JP2003323784A - Information recording and reproducing device and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information recording and reproducing device which presumes the starting point of a program desired by users from recording reservation information and an extension time and easily searches a program starting position by setting position information at the starting point. <P>SOLUTION: The information recording/reproducing device records an information signal in information recording media 16 and 17 in response to the extension of a reservation time made by extension keys 25 and 27 extending a recording reservation time. In addition, this device records position information (EPI) showing the starting position of the program after its extension in the management information (VMG/M<SB>-</SB>VOBI) of the information signal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information recording / reproducing apparatus having a function of changing a reserved time for absence recording, an information recording / reproducing apparatus having a function of skipping a specific image such as a commercial, and methods thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, with the spread of digital processing technology,
DVD-RAM (Digital
Versatile Disk-Random Access Memory) and DVD-R
An optical disk recording / reproducing apparatus using a recording medium such as W (Digital Versatile Disk-Rewritable) has been developed and commercialized.

By recording and storing a broadcast program such as a television, these devices can enjoy recording at a desired time so that recording can be performed in a preset time period even when absent. It has a reservation recording function.

However, in the case of television broadcasting, the start time of broadcasting may be delayed from the previously announced broadcasting time due to, for example, the extension of baseball broadcasting. At this time, even if reserved recording has already started, many devices have a "reservation extension function" that extends the recording end time backward so that the target program can be recorded to the end.

Data recorded using the reservation extension function (hereinafter referred to as a title) is recorded longer than the originally set reservation time by an amount corresponding to the extension. For example,
During the scheduled recording of a 1-hour program from 20:00 to 21:00, if the recording end time was extended by 30 minutes because the baseball broadcast of the previous program was extended by 30 minutes, the title actually created would be 20:00. The broadcast from 1:30 to 21:30 is recorded for 1 hour and 30 minutes. At this time, the baseball relay was recorded for the first 30 minutes, and the program reserved by the user was the second half.
It was recorded at 1 hour. The user must search for the target program by skipping this unnecessary portion using a fast-forward function or the like.

As a cited document showing one of the search functions, there is Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-14790. In the recording / reproducing apparatus shown in this figure, for example, an index is set every 5 minutes, which is used for skipping and extending the recorded image to find the beginning. As a result, a technology is disclosed in which, when a recorded image is played back after recording, the user skips the recorded video for each index to easily detect the start portion of the extended and recorded broadcast. .

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, the start portion of the extended and recorded broadcast is not called immediately upon reproduction.
That is, there is a problem in that the user requires a complicated work of skipping the reproduced video and finding the beginning of the extended and recorded broadcast.

According to the present invention, the start point of a program desired by the user is estimated from the recording reservation information and the extension time, and the position information is set therein to easily retrieve the start position of the desired program. An object is to provide a recording / reproducing apparatus and this method.

[0009]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an information recording / reproducing apparatus for recording an information signal, and a setting means for setting a recording reservation time for recording the information signal. The extension means for changing the recording reservation time set by the setting means in order to extend the recording reservation time according to the instruction given, and the recording means for recording the information signal on the recording medium according to the recording reservation time extended by the extension means. And a position information recording unit for recording the position information of the information signal in the management information of the information signal recorded on the recording medium according to the extension of the extension unit. It is a device.

In this video recording / reproducing apparatus, for example, a DVD-
In case of VR (DVD Video Recording) standard, M_VOB of VMG (Video Manager) which is a management information file
I (Moving Video Object Information), EPI (E
By recording this ntry point information) and detecting this EPI at the time of reproduction, it is possible to quickly detect and reproduce the start portion of the drama whose start is delayed by 30 minutes due to baseball, for example. As a result, the user can immediately play back the recorded video that has been extended and recorded, like a recorded video that is normally reserved and recorded.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A video recording / reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

<Video Recording / Reproducing Apparatus According to the Present Invention> A video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention. 1, a video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention has a television tuner 10 for demodulating a broadcast signal and an external input terminal 11 for inputting a video signal or an audio signal, and a video decoder 12 for the video signal or the audio signal. And audio A / D converter 13. Further, it has an MPEG encoder 14 to which the digital signal converted by these is supplied,
A disk controller 15 to which a video / audio signal encoded in G format is supplied is connected to a hard disk driver 16 and a DVD-RAM driver 17.

Further, a microcomputer section 23 for controlling the overall operation
And a timer computer 24 connected thereto, which is connected to an operation panel 25 for a user to operate and a remote control light receiving unit 26 for receiving a control signal from a remote control 27. . The operation panel 25 and the remote controller 27 are provided with operation keys for general recording / playback and setting switches for reserved recording, as well as extension keys for extending the reserved recording time.

Furthermore, a DVD-RA mounted on the hard disk driver 16 or the DVD-RAM driver 17
MPEG for reading and demodulating the MPEG signal stored in M via the disk controller 15.
It has a decoder 18, a video encoder 19 for demodulating the demodulated video signal, and an audio D / A converter 20 for converting the audio signal,
Each is connected to the video output terminal 21 and the audio output terminal 22.

In the video recording / reproducing apparatus having such a structure, the recording process is performed as follows. That is, video / audio signals are input from the TV tuner 10 and the external input terminal 11, and are converted into digital signals by the video decoder 12 and the audio A / D converter 13. The MPEG encoder 14 compresses the digitized video and audio signals into the MPEG format. The compressed signal is sent to the hard disk driver 16 or the DVD-R of the DVD-RAM driver 17 via the disk controller 15.
Saved in AM.

On the other hand, in the reproducing process, the MPEG signal stored in the hard disk driver 16 or the DVD-RAM 17 is read out via the disk controller 15 and demodulated by the MPEG decoder 18. The video signal output from here is demodulated by the video encoder 19, and the audio signal is converted into an analog signal by the audio D / A converter 20 in the same manner.
It is output to the video output terminal 21 and the audio output terminal 22. By connecting each output terminal to a TV, you can watch the video and audio signals output from this unit.

The video decoder 12, the MPEG encoder 14, the disk controller 15, the MPEG decoder 18, the video encoder 19, etc. are all controlled by the microcomputer section 23. Further, according to the timer computer 24, the timer computer 24 can operate even when the power of the apparatus is off, and has a function of energizing the apparatus several minutes before the start time of the recording reservation to perform the absence recording. .

<DVD-VR Standard Data Structure>
As an example of a standard that is based on the recording / reproducing process performed by the video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, a DVD-VR (DV
The D Video Recording) standard will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the concept of the DVD-VR standard used when the video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention performs recording, and FIG. 3 is M_VOBI in the DVD-VR standard.
It is a figure which shows the relationship between PGI, CI, and EPI.

In FIG. 2, according to the DVD-VR standard, a VRO file (VR_MOVIE.V) in which actual data of a moving image is recorded.
RO) and an IFO file (VR_MANGR.IFO) that records management information such as the recording position and title information of this data, and manages the data (in addition, there are files that handle still images etc.). However, the explanation is omitted here). Video and audio information is recorded in the VRO file by the MPEG2 program stream method.
Further, when a plurality of recordings are performed, the data recorded later is added to the same file after the data recorded previously. Since a plurality of recording data are recorded in the same file in this way, an IFO file for managing each recording data is required. According to the DVD-VR standard, moving image data created by one recording is recorded as M_VOB (Movie Video Objec
Called t), the IFO file describes where each M_VOB is recorded in the file. IF
This area of the O file is called M_VOBI (Movie
Video Object Information).

Further, in FIG. 3, information PGI (Program Information) for displaying to the user in the form of a title for M_VOB indicating the physical recording data.
Is also written in the IFO file. PGI is multiple C
Each CI has information on the reproduction start position and the reproduction end position of the corresponding M_VOBI. For CI, EPI (Entry Poin
t Information).
EPI is information indicating the position at which reproduction is started, and it is essential to continue reproduction from the first EPI point after the reproduction point when the Skip Forward key is pressed during reproduction.

<First Embodiment> The first embodiment provides a video recording / reproducing apparatus for automatically setting a reproduction start position in accordance with extension of reserved recording. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a reservation screen of the video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is a timing chart for explaining the reservation extension function, and FIG.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining automatic setting of EPI associated with the reservation extension function, and FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining automatic deletion processing of recorded data according to EPI associated with the reservation extension function.

As an example, the video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention performs reserved recording according to a recording reservation screen as shown in FIG. The information to be input when setting the scheduled recording includes a channel number, recording start date / time, recording end date / time, image quality / sound quality setting, and the like. This GUI (Graphic User Inter
This device automatically turns on the power several minutes before the recording start time and starts recording, and when the recording ends at the recording end time, the power turns off.

On the other hand, when the reservation extension key is pressed with the remote controller 27 or the like during execution of the reserved recording, it has a function of extending the preset recording end time backward by a predetermined time, for example, 10 minutes. This is a function for allowing the program to be recorded up to the end when the broadcast start time of the program to be recorded is shifted backward, for example, when the baseball relay is extended.

That is, in FIG. 5, the user 21:
In order to record the drama from 00 to 22:00, it is assumed that the recording reservation for 21:00 to 22:00 has been set in this apparatus. Even if the broadcast time of the baseball broadcast of the previous program is extended by 30 minutes and the drama start time is changed from 21:30, the actual recording operation will start from 21:00, and at this point it will be 22:00. It will end. This means that half of the drama that should be recorded cannot be recorded. Here, the user can
By pressing the extension key on the remote controller 27 or the like, the recording end time is extended to 22:30, and by recording for a total of 1 hour and 30 minutes, all desired dramas can be recorded.

At this time, the originally reserved recording time was one hour, but even if the recording is extended for 30 minutes and recording for 1 hour and 30 minutes, the target drama is naturally in the recorded title.
Only one hour has been recorded. It can be estimated that the time at which the drama for this purpose starts is 21:30, which is the extended recording end time 22:30 minus the extended time 30 minutes. Therefore, by inserting the above-mentioned entry point (EPI) at a position after an extended time from the beginning of the title, the user can easily find the target drama.

That is, referring to the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, after the recording is started at the reserved recording start time (S11) and the extension key of the remote controller 27 or the like is pressed (S12), the reserved recording is started. The end time is extended by, for example, 10 minutes in response to one pressing of the extension key (S1
3) The extended time is recorded (S14). This operation is repeated until the recording is completed (S15). When the recording is completed (S16), the time (S16) is changed according to the extension time of the recorded recording.
17), the entry point (EPI) is set to M_VOBI in FIG. 3 after the time extended from the beginning of the title (S18).

At the time of reproduction, the user presses the E
It is possible to easily reproduce by skipping the reproduction position up to the PI position. Further, by presetting in the operation program built in the microcomputer unit 23, when the video data for which the reservation extension has been made is automatically skipped to the EPI and then reproduced, the surface is It is also possible to quickly reproduce the program video as if there was no reservation extension.

Further, if an automatic erasing mode is provided in the operation program built in the microcomputer section 23 and the user selects and sets the automatic erasing mode from the operation panel 25, the automatic erasing mode is selected (S19). The video data before the time point of EPI set by the reservation extension, for example, unnecessary video data for the extension of 30 minutes is automatically deleted (S20). As a result, the user can play the recorded video only by pressing the extension key as needed, without being aware of the reservation extension when playing.

In the above embodiment, the EPI is set in M_VOBI in FIG. 3 in order to specify the start time point of the extended program video. However, it is not always necessary to use this method, but it may be extended in some way. If the start time of the program video can be known when the recorded video is played back, the same effect can be obtained.

In the above embodiment, the video recording / reproducing apparatus in which the recording medium is an optical disk or a hard disk has been described as an example. However, for example, a conventional VTR (Video Tape R) is used.
ecorder) also has the same effect as long as it has the same characteristics.

<Second Embodiment> The second embodiment provides a video recording / playback apparatus having a function of skipping a specific video such as a commercial by setting a plurality of playback start positions after recording. FIG. 8 is a flow chart for explaining the CM deletion mode which is the second embodiment of the video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining this.

In the recording / recording / reproducing apparatus according to the second embodiment, the user can set the position in the edit mode for the video information recorded by using the above-mentioned absence recording function or the video information manually recorded without using it. By setting the information, a specific video such as a commercial is skipped.

That is, the flowchart of FIG. 8 and FIG.
In the explanatory diagram of 1., the user first selects the edit mode using the operation panel 25 or the remote controller 27 (S31). Here, the user uses the operation panel 25 and the remote controller 27 to search for a specific image, for example, a commercial, for the recorded image information, for the program image indicated by one title, as shown in FIG. The EPI is set at the beginning and the end (S32). That is, in FIG. 9, a pair of EPI1 and EPI2, a pair of EPI3 and EPI4, and a pair of EPI5 and EPI6 are set for three commercials, respectively.

At this time, if the CM deletion mode is selected by the user (S33), the interval times t ₁ , t ₂ , and t _{3 of} each EPI pair are measured, and this is within a predetermined time, for example, within 2 minutes. If so (S34), this is regarded as commercial video information, and video information between EPIs is automatically deleted (S35). The predetermined time can be set freely by the user.

With such a function, a video image of a commercial which is considered unnecessary for the user can be automatically deleted by the operation of the video recording / reproducing apparatus only by setting the position information. It is possible to easily reproduce the original video information that is not present.

Furthermore, not only the CM deletion mode shown in step 33, but also a CM skip mode prepared and selected by the user, the video of commercials or the like is not deleted, and the EPI set within the set EPI is deleted. The video information between EPIs having an interval within a predetermined time, for example, within 2 minutes is automatically skipped and reproduced at the time of reproduction. As a result, it is possible to reproduce the video desired by the user without reproducing the commercial or the like.

The various embodiments described above enable a person skilled in the art to implement the present invention, and it is easy for those skilled in the art to come up with various modifications of these embodiments, and the inventive capability. It is possible to apply to various embodiments without having. Therefore, the present invention provides
The present invention covers a wide range that is consistent with the disclosed principle and novel features, and is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the recording target is the video information, but even if it is limited to the audio information,
The same characteristics produce the same effects.

[0039]

As described above in detail, according to the video recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention, when the end time of the recording reservation is extended by pressing the extension key, the position information indicating the start position of the program video at that time is displayed. By automatically setting (entry point: EPI), it is possible to easily perform reproduction as if there was no extension during reproduction.

Further, according to the video recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention, the user can set the position information (entry point: EPI) at the start position and the end position of the specific image of the recorded video information in the edit mode or the like. Then, it is possible to reproduce a desired video by automatically deleting (skipping) a specific image that seems to be unnecessary.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the concept of the DVD-VR standard used when a video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention performs recording.

FIG. 3 shows M_VOBI and P in the DVD-VR standard used when the video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention performs recording.
The figure which shows the relationship of GI, CI, and EPI.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a reservation screen of the video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart for explaining a reservation extension function of the video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating automatic setting of EPI associated with the reservation extension function that is the first embodiment of the video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an automatic deletion process of recorded data according to EPI according to the reservation extension function which is the first embodiment of the video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a CM deletion mode that is the second embodiment of the video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a CM deletion mode which is the second embodiment of the video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... TV tuner, 11 ... External input terminal, 12 ... Video decoder, 13 ... Audio A / D converter, 14
... MPEG encoder, 15 ... Disk controller,
16 ... Hard disk driver, 17 ... DVD-RAM
Driver, 18 ... MPEG decoder, 19 ... Video encoder, 20 ... Audio D / A converter, 21 ... Video output terminal, 22 ... Audio output terminal, 23 ... Microcomputer section, 24 ... Timer computer, 25 ... Operation panel, 26 ... Remote controller Light receiving part, 27 ... Remote control.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 5/76 H04N 5/91 Z 5/91 G11B 27/02 K F term (reference) 5C052 AA01 AB05 AC08 CC01 DD04 5C053 FA23 FA30 GB06 GB37 HA29 JA24 KA01 KA24 KA26 LA07 5D044 BC04 CC04 DE38 DE48 DE59 EF05 FG18 GK12 5D077 AA22 AA30 AA38 BA08 DC08 EA06 EA37 5D110 AA13 AA17 DA06 DA11 DA16 DB03 DE06

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An information recording / reproducing apparatus for recording an information signal, comprising: setting means for setting a recording reservation time for recording the information signal; and the recording set by the setting means in response to a given instruction. An extension means for changing the reservation time to extend; a recording means for recording an information signal on a recording medium according to the recording reservation time extended by the extension means; and a recording medium for the extension of the extension means. An information recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: position information recording means for recording the position information of the information signal in the management information of the information signal recorded in. 2. The information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising deleting means for deleting an information signal recorded before the position information recorded by the position information recording means. 3. An information recording / reproducing apparatus for recording an information signal, comprising: recording means for recording the information signal on a recording medium; and a plurality of the information signals in management information of the information signal recorded on the recording medium. Positional information recording means for recording positional information, and a plurality of positional information recorded by the positional information recording means, detects a pair of positional information set at intervals of a predetermined time or less, and detects a pair of positional information. An information recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: a deleting unit that deletes the information signal in (1). 4. An information recording / reproducing apparatus for recording an information signal, comprising: recording means for recording the information signal on a recording medium; and a plurality of position information recorded in management information of the information signal recorded on the recording medium. Position information recording means, and a plurality of position information recorded by the position information recording means, detects a pair of position information set at intervals of a predetermined time or less, the information between the pair of position information An information recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: a reproducing unit that reproduces the recorded information signal while automatically skipping the signal. 5. An information recording / reproducing method for recording an information signal, comprising: a setting step of setting a recording reservation time for recording the information signal; and the recording set in the setting step according to a given instruction. An extension step of changing the reservation time to extend; a recording step of recording an information signal on a recording medium according to the recording reservation time extended in the extension step; and a recording medium according to extension of the extension step. A position information recording step of recording the position information of the information signal in the management information of the information signal recorded in [4]. 6. An information recording / reproducing method for recording an information signal, comprising: a recording step of recording the information signal on a recording medium; and a plurality of information signals recorded in the management information of the information signal recorded on the recording medium. A position information recording step of recording position information, and detecting a pair of position information set at intervals of a predetermined time or less from among the plurality of position information recorded in the position information recording step, An information recording / reproducing method comprising: a deletion step of deleting the information signal in (1). 7. An information recording / reproducing method for recording an information signal, comprising a recording step of recording the information signal on a recording medium, and recording a plurality of position information in management information of the information signal recorded on the recording medium. The position information recording step, and among the plurality of position information recorded in the position information recording step, a pair of position information set at intervals of a predetermined time or less is detected, and the information between the pair of position information is detected. A reproducing step of reproducing the recorded information signal while automatically skipping the signal, the information recording / reproducing method.