JP2012038338A - Information recording replay device and information recording replay method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the phenomena that an invalid link remains at the time of deletion of additional contents.SOLUTION: An information recording replay device 100 is provided which has replay means 2 for replaying first data recorded in a commutative medium 1, recording replay means 3 recording second data corresponding to the first data, and a CPU 9 controlling the replay means or recording replay means. The CPU can constitute a virtual file system based on the first data, the second data, the deletion information file and compiled information file.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information recording / reproducing apparatus and an information recording / reproducing method.

The environment for providing contents is changing from provision of physical media such as CD (Compact Disc) and DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) to data distribution via the Internet or the like. Further, the information recording / reproducing apparatus 100 can execute various applications in addition to simple reproduction of conventional movies, and can add value to contents such as movies.
For example, in Patent Document 1, a user's request is received from a menu screen, and a desired movie recorded on the server can be selected by selecting a link corresponding to an instance of the Title class. And by having link destination information for each title, only the actually effective link destination is effective at the time of reproduction.

JP 2002-369154 A (pages 8 and 9)

  In this way, it is possible to increase the added value of the main content by attaching additional content to the main content such as a movie. In some cases, the additional content needs to be deleted due to the limitation of the memory capacity of the information recording / reproducing apparatus for storing the content information or the temporal effectiveness of the additional content. In such a case, if additional content is simply deleted, an invalid link destination remains at the time of reproduction, which may give the user a sense of inconvenience such as misunderstanding or device failure. Further, when deleting additional contents, necessary contents may be deleted by mistake. The present invention provides an information recording / reproducing apparatus that solves the above-described problems.

A first presentation file recorded on a first recording medium;
Whether the second presentation file recorded on the second recording medium and associated with the first presentation file based on the deletion information file and the combined information file exists on one recording medium An information recording / reproducing apparatus for constructing a virtual file system for handling as described above and reproducing the virtual file system,
Files included in a disk folder constituting the first presentation file;
A file included in a folder corresponding to the disk folder constituting the second presentation file;
Based on the deletion information file and the combined information file, selecting a suitable file, combining by storing in a virtual disk folder, and constructing the virtual disk folder;
There is provided an information recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: reproducing means for reproducing a virtual file system composed of virtual disk folders constructed by the constructing means.

  Since the information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is configured as described above, it is possible to prevent an invalid link destination from remaining when additional content is deleted.

It is a block diagram which shows roughly the structure of the information recording / reproducing apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a directory structure figure of the content recorded on the optical disk and HDD in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a stream block diagram showing the presentation file structure in the first embodiment and the second embodiment of the present invention. It is the syntax of the stream information file in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram of the title file in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 of the present invention. 4 is a title file syntax according to the first embodiment and the second embodiment of the present invention. It is the syntax of the program file in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the directory structure in HDD in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the file structure in the optical disk in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is an example of the menu screen output from the superimposition part in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the construction method of the virtual file system in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is an example of the menu screen based on the data corresponding to the menu screen of the virtual file system in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is the syntax of the deletion information file in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is an example of the deletion information file in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram of the file in HDD for solving the mismatch of association with the menu screen and the file in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is an example of the menu screen by which the inconsistency of association with the menu screen and file in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 of this invention was solved. It is the syntax of the joint information file in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a file structure of the virtual file system comprised according to the combined information file in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the stream structure and stream ID which were recorded on HDD in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a file block diagram of HDD which has a title information file corresponding to stream ID in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 of this invention. FIG. 21 is a combined information file syntax when configuring an optimal virtual file system in the file configuration of FIG. 20 in the first embodiment and the second embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows roughly the structure of the information reproduction apparatus in Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is the syntax of the joint information file in Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is an example of the specific combined information file in Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of information reproducing apparatus 100 in the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, 1 is an optical disk on which predetermined data (for example, control data necessary for controlling the information reproducing apparatus 100, video or audio data, etc.) is recorded, and 2 is a drive for reading data recorded on the optical disk 1. Reference numeral 3 denotes a hard disk drive (hereinafter referred to as HDD) in which data related to the optical disk 1 is stored. Reference numeral 4 denotes a demultiplexer that separates data read by the drive 2 or the HDD 3 into video data, audio data, and graphic data, 5 an audio decoder unit that demodulates (hereinafter, “decodes”) audio data, and 6 a video. A video decoder unit that decodes data, 7 is a graphic decoder unit that decodes graphic data, and 8 is a video superimposing unit that superimposes a video obtained by decoding the video data and an image obtained by decoding the graphic data. . Reference numeral 9 denotes a CPU that controls each of the above-described components, and sends a control command to each of the components and also monitors the status of each component. In FIG. 1, the control signal output from the CPU 9 is omitted.

Next, the operation will be described.
In FIG. 1, the drive 2 reads the data recorded on the optical disc 1 and outputs it to the demultiplexer 4. Similarly, data read from the HDD 3 is output to the demultiplexer 4. The data output from the drive 2 and the HDD 3 includes the video data corresponding to video (hereinafter referred to as video) recorded on the optical disc 1 and the HDD 3, audio data that is audio information corresponding to the video data, and Graphic data which is data of an image (hereinafter referred to as graphic) superimposed on a video corresponding to the video data is packetized and multiplexed data.

  The demultiplexer 4 separates input data into video data, audio data, and graphic data. Then, the audio data is output to the audio decoder unit 5, the video data is output to the video decoder unit 6, and the graphic data is output to the graphic decoder unit 7. The demultiplexer 4 performs this separation operation according to the identifier described at the head of each packetized data.

  The audio decoder unit 5 decodes the input audio data and outputs it to an audio output means (not shown). The video decoding unit 6 decodes the input video data and outputs the decoded video data to the video superimposing unit 8. In addition, the graphic decoder unit 7 decodes the input graphic data and outputs it to the video superimposing unit 8.

  The video superimposing unit 8 superimposes the video obtained by decoding the video data in the video decoding unit 6 and the graphic obtained by decoding the graphic data in the graphic decoder unit 7 and outputs them to display means (not shown).

  FIG. 2 is a directory structure diagram of content recorded on the optical disc 1 or the HDD 3. Reference numeral 10 denotes a presentation file in which video data, audio data, and graphic data are multiplexed. “STREAM” is a name of a folder in which the presentation file is stored. Reference numeral 11 denotes a stream information file in which the data structure of the presentation file is described. “STREAM_IFO” is the name of the folder in which the stream information file is stored. The presentation file 10 and the stream information file 11 correspond one-to-one. Reference numeral 12 denotes a title file in which the structure of the title is described, and “TITLE” is the name of the folder in which the title file is stored. Reference numeral 13 denotes a program file in which commands necessary for reproducing the title file are described.

  FIG. 3 is a stream configuration diagram showing the structure of the presentation file 10. A stream is composed of fixed-length data units called packets. Video data, audio data, and graphic data are divided into packet units and then multiplexed to form a stream. Each packet has a header area at the head, and data in the packet is identified by an ID (Identification) described in the header information. The demultiplexer 4 identifies this ID and separates it into video data, audio data, and graphic data.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the syntax of the stream information file 11. “Start_PTS” indicates the PTS (Presentation_Time Stamp) of the first video frame of the target presentation file 10, and “End_PTS” indicates the PTS of the final video frame. “Num_of_video”, “num_of_audio”, and “num_of_graphics” indicate the number of video, audio, and graphics multiplexed in the presentation file 10. The next three loop statements (for and below) are repeated by the number of “num_of_video”, “num_of_audio”, and “num_of_graphics”, and “packet_ID” describes the ID of the packet assigned to each stream. In “entry_map ()”, information necessary for cue playback is described. For example, when video data is encoded in MPEG2, the head of GOP (Group of Pictures) corresponds to a heading point. In this embodiment, it is described in which packet of the presentation file 10 the head of the GOP exists. “Num_of_entry” is the total number of cue points, and “entry_packet_num” is the relative number of packets from the top of the presentation file 10 to the top of the GOP. Since the packet has a fixed length, the relative number of bytes from the beginning of the file to the beginning of the GOP can be calculated from the value of “entry_packet_num” multiplied by the number of bytes per packet. The information reproducing apparatus 100 determines the position of the cue point on the disk from the number of bytes from the beginning of the file, and performs cue reproduction.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the structure of the title. A title is a collection of a plurality of predetermined sections of the presentation file 10, and is composed of a plurality of sections in one presentation file 10, or each predetermined section of several presentation files 10. There are various cases such as being composed of FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the syntax of the title file 12. “Num_of_stream” is the total number of presentation files 10 constituting the title, and the next loop statement is repeated by the number of “num_of_stream”. The title is composed of one or more predetermined sections of the presentation file 10, “stream_name” indicates the file name of the presentation file 10 to be reproduced, and “In_time” and “Out_time” are reproduced with the title. The playback start time and playback end time of a predetermined section of the presentation file 10 are shown. In this embodiment, PTS (Presentation Time Stamp) of video data is set to “In_time” and “Out_time”. “Start_packet_num” and “End_packet_num” indicate the relative number of packets from the head of the presentation file 10 of the video frame indicated by “In_time” and “Out_time”. From these pieces of information, the information reproducing apparatus 100 can determine which part of the presentation file 10 should be reproduced. “Num_of_video”, “num_of_audio”, and “num_of_graphics” indicate the number of video, audio, and graphics used for reproduction. Similar parameters exist in the stream information file 11, but the parameters in the stream information file 11 indicate the total number of video, audio, and graphics existing in the presentation file 10, whereas the title file 12 is different in that it indicates the total number of video, audio, and graphics used for playback in the presentation file 10. The subsequent three loop statements are the same as the loop statement described in FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the syntax of the program file 13. “Menu_title_file_name” indicates a title file name for displaying a menu screen displayed when the user presses the menu key. “Num_of_program” indicates the total number of programs, and the next loop statement is repeated by the number of “num_of_program”. “Command ()” indicates a collection of commands necessary for playing the disc. When playing a disc that does not have a menu screen, the playback is performed according to the sequence described in “Command ()”.

  FIG. 8 shows a directory structure in the HDD 3. Additional data related to the contents of the optical disc 1 is recorded in the HDD 3. These additional data are recorded in the HDD 3 via the Internet or from a storage device connected to the information reproducing apparatus 100, for example. In the present embodiment, no particular reference is made to the supply source of additional data such as additional content. Here, the additional data is data related to the optical disc 1 and corresponds to a trailer for a movie. Reference numeral 14 denotes a disk folder for sorting data in units of disks. All content data related to a certain optical disk 1 is recorded in this folder. Since the structure in the disk folder 14 is almost the same as the directory structure of the optical disk 1 described above, description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 8, the same type number is assigned to the same type of file as in FIG. However, not all the folders of the presentation file 10, the stream information file 11, and the title information file 12 exist in the disk folder of the HDD 3, and some files may not exist. In particular, the difference from the file structure on the optical disc 1 is the existence of a deletion information file 15 (“delete.ifo”) used to delete additional data. The deletion information file 15 will be described in detail later.

  Next, a procedure for reproducing content in the optical disc 1 will be described. Reference numerals 10 to 13 in FIG. 9 show examples of file configurations in the optical disc 1. In the syntax shown in FIG. 6, “00001.title”, “00002.title”, and “00003.title” are set to “1” for “num_of_stream”, and “00001.title” is set to “00001.title”. “strm”, “00002.strm”, “00003.strm” are assigned. In addition, “00001.title” is assigned to “menu_title_file_name” of “program.cmd”. When this optical disc 1 is reproduced by the information reproducing apparatus 100, first, reading of “00001.title” associated with the menu screen display, that is, “00001.strm” is started. The read data is separated by the demultiplexer 4 according to the packet ID specified by “00001.title”, and only necessary data is sent to the video decoder unit 5, the audio decoder unit 6 and the graphic decoder unit 7. The video decoded by the video decoder unit 5 and the video decoded by the graphic decoder unit 7 are combined and output by the superimposing unit 8. FIG. 10 shows the menu screen 18 output from the superimposing unit 8. Two buttons, button A16 and button B17, are displayed in the menu screen 18. These buttons are made from graphic data, and the background video is made from video data. Here, the button A16 is associated with a command for reproducing “00002.title”, and the button B15 is associated with a command for reproducing “00003.title”. When the user selects the button A16, "00002.title", that is, "00002.strm" is read from the optical disc 1, playback is performed, and when the button B17 is selected, "00003.title", that is, "00003" is selected. .strm "is read from the optical disc 1 and played back.

  Next, a method for reproducing additional data recorded in the HDD 3 will be described. In order for the information reproducing apparatus 100 to perform reproduction using both the information in the optical disc 1 and the information in the HDD 3, there is a mechanism for handling the data in the HDD 3 as if it is in the optical disc 1. is necessary. In the present embodiment, this is called a virtual file system.

  A method for constructing a virtual file system from a file in the optical disc 1 and a file in the HDD 3 will be described with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 19 denotes a directory structure of the optical disc 1, 20 denotes a directory structure in the HDD 3, and 21 denotes a virtual file system directory structure. In the presentation file 10 of the HDD 3, “00001.strm”, “00004.strm”, and “00005.strm” exist, but the same file name also exists on the optical disc 1 for “00001.strm”. If the same file exists, the file on the HDD 1 side is given priority, and the presentation file 10 in the virtual file system is “00001.strm”, “00004.strm”, “00005.strm” in the HDD 3 and the optical disk. 1 consists of five files “00002.strm” and “00003.strm”. Since the stream information file 11 is a one-to-one pair with the presentation file 10, “00001.ifo”, “00004.ifo”, “00005.ifo” in the HDD 3 and “00002.ifo” in the optical disc 1 are stored. "," 00003.ifo ". The title file 12 includes five files “00001.title”, “00004.title”, and “00005.title” in the HDD 3 and “00002.title” and “00003.title” in the optical disc 1. Composed. As for the program file 13, “Program.cmd” in the HDD 3 is handled as the program file 13 of the virtual file system. As described above, the virtual file system is constructed, and the file in the optical disc 1 and the file in the HDD 3 are handled from the information reproducing apparatus 100 as if they exist in one disc.

  Next, a method for reproducing the constructed virtual file system will be described. Of the files in the virtual file system, the playback procedure of the file existing on the optical disc 1 is exactly the same as the description of the playback of the content in the optical disc 1, which has already been described. “00001.title”, “00004.title”, and “00005.title” in the virtual file system are newly added title files. “0000” is set for “num_of_stream” of “00001.title”, “00004.title”, and “00005.title”, and “00001.strm” and “00004.strm” are set for each “stream_name”. "," 00005.strm "is assigned. The playback software of the information playback apparatus 100 first starts playback of “00001.title” assigned to “menu_title_file_name” in “program.cmd”. “00001.strm” assigned to “00001.title” is a file existing in the HDD 3. Reading of “00001.strm” from the HDD 3 is started and sent to the demultiplexer 4. Since the operations after the demultiplexer 4 are the same as the reading from the optical disc 1, the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 12 shows a menu screen when the virtual file system “00001.strm” is reproduced. The menu screen displays a total of four buttons, button A22, button B23, button C24, and button D25. Here, a command for reproducing “00002.title” in the optical disc 1 is associated with the button A22, and a command for reproducing “00003.title” in the optical disc 1 is associated with the button B23. A command for reproducing “00004.title” in the HDD 3 is associated with C24, and a command for reproducing “00005.title” in the HDD 3 is associated with the button D25. When the user selects the button A22, the “00002.strm” file on the optical disc 1 is reproduced, and when the user selects the button D25, “00005.strm” on the HDD 3 is reproduced. Therefore, the user can perform reproduction without being aware of whether the file being reproduced exists on the optical disc 1 or on the HDD 3.

  The method of additionally recording content on the HDD 3 and reproducing it has been described above. However, the capacity of the HDD 3 is limited, and it is necessary to delete the previously recorded content in order to record new content. Here, a method for deleting data additionally recorded in the HDD 3 will be described. FIG. 13 shows the syntax of the deletion information file 15 in which information necessary for deleting the title in the HDD 3 is described. “Title_txt_info ()” is an area for describing text information for allowing the user to check the contents of the title when the title is deleted. “Char_code” describes the character code of the text information. “Txt_length” is the total number of bytes of data used for text information, and “text_data ()” describes text information of the number of bytes described in “text_length”. “Num_of_added_title” indicates the number of titles added to the HDD 3, and the next loop statement is repeated by the number of “num_of_added_title”. “Title_file_name” in the loop describes the file name of the title file 12 that has been added. In “num_of_stream_file”, the number of presentation files 10 related to the title file 12 is described, and the next loop statement is repeated by the number of “num_of_stream_file”. In “stream_file_name”, the name of the presentation file 10 is described. From this deleted information file, the information reproducing apparatus 100 can know a file related to each title, and deletes the title by deleting the related file. FIG. 14 shows an example of the deletion information file 15. For example, “num_of_stream_file” of “00005.title” is “1”, and the presentation file is “00005.strm”. Therefore, to delete “00005.title”, the title is deleted by deleting “00005.strm” and “00005.ifo” paired with this file.

  As described above, the title is deleted according to the procedure described above. Even after the title is deleted, “00001.title”, which is the title for displaying the menu, is the name of the file before the title is deleted. It remains. Therefore, even after the title is deleted, the menu screen 18 before the deletion is displayed even after the deletion. For example, even if the user selects the button A22 on the menu screen 18 of FIG. 12 after deleting “00005.title” in the HDD 3 in the virtual file system of FIG. 11, “00005.title” associated with the button A22 is selected. Inconsistency that "reproduction" is not performed because "" does not exist. If the user has just deleted the title, there is no problem because the user remembers that the title has been deleted. However, after a time has elapsed since the deletion, or when another user plays back, the optical disc 1 or the information playback apparatus 100 If there is a problem, there is a risk of being misunderstood. A method for preventing such inconsistency will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a file structure in the HDD 3 for solving the inconsistency. The conditions for the additional title are the same as the file structure of the HDD 3 described with reference to FIG. The difference is that the presentation file 10 has three files “00001_1.strm”, “00001_2.strm”, and “00001_3.strm” instead of “00001.strm”. “00001_1.strm” is a presentation file 10 to be combined when no added title is deleted, “00001_2.strm” is a presentation file 10 to be combined when “00004.title” is deleted, “ “00001_3.strm” is the presentation file 10 to be combined when “00005.title” is deleted. For example, when “00005.title” is deleted, “00001_3.strm” is combined as “00001.strm”, and the virtual file system is configured as shown in FIG. When playback is performed with this virtual file system, “00001_3.strm” in the HDD 3 is read and played as the menu screen 18. FIG. 16 shows a screen in which “00001_3.srtm” is reproduced. Button A26 linked to “00002.title”, button B27 linked to “00003.title”, and button C28 linked to “00005.title”. Two buttons are displayed. As described above, by preparing a plurality of menu screens 18 assuming that titles are to be deleted in advance and combining the optimal menu screen 18 with the virtual file system, it is possible to display buttons linked to the deleted titles. The menu screen 18 that is not displayed is reproduced. Next, a method for selecting an appropriate file from a plurality of menu display presentation files 10 and combining it with the virtual file system will be described.

  FIG. 17 shows an example of the syntax of the combined information file required for constructing this virtual file system. This combination information file exists in, for example, the HDD 3 and controls the combination of files according to the detection of the presence / absence of a file in the HDD 3 as described below. The syntax will be described on the assumption that the file configuration of the optical disc 1 and the file configuration of the HDD 3 are the same as the configuration of FIG. “If (00004.title == 1 & 00005.title == 1)” on the second line is a condition depending on whether or not two titles “00004.title” and “00005.title” exist in the HDD 3. It is a branch. If both files exist, “00001_1.strm” on the third line is combined as “00001.strm”, and if either does not exist, the “else if” statement on the fifth line is executed. If “00004.title” does not exist, “00001_2.strm” on the sixth line is combined as “00001.strm”. When “00004.title” exists, “00001_3.strm” on the ninth line is combined as “00001.strm”. When both “00004.title” and “00005.title” are deleted, the file to be combined does not exist in the HDD 3, and therefore “00001.srtrm” of the optical disc 1 is combined. FIG. 18 shows a file configuration of a virtual file system configured according to the combined information file of FIG.

  As described above, assuming that the title is deleted, a presentation file 10 that displays a plurality of menu screens is prepared in advance, and a rule for combining the presentation files 10 is described. By using the combined information file, it is possible to display a menu screen in which a button linked to the deleted title is not displayed even after the title is deleted. In this way, it is possible to avoid misunderstanding of the user and the like by reliably deleting the button whose link destination no longer exists on the menu screen.

  As described above, a plurality of presentation files 10 having a menu screen 18 that can be assumed after the title is deleted are prepared, and based on the description of the combination information file, the optimum presentation file 10 is selected and combined to obtain a virtual file system. The method of providing the menu screen 18 in which the button linked to the deleted title is not displayed has been described. The same effect can be obtained by preparing a plurality of title files 12. As already explained in the description of the syntax of the title file 12, it is possible to select which stream to use from a plurality of video, audio, and graphics superimposed on the presentation file 10 in the syntax. It is. The buttons on the menu screen 18 are displayed using a graphic stream. That is, only one presentation file 10 is provided, and a plurality of graphic streams for displaying the buttons on the menu screen 18 are prepared, and an optimum graphic file is obtained from the superimposed graphics data according to the deletion state of the title. By selecting a stream, a similar menu screen can be displayed.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a stream structure of “00001.strm” recorded in the HDD 3. In this file, graphic streams having three types of IDs are superimposed, and three IDs “ID = 101”, “ID = 102”, and “ID = 103” are assigned. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the file structure of the HDD 3, and three title files 12 of “00001_1.title”, “00001_2.title”, and “00001_3.title” are prepared. The graphic stream IDs specified in the respective title files 12 are “101”, “102”, and “103”, respectively. The menu screen displayed with “ID = 101” is a graphic when there is no deleted title, and the menu screen displayed with “ID = 102” is when “00004.title” is deleted. The menu screen displayed with graphics, “ID = 103” is the graphics when “00005.title” is deleted. FIG. 21 shows the syntax of the combined information file when configuring an optimal virtual file system when configuring the file of FIG. When both “00004.title” and “00005.title” exist, “00001_1.title” is combined. When only “00004.title” does not exist, “00001_2.title” is combined, When only “00005.title” does not exist, “00001_3.title” is described to be combined. As described above, preparing a plurality of title files 12 can provide the same effects as when a plurality of presentation files 10 are prepared.

As described above, a specific method of displaying a combined information file and a menu screen in which a plurality of presentation files 10 and title files 12 assuming a menu screen after deletion are prepared and no button without a link destination is displayed after the file is deleted. Although an example has been described, the effect of the present embodiment is not limited to the display method of the menu screen. Assuming the situation after the file is deleted in advance, prepare multiple files for combining, and all that can construct a virtual file system that is optimal for the file deletion status according to the combined information file It is included in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the C information is described as the syntax of the combined information file. However, a script language such as XML that is easy to understand by the CPU or the like may be used.
The optical disk 1 is not limited to an optical disk as long as it is a replaceable medium. The replaceable medium only needs to be reproducible, and the rewritable function is not always necessary. Furthermore, the HDD 3 only needs to have a capacity capable of storing additional data such as additional content, and the same operation is possible even with a device using a semiconductor memory such as an optical disk drive or a flash memory. For example, when a replaceable semiconductor memory such as a flash memory card is used instead of the HDD 3, content is recorded in this semiconductor memory from another personal computer or the like, and the recorded information reproducing apparatus 100 shown in the first embodiment is used. The same effect can be obtained even if the connection is used.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, even when a file is deleted from the HDD 3, a button or the like that no longer has a link is not displayed on the menu screen, and the user is not misunderstood or anxious. In addition, since the content of the content to be deleted can be confirmed with the user, it is possible to prevent the necessary content from being deleted by mistake.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
The first embodiment has been described on the assumption that the user deletes the file with the intention of the user. However, there are many cases where it is not desired to combine the additional contents of the HDD due to the intention of the content creation side. For example, the latest trailer for movie discs is one of the typical usages, but movie trailers are usually useful for content creators because screening at movie theaters usually ends. Until. Even if the additional content can be viewed after the screening is over, there is no advertising effect and there is a risk of giving the user a misunderstanding as if the movie is still showing. Therefore, it is better that the additional content whose expiration date has expired is not combined with the virtual file system after the expiration date. As another example, when the content supply side wants to set a viewing deadline for paid additional content, a mechanism is required to prevent the additional content from being combined with the virtual file system when the viewing deadline period has passed.

  FIG. 22 is a configuration diagram of the information reproducing apparatus 101 and information file syntax for realizing the content coupling control according to time as described above. In FIG. 22, reference numeral 29 denotes a clock having a resolution finer than the date. Other configurations are the same as those in FIG. However, the clock 29 is not necessarily a necessary component when there is a means for obtaining time information from the outside (for example, a network). FIG. 23 shows a combined information file syntax for optimally configuring a virtual file system according to time. “Num_of_date_cont_file” in FIG. 23 indicates the total number of files to be subjected to connection control over time, and the next loop statement is repeated by the number of “num_of_date_cont_file”. “Title_name” describes the file name of the title information file for performing the coupling control. “If (current_time> target_time)” is a comparison between the current time of the clock 29 and the time (target_time) determined by the content supply side. If the current time has already passed, “combine = 1” has passed. If not, set "combine = 0". Here, “combine = 1” means that the connection to the virtual file system is performed, and “combine = 0” means that the connection is not performed.

Next, the second embodiment will be described using a specific example of the combined information file shown in FIG. Assume that two titles “00004.title” and “00005.title” are titles to be combined and controlled by time. The current time is “2005/6/16”, “00004.title” “target_date” is “2005/8/15”, and “00005.title” “target_date” is “2005/5/10” And It is determined whether or not “00004.title” is to be combined from the third line, and whether or not “00005.title” is to be combined is determined from the ninth line. While the current time is “2005/6/16”, the expiration date of “00004.title” is “2005/8/15”. Therefore, since the time limit has not yet passed, “combine = 1” is established, and “00004.title” is combined with the virtual file system. On the other hand, the expiration date of “00005.title” is “2005/5/10”, and the expiration date has already passed. Therefore, “combine = 0” and “00005.title” is not combined with the virtual file system. As described above, by incorporating the time-dependent control function into the combined information file, it is possible to construct a virtual file system that is optimal for the time for playback.
As described above, by adding a time-based content control function to the combined information file, there is no possibility of misunderstandings when the user views the expired content, and the content supply side also has the desired viewing period. Can be controlled. In addition, the content whose expiration date has expired may be deleted from the HDD as well as not being combined when it becomes clear that the expiration date has expired. In addition, the description of the combined information file is a C language description, but a script such as XML may be used.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, for example, when a movie trailer is an additional content, it is possible to prevent a viewer from seeing a trailer whose screening period has already passed and making a misunderstanding that it is currently showing. In addition, using the same function, it is possible to sell paid content with a playback time limit. Furthermore, not only the file whose expiration date has passed is not incorporated into the virtual file system but also automatically deleted from the HDD 3, thereby eliminating the hassle of deleting the file one by one by the user. Also, unnecessary files are automatically deleted, so that the remaining capacity of the HDD can be used effectively.

  1 optical disk, 3 drive, 2 HDD, 9 CPU.

Claims (2)

A first presentation file recorded on a first recording medium;
Whether the second presentation file recorded on the second recording medium and associated with the first presentation file based on the deletion information file and the combined information file exists on one recording medium An information recording / reproducing apparatus for constructing a virtual file system for handling as described above and reproducing the virtual file system,
Files included in a disk folder constituting the first presentation file;
A file included in a folder corresponding to the disk folder constituting the second presentation file;
Based on the deletion information file and the combined information file, selecting a suitable file, combining by storing in a virtual disk folder, and constructing the virtual disk folder;
An information recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: a reproducing unit that reproduces a virtual file system configured by the virtual disk folder constructed by the constructing unit. A first presentation file recorded on a first recording medium;
Whether the second presentation file recorded on the second recording medium and associated with the first presentation file based on the deletion information file and the combined information file exists on one recording medium An information recording / reproducing method for constructing a virtual file system for handling as described above and reproducing the virtual file system,
Files included in a disk folder constituting the first presentation file;
A file included in a folder corresponding to the disk folder constituting the second presentation file;
Based on the deletion information file and the combined information file, selecting an appropriate file, combining by storing in a virtual disk folder, and constructing the virtual disk folder,
A reproducing process of reproducing a virtual file system configured by the virtual disk folder constructed by the construction means.

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