JP3490298B2 - Continuous video recording and playback device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention permanently records a part (important part) of continuously input video,
The present invention relates to a continuous video recording / reproducing apparatus, and more particularly to a continuous video recording / reproducing apparatus suitable for fields such as plant equipment monitoring, security monitoring, and production of broadcast programs.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in plant equipment monitoring and security monitoring, video monitoring in which a situation of a site where a building or equipment is located is photographed by a plurality of surveillance cameras, and a required video is switched and displayed at a surveillance center remote from the site Is being done. In this video monitoring, in addition to checking the current situation with live video, VTR (Video Tape Record)
er) or a hard disk to record the video, to confirm the situation before the occurrence of the incident, to display the phenomenon repeatedly to analyze in detail.

In this case, since a large amount of video data is used, a VTR has been mainly used for storing the video data. However, due to the progress and spread of the moving image compression / storage / transmission technology, a moving image has been recently used. Video surveillance devices that are digitally compressed and recorded on a hard disk drive or the like have also been commercialized.

FIG. 15 shows, for example, the document "Digital Image Recording Device for Security Monitoring" (Sanyo Technic).
al Review Vol. 28, No. 2, pp.
50-57, Oct. FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional video recording / reproducing apparatus 100 shown in 1996). In the figure, 101 is a video input unit for continuously inputting video from the ITV camera 50, 102 is a primary recording unit for recording input video data in a short term, and 103 is an image recorded in the primary recording unit 102. Is a secondary recording unit for permanently recording the image, 104 is a video selecting unit for selecting a portion to be permanently recorded from the short-term recording by the primary recording unit 102, and 105 is for extracting a video of the primary recording or the secondary recording. This is a video output unit that outputs to the outside of the device.

Since the recording in the primary recording unit 102 is short, the recording capacity is not so demanded, but high speed is required for recording continuously input images, and the primary recording storage area thereof is required. A video memory or the like is used as 106. The secondary recording unit 103 is not required to have high speed because it may be recorded from the primary recording to the time when it is erased, but since it is permanent recording, a large recording capacity is required. A hard disk device or a VTR device is often used as the storage area 107.

Next, the operation will be described. Primary recording unit 1
02 uses the primary recording storage area 106 on an endless ring to record, for example, the latest several minutes of video in a short term. Therefore, the image recorded in the primary record is a record that is erased over time. The video selection unit 104 takes out a necessary part from the video recorded by the primary recording unit 102 and permanently records it in another secondary recording storage area 107 before it is erased. Instruct 103.

The secondary recording unit 103 permanently records the video instructed by the video selection unit 104 in the secondary recording storage area. As an image to be saved as the secondary record, for example, an alarm notification from various sensors installed in the site is used as the save start timing, and an image for one minute before and after the alarm is selected by the image selection unit 104. The video output unit 105
These recorded images are taken out and output in response to an external request for image reproduction. As a prior art related to the above conventional example, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-77468.
JP-A-8-191426, JP-A1-1
There is one described in Japanese Patent No. 62079.

[0008]

Since the conventional video recording / reproducing apparatus is constructed as described above, a secondary recording section is required for each video input. Therefore, in video surveillance using a large number of cameras, it is necessary to prepare a large number of large-capacity secondary recording / storing areas for the number of video inputs, which causes a problem of high cost.

In addition, each recording device has a sufficient capacity of 2
Since the next recording storage area cannot be secured in many cases, there is a problem in that secondary recording must be performed by reducing the quality such as thinning out the frame rate of video, or the time during which secondary recording can be performed becomes short.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and even if there are many video inputs,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a continuous video recording / reproducing apparatus capable of permanently recording video at a low cost for a long period of time.

[0011]

A continuous video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention shares a secondary recording device among a plurality of primary recording devices and selectively saves images from the primary recording device.
Image selection for selecting images and permanently recording them on the secondary recording device
The selection unit is provided in each of the primary recording devices .

In the continuous video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, a plurality of distributed primary recording apparatuses and secondary recording apparatuses are connected by a transmission network.

In the continuous video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, the output processing of the primary recording video is performed by the priority control means provided in the primary recording apparatus rather than the saving processing from the primary recording to the secondary recording. It has priority.

The continuous video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention locks the corresponding recording area in the primary recording apparatus as write-disabled until the evacuation to the secondary recording apparatus is completed. It is provided with a lock control means.

In the continuous video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, the series of video data transferred from the primary recording to the secondary recording upon request overlaps with the series of video data already recorded in the secondary recording apparatus. In the case where there is a part to be recorded, the shared control means is provided to control the secondary recording device so as to newly record only the non-overlapping part without re-recording the overlapping part.

In the continuous video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, the secondary recording apparatus processes the plurality of permanent recording requests from the primary recording apparatus according to a predetermined order. It is provided with an evacuation process scheduling means for controlling the recording device.

The continuous video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention requires each of the two requested video signals on the basis of the recording processing capacity of its own apparatus.
It is provided with an evacuation acceptance control means for deciding whether or not the next recording will be completed within a certain time and accepting or rejecting a request for a new secondary recording.

A continuous video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention has an attribute of each video and a location where each video data is distributed and recorded in a plurality of primary recording devices and secondary recording devices. The information (recording position in the recording device or recording area) is collectively managed by the attribute management means, and the information transparently collected by the attribute management means is used to make the position transparent regardless of the recorded location. It is provided with a search means for performing a video search.

A continuous video recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is an external transmission network transmission for transmitting recorded video data to a network other than the transmission network to which the primary recording apparatus and the secondary recording apparatus are connected. The secondary recording device is provided with means.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. Embodiment 1. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of a continuous video recording / reproducing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a primary recording device for continuously inputting video from the ITV camera 50 and recording in a short term, 2 is a secondary recording device for permanently recording a part of the primary recording video, 3 is 1 A video reproducing device 4 for reproducing the video recorded in the secondary recording device / secondary recording device is a transmission network connecting these devices.

The primary recording device 1 includes the video input units 5 and 1.
It is composed of a next recording unit 6, a video selection unit 7, an evacuation transmission unit 8, a primary video transmission unit 9, and a primary recording storage area 15. Then, in the video input unit 5, for example, Motion-JP
It is possible to periodically input digitally compressed video data using the EG encoding device.

The evacuation transmission unit 8 sequentially transmits a series of images selected by the image selection unit 7 (hereinafter referred to as evacuation images) to the secondary recording device 2 via the transmission network 4. Also, 1
The next video transmitting unit 9 periodically transmits the primary recorded video to the video reproducing device 3 in response to a reproduction request issued by the operator via the video reproducing device 3.

Next, the secondary recording device 2 is the primary recording device 1.
The evacuation receiving unit 10 that receives the evacuation request from the device, the secondary recording unit 11 that permanently records the received video data in the secondary recording storage area 20, and the secondary recorded video is transmitted to the video reproduction device 3. The secondary video transmission unit 12 is provided.
For the permanent recording in the secondary recording unit 11, for example, a large capacity disk array device can be used. Similar to the primary video transmission unit 9, the secondary video transmission unit 12 periodically extracts the secondary-recorded video data in response to a playback request issued via the video playback device 3 or the like, and transmits it to the transmission network. 4 to the video reproduction device 3.

The video reproducing device 3 is also a primary recording device 1.
Alternatively, the video receiving unit 13 periodically receives the video transmitted from the secondary recording device 2, and the video reproducing unit 14 outputs the video to the display device. The video reproducing unit 14 is, for example, Motion.
Decoding the digitized video using a JPEG decoding device and outputting it to the monitor device.

FIG. 2 shows a detailed structure of the primary recording apparatus 1. Here, a case where a ring buffer secured on the hard disk device is used as the primary recording storage area 15 is shown. Continuous short-term recording in the primary record storage area 15 is realized by the following procedure.
The primary recording unit 6 receives the latest video frame periodically input from the video input unit 5, and uses a writing unit 16 that issues a write command to the hard disk,
Store in the area indicated by the end of the ring buffer and advance the end by one.

After the ring buffer is full, that is, when the beginning and the end of the ring buffer point to the same position, the ring buffer at which the oldest video frame is stored is overwritten to the beginning. And advance the end by one. In addition, the primary recording unit 6 performs SCAN for these video recording and video reading described later.
A control means 17 using a disk access management method such as an algorithm is provided, and the disk access operation is completed within a required time.

Next, the selection of the saved image and the extraction of the selected image by the image selection unit 7 are realized by the procedure of steps ST1 to ST12 shown in FIG. Here, a case is shown in which the evacuation image is selected by the alarm notification from the outside, and j represents the evacuation image selection time. Based on the alarm type input at the time of alarm issuance and the selection table 19 preset in the video selection unit 7, the range of secondary recording is obtained as the recording time before and after the alarm issuance.

The video selection unit 7 first sets the past video data corresponding to the recording time before the alarm is issued as the first read position in the video data of the primary recording, and from there, the video is set at a constant cycle. It is taken out and delivered to the evacuation transmission unit 8. Then 1
The read position in the next recording is advanced by the amount of the image that has been saved, and when all the images corresponding to the selected time range have been saved, the saving process ends. To take out the recorded video, the reading means 18 of the primary recording unit 6 which issues a read command to the hard disk device is used.

The evacuation transmission unit 8 issues a evacuation request to the secondary recording device 2 prior to the transmission of the evacuation video, establishes the connection with the primary recording and the secondary recording, and then sequentially takes out by the video selection unit 7. The video data is repeatedly transmitted through the transmission network 4.

Further, the primary video transmission unit 9 determines the read start position in the ring buffer for the primary recording from the reproduction start time designated by the input reproduction request, and sequentially outputs the video from that position. It is taken out and periodically transmitted to the video reproducing apparatus 3. The video is transmitted using, for example, an Ethernet LAN as the transmission network 4 and a TCP / IP communication protocol.

FIG. 4 shows a detailed structure of the secondary recording device 2. The evacuation receiving unit 10 is an arbitrary primary recording device 1
In response to the evacuation request, the evacuation video reception is started, and a series of video data is periodically received. The secondary recording unit 11 is
Received video is saved as one file for each saved video. 2
Attributes of the saved image (recording time range, camera ID, type of alarm that caused recording, previously recorded, which are sequentially written in the large-capacity disk array device prepared as the next recording storage area 20 and included in the saving request Had been 1
The next recording device identifier, etc.) and the stored file name etc. are registered in the saved video management table 21. When the recording of one saved image is completed, the save receiver 10 waits for the next save request.

The secondary video transmission unit 12 receives the video reproduction request and stores the requested video in the saved video management table 21.
Then, the video data is read out from the corresponding file and sequentially and periodically transmitted to the video reproduction device 3 via the transmission network 4.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the primary recording apparatus 1 needs to have a recording capacity for recording the latest video in a short period of time, and primary recording is performed for each video input. Since it is not necessary to prepare a large-capacity secondary recording storage area 20 for each device, permanent recording of many video inputs can be realized at low cost.

By sharing the secondary recording device 2 among a plurality of primary recording devices, the amount of video to be saved from each primary recording device as the capacity of the secondary recording storage area 20 required in the future. Since the data can be statistically multiplexed, the recording area can be used more efficiently than when the secondary recording storage area 20 is prepared for each primary recording device. Therefore, higher quality and long-term video can be permanently recorded. .

In the first embodiment, the secondary recording device 2
Although the above is realized by one device, the same effect can be obtained even when the plural devices are dispersed and realized.

The primary recording does not always have to be recorded at all times, and may be intermittent recording such as video recording for 1 minute before and after each of the latest 10 alarm notifications. Also, if it is a short-term record that is erased as time passes, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

In the first embodiment, an example of a LAN based on Ethernet is shown as the transmission network 4, but it is also possible to use a public network, a wireless network, or a bus connecting devices as a transmission network. Furthermore, in the first embodiment, an example of periodic transmission by TCP / IP is shown for communication of video between devices, but if the method is to sequentially transmit using a transmission network, it is always transmitted periodically. No need.

In the first embodiment, an example in which the primary recording device 1 is provided with the primary video transmission unit 9 and the secondary recording device 2 is provided with the secondary video transmission unit 12 has been described. Even in a system in which some of the parts are omitted, the same effect can be obtained.

In the first embodiment, the disk array is used as the secondary recording storage area 20, but by using a replaceable medium such as an MO changer, the medium is periodically exchanged and the secondary recording storage area is used. 20 can have a semi-infinite recording capacity, and long-term images can be permanently recorded as secondary recording.

In the above-described first embodiment, an example of saving a part of the short-term primary recording to the secondary recording has been shown, but it is not limited to the secondary recording, and as shown in FIG. The same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained by expanding the method of sharing a general n-th order recording device such as saving a part of the secondary recording having a capacity to the third order recording device 22. can get.

Further, by using the transmission procedure of the primary video transmitting unit 9 of steps ST21 to ST29 shown in FIG. 6, the frames of the video taken out from the primary recording are regularly thinned and the transmission cycle is adjusted. As a result, it is possible to change the frame rate and the reproduction speed of the image reproduction and transmit the image. In the figure, Fs is the input frame rate of the video, Fp is the playback frame rate, S is the ratio of the playback speed to the normal speed, and d is the interval time of the video frames. As a result, even when a plurality of video reproducing devices 3 having different performances are mixed, the same device configuration can be used. The same transmission procedure can be used for the secondary video transmission unit 12 of the secondary recording device 2 and not only the same effect can be obtained, but also the saving transmission unit 8 of the primary recording device 1 saves the same. The frame rate of the video to be displayed can be reduced from the rate at the time of input, and the secondary recording storage area 20 can be used effectively.

Regarding the communication of the evacuation video between the primary recording device 1 and the secondary recording device 2, in the above-mentioned first embodiment, the means different from the reproduction to the video reproducing device 3 is used, but the video reproducing device 3 is used.
It is also possible to evacuate using the same means as the reproduction to. That is, the evacuation transmission unit 8 serves as the primary video transmission unit 9
Even if the video receiver 13 is used as the save receiver 10, the same effect can be obtained. This makes it possible to reduce the types of means to be realized in the primary recording device 1 and the secondary recording device 2 and to easily realize them.

Embodiment 2. FIG. 7 shows the structure of a video recording / reproducing apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In FIG. 7, 23 is a priority control means, which is the primary recording apparatus 1.
The resource use in the primary recording device 1 is controlled so that the transmission process from the primary recording device 1 to the video reproducing device 3 is executed with priority over the saving process from the primary recording device 1 to the secondary recording device 2. .

In the transmission process of reproducing the primary recorded image, the disk access for reading the image from the primary recording storage area 15 and the CPU of the computer for executing the processes of the primary recording section 6 and the primary image transmission section 9 and Use resources such as memory, network equipment, and transmission network bandwidth.

On the other hand, the primary recording device 1 to the secondary recording device 2
Since the resource saving process uses the same resource, the resource necessary for the transmission process to the video reproducing device 3 may not be available and may be kept waiting for execution. For smooth video playback,
It is necessary to transmit data from the primary video transmission unit 9 in a fixed cycle, and it is necessary to secure resources necessary for transmission in a fixed cycle. However, the number of reproduction processes that are simultaneously executed by the primary recording device 1 As the number of evacuation processes and evacuation processes increases, it becomes more difficult to secure resources.

The priority control means 23 sets the execution priority of the computer processing thread to be higher for the thread relating to the video reproduction process, and from the hard disk device as the primary recording storage area 15 for storing the primary recording. The priority of the reading means 18 is set higher for the request from the primary video transmission unit 9 than for the read processing request from the video selection unit 7. The control unit 17 of the primary recording unit 6 accesses the hard disk device in the order according to the priority given to the plurality of read requests by the priority control unit 23.

By these means, the transmission process of the video reproducing apparatus 3 is executed with priority over the saving process. In the case of the saving process, the selected part is erased from the storage area of the primary record due to the passage of time. It is sufficient to transmit the data to the secondary recording device 2 by the time it is performed, and it is not necessary to transmit the data in a fixed cycle. Therefore, even if this process is executed with low priority, the secondary recording device 2
There is no problem in evacuating to.

In the primary recording device 1 configured as described above, the process of saving the data from the primary recording device 1 to the secondary recording device 2 is performed by transferring the video from the primary recording device 1 to the video reproducing device 3. Since the transmission process is not hindered, the smoothness of reproduction from the primary recording device 1 to the video reproducing device 3 is not affected, and saving to the secondary recording device 2 (in parallel) is performed.
While executing, many primary images can be smoothly reproduced.

Embodiment 3. FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the primary recording apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The primary recording apparatus corresponding to the selected saved image until the recording by the secondary recording apparatus 2 is completed. The first recording lock control means (recording area lock control means) 24 for making one recording area unwritable is added to the first embodiment.

In the figure, primary recording lock control means 24
Responds when the saved image is selected by the image selection unit 7 with respect to the flag added to each image data recorded in the primary recording storage area 15 and indicating whether or not the image is currently saved. A flag of the video image in the primary recording storage area 15 is set to indicate that the image is being saved, and the primary recording storage area 15 corresponding to the flagged video data is locked so that it cannot be written. When the evacuation completion notification indicating that all the selected evacuation videos have been recorded is received from the secondary recording device 2, the flag that has been set is lowered and returned to the original state.

When recording the input video, the primary recording unit 6 skips the storage area of the frame when the flag is set at the next writing position of the primary recording storage area 15 and sets the flag. If the next video data in which the image is not displayed is checked and the input video is overwritten in the area, and in the secondary recording device 2, a series of recording of the saved video is completed, it is saved in the primary recording device 1 of the save source. Send a completion notice.

With the above-mentioned structure, the primary recording device 1
It is possible to prevent the video selected by the video selection unit 7 from being erased from the primary recording device 1 by the writing of the newly input video during the recording from the secondary recording device 2 to the secondary recording device 2. .

Fourth Embodiment FIG. 9 shows the configuration of the secondary recording device 2 according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. In the figure, the sharing control means 25 overlaps among a plurality of saved images transmitted from the primary recording device 1. The data should be shared on the secondary recording storage area 20 of the secondary recording device 2.
The next recording unit 11 is controlled. In the secondary recording unit 11,
In order to share the overlapping part, each saved image is represented as one tree, and all saved images recorded in the secondary recording storage area 20 are saved image management graph (save processing scheduling means) which is a set of trees. It manages as 26.

FIG. 10 shows the structure of the saved image management graph 26. The root of each tree represents each saved image, and each subtree represents saved image data divided by the recording time range. Each node has a recording time range of video data represented by a subtree having itself as a root, and attribute information such as a camera ID and an alarm type. The leaf represents the video data which is finally recorded in one block in the storage area of the secondary recording device 2. The sharing of the overlapping portion between the saved images is represented by sharing the sub-tree among the plurality of trees in the saved image management graph 26.

The sharing control means 25 can be realized by the following processing procedure. This sharing control means 25 is used for the primary recording device 1
Time for receiving a save request from the device, calculating a part of the video requested to be saved that does not overlap with the already recorded video, and newly recording the non-overlapping part from the save request and the saved video management graph 26. The secondary recording unit 11 as a range
Instruct to. Also, the newly requested evacuation video is added to the evacuation video management graph 26 as a tree of only roots.
Furthermore, if there is a portion that overlaps with the already recorded video, it is divided into subtrees so that the overlapping time range is shared with others as a subtree or leaf.

In this process, if the overlapping time range is a part of the time range represented by the leaf of the saved image management graph 26, the time range in which the leaf is further divided and shared as shown in FIG. Saved video management graph 26 so that it is divided into parts that are not
To update.

As described above, in the fourth embodiment, since the overlapping portion is shared among the plurality of saved images on the secondary recording device 2, the secondary recording storage area 2 of the secondary recording device 2 is shared.
0 is used efficiently and more images are recorded on the secondary recording device 2
You will be able to record in.

Embodiment 5. FIG. 12 shows the configuration of the secondary recording device 2 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the evacuation acceptance control means 27 receives an evacuation request from the primary recording device 1, determines whether or not to accept the requested evacuation based on the processing capacity of the secondary recording device 2, and at the present time Then, a priority is assigned to each of the plurality of requested saving processes, and the secondary recording device 2 is controlled so that the saving processes are performed in descending order of priority.

As the processing capability of the secondary recording device 2, for example, the maximum of the total value of the video bands that can be saved in parallel in advance is used, and the band of the saved video is subtracted from the above total value each time a request is accepted. A criterion can be used that the result is accepted unless it is negative. As a method of assigning a priority to each of a plurality of evacuation processes, for example, a method of setting according to the importance of the evacuation image in the monitoring operation, or including the worst evacuation time in each request, from the length of the evacuation image, etc. A method of calculating and assigning priorities such that each save is completed within its respective worst save time can be used. In the latter case, the priority allocation method is EDF (Earliest Deadline F).
irst) and other algorithms can be used.

As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, the image recording a more important target in the surveillance work is preferentially recorded in the secondary recording storage area 20, so that the secondary recording device 2 Important images will not be erased from the primary recording storage area 15 because the evacuation to (1) will not be completed in time.

By combining the fifth embodiment with the third embodiment, when recording an image showing an important target in the secondary recording storage area 20, the priority is set high and the recording is performed early. Since the primary recording storage area 15 can be prevented from being locked for a long time and the primary recording storage area 15 can be opened early, important camera images can be stored in the primary recording storage area 15 for a longer period of time. The effect of being able to keep it is also obtained.

In the fifth embodiment, the evacuation acceptance control means 27 is realized on the secondary recording device 2, but it is not limited to the realization on the secondary recording device 2 and, for example, by the transmission network 4. The same effect can be obtained by implementing it on another device connected to the next recording device 2.

Sixth Embodiment FIG. 13 shows the configuration of a video recording / playback apparatus according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention. In the figure, the video data management apparatus 28 includes an attribute management means 29, a search means 30, and a global video data management table 31. The attribute management means 29 provides, for example, camera ID, recording time range, related alarm type, recording device identifier, and storage file name for video data that is periodically recorded in each device via the transmission network 4. ,
Inquiries about attribute information such as quality are registered / updated in the global video data management table 31. Further, the search means 30 receives a search request including a search condition that does not depend on the recording device or the recording position in the storage area from the video reproducing device 3 or the like, and searches the global video data management table 31 for the corresponding video data. , Reply the attribute information including the recording device and file name.

As described above, by introducing the video data management device 28, position transparent access to the video data becomes possible. That is, the primary monitoring such as the camera ID and the related alarm type is performed without being aware of which primary recording device 1 is recorded, whether the primary recording device 1 is moved to the secondary recording device 2, or the like. Video can be specified and searched only by attribute information required for business.

In the sixth embodiment, the attribute management means 2
9 and the search means 30 are realized on one independent device, but the same may be realized by distributing these means on, for example, an arbitrary primary recording device 1 or secondary recording device 2. The effect is obtained.

Embodiment 7. FIG. 14 shows the structure of a video recording / reproducing apparatus according to Embodiment 7 of the present invention. In the figure, the external transmission network transmitting means 32 in the secondary recording apparatus 2 is a primary recording apparatus 1 or a secondary recording apparatus. The video data permanently recorded in the secondary recording device 2 is taken out via an external transmission network different from the transmission network 4 to which the recording device 2 and the video reproducing device 3 are connected, in this example, a low-speed public network 33. Convert the encoding format and data format and send. For example, in order to transmit the saved video even in a low speed public network, H.264 which is a low bit rate coding format. The encoding method is changed to H.263.

As described above, the external transmission network transmission means 32 is provided, and various conversions such as the video encoding format, the frame rate, the video size and the transfer method, the communication protocol, etc. are performed. The video data recorded in the secondary recording device 2 is accessed from a transmission network having various properties such as a public network, or the secondary data is transmitted from various video reproduction terminals having various video transfer methods and video transfer formats. The video data recorded in the recording storage area 20 can be accessed.

[0068]

As described above, according to the present invention, the short-term recording of continuously input images and a part of the permanent recording are divided into a primary recording device and a secondary recording device, Multiple 1
Since the secondary recording device is configured to be shared by the secondary recording devices, a large capacity of 2 is required for each video input or primary recording device.
It is not necessary to prepare a next recording storage area, and permanent recording of many video inputs can be realized at low cost. Also,
By sharing the secondary recording device among a plurality of primary recording devices, the capacity of the secondary recording storage area required in the future can be
Since the amount of video to be saved from each primary recording device can be statistically multiplexed, the recording area can be used more efficiently than when a secondary recording storage area is prepared for each primary recording device. Therefore,
There is an effect that a higher quality image can be permanently recorded for a long time.

Further, in the primary recording device, the transfer process from the primary recording device to the video reproducing device is executed with priority over the transfer process from the primary recording device to the secondary recording device. Since the transfer process to the secondary recording device does not hinder the transfer process to the video reproducing device, the smoothness of reproduction to the video reproducing device is not affected.
While executing multiple evacuation to the next recording device in parallel, 1
This has the effect of smoothly reproducing the next video.

Further, since the data to be permanently recorded is locked so as not to erase the corresponding storage area of the primary recording until the transfer from the primary recording device to the secondary recording device is completed, There is an effect that it is possible to prevent the newly selected image from being erased from the primary recording device while the image selected by the image selection unit is being recorded in the secondary recording device.

Further, since the sharing control unit for controlling the overlappingly recorded images to be shared is provided, the storage area of the secondary recording device can be efficiently used and more images can be displayed. There is an effect that the data can be recorded in the secondary recording device.

Further, since the saving process scheduling means is provided, a plurality of permanent recording processes requested by the primary recording device can be executed in order. By recording the more important video preferentially in the secondary recording storage area, there is an effect that the important video is not erased from the primary recording storage area because the evacuation to the secondary recording device cannot be done in time.

Since the secondary recording device is provided with the save acceptance control means, it is possible to reject the save request that exceeds the processing capability of the secondary recording device, and the other save process that is already in the process of execution is rejected. There is an effect that can be prevented from being delayed.

Further, since the video data management device is provided, it is possible to access the video data in a position transparent manner from the video playback device or the like. That is, there is an effect that the video can be designated and searched without being aware of which primary recording device is recorded, whether the primary recording device is moved to the secondary recording device, or the like.

Since the secondary recording device is provided with the external transmission network transmitting means, it is configured to perform various conversions such as the video coding format, the frame rate, the video size and the transfer method, and the communication protocol. , Access to video data recorded in a secondary recording device from various transmission networks such as the Internet and public networks, or from various video reproduction terminals having various video transfer methods and formats. The video data recorded in the next recording storage area can be accessed.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a primary recording device in the video recording / reproducing device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a video selection unit.

4 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a secondary recording device in the video recording / reproducing device of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a video recording / reproducing device that shares tertiary recording.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of video transmission in which a reproduction frame rate / speed is changed.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a video recording / reproducing device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a primary recording device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a secondary recording device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of management of secondary recording video by a tree.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of leaf division of a saved image management graph by partial sharing.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a secondary recording device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing video recording according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a reproducing | regenerating apparatus.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a video recording according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention
It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a reproducing | regenerating apparatus.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional video recording / reproducing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Primary Recording Device, 2 Secondary Recording Device, 3 Video Reproducing Device, 4 Transmission Network, 23 Priority Control Means, 24 Primary Recording Lock Control Means (Recording Area Lock Control Means), 25 Sharing Control Means, 26 Evacuation Video Management Graph (saving processing scheduling means), 27 Saving acceptance control means, 28
Video data management device, 29 attribute management means, 30 search means, 32 external transmission network transmission means.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --- Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-11-284987 (JP, A) JP-A-11-75176 (JP, A) JP-A-8-77468 (JP, A) JP-A-8- 191426 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 5/76-5/956 H04N 7/18

Claims (9)

(57) [Claims] 1. A plurality of primary recording devices for recording continuously input images in a short term, and a secondary recording device for permanently recording a part of the images recorded in the primary recording device.
In a continuous video recording / playback device having a primary recording device and a playback device for playing back the video recorded in the secondary recording device, the secondary recording device is shared by a plurality of primary recording devices and selected. Escape from the primary recording device
Image selection for selecting images and permanently recording them on the secondary recording device
An apparatus for recording / reproducing continuous video, characterized in that an selecting section is provided in each of the primary recording apparatuses. 2. The continuous video recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the primary recording apparatus and the secondary recording apparatus are connected by a transmission network. 3. A priority control means for prioritizing a process of transferring an image recorded in a primary recording device to a video reproducing device over a process of saving the image in a secondary recording device. The continuous video recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 2. 4. A recording area lock control means for making a recording area, in which a video image to be permanently recorded in the secondary recording device is stored, unwritable so as not to be used for recording a new image until the permanent recording is completed. The continuous video recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: 5. When the video to be newly recorded has a portion overlapping with the already recorded video data, only the non-overlapping portion is newly recorded, and the overlapping portion is controlled to be shared with the recorded data. The continuous video recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a sharing control means. 6. An evacuation process scheduling means for controlling to execute secondary recording in accordance with an order given during a plurality of permanent recording processes requested by the primary recording device. The continuous video recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. 7. The evacuation acceptance control means for limiting the persistent recording requests that are simultaneously accepted based on system resources such as the recording processing capacity of the secondary recording device. Recording / playback device for continuous video. 8. A primary recording device on which an image is recorded and 2
2. A video data management device comprising an attribute management means for collecting and managing information and attribute information about the next recording device, and a search means for searching a video based on the attribute. The continuous video recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 2. 9. An external transmission network transmitting means for transmitting recorded video data to a network other than a transmission network to which the primary recording device and the secondary recording device are connected. The continuous video recording / playback device described in 2.