H
The record data 1002 of the DD4 is recorded until the time t2, and the record data 1003 of the HDD 2 is started to be recorded from the time t1.

The connection diagram up to time t1 is shown in FIG.
The recorded video stream 1001 is recorded only by D4. The connection diagram from the time t1 to the time t2 in the shaded area is shown in FIG.
The recorded video stream 1001 is recorded in both the HDD 4 and the HDD 2. The connection diagram after time t2 is shown in FIG. 9, and is recorded only in the HDD 2. In this way, the recording of the continuing portion is duplicated by the two HDDs, so that it is possible to prevent the loss of the image.

However, if the relay recording is performed as it is, the dependency relationship between the continuous recording source program and the continuous recording destination program is lost, so the program management method shown in FIG. 11 will be described.

In the 1394TA standard, since the ID assigned to each program is performed by each HDD, duplicate IDs exist in the entire video recording / playback apparatus 1101. Therefore, even if the same program ID exists on the IEEE 1394 bus 1104 by combining the ID assigned by the conventional method with a numerical value such as a serial number set for each HDD that can identify each HDD, Identification can be done. Continuation source ID and continuation destination ID in the RCL table
Add a field to manage.

Normally, there is no data written in this field, but when relay recording is performed, the device controller 1103 records the dependency relationship between the continuous recording source and the continuous recording destination. In the case of the above example, when relay recording is performed from the continuous recording source HDD 4 to the continuous recording destination HDD 2, it is a combination of the device number of the continuous recording destination HDD 2 and the generated program ID when the continuous recording is started, “2- ID
n "is recorded in the continuation destination ID column of the RCL table 4 of the continuation recording source.

Further, the device control section 1103 displays the continuous recording source HD
“4-IDm”, which is a combination of the device number of D4 and the program ID when recording was performed, is recorded in the continuation source ID column of the RCL table 2 of the continuous recording destination. By this procedure, it is possible to make a bidirectional list for the relay-recorded programs and maintain the dependency between the programs. By using this method, even if one program is divided into three or more HDDs and relay recording is performed, the dependency relationship is not lost.

As in the first embodiment, MPEG is mentioned as the format of the video / audio data to be recorded, but it is also effective for other video formats. Also, in order to connect between the device control unit and the recording medium, the IEEE
Although the E1394 bus is mentioned, it is also effective when using other high speed buses or high speed networks.

(Third Embodiment) Next, the second embodiment will be described.
Now, a method for reproducing a relay-recorded program on a plurality of disk media will be described.

FIG. 13 shows the procedure from the program m recorded in the HDD 4 in the configuration of FIG. 12 to the start of relay reproduction from the program n of the HDD 2 which is the continuous recording destination. FIG. 11
Unlike the above, the portion corresponding to the MPEG stream source 1107 is the decoder unit 1207. The decoder unit 1207 analyzes the stream from the HDD, and the video display unit 1215 displays the reproduced video. Device control unit 1203
Acquires the status of each HDD at regular intervals.

The analysis processing starts after the status of the HDD 4 during the reproduction of the program is acquired is step 1301. First, it is determined whether or not the program m which is being reproduced has a program that follows the relay recording. Assuming that there is a program, in step 1304, the recording device of the continuation destination is currently IEEE139.
4 Check if it is on bus 1204. If there is no program to be relay-reproduced, or if the recorded device is not connected even if there is a program, the continuous reproduction process ends at this point.

In the case of relay reproduction, the equipment control unit 1203 needs to perform the processing defined 1 minute before and 30 seconds before the end of the program being reproduced. One minute before the end of the reproduced program, if the HDD 2 in which the program to be relayed is recorded is in the power standby state, the device control unit 1203 causes the IEEE
Issue a power on command through the E1394 bus 1204. In the case of an HDD, it takes about 15 seconds until a power-on command is issued and a reproducible state is reached, so the HDD is booted in advance.

Subsequently, the HDD to be reproduced is switched 30 seconds before the end of the reproduced program. Step 130
7, the device control unit 1203 issues a stop command and disconnects the ISO connection to the HDD 4 which is being reproduced. In step 1309 immediately after, the device control unit 1203 establishes an ISO connection between the HDD 2 for relay reproduction and the decoder unit 1207. After the establishment, in step 1310, the device control unit 1203 sets the HDD 2
Issue a playback start command to. H by the above procedure
Relay reproduction from DD4 to HDD2 can be performed.

It should be noted that the playback device is switched 30 seconds before the end of the program being played back, but if the time t seconds of double recording is added to the RCL table, The playback device is switched at the time t seconds before the end.

(Embodiment 4) FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a video recording / reproducing apparatus 1401 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The operation content of the user is controlled by the device control unit 140 through the operation unit 1402.
Given to 3. When the given instruction is to start the reproduction of the specific program, the HDD which records the specified program is discriminated from the program management table in the device control unit 1403, and either the internal HDD 1405 or the external HDD 1406 is selected. A playback command is issued to it. HD that started playing
The MPEG stream data output from D is IEEE
Decoder unit 1407 via E1394 bus 1404
And the decoded result is displayed on the video display unit 1409.

The operation of the video recording / reproducing apparatus 1401 according to the present invention having the above configuration will be described. Video recording device 140
At startup of 1, the RCL tables of all HDDs connected on the IEEE 1394 bus 1404 are acquired.
Examples of RCL tables are 1410 to 1412. The RCL table in this example is composed of an ID uniquely assigned to each program by each HDD, a recording start time, and a program name (although other information is also included in the 1394TA standard, So only a part is extracted).

The device control unit 1403 is from HDD1 to HDD.
2, HDD3 and each RCL table are acquired, and the program management table 1408 is created. The program management table 1601 in FIG. 16 is an example created from the RCL table of each HDD. In the case of this program management table 1408, the table is created in order of oldest programs, focusing on the recording start time regardless of the recording device. Therefore, a device number member is added to the table to record the program on the HD.
It holds the information of D. When the recorded HDD can be identified from the ID of each program, the device number member is unnecessary.

The RCL table itself of each HDD is arranged in the order of recording. Therefore, RCL
If there is a program whose recording start time is not recorded in the table, the program is inserted into the table at the position where the previous program of the same HDD is inserted (if there is no previous program, It is inserted at the head of the management table 1408).

When some of the HDDs connected to the IEEE 1394 bus 1404 are in the power standby state, the device control section 1403 determines that the IEEE 1394 bus 1
After the power-on command is issued via 404 to activate the HDD, RCL table information is acquired and tabulated.

In this example, the IEEE 1394 bus 1
Although the HDD is the only device connected to the 404, it can be mixed with another disk medium such as a DVD-RAM. In this case, it is desirable to hold information for each program on another disk medium. However, if the information cannot be held, the beginning of the program management table 1408 is the same as the program for which the recording start time is not recorded. Insert into the table in the order recorded from.

(Fifth Embodiment) Next, a method of reproducing a program recorded in the HDD connected by using the program management table 1408 will be described. FIG. 17 shows an example of the program list 1701 displayed on the video display unit 1409 by the device control unit 1403 using the program management table 1408. However, in this example, the program management table 160
Members of broadcasting channel and recording time are added to 1.

On the contrary, the index, device number and program ID in the program management table 1601 are members of the table but are not displayed in the program list 1701. As far as the program list 1701 is seen, the user can select a plurality of HDDs.
There is no need to be aware that it is a list of programs recorded in. The black triangle mark 1702 in the leftmost column of the program list 1701 can be moved up and down by the user through the operation unit 1402 to match the position of the program to be reproduced.

When the reproduction start is instructed after the positions are aligned, the reproduction of the program corresponding to the black triangle mark 1702 (New World Travel (1) in FIG. 17) is started. At this time, the operation unit 140
From 2, the index set in the program management table 1601 is passed to the device control section 1403 (in the case of the New World Travel (1) in FIG. 17, index = 1). The device control unit 1403 has a program management table 1408.
The HDD recording the designated program is discriminated from and the reproduction instruction is issued to the HDD after establishing the ISO connection between the HDD and the decoder unit 1407 (in FIG. 17, the HDD becomes HDD1). ).

When the relevant HDD is in the power standby state at the start of reproduction, the device control section 1403 issues a power on command to the HDD via the IEEE 1394 bus 1404. After the startup of the HDD is completed, the device control unit 1403 issues a playback command of the designated program after the ISO connection between the HDD and the decoder unit 1407 is established, and starts playback.

Note that FIG. 15 shows the processing performed when the video recording / reproducing apparatus is started up in the whole of the present invention. Immediately after startup,
If there is a HDD in the power standby state on the IEEE 1394 bus in step 1502, the HDD is started up by the power-on command from the device control unit. After startup, IEEE
Information is sequentially acquired from the HDDs on the E1394 bus. First, in step 1504, the usable capacity of the HDD and the number of programs are acquired.

Of these, the usable capacity is set in the capacity management table. Also, regarding the number of acquired programs,
A loop of program information acquisition is executed for each program. In step 1506, the program ID, recording start time, and program name stored for each program are acquired, and a program management table is created. If the members of the program management table have other information, they are simultaneously acquired and set in the table.
The above information acquisition procedure is performed for all programs and all HDDs, and the start-up process ends.

In this example, MPEG is mentioned as the format of the video / audio data to be recorded, but it is also effective for other video formats.

In this example, the IEEE 1394 bus is used to connect between the device control section and the recording medium, but it is also effective when using other high speed buses or networks such as Ethernet.

[0081]

As described above, the device control unit centrally manages the information about the usable capacities of a plurality of disk media and recorded programs.
It is possible to improve operability such as controlling one disk medium. Further, by providing a relay recording function and a relay reproducing function, it is possible to prevent the loss of video data.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic device configuration for explaining a recording device selection method in a conventional invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a procedure until selecting a recording device in the conventional invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a basic device configuration for explaining a reproduction program selection method in the conventional invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a basic device configuration of a part relating to determination of a device used for recording according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a procedure for determining a device used for recording in the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a procedure for determining a device used for recording in the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a connection diagram showing a transition of an ISO connection connection method when relay recording is performed in the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a connection diagram showing the transition of the connection method of an ISO connection when relay recording is performed in the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a connection diagram showing a transition of an ISO connection connection method when relay recording is performed in the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a transition in time series when relay recording is performed in the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a device configuration for relay recording according to the present invention,
The figure explaining the data structure which holds the program dependence before and after relay recording

FIG. 12 is a device configuration when performing relay reproduction in the present invention,
The figure explaining the data structure which holds the program dependence for relay reproduction.

FIG. 13 is a reproduction target HD for relay reproduction in the present invention.
Flowchart showing the procedure until D switching

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a basic device configuration required for video reproduction according to the present invention and a table structure of programs recorded in an HDD.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing a procedure at the time of starting the video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

16 is a diagram showing an example of a program management table 1408 created by collecting information of the RCL table managed by each HDD in the configuration of FIG. 14 of the present invention.

17 is a diagram showing an example of a program list displayed on the video display unit 1409 of FIG. 14 using the program management table of FIG. 16 of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 video recording / reproducing apparatus 102 operation unit 103 device control unit 104 high-speed network 105 disk medium 106 MPEG stream source 107 management table 111 HDD1 112 HDD2 113 HDD3 114 HDD4 201 recording device selection start 202 free space list creation 203 content size determination 1 204 content Size judgment 2 205 Recording device selection failure 206 Recording device selection end 301 Video recording / reproducing device 302 Operation unit 303 Device control unit 304 Changer unit 305 DVD-RAM drive 306 Decoder unit 307 DVD-RAM disk group 308 First data storage disk 311 Disk 1 312 Disc 2 313 Disc 3 314 Disc 4 321 Program A remaining data 322 Program B remaining data 323 Program C remaining data 324 Remaining data 331 of program D 331 First data of program A 332 First data of program B 333 First data of program C 334 First data of program D 401 Video recording / playback device 402 Operation unit 403 Device control unit 404 IEEE 1394 bus 405 Built-in HDD 406 External HDD 407 MPEG stream source 408 Capacity management table 409 Outer frame 411 showing the same housing as the device control unit 404 HDD1 412 HDD2 413 HDD3 414 HDD4 501 Start 502 Initial setting 503 Priority determination 1 504 Capacity determination 1 505 Flag determination 1 506 Capacity determination 2 507 Variable setting 508 Loop determination 601 Flag determination 2 602 Priority change 603 Recording device selection determination 604 Priority determination 2 605 Recording device selection failure 701 Video recording / playback device 702 Operation unit 703 Device control unit 704 IEEE 1394 bus 705 Internal HDD 706 External HDD 707 MPEG stream source 708 Capacity management table 709 ISO connection 711 HDD1 712 HDD2 713 HDD3 714 HDD4 801 Video recording / reproducing device 802 Operation unit 803 Device control unit 804 IEEE 1394 bus 805 Internal HDD 806 External HDD 807 MPEG Stream Source 808 Capacity Management Table 809 ISO Connection 810 ISO Connection 811 HDD1 812 HDD2 813 HDD3 814 HDD4 901 Video Recording / Reproducing Device 902 Operation Unit 903 Device Control Unit 904 IEEE 1394 Bus 905 External HDD 906 HDD 907 MPEG stream source 908 Capacity management table 910 IS O connection 911 HDD1 912 HDD2 913 HDD3 914 HDD4 1001 Recorded video stream 1002 Recorded data 1004 on HDD4 Recorded data 1002 on HDD2 1004 hours t1 1005 hours t2 1101 Video recording / playback apparatus 1102 Operation section 1103 Equipment control section 1104 IEEE1394 bus 1105 Internal HDD 1106 Outside HDD 1107 MPEG stream source 1108 Capacity management table 1109 RCL table 2 1110 RCL table 4 1111 HDD1 1112 HDD2 1113 HDD3 1114 HDD4 1201 Video recording / playback device 1202 Operation unit 1203 Device control unit 1204 IEEE1394 bus 1205 Internal HDD 1206 External HDD 1207 decoder Part 1208 Capacity management table 12 9 RCL table 2 1210 RCL table 4 1211 HDD1 1212 HDD2 1213 HDD3 1214 HDD4 1215 Video display unit 1301 Polling process start 1302 Confirmation of continuation destination program 1303 Continuation reproduction process unnecessary 1304 Confirmation of continuation destination HDD 1305 Time confirmation of program being reproduced 1306 Turning on the power to the continuation destination HDD 1307 Stopping the reproducing HDD 1308 Disconnecting the ISO connection of the reproducing HDD 1309 Establishing the ISO connection of the continuation destination HDD 1310 Starting the reproduction of the continuation destination HDD 1311 Ending polling processing 1401 Video recording / reproducing device 1402 Operation unit 1403 Device control 1404 IEEE1394 bus 1405 Internal HDD 1406 External HDD 1407 Decoder 1408 Program management table 1409 Video display 141 RCL table 1 1411 RCL table 2 1412 RCL table 3 1421 HDD1 1422 HDD2 1423 HDD3 1501 Start-up process start 1502 Power-on command issuance 1503 Loop counter 1 initialization 1504 Usable capacity, number of programs acquisition 1505 Loop counter 2 initialization 1506 programs Information acquisition 1507 Loop counter 2 check 1508 Loop counter 1 check 1509 Startup processing end 1601 Program management table 1701 of device control unit Program list 1702 Program focus mark

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 5/781 H04N 5/85 Z 5/85 5/92 H 5/92 G11B 27/02 K F term (reference) 5B065 BA01 CA03 CC03 CC08 5C052 AA02 CC06 5C053 FA23 LA06 LA11 5D044 AB05 AB07 BC01 CC04 CC09 DE02 DE03 DE12 DE22 DE54 DE57 DE58 DE92 GK05 GK08 GK12 HL02 5D110 AA13 AA21 AA27 AA29 BB20 BB21 CF04 CF11 DA14 DB14

Claims (28)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of distributed video / audio recording / playback disk media (either video or audio, or both), means for controlling each disk medium, said disk medium and said A video recording / reproducing apparatus having means for transmitting / receiving data between control means and means for allocating a priority used for video / audio recording to each of the disk media. 2. A step of controlling each disk medium of a plurality of distributed video / audio recording / reproducing disk media, a step of transmitting and receiving data between the disk media and the control means, and the disk. A video recording / reproducing method comprising a step of assigning a priority used for video / audio recording to each of the media. 3. A plurality of distributed video / audio recording / reproducing disk media, means for acquiring a capacity capable of newly recording video / audio on each disk medium, and the disk media and the acquiring means. Means for sending and receiving data between
Video recording / reproducing apparatus having means capable of creating a management table for all connected disk media from the priority assigned to each of the disk media and the available capacity obtained from the capacity acquisition means. . 4. A step of acquiring a capacity capable of newly recording video / audio on each disk medium of a plurality of distributed disk media, and a step of transmitting and receiving data between the disk media and the acquisition means. Video recording including a step of acquiring a priority assigned to each of the disk media and an available capacity obtained from the capacity acquisition means, and creating a management table including data of all the disk media. How to play. 5. A plurality of distributed video / audio recording / playback disk media, means for creating a management table including recording priorities and usable capacities of all the disk media, and the disk media. A means for transmitting and receiving data between the creating means, and a disk used for recording from the priority of the management table and the available capacity when starting recording of video / audio whose recording capacity is unknown until the end of recording. A video recording / reproducing apparatus having means for determining a medium. 6. The video recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the means for deciding the disk medium to be used has means for instructing recording start to the decided disk medium by using the communication means. 7. A step of creating a management table including recording priorities and usable capacities of all of a plurality of distributed disk media, a step of transmitting and receiving data between the disk media and the creating means, and recording. A video recording / reproducing method having a step of determining a disk medium to be used for recording from the priority of the management table and the available capacity when starting recording of video / audio whose recording capacity until the end is unknown. 8. The video recording / reproducing method according to claim 7, wherein the step of deciding the disk medium to be used has a step of instructing a recording start to the decided disk medium by the communication step. 9. A disk medium on which one piece of video / audio is recorded, a plurality of stopped disk media distributed apart from the above, and means for acquiring the usable capacity of the disk medium. A means for transmitting and receiving data between the disk medium and the acquisition means, and a means for acquiring the usable capacity by the acquiring means at regular intervals and updating a management table for managing the recording priority and the usable capacity. Video recording / reproducing apparatus having the. 10. A step of obtaining an available capacity from one disk medium on which video / audio is recorded, and a plurality of disk media distributed in a distributed manner, the disk media being stopped except during the recording. Control step, a means for transmitting and receiving data between the disk medium and the acquisition means, and a management table for managing the recording priority and the available capacity by acquiring the usable capacity by the acquiring means at regular intervals. Video recording / reproducing apparatus having means for updating. 11. A disk medium on which one video / audio recording is performed, a plurality of stopped disk media distributed apart from the above, and recording priorities and usable for all the disk media. Means for creating a management table including capacity, means for transmitting and receiving data between the disk medium and the creating means, and if the available capacity during recording is below a certain value, the priority of the management table, and A video recording / reproducing apparatus having means capable of determining a disk medium used for continuing recording from the available capacity. 12. The means for determining the continuously-used disk medium has means for instructing the start of recording to the determined disk medium by using the communication means, and a means for discriminating between the disk medium which has been conventionally used for recording. The video recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein video / audio can be recorded in duplicate. 13. A management table including a recording priority and a usable capacity is created from one disk medium on which video / audio is recorded and a plurality of stopped disk media which are distributed other than the above. Possible step, the step of transmitting and receiving data between the disk medium and the creating means, and when the available capacity during recording is below a certain value, the priority of the management table, and continuation of recording from the available capacity A video recording / reproducing method having a step of determining a disk medium to be used for. 14. The step of deciding the continuously used disc medium has a step of instructing the decided disc medium to start recording using the communication step, and discriminating between the disc medium and the disc medium used for conventional recording. 14. The video recording / playback method according to claim 13, wherein video / audio can be recorded in duplicate. 15. A disk medium 1 on which one video / audio is recorded, and since the usable capacity of the disk medium 1 has fallen below a certain value, the recording medium is newly distributed and arranged in a dispersed manner. A disk medium 2, a means for assigning an ID to each content of the disk medium, a means for writing content information in an information area provided for each content of the disk medium, and data between the disk mediums 1, 2 and the writing means. Means for transmitting and receiving, and the disk medium 1
Means for identifying the continuous recording destination content by writing the device identification number of the disk medium 2 and the ID obtained by the ID allocating means in the information area of the currently recorded content of the disk medium, An image having means for identifying the content of the continuous recording source by writing the device identification number of the disk medium 1 and the ID obtained by the ID allocating means using the writing means in the information area of the content whose recording has started Recording / playback device. 16. A step of allocating an ID to the contents of the disk medium 1 on which video / audio is recorded, and the available recording capacity of the disk medium 1 is below a certain value, so that the recording is newly started. Between the disk media 1 and 2 and the writing means, a step of allocating IDs to the contents of the distributed disk media 2 and a step of writing the content information in an information area provided for each content of the disk media. Using the step of transmitting / receiving data and the step of writing in the information area of the content being recorded on the disk medium 1 by writing the device identification number of the disk medium 2 and the ID obtained in the ID allocation step, Using the step of identifying the content and the step of writing in the information area of the content on which recording has started on the disk medium 2, A video recording / reproducing method having a step of identifying the content of the continuous recording source by writing the device identification number of the body 1 and the ID obtained in the ID allocation step. 17. With respect to the continuously recorded disc medium, the first half of the disc medium 1 is started to be reproduced, and the second half of the disc medium 2 is recorded when the end of the disc medium 1 is approached. The video recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising means for switching to reproduction. 18. With respect to the continuously recorded disk medium, the first half of the disk medium 1 is started to be reproduced, and the second half of the disk medium 2 is recorded when the end of the disk medium 1 is approached. The video recording / reproducing method according to claim 16, further comprising a step of switching to reproduction. 19. A plurality of programs composed of video / audio, a plurality of distributed disk media for recording attribute data associated with each program, and video / video recorded on the disk media. A means for acquiring attribute data associated with sound, a means for transmitting and receiving data between the disk medium and the acquisition means, and attribute data associated with all contents recorded on the disk medium by the acquisition means A video recording / reproducing apparatus having means for creating one management table. 20. When a disk medium which is in a state of accepting only a power-on command (hereinafter referred to as a power standby state) is connected, the management table creating means controls the power supply of the corresponding disk medium so that the disk medium is 20. The video recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 19, further comprising means for acquiring information associated with a recorded program after starting and adding the acquired information to the management table. 21. The management table creating means lists attribute data associated with programs recorded on all the disk media connected using the management table, regardless of the recording disk media. 20. The video recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 19, further comprising means for displaying. 22. The display means has means for starting playback of a program by directly designating a program from a list of displayed programs without designating a disk medium recording the program. Item 21. A video recording / reproducing device. 23. The reproduction starting means has means for starting reproduction of the program after the disk medium recording the designated program is in a power standby state and the power is turned on and the corresponding disk medium is activated. Item 22. A video recording / reproducing apparatus. 24. A step of acquiring attribute data from a plurality of programs composed of video / audio and a plurality of distributed disk media for recording attribute data accompanying each program; Video recording including a step of transmitting and receiving data between a medium and the acquisition means, and a step of acquiring attribute data associated with all programs recorded on the disk medium by the acquisition means and creating one management table How to play. 25. In the step of creating the management table, when a disk medium in a power supply standby state is connected, the power supply of the disk medium is controlled, and the disk medium is attached to a recorded program after the disk medium is started. 25. The video recording / reproducing method according to claim 24, further comprising the step of acquiring the information to be added and adding it to the management table. 26. In the step of creating the management table, a list of attribute data associated with programs recorded on all the disk media connected using the management table is displayed regardless of the disk media on which the program is recorded. The video recording / reproducing method according to claim 24, further comprising a step of displaying. 27. The display step has a step of starting playback of a program by directly designating the program from the displayed program list without designating a disk medium on which the program is recorded. Item 26. The video recording / playback method of Item 26. 28. The reproduction starting step has a step of starting reproduction of a program after a disk medium recording a designated program is in a power standby state and the power is turned on and the corresponding disk medium is activated. Item 27. A video recording / playback method according to Item 27.