JP3152654B1 - Information recording medium, information recording method and information reproducing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Kind Code: A1 Provided are an information recording medium capable of integrating and managing data of various AV formats, and a method and apparatus for recording and reproducing data on and from the information recording medium. SOLUTION: In an optical disc on which an object such as an image or audio data is recorded, as management information, PGC information 50, 70 defining a reproduction order of the object;
Object information 80 which is information on an object
Is recorded. The PGC information includes an original PGC 50 that the system automatically creates when recording an object.
And user-defined PGC7 that can be freely defined by the user
There is 0. Each of the PGC information 50 and 70 has cell information 60, 61... For specifying the type of object to be reproduced, identification information, and a reproduction section. Cell information 6 in PGC information
.. Correspond to the reproduction order of the objects.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a readable and writable information recording medium, and more particularly to an information recording medium on which multimedia data including various formats such as moving picture data, still picture data, and audio data is recorded. About. Further, the present invention relates to a method for recording data on such an information recording medium and an apparatus for reproducing the data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the field of rewritable optical disks, the upper limit of which is about 650 MB, a phase change disk DVD-RAM having a capacity of several GB has appeared. Digital A
DVD-RAM is expected to be used as a recording / playback medium not only for computers but also in the audio / video (AV) technology field in conjunction with the practical use of MPEG (MPEG2), which is a coding standard for V data. In other words, it is expected to spread as a medium that replaces the magnetic tape, which is a conventional typical AV recording medium.

(Description of DVD-RAM) In recent years, the density of rewritable optical disks has been increased, and not only computer data and audio data but also image data can be recorded.

For example, a guide groove on an uneven surface is conventionally formed on a signal recording surface of an optical disk.

Conventionally, signals were recorded only on the convex or concave portions. However, signals can be recorded on both convex and concave portions by the land group recording method. As a result, the recording density was approximately doubled. For example, the one described in JP-A-8-7282 is known.

Further, a zone CLV system which simplifies the control of the CLV system (constant linear velocity recording) effective for improving the recording density and facilitates practical use has been devised and put into practical use. This is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-7-93873.

[0007] It is a major task in the future how to record AV data including image data using these optical disks aiming at increasing the capacity and to realize performances and new functions that greatly exceed conventional AV equipment.

With the advent of such a large-capacity and rewritable optical disk, it is conceivable that in the future, recording and reproduction of AVs will be mainly optical disks instead of conventional tapes.
The transition of recording media from tape to disk has various effects on the functions and performance of AV equipment.

[0009] The greatest feature in the transition to a disk is a significant improvement in random access performance. In the case of random access to the tape, it usually takes several minutes to rewind one tape. This is orders of magnitude slower than the seek time (several tens of ms or less) in optical disk media. Thus, tape cannot be a random access device in practice.

With such random access performance, distributed recording of AV data, which was impossible with a conventional tape, has become possible with an optical disk.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a drive device of a DVD recorder. The drive device includes an optical pickup 11, which reads data from the DVD-RAM disk 10,
It includes a CC (Error Correcting Code) processing unit 12, a one-track buffer 13, a switch 14 for switching input / output of the track buffer 13, an encoder unit 15, and a decoder unit 16.

As shown in FIG. 1, data is recorded on the DVD-RAM disk 10 with 1 sector = 2 KB as a minimum unit. Further, the ECC processing unit 12 performs error correction processing as 16 sectors = 1 ECC block.

The track buffer 13 is a DVD-RAM
A buffer for recording AV data at a variable bit rate in order to record AV data on the disc 10 more efficiently. While the read / write rate (Va) for the DVD-RAM 100 is a fixed rate, the bit rate (Vb) of AV data changes according to the complexity of its contents (images in the case of video). This is a buffer for absorbing a difference in bit rate. For example, when AV data has a fixed bit rate like a video CD, the track buffer 13 becomes unnecessary.

If the track buffer 13 is used more effectively, it is possible to arrange AV data discretely on the disk 10. This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2A is a diagram showing an address space on a disk. As shown in FIG. 2A, when AV data is recorded separately in a continuous area of [a1, a2] and a continuous area of [a3, a4], while the seek is performed from a2 to a3, the track is recorded. By supplying the data stored in the buffer to the decoder section 16, continuous reproduction of AV data becomes possible. FIG. 2 shows the state at this time.
(B).

The AV data whose reading has been started at the position a1 is input to the track buffer 13 at time t1, and data output from the track buffer 13 is started. Thus, the input rate (Va) to the track buffer and the output rate (Vb) from the track buffer
Is accumulated in the track buffer by the rate difference (Va-Vb). This state indicates that the search area is a2
, That is, until time tt2 is reached. Assuming that the amount of data stored in the track buffer 13 during this time is B (t2), B (t2) stored in the track buffer 13 from time t2 to time t3 when reading of data in the area a3 starts. May be continued and supplied to the decoder 16.

In other words, if the data amount ([a1, a2]) to be read before the seek is at least a certain amount, continuous supply of AV data is possible even when a seek occurs.

Here, an example in which data is read from the DVD-RAM, that is, in the case of reproduction, has been described.
The same applies to the case of writing data to the D-RAM, that is, the case of recording.

As described above, in a DVD-RAM, continuous reproduction / recording is possible even if AV data is dispersedly recorded on a disk as long as data of a predetermined amount or more is continuously recorded.

In addition, the large-capacity recording medium DV
In order to use D-RAM more effectively, DVD-RA
M, as shown in FIG. 3, UDF (Universal Disc For
mat) It has a file system and allows access on a PC. UDF information is recorded in Volume in the figure. For details on the UDF file system, see "Univer
sal Disc Format Standard ".

(Conventional AV Equipment) Next, a description will be given of the AV equipment we have conventionally used. FIG. 4 shows a conventional A
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between V devices, media, and formats. For example, if a user wants to watch a video, it is natural to put a video cassette in a VTR and watch it on a television, and if he wants to listen to music, a CD is inserted into a CD player or a C player.
It was natural to put it in a D boombox and listen with speakers or headphones. That is, in the conventional AV equipment, a pair is formed with one medium corresponding to one format (video or audio).

[0022] For this reason, the user needs to always replace the media or AV equipment for what he wants to see or hear, and feels inconvenience.

(Digitalization) Further, with the spread of digital technology in recent years, DVD video discs have been put into practical use as package software, and digital satellite broadcasting has been put into practical use as a broadcasting system. Under these circumstances, it goes without saying that there is innovation in digital technology, and in particular, the practical use of MPEG, which is an international standard.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of the above-described DVD video disk and the MPEG stream used in digital satellite broadcasting. The MPEG standard has a hierarchical structure as shown in FIG. What is important here is that the MPEG stream finally used by the application differs between a package media system such as a DVD video disc and a communication media system such as digital satellite broadcasting. The former is called an "MPEG program stream", and data is transferred in pack units, taking into account a sector (2048 bytes in the case of DVD) as a recording unit of a DVD video disc or the like. The latter is called an "MPEG transport stream" Called, especially ATM-conscious 18
Data is transferred in units of 8-byte TS packets.

Although it has been expected that AV data can be freely handled without depending on the media by digital technology and MPEG which is a video and audio coding technology, there is such a subtle difference, and so far, there is a difference between package media and package media. There are no AV devices or media compatible with both communication media.

(Effect of DVD-RAM) The advent of a DVD-RAM having a large capacity means that one step closer to eliminating inconvenience felt by conventional AV equipment. As described above, the DVD-RAM can be accessed from the PC by mounting the UDF file system.
As a result, it has become possible to enjoy various contents such as video, still images, and audio on a single device such as a PC using various application software on the PC.

As shown in FIG. 6, moving a mouse cursor to a file displayed on the screen and double-clicking (or single-clicking) reproduces a moving image as the content of the file at the upper left of the screen. .

It can be said that such convenience is a world realized by the combination of the flexibility of a PC and the large capacity of a DVD-RAM.

Certainly, with the spread of PCs in recent years, various types of AV data can be easily handled on PCs as shown in FIG. However, although the number of PC users is increasing, consumer AV such as television and video
Needless to say, it does not reach the penetration rate and ease of use of the equipment.

[0030]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a next-generation AV system.
In an optical disk such as a DVD-RAM, which is expected as a recording medium, the following problems that are hindered in maximizing its performance are solved.

The world which DVD recorder aims at is a world in which various formats and contents can be freely displayed and reproduced by a single media and a single AV device without the user being conscious of each format as shown in FIG. It is.

FIG. 8 is an example of a menu screen in the DVD recorder. In this menu, "1) Western movie theater" of digital satellite broadcasting, "Morning serial drama" of terrestrial broadcasting, "World Cup final" and "4) Beethoven" dubbed from CD are recorded media and recording format. Can be selected on the TV screen without being aware of

The biggest problem in realizing such a DVD recorder is how to uniformly manage AV data and AV streams having various formats.

If only a limited format is managed, there is no need to use a special management method. However, a management method that can handle not only a large number of existing formats but also new formats that will appear in the future will be described. The use of this will lead to the realization of the aforementioned world for DVD recorders.

Further, depending on the difference in the user interface depending on whether or not various AV streams can be handled in a unified manner, the inconvenience as described in the conventional example, that is, the user is conscious of the operation for each content or format. You may need to do it.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information recording medium capable of uniformly handling various AV streams. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for recording data and an apparatus for reproducing the data.

[0037]

An information recording medium according to the present invention is an information recording medium capable of recording at least one object and management information for managing the object. In the information recording medium, each object is composed of a plurality of object units, each of which has an address indicating a position on the recording medium. The management information includes reproduction control information and object information. The reproduction control information is composed of first reproduction control information and second reproduction control information, which are a sequence of cell information. In the first reproduction control information, each cell information defines all of one of the at least one object as a cell, and includes section information indicating a start portion and an end portion of a related cell. The second playback control information is arbitrarily defined by a user, and in the second playback control information, each cell information defines a part or the whole of an object defined by a user with respect to the at least one object as a cell; In addition, it includes section information indicating a start portion and an end portion of a part or the whole of the object defined by the user. The object information is provided for each recorded object. Each object has one of two or more types indicating the data type of the corresponding object, and the two or more types include a moving image object. There is a type that indicates the type of image and a type that indicates a still image object. The cell information further includes type information indicating a type of an object associated with the cell. The object information includes a plurality of types of information in a format depending on the type of the related object, and the plurality of types of information includes map information used for obtaining an address of each object unit.

An information recording method according to the present invention is a method for recording at least one object on an information recording medium. In the method, at least one object is recorded such that each object includes a plurality of object units, and each object unit has an address indicating a position on a recording medium. This is a method of recording management information for managing an object recorded on a recording medium that includes the reproduction control information. At this time, the reproduction control information is composed of first reproduction control information and second reproduction control information, which are a sequence of cell information. In the first reproduction control information, each cell information defines all of one of the at least one object as a cell, and includes section information indicating a start part and an end part of a related cell. 2
Is defined arbitrarily by the user. In the second reproduction control information, each cell information
A part or the whole of the object defined by the user for one object is defined as a cell, and includes section information indicating the start part and the end part of the part or the whole of the object defined by the user. Each object has one of two or more types indicating the data type of the associated object. The two or more types include a type indicating a moving image object and a type indicating a still image object. The cell information further includes type information indicating a type of an object associated with the cell. Object information includes multiple types of information depending on the type of the related object,
The plurality of types of information include map information used to obtain the address of each object unit.

An information reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is an apparatus for reproducing at least one object recorded on an information recording medium. Each object is composed of a plurality of object units, and each object unit has an address indicating a position on a recording medium. A playback device reads at least one object and management information for managing playback of the at least one object from an information recording medium, and decodes at least one read object to obtain data to be displayed. Decoding means, and control means for controlling the drive means and the decoding means. At this time, the management information includes object information provided for each object and reproduction control information which is a sequence of cell information. The reproduction control information is composed of first reproduction control information and second reproduction control information, which are a sequence of cell information. In the first reproduction control information, each cell information defines all of one of the at least one object as a cell, and includes section information indicating a start portion and an end portion of a related cell. The second reproduction control information is arbitrarily defined by the user. In the second reproduction control information, each cell information includes at least one cell information.
A part or the whole of the object defined by the user for one object is defined as a cell, and includes section information indicating the start part and the end part of the part or the whole of the object defined by the user. Each object has one of two or more types indicating the data type of the associated object. The two or more types include a type indicating a moving image object and a type indicating a still image object. The cell information further includes type information indicating a type of an object associated with the cell. The object information includes a plurality of types of information in a format depending on the type of the corresponding object.
The plurality of types of information include map information used to obtain the address of each object unit. The control unit retrieves at least one of the plurality of types of information included in the object information on the basis of the type of the object corresponding to each cell defined by the cell information array and the retrieved information. The drive means is controlled to read and reproduce a part or all of at least one object according to the order of the cell information using the information.

[0040]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A DVD-RAM, a DVD recorder and a DVD player which are embodiments of an information recording medium, a recording apparatus and a reproducing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Data Logical Configuration on DVD-RAM) The DVD-RAM according to the present invention enables recording of AV data and AV streams in various formats on one disc, and manages these data in a unified manner. It is possible. Thereby, for example, terrestrial broadcasting,
One AV stream of various different formats such as digital broadcast transmitted in the MPEG transport stream format, video shot by a digital video camera, still images shot by a digital still camera, and video data recorded in an MPEG program stream. Recording on a disc. Also, D
The data recorded in the VD-RAM can be reproduced in a predetermined order. For this reason, the DVD-
The RAM includes management information for managing the AV data and the AV stream without depending on the type of the format of the AV data and the AV stream.

First, the data structure of data recorded on a DVD-RAM according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9A is a diagram showing the data configuration of the DVD-RAM disk 100 on the disk 100 as seen through the file system, and FIG. 9B is a diagram showing the configuration of physical sectors on the disk 100.

As shown in the figure, a lead-in area 31 is provided at the head of the physical sector, and records a reference signal necessary for stabilizing the servo, an identification signal with another medium, and the like. Following the lead-in area 31, there is a data area 33. Logically valid data is recorded in this part. Finally, there is a lead-out area 35 in which the same reference signals as in the lead-in area 31 are recorded.

At the head of the data area 33, management information for a file system called volume information is recorded. Since the file system is a well-known technique, the description is omitted here.

As shown in FIG. 9A, data in the disk 100 can be handled as a directory or a file via the file system. As shown in FIG. 9A, all data handled by the DVD recorder is ROO.
It is managed under the VIDEO_RT directory immediately below the T directory.

There are two types of files handled by the DVD recorder of this embodiment: an AV file containing audio / video data (AV data) and a management information file containing information for managing those AV files. There is a file. In the example shown in FIG. 9A, the management information file is “VIDEO_RT.IFO”, and the AV file is “M_VOB.V” which is a file containing moving image data.
OB "," D_VOB.VOB "which is a file containing digital broadcast video data," AOB.AOB "which is a file containing audio data, and the like. The following describes these files in detail.

In this embodiment, each AV
A stream is defined as an object. That is, the object includes various types of A such as an MPEG program stream, an MPEG transport stream, an audio stream, and still image data.
V stream is included. Here, the management information of these AV streams is defined as unified object information (Object I) by abstracting these AV streams and catching them as objects.

(Management Information) First, the management information will be described with reference to FIG. The management information includes object information 80 for managing the recording position of the object and the like, DVD-
PGC information 5 that defines the reproduction order and reproduction time of data to be reproduced among the data recorded in the RAM
0 and 70.

Although the AV stream has individual differences depending on the format, it also has elements that can be shared, such as having a time attribute, so that such abstraction is possible. AV streams having the same format are stored in the same AV file in the order of recording.

Object information (Object I) 80
Is general information about the object (Object G
I) 80a and object attribute information (Attrib
uteI) 80b and an access map 80c for converting the reproduction time of the object into an address on the disk.

The reason that the access map 80c is required is as follows.
This is because an AV stream generally has two references, a time axis and a data (bit string) axis, and there is no perfect correlation between these two references. For example, in the case of MPEG-2 video, which is an international standard for video streams, the use of a variable bit rate (a method of changing the bit rate in accordance with the complexity of image quality) is becoming mainstream. Since there is no proportional relationship between the data amount and the reproduction time, random access based on the time axis cannot be performed. To solve this problem, the object information 80
Has an access map 80c for performing conversion between a time axis and a data (bit string) axis. As will be described later, one object is composed of a plurality of object units (VOBUs), and thus the access map 80c has data for associating a time area with an address area for each object unit.

The PGC information 50, 70 is a DVD-RAM
This is information for controlling reproduction of image data and audio data recorded in the object 100, that is, objects. PGC
The information 50 and 70 are information indicating one unit when the DVD player continuously reproduces data. That is,
The PGC information 50, 70 indicates a reproduction sequence of cells 60, 61, 62, 63 indicating an object to be reproduced and an arbitrary reproduction section in the object. The cells 60 will be described later. There are two types of PGC information 50 and 70: original PGC information 50 that is automatically generated by the DVD recorder so as to indicate all recorded objects at the time of object recording, and user-defined PGC information 70 that allows the user to freely define a playback sequence. Except that the user-defined PGC information 70 is defined by the user,
Since the configurations and functions of both PGC information 50 and 70 are the same, the original PGC information 50 will be described in detail below.

As shown in FIG. 10, the original PGC information 50 includes at least one piece of cell information 60, 61, 62,
63. The cell information 60... Specifies an object to be reproduced, and specifies a reproduction section of the object. Normally, the PGC information 50 records a plurality of cells in a certain order. The recording order of the cell information in the PGC information 50 indicates the reproduction order when the object specified by each cell is reproduced.

One piece of cell information 60 includes type information (Type) 60a indicating the type of the object designated by the cell information 60.
And an object ID which is object identification information
(Object ID) 60b, start position information (Start) 60c in the object on the time axis, and end position information (End) 60 in the object on the time axis.
d.

At the time of data reproduction, the cell information 60 in the PCG information 50 is sequentially read, and the object specified by each cell is reproduced for the reproduction section specified by the cell.

(Subclass of Object Information) In order to apply the abstracted object information to an actual AV stream, it is necessary to make it more concrete. This idea is based on inheritance of classes found in the object-oriented model,
In particular, if the object information is
It is easy to understand if the structure embodied for the V stream is regarded as a subclass. FIG. 11 shows a concrete subclass.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, a moving image subclass,
Each subclass of the still image collection subclass, the audio subclass, and the digital broadcast subclass is defined. That is, video object information (M_VOB) which is video object information (MPEG program stream)
I: Movie Video Object Information) and digital broadcast object information (D_VOBI: Digital Video Object Informatio) which is object information for digital broadcast data (MPEG transport stream).
n), audio object information (AOBI: Audio Object Infor) which is object information for audio
mation), still image object information (S_VOBSI: Still Picture Vi) which is object information for a still image collection
deo Object Information) is defined as a specific example. Hereinafter, each object information will be described.

The moving image object information 82 includes general information (M_VOB_GI) 8 of the MPEG program stream.
2a and the stream information (M_VO
B_STI) 82b and a T map 82c.

The general information (M_VOB_GI) 82a is
Identification information (M_VOB_ID) of the video object,
Recording time of video object (M_VOB_REC_T
M) and start time information (M_VOB) of the moving image object
_V_S_PTM) and end time information (M_VOB_V_E_PTM) of the moving image object.

The stream information of the moving image object (M_
VOB_STI) 82b includes video stream information (V
_ATR) and the number of audio streams (AST_
Ns) and audio stream information (A_AT) including the coding mode of the audio stream.
R).

The T map 82c includes a starting address of a moving image object in an AV file and a reproduction time (VOBU_PB_T) of each moving image object unit (VOBU).
M) and a data size (VOBU_SZ).
Here, the moving image object unit (VOBU)
The minimum access unit in the moving image object (M_VOB) is shown, and the details will be described later.

Digital broadcast object information (D_V
The OBI) 86 has general information (D_VOB_GI) 86a of the MPEG transport stream, stream information (D_VOB_STI) 86b, and a T map 86c.

The general information (D_VOB_GI) 86a of the digital broadcast object includes the identification information (D_VOB_ID) of the digital broadcast object and the recording time (D_VOB_REC_T) of the digital broadcast object.
M), digital broadcast object start time information (D_VOB_V_S_PTM), and digital broadcast object end time information (D_VOB_V_E_PT).
M).

The stream information (D_VOB_STI) of the digital broadcast object is information (PROVIDER_I) storing additional information distributed by digital broadcast.
NF). The T map 86c includes a start address of a digital broadcast object (D_VOB) in an AV file, a reproduction time (VOBU_PB_TM) of each object unit (VOBU), and a data size (VOB).
U_SZ).

The audio object information (AOB)
I) 88 is general information (AOB) of the audio stream.
_GI) 88a, stream information (AOB_STI) 88b of the audio stream, and a T map 88c. General information of audio stream (AO
B_GI) 88a includes audio object identification information (AOB_ID), audio object recording time (AOB_REC_TM), audio object start time information (AOB_S_TM), and audio object end time information (AOB_E_TM).
TM). AOB stream information (A
The OB_STI) 88b includes audio stream information (A_ATR) including the coding mode of the audio stream. The T map includes an AOB start address in an AV file and a reproduction time (AOBU_PB_) for each audio object unit (AOBU).
TM) and a data size (AOBU_SZ). Here, the audio object unit (AO)
BU) indicates the minimum access unit in the audio object (AOB), the details of which will be described later.

Still picture object information (S_VOBS)
I) 84 is general information (S_VOBS_G) of a still image
I) 84a, and still image stream information (S_VOB)
(S_STI) 84b and an S map 84c. The general information (S_VOBS_GI) 84a of the still image is identification information (S_VOBS_ID) of the still image object.
And the recording time of the still image object (S_VOBS_R
EC_TM), the start still image number of the still image object (S_VOBS_S_NO), and the end still image number of the still image object (S_VOBS_E_NO). Still picture stream information (S_VOBS_ST)
I) 84b includes still image attribute information (V_ATR) including the compression format of the still image object.
The S map 84c includes the start address of S_VOBS in the AV file and the data size of each still image (S_VOB_
SZ).

As described above, by embodying the abstracted object information, a corresponding stream information table can be defined for each AV stream as shown in FIG.

(Correspondence between Object Information and Cell Information) Next, referring to FIG. 12, object information (Object)
Moving image object information (M_
VOBI) will be described in relation to cell information.

The type information (Type) specified in the cell information
If the value of e) is “M_VOB”, it means that the cell corresponds to a moving image object. Similarly,
If the value of the type information is “D_VOB”, the cell corresponds to a digital broadcasting object, and if the value of the type information is “AOB”, it indicates that the cell corresponds to an audio object.

Object ID (Object ID)
, The corresponding object information (VOBI) can be found. The object ID and general information (M_V) in the moving image object information (M_VOBI)
The moving object ID (identification number) (M_VOB_ID) included in OB_GI) has a one-to-one correspondence.

As described above, it is possible to find the object information corresponding to the cell information based on the type information (Type) and the object ID (Object ID).

The start information position (Star) in the cell information
t) is start time information (M_VOB) of the moving image object.
_V_S_PTM), and if the values indicated by them are the same time, the cell indicates reproduction from the beginning of the moving image object. When the value of the start position information (Start) is larger than the start time information (M_VOB_V_S_PTM), the cell indicates reproduction from the middle of the moving image object. In this case, the start time information (M_V
OB_V_S_PTM) and start position information (Sta)
The cell means that reproduction is started with a delay (time difference) from the value of (rt) from the beginning of the moving image object.
The end position information (End) of the cell and the end time information (M_VOB_V_E_PTM) of the moving image object have the same relationship.

As described above, the start position information (Start), the end position information (End) in the cell information, and the general information (M_V) in the moving image object information (M_VOBI).
OB_GI) start time information (M_VOB_V_S_)
PTM) and end time information (M_VOB_V_E_PT)
M), the reproduction start and end positions of the cell can be obtained as relative times in the moving image object.

The T map in the moving image object is a table composed of a reproduction time and a data size for each moving image object unit (VOBU). By referring to the T map, the relative start and end times of reproduction of the cell in the moving image object can be converted to address data.

Hereinafter, address conversion with reference to the T map will be specifically described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 13, (a) is a moving image object (M_VOB) expressing a video display on a time axis.
(B) is a time map composed of a reproduction time length and a data size for each moving image object unit (VOBU), (c) is a moving image object expressed on a data (sector column) axis, and (d) Is a movie object (M_V
(E) shows a video stream, and (f) shows an audio stream.

The moving image object (M_VOB) is MP
This is an EG program stream. In the MPEG program stream, a video stream and an audio stream are sequentially formed into packets (PES packets), and a pack sequence is formed by bundling a plurality of packets (PES packets). In this case, one packet (PES packet) is included in one pack, and one pack is easily accessed as one sector (= 2048B). In addition, the packed video pack (V_PCK) and audio pack (A_PCK) are multiplexed into one stream. This is shown in FIG.
(C), (d), (e), and (f).

The MPEG system stream (general term for the program stream and the transport stream) has a time stamp in the stream for synchronous reproduction of the multiplexed video and audio streams. In the case of a program stream, the time stamp is a PTS (Presentation Time) indicating the playback time of a frame.
Stamp). The start time information (M_VOB_V_S_PTM) of the moving image object and the end time information (M_VOB_V_E_PTM) of the moving image object are time information obtained based on the PTS. On the other hand, in the case of a transport stream, a PCR (Program Clock Reference) indicating the input time to the buffer is used as a time stamp.

Here, the moving image object unit (VOB)
U) will be described. Video object unit (V
OBU) indicates the minimum access unit in the moving image object (M_VOB). The MPEG video stream performs not only image compression using spatial frequency characteristics within video frames but also image compression using motion characteristics between video frames, that is, on the time axis, in order to realize highly efficient image compression. ing. This means that when a certain video frame is expanded, information on the time axis, that is, information on a future or past video frame is required, and the video frame cannot be expanded alone. In order to solve this problem, in the MPEG video stream, video frames (I-pictures) that do not use the motion characteristics on the time axis are inserted at a rate of about one every 0.5 seconds to improve random access. Is increasing.

Moving image object unit (VOBU)
Is a section from the pack including the head data of the I-picture to the pack immediately before the pack including the head data of the next I-picture. The T map includes the data size (the number of packs) of each object unit (VOBU) and the playback time (the number of fields) of a video frame in the object unit (VOBU).

For example, a value indicated by “Start” of a cell and start time information (M_VOB_V_S_
Assume that the difference from the value indicated by (PTM) is 1 second (60 fields).

Each object unit (V
The playback start time of each object unit from the beginning of the moving image object (M_VOB) can be obtained by integrating the playback time of the OBU) from the beginning. Similarly, by adding up the data size (the number of packs) of each object unit, the moving image object (M_V
The address of each object unit from the beginning of OB) can be obtained.

In the case of the present embodiment, the moving image object (M
_VOB), the object units (VOBU) of 24, 30, and 24 fields from the beginning are arranged, respectively. Therefore, the video frame one second (60 fields) after the beginning of the moving image object (M_VOB) is the third object unit from the beginning. (VOBU # 3). In addition, since the data amount of the object unit (VOBU) is 125, 98, and 115 sectors from the head of the moving image object, the head address of the third object unit (VOBU # 3) is 223 sectors from the head of the object. Is required.

By adding 5010 sectors, which is the head address (ADR_OFF) of M_VOB in the AV file, the head address of the data to start reproduction is obtained.

In the above description, reproduction from a video frame in the 60th field from the head is assumed. However, decoding and reproduction from an arbitrary video frame are impossible due to the nature of MPEG video as described above. The playback is performed from the beginning of the object unit (VOBU) in the vicinity shifted by 6 fields so as to be played back from the beginning of the picture. However, if the decoder only decodes these six fields and does not display them, it is also possible to reproduce from the video field specified by the cell.

As in the above description, the reproduction end time of the moving image object corresponding to the cell end position and the address in the AV file can be obtained.

Next, digital broadcast object information (D_VOBI) will be described. The digital broadcast object information is also a subclass derived from the object information, and thus is basically the same as the moving image object information. The major difference is that the video object (M_V
OB) is created by recording terrestrial waves. That is, the moving image object is an AV stream encoded by the recorder itself, whereas the digital broadcasting object (D_VOB) is directly recorded with data transmitted from the digital broadcasting satellite. It is not an encoded AV stream.

That is, when data is encoded by itself, the internal structure of the stream is self-evident, whereas when data is directly recorded, the structure cannot be known unless the inside of the stream is analyzed. This makes it impossible to create a T map.

MPEG supplied by digital satellite broadcasting
Although the transport stream can be analyzed in detail, in the present embodiment, the T map is created using information in the MPEG transport stream. Next, this method will be described.

In FIG. 14, (a) shows an MPEG transport stream, (b) shows an enlarged view of a transport packet, (c) shows a PES packet, and (d) shows a video stream.

As shown in FIG. 14A, the MPEG transport stream is composed of a packet sequence of transport packets, and the transport packets are composed of a header, an adaptation field, and a payload. The application field includes a random access indicator (random_access_indicator). The random access indicator indicates that, in this transport packet or a subsequent transport packet (strictly speaking, a transport packet having the same program ID), the next PES packet (in other words, P P in which the first byte of the PES packet appears first)
(ES packet) indicates that there is an access point for a video stream or an audio stream. In particular, in the case of a video stream, it means that the above-described I-picture is included.

Based on the random access indicator, it is possible to determine a video object unit (VOBU) and generate a T map.

The transport packet is 188
Fixed size in bytes. For this reason, DVD-RAM
A plurality of transport packets (2048 bytes / 188 bytes = 10 TS packets) are recorded in one sector of 2048 bytes. Video object (M
_VOB), one pack can be treated as one sector, but in the case of a digital broadcast object (D_VOB), this condition is not satisfied. However, DVD-RAM
Since the unit in which data can be read and written is a sector, even in the case of a digital broadcast object,
The information in the T map is composed of the playback time length of the moving image object unit (VOBU) expressed by the number of video fields and the data size of the moving image object unit expressed by the number of sectors.

Therefore, the moving image object unit is
If the definition is from a transport packet to a transport packet, the address accuracy of the T map is insufficient. Therefore, a moving image object unit (VOBU) is defined using a sector including the transport packet.

Also, the PROVIDE in the stream information (D_VOB_STI) of the digital broadcast object
In the R_INF field, an ID for identifying the broadcasting company
And information unique to each broadcasting company.

The audio object information (AOBI) will be described with reference to FIG. The audio object information is also a subclass derived from the object information like the moving image object information, and thus is basically the same as the moving object information. The major difference is that the audio object is an audio-only object and is not converted into an MPEG system stream. Hereinafter, the audio object information will be described.

Since the audio object is not converted into an MPEG system stream, no time stamp is attached to the audio object, and a reference time indicating the reproduction start time and reproduction end time of the cell and the object exists. do not do. Therefore, general information (AOBI_G) in audio object information
Start time (AOB) of the audio object in I)
_A_S_TM) is set to 0, and the end time (AOB_A_E_TM) of the audio object information is set to the playback time length of the audio object. In the Start field and the End field in the cell information, a relative time in the audio object is entered.

Also, unlike MPEG video data, audio data can be reproduced in units of all audio frames, so that an audio object unit (AOBU) can be constituted by an integral multiple of an audio frame. However, if the audio object unit (AOBU) is too small, the data managed by the T map becomes enormous, so that the audio object unit is set at about 0.5 second intervals, which is about the same as the moving image object object unit (VOBU). (AOBU) to manage the playback time length and data size of each audio object unit using a T map.

The still picture object information (S_VOBSI) will be described with reference to FIG. The still image object information (S_VOBSI) is also a subclass derived from the object information like the moving image object information, and thus is basically the same as the case of the moving image object information. The major difference is that the still image object is an object obtained by collecting a plurality of pieces of still image data, and that the still image object is not converted into an MPEG system stream. Hereinafter, the still image object information will be described.

[0100] Unlike a moving image or a sound, a still image has no time information. Therefore, the start and end information in the general information (S_VOBS_GI) of the still image object describes a start still image number (Start_Video) and an end still image number (End_Video), respectively.
In the Start and End fields in the cell, not the time information but the still image number in the still image object is described.

Since the minimum access unit in the still image collection is a still image unit, an S map, which is a table including the data size (S_VOB_SZ) of each still image, is defined as an access map.

FIG. 17 shows a summary of the data structure described above. FIG. 17 shows the entire management information in the DVD-RAM. Hereinafter, the entire management information will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 17, the DVD-RAM of the present embodiment has the PGC information 50, 70 described above.
In addition to the above, there are provided overall video management information 90 and various file information tables 92, 94, 96 and 98.

Video management overall information (VMGI: Video Manage
r General Information) 90 is management information on the entire disc, for example, the original PGC information 5
0, user-defined PGC information 70, and start addresses of various file management tables 92, 94, etc., that is, pointer information. By referring to this pointer information, these tables 50, 70, 82, 94,.
Will be accessible.

Here, the file management tables 92, 94, 96 and 98 shown in FIG. 17 will be described. Each of the file management tables 92, 94, 96, and 98 is a table for managing a data file composed of objects, and is provided for each type of object. For example, there are a moving image file management table 92 for managing moving image files in which moving image objects are recorded, a still image file management table 94 for managing still image files in which still image objects are recorded, and the like.

As described above, the object information is specified based on the object ID of the cell information in the PGC information. In this case, the file management tables 92, 94, and 9 are used.
The address of the object information is specified via the lines 6 and 98. Therefore, the file management tables 92, 94, 9
Reference numerals 6 and 98 include information such as the number of object information to be managed, the object ID, and the size of the object information. For example, when the object ID indicates the order, based on the object ID specified by the cell information, the specified object information is the number of the object information in the object information managed by the file management table. Can be recognized. Then, by calculating the offset amount based on the start address of the file management table from the order of the object information and the file size, the address of the designated object information can be obtained.

As shown in FIG. 17, the moving image file management table 92 is a table for managing moving image files in which moving image objects are recorded. The moving image file management table 92 includes moving image object information (M_VOBI) 92
., and 92h of table management information (M_AVFITI) including the number of moving image object information managed by the table 92, the size of the moving image object, and the like. The video object information is continuously recorded on the disc by the number of video object information described in the table management information 92h. As described above, the moving image object information 92a includes the general information (M_VOB_
GI), stream information (M_VOB_STI), and T map. Also, the T map indicates the display time and size (VOBU) of each moving image object unit (VOBU).
_ENT).

A still image file management table (S_AVFIT) 94 for recording still image objects, a digital broadcast file management table (D_AVFIT) 96 for recording digital broadcast objects, and an audio file management table for recording audio objects (A_AVFIT) 98 has the same configuration.

In the original PGC information 50, cell information 61, 62, 63,...
The cell information includes information (type and object ID) corresponding to the object information and reproduction section information (Start and End) in the object. The reproduction section information indicated by the cell can be converted into the address information of the actual state of the object through the access map in the object information.

As described above, the original PGC information 50
And the user-defined PGC information 70
The user-defined PGC information 70 is a PGC that allows the user to freely define a playback sequence according to his preference, while the C information 50 is automatically generated by the recorder so as to reproduce all objects recorded on the disc. Therefore, the user-defined PGC information 70 has the same configuration as the original PGC information 50.

As described above, by abstracting the AV stream management information first, the PGC which is the reproduction control information
Information and cell information can be defined without depending on information unique to each AV stream format.
The V stream can be managed in an integrated manner. As a result, an environment in which the user can freely reproduce AV data without being aware of the AV format can be realized.

Further, by adopting such a configuration, when importing a new AV format, the existing A
By defining management information derived from object information in the same manner as in the V format, it is possible to easily incorporate the management information into a data structure.

(Player Model) Next, a player model for reproducing the optical disc will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 18, the player
An optical pickup 1701 for reading data from 00,
An ECC processing unit 1702 for performing error correction of read data, a track buffer 1703 for temporarily storing error-corrected read data, a PS decoder 1705 for reproducing a program stream such as a moving image object (M_VOB), A TS decoder 1706 for reproducing a transport stream such as a broadcast object (D_VOB), an audio decoder 1707 for reproducing an audio object (AOB),
A still image decoder 1708 for decoding a still image, switching means 1710 for switching data input to each of the decoders 1705, 1706,..., And a control unit 1711 for controlling each part of the player are provided.

Data recorded on the optical disc 100 is read from the optical pickup 1701 and is read by the ECC.
The data is stored in the track buffer 1703 through the processing unit 1702. The data stored in the track buffer 1703 includes a PS decoder 1705, a TS decoder 1706,
Audio decoder 1707, still picture decoder 1708
, And is decoded and output. At this time, the control unit 1711 determines the type information of the cell information in the PGC information that defines the reproduction sequence from the read data by the method described above, and switches the switching unit 1710 to be suitable for decoding the read data. Other decoder.

The player according to the present embodiment further comprises:
It has a digital interface 1704 for supplying an AV stream to the outside. As a result, the AV stream can be supplied to the outside via a communication protocol such as IEEE1394 or IEC958.
In particular, when a new AV format is imported, the data is output to an external AV device through the digital interface 1704 without passing through a decoder inside the player,
This is effective when played back on the AV device.

When the player supports a new AV format, a decoder 1709 corresponding to the new AV format, which is connected to the track buffer 1703 as in the other decoders, may be further provided.

(Recording of DVD Recorder) Next, the configuration and operation of a DVD recorder according to the present invention for recording and reproducing data on and from the optical disc will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in the figure, the DVD recorder has a user interface unit 1901 for displaying to a user and receiving a request from the user, a system control unit 1902 for managing and controlling the entire DVD recorder, and an analog for receiving VHF and UHF. A tuner 1903, an encoder 1904 for converting an analog signal into a digital signal and encoding it into an MPEG program stream, and a digital tuner 190 for receiving digital satellite broadcasting
5. An analysis unit 1906 for analyzing an MPEG transport stream transmitted by a digital satellite, a display unit 1907 such as a television and a speaker, and a decoder 1908 for decoding an AV stream. Decoder 1908
Comprises the first and second decoders and the like shown in FIG. Further, the DVD recorder includes a digital interface unit 1909, a track buffer 1910 for temporarily storing write data, and a DVD-RAM 100.
And a drive 1911 for writing data to the drive. The digital interface unit 1909 is an IEEE1394
This is an interface for outputting data to an external device using a communication protocol such as.

In the DVD recorder thus configured, the user interface section 1901 first receives a request from the user. User interface unit 1
Reference numeral 901 transmits a request from the user to the system control unit 1902, and the system control unit 1902 interprets the request from the user and issues a processing request to each module.

If the request from the user is to record an analog broadcast, the system control unit 1902 requests reception to the analog tuner 1903 and encoding to the encoder unit 1904.

An encoder 1904 video-encodes the AV data sent from the analog tuner 1903,
The data is audio-encoded and system-encoded and sent to the track buffer 1910.

Immediately after the start of encoding, the encoder unit 1904 sends the reproduction start time (M_VOB_V_S_PTM) of the encoded MPEG program stream to the system control unit 1902, and subsequently, as a moving image object unit ( VO
BU) is transmitted to the system control unit 1902 in parallel with the encoding process.

Next, the system control unit 1902 issues a recording request to the drive 1911. The drive 1911 takes out the data stored in the track buffer 1910 and records it on the DVD-RAM disk 100. At this time, the system control unit 1902 also instructs the drive 1911 on the disc 100 where to record based on the file system allocation information.

The end of recording is instructed by a stop request from the user. The recording stop request from the user is transmitted to the system control unit 1 through the user interface unit 1901.
The system control unit 1902 sends a stop request to the analog tuner 1903 and the encoder unit 1904.

The encoder 1904 is connected to the system controller 19
02, the encoding process is stopped, and the reproduction end time (M_VOB_V_E_PT) of the last encoded MPEG program stream is stopped.
M) to the system control unit 1902.

After the encoding process is completed, the system control unit 1902 generates moving image object information (M_VOBI) based on the information received from the encoder 1904. Next, the moving image object information (M_VOBI)
Is generated, but the important thing at this time is
That is, the type information in the cell information is set to “M_VOB”. As described above, the information in the cell information is configured so as not to depend on the moving image object (M_VOB), and all the information depending on the moving image object (M_VOB) is hidden in the moving image object information (M_VOBI). It is shaped. Therefore, if the type information of the cell information is incorrectly recognized, normal reproduction cannot be performed, and in some cases, the system may be down.

Lastly, the system control unit 1902 requests the drive 1911 to end the recording of the data stored in the track buffer 1910 and to record the moving picture object information (M_VOBI) and the cell information. The remaining data of 1910, moving image object information (M_VOBI), and cell information are recorded on the DVD-RAM disc 100, and the recording process ends.

Next, the operation when the request from the user is a digital broadcast recording will be described.

A digital broadcast recording request by a user is as follows:
The information is transmitted to the system control unit 1902 through the user interface unit 1901. The system control unit 1902 receives the data from the digital tuner 1905 and analyzes the data.
Request data analysis to

The MPEG transport stream sent from the digital tuner 1905 is transferred to the track buffer 1910 through the analyzing unit 1906. The analysis unit 1906 first converts digital broadcast object information (D_VOBI) from the MPEG transport stream.
Start time information (D_VOB)
_V_S_PTM) to extract the system control unit 1902
Send to Next, an object unit (VOBU) in the MPEG transport stream is determined, and the time length and size of the object unit required for generating the T map are sent to the system control unit 1902. Note that the object unit (VOBU) is determined by the application field (adaptation) in the TS packet header as described above.
n field) in the random access indicator (random_access_indicator)
It is possible by detecting based on

Next, the system control unit 1902 outputs a recording request to the drive 1911,
Extracts the data stored in the track buffer 1910 and records it on the DVD-RAM disk 100. At this time, the system control unit 1902 instructs the drive 1911 on the basis of the allocation information of the file system where to record on the disc.

The end of recording is instructed by a stop request from the user. The recording stop request from the user is transmitted to the system control unit 1 through the user interface unit 1901.
The system control unit 1902 issues a stop request to the digital tuner 1905 and the analysis unit 1906.

The analysis unit 1906 is provided with a system control unit 1902
The analysis processing is stopped in response to the analysis stop request from the system control unit 19, and the last display end time (D_VOB_V_E_PTM) of the moving image object unit (VOBU) of the MPEG transport stream analyzed last is sent to the system control unit 19.
Send to 02.

After the digital broadcast receiving process is completed, the system control unit 1902 uses the digital broadcast object information (D_V
OBI). Next, cell information corresponding to the digital broadcast object information (D_VOBI) is generated. At this time, "D_VOBI" is used as the type information in the cell information.
VOB "is set.

Finally, the system control unit 1902 requests the drive 1911 to end the recording of the data stored in the track buffer 1910 and to record the digital broadcast object information and the cell information. Drive 1
911 is the remaining data of the track buffer 1910,
The digital broadcast object information (D_VOBI) and the cell information are recorded on the DVD-RAM disc 100, and the recording process ends.

The operation has been described above based on the recording start and end requests from the user. For example, in the case of timer recording used in a VTR, the system control unit automatically starts recording instead of the user. And an end request are issued, but the operation of the DVD recorder is not essentially different.

(Playback of DVD Recorder) Next, the playback operation of the DVD recorder will be described. First, the user interface unit 1901 receives a request from a user. The user interface unit 1901 transmits a request from the user to the system control unit 1902, and the system control unit 1902 interprets the request from the user and makes a processing request to each module. When the request from the user is to reproduce PGC, the system control unit 1902 analyzes the PGC information and the cell information to analyze which object is reproduced. In the following, one moving image object (M
_VOB) and one piece of cell information.

The system control unit 1902 first analyzes the type information in the cell information in the PGC information. If the type information is “M_VOB”, the A / V stream to be reproduced is A
It can be seen that the stream is a V stream. Next, the system control unit 1902 converts the video object information (M_VOBI) corresponding to the ID of the cell information into a table (M_AVFI).
Find out from T). Next, the start and end position information of the cell information and the start time information (M_
VOB_V_S_PTM) and end time information (M_VO)
B_V_E_PTM) and the T map,
The start and end addresses of V data are obtained.

Next, the system control unit 1902 sends a read request from the DVD-RAM disk 100 to the drive 1911 together with a read address. The drive 1911 reads the AV data from the address specified by the system control unit 1902 and stores the data in the track buffer 1910.

Next, the system control unit 1902 requests the decoder 1908 to decode the MPEG program stream. The decoder 1908 reads the AV data stored in the track buffer 1910,
Perform decoding processing. The decoded AV data is output through the display device 1907.

The drive 1911 is connected to the system control unit 190.
After reading of all the data specified by 2 is completed, the completion of reading is reported to the system control unit 1902, and the system control unit 1902 issues a reproduction end request to the decoder 1908. Decoder 1908 is a track buffer 1910
After the data is reproduced until the data becomes empty, the track buffer 1910 becomes empty, and decoding and reproduction of all data are completed, a completion of reproduction is reported to the system control unit 1902, and the reproduction processing ends.

As described above, one moving image object (M_VO)
B) Original PGC composed of one cell information
However, when the original PGC includes only one digital broadcasting object (D_VOB), includes a plurality of moving image objects, includes a plurality of digital broadcasting objects, or includes a moving image object and digital broadcasting. Even when objects are mixed, the AV stream can be reproduced by performing the same processing. The same applies to the case where the original PGC includes a plurality of cells or the case of a user-defined PGC.

The audio object (AO)
B) or A such as a still image object (S_VOBS)
The V stream also differs only in the configuration in the decoder 1908, and the other modules and operation processing are basically the same. In this case, the decoder 1908, for example,
PS decoder 1705 and TS decoder 170
6, audio decoder 1707, still picture decoder 17
08.

Next, an example in which the decoder 1908 does not have a function of reproducing all AV streams will be described.

For example, when the decoder 1908 does not have a function of reproducing the MPEG transport stream,
Since reproduction through the decoder 1908 is impossible as described above, in this case, data is supplied to the external device via the digital interface unit 1909, and the external device reproduces the data.

The system control unit 1902 determines whether the cell information in the PGC information requested to be reproduced by the user is a digital broadcast object (D_V
OB), an external data output request is made to the digital interface 1909 instead of a reproduction request to the decoder 1908. The digital interface unit 1909 transfers data according to the communication protocol of the digital interface connecting the AV data stored in the track buffer 1910. Note that, other than the above-described processing, the processing is the same as when the moving image object (M_VOB) is reproduced.

The decoder 1908 determines whether the AV to be reproduced is
The system control unit 1 determines whether or not a stream is supported.
902 may make its own decision, or the system control unit 19
02 may be inquired of the decoder 1908.

(DVD Player) Next, the configuration of a DVD player according to the present invention for reproducing the optical disc will be described with reference to FIG. This DVD player realizes the above-mentioned player model.

As shown in the figure, a DVD player includes a user interface unit 2001 for displaying to a user and receiving a request from the user, and a system control unit 200 for managing and controlling all the components of the DVD player.
2, a display unit 2003 including a television, a speaker, and the like;
A decoder 2004 for decoding the MPEG stream,
Digital interface unit 2005 connected to IEEE 1394 or the like, track buffer 200 for temporarily storing data read from DVD-RAM 100
6. A drive 2007 for reading data from the DVD-RAM 100 is provided. The DVD player thus configured performs the same reproduction operation as the above-described DVD recorder.

In the present embodiment, a DVD-RAM has been described as an example, but the same can be said for other media, and the present invention is not limited to a DVD-RAM or an optical disk.

In this embodiment, the reproduction is performed via the digital interface when the AV stream is not supported by the decoder. However, even if the AV stream is supported by the decoder, the reproduction is performed according to the user's request. You may make it output to an external device via a digital interface.

Further, in the present embodiment, the audio data and the still picture data have been described as unique data which is not an MPEG stream.
It may be recorded in the configuration of the EG system stream.

[0152]

According to the present invention, various types of objects, that is, objects recorded in various formats, can be managed on one recording medium, and the system can be used as management information when recording an object. By recording the first reproduction control information automatically created and the second reproduction control information arbitrarily defined by the user, the user can further freely define the reproduction order of the objects.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a drive device of a DVD recorder.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an address space on a disk and a data accumulation amount in a track buffer.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a file system and a file structure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship between a conventional AV device and a medium.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an MPEG program stream and a transport stream.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a case where AV data is handled on a PC.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a relationship between an AV device and a medium aimed at by a DVD recorder.

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining a menu of the DVD recorder.

FIG. 9 shows a relationship between an AV file and a directory (a).
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an address space (b) on a disk.

FIG. 10 shows an object, object information, and PG
The figure explaining the relationship of C information.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing each stream management information derived from object information.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a relationship between a moving image object (M_VOB), moving image object information (M_VOBI), and PGC information.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a time map according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an MPEG transport stream.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a relationship between audio objects (AOB) and audio object information (AOBI).

FIG. 16 shows a still image object (S_VOBS),
Still image object information (S_VOBSI) and PGC
The figure which shows the relationship with information.

FIG. 17 is a view for explaining management information in a DVD-RAM.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of a player model according to the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a DVD recorder.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram of a DVD player according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

50, 70 PGC information (PGCI: Program Chain Inform
ation) 60 Cell information (CellI: Cell Information) 80 Object information (OBJECT I: Object Informatio)
n) 80c Access map 100 DVD-RAM 1701 Optical pickup 1704, 1909, 2005 Digital interface section 1705 PS decoder 1706 TS decoder 1707 Audio decoder 1708 Still picture decoder 1710 Selection section 1711 Control section 1902, 2002 System control section 1908, 2004 Decoder 1906 Analysis unit 1911, 2007 Drive

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-11-238367 (JP, A) JP-A-2000-4421 (JP, A) JP-A-2000-32378 (JP, A) JP-A-2000-83217 (JP, A) , A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G11B 27/00 G11B 20/12 H04N 5/85 H04N 5/91

Claims (15)

(57) [Claims] 1. An information recording medium for recording at least one object and management information for managing the object, wherein each of the objects comprises a plurality of object units, each of which is located on the recording medium. the have the address indicated, the management information includes a reproduction control information and the object information, the first regeneration control information comprises each a sequence of cell information
And the second playback control information, the first playback control information includes cell information, and the cell information is
The whole section of at least one object is called a cell
And the start and end of the associated cell
, And the second playback control information is defined by a user.
And cell information, the cell information being defined by a user.
Part of said at least one object or
All sections are shown as cells and defined by the user
The start of a section or all sections of the related cell
It includes playback section information indicating the and end of the object information is provided for each recorded object, two or more types of objects serial on the information recording medium
Can be recorded, and the two or more types
The cell information further includes the type of the object related to the cell.
Includes type information indicating the kind, the object information includes a plurality of types of information in a format depending on the type <br/> of related objects, the plurality several information has to obtain the address of each object unit
Information recording medium, characterized in that it contains because the map information. 2. The information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein said first reproduction control information is automatically generated by a recording device that records the object on the information recording medium when recording the object. 3. A method for recording at least one object on an information recording medium, wherein each object includes a plurality of object units,
Each object unit records at least one object so as to have an address indicating a position on the recording medium, and is recorded on a recording medium containing object information for each object and reproduction control information including an array of cell information. A method for recording management information for managing an object, wherein the reproduction control information includes first reproduction control information and second reproduction control information , each of which includes an array of cell information. Contains cell information, and the cell information is
The whole section of at least one object is called a cell
And the start and end of the associated cell
, And the second playback control information is defined by a user.
And cell information, the cell information being defined by a user.
Part of said at least one object or
All sections are shown as cells and defined by the user
The start of a section or all sections of the related cell
And playback section information indicating an end portion, and two or more types of objects are recorded on the information recording medium.
Can be recorded, and the two or more types include a moving image object.
And the type of the still image object, and the cell information further includes the type of the object related to the cell.
Includes type information indicating the kind, the object information includes a plurality of types of information of the type that depends on the type <br/> of related objects and its multiple types of information to obtain the address of each object unit
Recording method characterized in that it is included because the map information. 4. The recording method according to claim 3, wherein the type of information included in the object information is obtained depending on the type of the object. 5. The recording method according to claim 3, wherein the number of types of information included in the object information changes according to types of related objects. 6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the number of types of information included in the object information related to the moving image object is different from the number of types of information included in the object information related to the still image object. The recording method according to any one of the above. 7. The object information on the moving image object includes start time information and end time information indicating a start time and an end time of the related moving image object, respectively.
7. The recording method according to claim 3, further comprising an end still image number indicating an end still image number of a related still image object. 8. Cell information on a moving image object is:
The section information includes start time information and end time information respectively indicating a start time and an end time of a related moving image object, and cell information on a still image object includes, as the section information, a start time of a related still image object. 8. The recording method according to claim 3, further comprising a start image number and an end image number respectively representing a still image number and an end still image number. 9. At least one of information recorded on an information recording medium
A device for reproducing one object, wherein each object comprises a plurality of object units, each object unit having an address indicating a position on a recording medium, wherein the reproducing device comprises at least one object and at least one object unit. A drive unit for reading management information for managing reproduction of an object from an information recording medium; a decoding unit for decoding at least one read object to obtain data to be displayed; Control means for controlling, wherein the management information includes object information provided for each object and reproduction control information that is a sequence of cell information, and the reproduction control information includes a sequence of cell information. 1 reproduction control information and consists of a second reproduction control information, the first Reproduction control information includes cell information, the cell information before
The whole section of at least one object is called a cell
And the start and end of the associated cell
, And the second playback control information is defined by the user, and
Cell information, wherein the cell information is defined by a user.
Some or all of the at least one object
Sections are shown as cells and also defined by the user
Start and end of some or all sections of related cells
And reproduction section information indicating a part, and two or more types of objects are recorded on the information recording medium.
Can be recorded, and the two or more types include a moving image object.
Includes types and the types of still picture object, the cell information object species associated with more cell
Includes type information indicating the kind, the object information includes a corresponding plurality kinds of information types <br/>-dependent form of objects, said plurality of types of information for obtaining an address of each object unit Map information is included, and the control means further defines a list of cell information to be reproduced.
Based on the type of object corresponding to each cell
Of the multiple types of information contained in the object information,
At least one of them and use that information
Thus, the drive means is provided with a list of cell information to be reproduced.
Some or all of at least one object accordingly
A playback device, which controls so as to read out a section . 10. The reproducing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the type of information included in the object information is obtained depending on the type of the object. 11. The reproducing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the number of types of information included in the object information changes according to types of related objects. 12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the number of types of information included in the object information regarding the moving image object is different from the number of types of information included in the object information regarding the still image object.
The playback device according to any one of the above. 13. The object information related to the moving image object includes start time information and end time information indicating a start time and an end time of the related moving image object, respectively. 13. The reproducing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising an end still image number representing a number of the end still image of the reproduction device. 14. The cell information relating to a moving image object includes, as the section information, start time information and end time information indicating a start time and an end time of a related moving image object, respectively. 14. The section information includes a start picture number and an end picture number representing a start still picture number and an end still picture number of a related still picture object, respectively. The playback device according to claim 1. 15. The information according to claim 1 or claim 2.
The object, the reproduction control information and
Has means to record management information including object information
A recording device, characterized in that: