JP4595936B2 - Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that executes writing and reading of information with respect to a storage medium, and a method thereof. The present invention also relates to a program to be executed by such an information processing apparatus.

In managing data stored in various storage media such as an HDD (hard disk), a file system is widely used and managed in units of files. As such a file system format, for example, FAT, HFS (Hierarchical File System) and the like are known.
By interposing such a file system between, for example, an application and a driver of the storage medium, for example, the application can perform an operation (file read / write) without being aware of the physical data storage structure of the storage medium. Operation).

  In recent years, many types of storage media tend to have a large capacity due to a decrease in the bit unit price and an increase in recording density. At the same time, the speed of various information processing is also increasing. Against this backdrop, it has become possible to store data files (content files) formed by a large number of contents such as still images, moving images, and audio on a storage medium.

As a device that records and reproduces content such as still images, moving images, and audio, there are digital still cameras, digital video cameras, etc. in the present situation. When a large number of content files can be stored in storage media, for example, ease of searching, browsing, enhancement of attached information,
It becomes important when considering convenience for the user.
Since the file system is originally intended to manage data stored in the storage medium in units of files as described above, the related information items of the files defined in the file system are: The basic name is limited to the file name (and extension), file size, creation date and time, and update date and time. For example, in a content file whose information content is an image, it is preferable that various information other than the basic information described above can be presented, for example, in a list display, but it is difficult to manage a file only by a file system. It will be.
In addition, since the file system is basically employed in various storage media such as an HDD, the expandability of such attached information is poor.

  Therefore, basic management for all files stored in the storage medium is performed by the file system as before, and information for managing content files stored in the storage medium exclusively. It has been proposed and is being implemented to use management information (management file) in a file format comprising

JP 2004-227630 A

  By the way, as an actual device that employs a management file as described above and manages a content file, for example, an imaging device such as a digital video camera or a digital still camera can be considered. Most imaging devices implement a USB (Universal Serial Bus) mass storage class. If such a USB mass storage class compatible device is connected to a personal computer or the like as a host, the personal computer can connect a storage medium provided on the device side to itself without installing driver software on the host side. Recognizing that the device is an external storage device, the storage medium can be normally accessed.

However, the fact that the imaging device is compatible with the USB mass storage class as described above means that the file recording / deletion to the storage medium of the imaging device is performed by a normal file operation from a personal computer connected via USB. , It is possible to perform updates and the like.
Therefore, for example, a user operation on the personal computer may cause additional recording of some files to the storage medium of the imaging device or change or deletion of a content file stored in the storage medium of the imaging device. It is inevitable that there is. However, even if an operation is performed on a file stored in the storage medium of the imaging device from the personal computer side in this way, the file system of the storage medium of the imaging device corresponds to the file operation result. Management information is properly rewritten under the USB mass storage class. Therefore, the file management contents in the storage medium itself are not broken down. However, when the imaging device is configured to manage the content file stored in the storage medium even by the management file as described above, the following inconvenience occurs.

Depending on the management file, the content file stored in the storage medium can be managed, but this management function is completed in the imaging device, and in this sense, it is not general-purpose. A personal computer connected to the imaging device in the mass storage class does not support a content file management function using a management file unless application software or the like corresponding to the management file is installed. Further, in the state of being connected by the USB mass storage class, the imaging apparatus only provides the storage medium as an external storage device, and does not particularly activate the internal application.
For this reason, when any file operation is performed on the content file stored in the storage medium of the imaging device from the personal computer connected by the USB mass storage class as described above, the file in the storage medium is processed as described above. Although the file operation result is reflected in the system, the management file is not particularly rewritten, and the file operation result at that time is not reflected in the management file.
In other words, when the storage medium of the imaging device is handled as an external storage device of the host according to the USB mass storage class or the like, when an operation is performed on the content file from the host side, Regarding the management of the content file stored in the storage medium, inconsistency occurs between the file system and the management file.

  Such inconsistency may occur every time a connection is made using the USB mass storage class, but the imaging device is operated in a state in which content files are not properly managed due to inconsistency. This is not preferable because it may cause trouble such as malfunction of the device or improper display of the content file list. Therefore, every time the USB connection is disconnected, the imaging apparatus needs to check at least whether or not there is a mismatch between the file system and the management file.

  As a check for such inconsistency, for example, all content files managed by the file system may be compared with all content files managed by the management file. However, such a comparison process involves frequent access to the storage medium, and also requires a certain amount of processing time because the comparison process is burdened accordingly. Incidentally, in order for the imaging apparatus to complete startup when the USB connection is disconnected, it is also necessary to complete this inconsistency check. For this reason, for example, when the USB connection is disconnected, the performance performance regarding the start-up of the system of the imaging apparatus is degraded.

In view of the above-described problems, the present invention is configured as an information processing apparatus as follows.
That is, the basic file management means for managing the files stored in the storage medium using the basic file management information stored in the same storage medium, and the management set for each individual file included in the basic file management means A specific type of file in the file managed by the basic file management means is managed using the specific file management information stored in the storage medium and having a predetermined management information item in the information item in common The basic file management information about the specific type of file to be displayed in the table of contents display when performing the table of contents display for displaying the specific type of file stored in the storage medium in a table of contents. Compare the contents of the management information items that the specified file management information has in common Comparing means, as the comparison result by the comparison means, among the management information items to be compared, a content mismatch for at least only one predetermined management information items other than the predetermined management information items For a specific type of file having a predetermined match / non-match content for which the management information items match, the file is stored in the storage medium corresponding to the specific type of file so as to indicate that the file can be reproduced. Instead of the stored thumbnail image data, the generated thumbnail image data generated using the actual data of the specific type of file is displayed and output as an image, and management other than the predetermined management information item is managed. For files of a specific type in which at least one of the information items for use does not match, the file cannot be played in the table of contents display. It is as it is shown was that a display control unit for executing the table of contents display.

In addition, as an information processing method, a basic file management procedure for managing files stored in a storage medium using basic file management information stored in the same storage medium, and each individual file included in the basic file management procedure A specific type in a file managed by the above basic file management procedure by using specific file management information stored in a storage medium and having a predetermined management information item in the management information item set in The specific file management procedure for managing the file and the table of contents display for displaying the table of the specific type of file stored in the storage medium in a table of contents are displayed. Management information shared by the basic file management information and the specific file management information A comparison procedure for comparing the eye contents, as the comparison result by the comparison procedure, among the management information items to be compared, a content mismatch for at least only one predetermined management information items, the predetermined For a specific type of file having a predetermined match / non-match content for which a management information item other than the management information item matches, the file corresponds to the specific type of file so that it can be played back. Instead of the stored thumbnail image data stored in the storage medium, the generated thumbnail image data generated using the actual data of the specific type of file is displayed and output as an image, and the predetermined management is performed. For a specific type of file in which at least one of the management information items other than the management information item is inconsistent, the above table of contents is displayed. And configured to include a display control procedure for executing the contents displayed as it is shown a file unplayable.

In each of the above configurations, management of files stored in the storage medium is performed using basic file management information, and specific types of files managed by the basic file management information are The management is also performed by specific file management information. Further, in the present invention, a predetermined management information item included in the basic file management information is also made common in the structure of the specific file management information. Basic file management information and specific file management information for a specific type of file to be displayed in the table of contents or a specific type of file to be played back and output, depending on when the display is executed or when a specific type file is reproduced and output Thus, the contents of the management information items that are commonly used are compared. According to the present invention, the consistency between the file management by the basic file management means and the file management by the specific file management means is determined by comparing the contents of the management information items of the basic file management information and the specific file management information. ing. Then, according to the determination result (comparison result), the table of contents is displayed, or whether or not reproduction output is possible for a specific type of file to be reproduced and output is set.
With such a configuration, the consistency determination is performed only for a specific type of file that is displayed in the table of contents or reproduced and output. Therefore, at a given opportunity, all the specific types of files are checked. There is no need to perform consistency determination.

  As described above, the present invention can avoid the inconvenience that the rise time becomes longer due to, for example, the consistency determination process. In addition, since the result of the consistency determination is reflected in the operation of the apparatus such as a table of contents display and reproduction output, it is possible to appropriately eliminate malfunction caused by inconsistency. In this way, according to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently deal with inconsistencies between basic file management and file management using a management file.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as an embodiment) will be described. In this embodiment, a case where the configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a digital video camera will be described as an example.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a digital video camera 1 according to the present embodiment.
In the digital video camera 1 shown in this figure, the optical system unit 2 includes an imaging lens, a diaphragm, and the like, and forms incident light on the photoelectric conversion unit 3 as imaging light. Further, the optical system unit 2 includes a focus adjustment mechanism for focus adjustment, a diaphragm variable mechanism that varies the diaphragm according to the diaphragm value, and the like. Is performed by a drive signal output from the camera function unit 6. The camera function unit 6 is configured to output a required drive signal so as to obtain an appropriate focus state, aperture state, and the like, under the control of the CPU 10.
For example, when an optical zoom function is to be provided, a zoom mechanism for moving the zoom lens is provided in the optical system unit 2 and driving for moving the zoom mechanism in accordance with the control of the CPU 10 in the same manner as described above. What is necessary is just to provide a part. Further, the camera function unit 6 may be configured to provide a strobe light emission function after providing a strobe.

  The photoelectric conversion unit 3 includes, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) that is a photoelectric conversion element, a CMOS sensor, and the like, and photoelectrically converts imaging light incident from the optical system unit 2 and imaged on the light receiving surface. Thus, an imaging signal is generated and output to the video signal processing unit 4. At the time of shooting, for example, an instruction of a shutter speed determined according to the exposure setting result is notified from the CPU 10 to the video signal processing unit 4. The video signal processing unit 4 outputs a scanning timing signal corresponding to the notified shutter speed to the photoelectric conversion unit 3. The photoelectric conversion unit 3 performs scanning according to the scanning timing signal, executes photoelectric conversion processing, and outputs a video signal.

The video signal processing unit 4 performs waveform shaping on the analog video signal (captured image signal) input from the photoelectric conversion unit 3 by performing gain adjustment and sample hold processing, for example, and then performs A / D conversion. By doing so, it is converted into digital video signal data. Then, for the digital video signal obtained by this conversion process, for example, a process for generating display luminance data is performed, and a video signal process for displaying on the display unit 7 is executed. Accordingly, the video signal processing unit 4 can also perform signal processing for a so-called on-screen display so that a character image or the like can be displayed superimposed on the captured image under the control of the CPU 10.
The actual display device employed as the display unit 7 is not particularly limited, but currently, liquid crystal display panels are widely employed.

In addition, the video signal processing unit 4 performs, for example, a compression encoding process using a predetermined method on the digital video signal obtained by converting the analog video signal input from the photoelectric conversion unit 3 to generate compressed video data. Is possible.
The digital video camera of this embodiment also has a still camera function. That is, it is possible to generate a still image data file in a predetermined format as a photograph for the captured image signal. Such image processing is also performed by the video signal processing unit 4.

Further, the video signal processing unit 4 uses an image (video) signal input from the photoelectric conversion unit 3, an AV (Audio Video) data file (AV file) read from a medium to be described later, and the like in a predetermined format. It can be converted into an analog video signal or a digital video signal and output to an external device or the like via the image input / output unit 5.
The image input / output unit 5 can input a video signal of a predetermined system from the outside, and the input video signal can be displayed on the display unit 7 through the processing of the video signal processing unit 4. The video signal processing unit 4 converts the video signal input from the image input / output unit 5 into recording data and transfers the video signal to the media controller 13 in the same manner as the analog video signal input from the photoelectric conversion unit 3. You can also
Correspondingly, the image input / output unit 5 includes, for example, a video (image) signal output terminal / video signal input terminal according to a predetermined method.

In addition, the digital video camera 1 according to the present embodiment includes an audio processing unit 8 and an audio input / output unit 9 so that audio signals can be input / output.
First, for voice input, a microphone or the like is provided as the voice input / output unit 9, and external voices are collected and converted into voice signals to be inputted. The audio signal input in this manner is output to the audio processing unit 8. The audio processing unit 8 performs audio signal processing such as conversion into compressed audio data encoded by an audio compression encoding method corresponding to compression encoding of a captured image.

The CPU 10 forms an AV file of a predetermined format from the compressed video data for the captured image obtained by the video signal processing unit 4 and the compressed audio data for the collected sound obtained by the audio processing unit 8. Control processing is executed. In this AV file, the playback time axis of the sound output by reproducing the compressed audio data is synchronized with the moving image output by reproducing the compressed video data. The configuration for actually forming the AV file may be a software configuration for digital signal processing obtained by the CPU 10 executing the program, or hardware for forming the AV file. In addition, the CPU 10 may be configured to control the operation of the hardware.
The data as the AV file is transferred to the media controller 13 as recording data, for example, under the control of the CPU 10. The CPU 10 can also transfer a still image data file of a predetermined format as a photographic image generated by the video signal processing unit 4 to the media controller 13 as recording data.

  The audio input / output unit 9 may be configured to include an audio signal input terminal and the like to input an audio signal from an external audio device or the like. The audio processor 8 converts the audio signal input from the audio signal input terminal into a digital audio data file in a predetermined format. The CPU 10 can also transfer data of such a digital audio data file to the media controller 13 as recording data.

  The media controller 13 is configured to be able to execute control processing related to data processing corresponding to a predetermined medium (storage medium) in cooperation with the CPU 10. Data processing for media here refers to any processing related to data to be stored on the media, such as media formatting processing, file write / read processing for information on the storage area of the media, and file management. Say.

In the present embodiment, an example in which an HDD (hard disk) 14 is connected to the media controller 13 is shown. The HDD is a storage device that includes a magnetic disk as a storage medium as is well known, and is currently one of the storage media with the lowest bit unit price and good recording density. Large capacity is obtained. As is well known, physical data is read / written from / to a magnetic disk as a storage medium by applying a magnetic field and detecting a magnetic field while tracing a track formed on the magnetic disk by a magnetic head. Realized.
In this case, the HDD 14 is fixedly incorporated in the digital video camera 1, for example. However, the digital video camera 1 (host) may be removable and may be removable according to a predetermined standard.

  As described above, the media controller 13 selects the recording data from the media (HDD 14) connected to the media controller 13 as the recording data is transferred. Transfer further to the media being used. In the medium to which the data has been transferred, the data is written and stored in the storage area in accordance with an instruction from the media controller 13 side. In this way, data stored in the medium is stored and managed as a file. Note that management of files stored on the media is performed by a predetermined file system.

For example, when playing back an AV file among files stored in a medium, the CPU 10 and the media controller 13 access and read the designated AV file. The AV file read in this way is separated into compressed video data and compressed audio data by processing of the CPU 10, for example, and the compressed video data is transferred to the video signal processing unit 4, and the compressed audio signal is processed by the audio processing unit. 8 is handed over.
In this case, the video signal processing unit 4 and the audio processing unit 8 respectively perform necessary reproduction signal processing including demodulation processing on the compressed video data and the compressed audio data transferred as described above. As a result, an image obtained by reproducing the compressed video data is displayed on the display unit 7, and the audio input / output unit 9 has an audio signal obtained by reproducing the compressed audio data in synchronization with the reproduction time of the image. Then, it can be output as audio by the speaker, or can be output from the headphone terminal.

  Also, for example, an audio data file reproduced from a medium is output as a predetermined format audio signal and audio data to the outside via the audio input / output unit 9 after being subjected to the audio signal processing of the audio processing unit 8 It is also possible. In this case, the audio input / output unit 9 includes an audio output terminal corresponding to a format of a predetermined audio signal and audio data output from the audio processing unit 8.

A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10 executes various control processes for the digital video camera 1 by executing a program. The ROM 11 stores various setting information used for the CPU 10 to execute processing in addition to various programs executed by the CPU 10. The RAM 12 is used as a work area when the CPU 10 executes processing according to a program, and holds data such as various arithmetic processing results.
The non-volatile memory 12a is formed of a memory element such as a flash memory that does not erase the stored contents even when the power supply is stopped, and data writing / reading is executed under the control of the CPU 10. The The data (information) to be stored in the nonvolatile memory 12a is generally setting information whose contents are appropriately changed, but is not particularly limited, and the actual specifications of the digital video camera 1 are not limited. It is sufficient to store various necessary information according to the above.

  In this case, the operation input unit 15 collectively indicates various operators provided in the digital video camera 1. For example, the operators in the operation input unit 15 include a shutter button operated at the time of taking a picture, an operator for selecting a shooting mode, an operator for increasing / decreasing parameters, and the like.

The communication unit 16 is a part configured by mounting hardware and software for communicating with an external device by a predetermined data communication method according to the control of the CPU 10. In practice, the communication unit 16 employs USB (Universal Serial Bus). In addition, the digital video camera 1 according to the present embodiment is assumed to be equipped with a USB mass storage class.
By supporting the USB mass storage class in this way, for example, when the digital video camera 1 of the present embodiment and an external information processing device such as a personal computer are connected by USB, the external information processing device side The HDD 14, which is the medium on the digital video camera 1, can be accessed as an external removable medium.
For example, a content file stored in a storage medium of a digital imaging device such as a digital video camera or a digital still camera is copied to an HDD of a personal computer, and the content file is managed and edited by application software of the personal computer. However, as with the digital video camera 1 of the present embodiment, when the digital imaging device implements the USB mass storage class, the connection for storing the content file of the digital imaging device in the personal computer is performed. The driver does not require driver installation, and is very simple and highly versatile.

  Note that, under the present invention, the data communication method supported by the communication unit 16 is not particularly limited regardless of whether it is wired or wireless, and the number of corresponding data communication methods should also be limited. Not. As data communication methods that can be adopted at present, other than USB, if it is wired, it can be a network such as Ethernet (trademark), a data bus standard such as IEEE (the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 1394, etc. . In the case of wireless, short-range wireless communication between devices such as Bluetooth (trademark) and wireless LAN (Local Area Network) standards such as IEEE802.11a / b / g can be cited.

  The power supply unit 17 supplies operating power to various hardware devices in the digital video camera 1 and includes, for example, a power supply circuit that operates by receiving power supply from a battery or a power adapter.

  As described above, in the digital video camera 1 according to the present embodiment, AV files as moving images / sounds obtained by imaging / sound collection and still image files as photographs are stored in the medium (HDD 14). Be able to.

  A file stored in a medium is normally managed by a file system having a predetermined format. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the file is managed by a FAT (File Allocation Table) file system. As is well known, the FAT file system manages files by a tree-type directory structure, and data writing / reading is performed by a logical minimum data management unit called a cluster. It is said that. A cluster is a unit obtained by collecting a predetermined number of sectors, which are the minimum units of physical data writing / reading on a medium.

  In this embodiment, among the files managed by the file system (FAT) and stored in the medium as described above, AV files (moving image files) and still image files such as photographs are played back. Differentiating from system-related types of files, for example, as being included in file types (types) called content files because the output information content (content) is meaningful to the user To do.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, as a file stored in the HDD 14, a content-specific management file (hereinafter simply referred to as a management file) having management information contents for specially managing the content file is included. It is said.
Further, in this embodiment, a backup file of the management file is also generated and stored in the HDD 14.

FIG. 2 shows a directory structure of the HDD 14 constructed by the FAT file system in the digital video camera 1 of the present embodiment.
As a directory structure in the HDD 14, for example, as shown in the figure, a management file directory, a still image directory, and a moving image directory are arranged immediately below the root directory.
Among these directories, the still image directory and the moving image directory are directories for storing content files. That is, one or more still image files such as photographs are stored in the still image directory. The moving image directory stores the moving image file as the AV file described above.
The management file directory stores a management file and a backup file of the management file. As will be described later, the management file according to the present embodiment is actually composed of a set of property files, thumbnail files, and metadata files, for example. The management file backup file includes backup files for property files and metadata files.

  The thumbnail file has a correspondingly large file size because it includes image data. For this reason, if the thumbnail file is not backed up, the storage capacity can be saved accordingly. In addition, if the management file and the file system are consistent, reconstruction (recovery) is possible at any time. For these reasons, the thumbnail file is not included in the backup file.

Of course, it is important to back up thumbnail files, for example, because the storage medium has a very large capacity, so there is no particular need to consider the saving of storage capacity, or because of system specifications. In such a case, there is no particular problem with including a thumbnail file in the backup file.
Further, as a practical example of the present embodiment, the management file directory is set as an invisible directory in normal use. Therefore, the management file and backup file stored in this management file directory are also invisible files. Since these management files and backup files are files used by the system for content management, it is preferable to prevent the user from inadvertently deleting or rewriting the files, for example. Therefore, in the present embodiment, these files are managed as invisible files as described above.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the structure of the management file of this embodiment.
As described above, the management file is further divided into a property file, a thumbnail file, and a metadata file. In this embodiment, a set of the property file, thumbnail file, and metadata file is handled as a management file. Of these property files, thumbnail files, and metadata files, essential files are property files, and thumbnail files and metadata files are optional.

  As shown in the figure, the property file is formed as a set of a file header and one or more file entries (1 to n). Each file entry corresponds to the content file on a one-to-one basis, and stores basic information related to the corresponding content file. The structure of the entry file will be described later.

  A thumbnail file is formed with one or more thumbnail slots. In principle, one thumbnail slot stores thumbnail image data, which is a representative image indicating the corresponding content file, corresponding to one content file.

  The metadata file is composed of one or more metadata slots. One metadata slot should also correspond to one content file. In the title slot, for example, arbitrary information items such as data in text format (which can be used for comments) and information indicating grouping of content files can be stored.

The internal structure of the file header in the property file is not shown here, but for example, information indicating the creation date / time and update date / time of the current property file, information indicating the size of the file entry, and the file entry to be stored Information indicating the number, a thumbnail file list, a metadata file list, and the like are included.
The thumbnail file list stores information indicating the creation date and update date of the thumbnail file, information indicating the size of the thumbnail slot, information indicating the number of thumbnail slots stored, and the like.
The metadata file list stores information indicating the creation date / time and modification date / time of the metadata file, information indicating the size of the metadata slot, information indicating the storage number of the metadata slot, and the like.

The structure of the file entry in the property file includes information such as a file pointer, a metadata pointer, a thumbnail pointer, a file name, a file size, a creation date / time, and an update date / time, as shown in the figure.
The file pointer is information on a pointer that points to the corresponding content file. For example, the location of the corresponding content is specified and indicated by a path managed on the file system side.
The thumbnail pointer indicates a thumbnail slot associated with the current file entry in the thumbnail file (that is, a thumbnail slot corresponding to the content file indicated by the file pointer of the current file entry). The thumbnail file is formed, for example, by logically connecting fixed-length thumbnail slots. Therefore, as the thumbnail pointer, for example, one thumbnail slot can be specified by specifying the arrangement order of the thumbnail slots in the thumbnail file.
The thumbnail image data stored in the thumbnail slot in the thumbnail file can be used so as to be displayed as an icon (thumbnail image) indicating the file when displaying the file list image to be displayed on the display unit 7. it can.

  The metadata pointer indicates a metadata slot (that is, a metadata slot corresponding to the content file indicated by the file pointer of the current file entry) associated with the current file entry in the metadata file. Since the metadata file is also formed by logically connecting fixed-length metadata slots, for example, by specifying the arrangement order of the metadata slots in the metadata file, for example, as a metadata pointer, One metadata slot can be specified.

  The file name, file size, creation date / time, and update date / time in the file entry store information on the file name, size, creation date / time, and update date / time of the content file indicated by the file pointer of the current file entry.

  Although not shown here, the file entry can store information other than the file pointer, metadata pointer, thumbnail pointer, file name, file size, creation date / time, and update date / time described above. As an example, when the system using the management file according to the present embodiment is equipped with a positioning system such as GPS (Global Positioning System), the position information measured by this positioning system is also a file. It is stored in the information element of the entry.

As can be understood from the above description, each content file stored in the medium (HDD 14) of the digital video camera 1 is associated with the file entry by the file pointer in the file entry. Then, one thumbnail slot is specified by referring to the thumbnail pointer of this file entry, and this thumbnail slot corresponds to the content file associated with the file pointer. One metadata slot designated by the metadata pointer of this file entry also corresponds to the content file associated by the file pointer.
That is, depending on the management file, one content file stored in the medium, thumbnail image data (thumbnail slot) associated with the content file, and information (metadata) of arbitrary content related to the content file Slot) is managed in such a manner that the property file pointer is associated with the axis.

  By using such file management information by an application that processes a content file, the management of the content file becomes more efficient than when relying only on the file system, for example. For example, when searching for a file, by adding information stored in a file entry or information stored in a metadata slot as a search condition, the search can be performed by inputting more search conditions than based on the file system. Is possible. That is, a higher search function is provided. Further, it is advantageous in the case where the content file stored in the HDD 14 is displayed on the display unit 7. For example, when displaying a thumbnail image, the thumbnail image can be read out from the thumbnail file and reproduced and output. Therefore, it is not necessary to access the content file data of the HDD 14 and generate a thumbnail image each time, and the list is displayed accordingly. The screen display becomes faster. In addition, by using information stored in the file entry, information stored in the metadata slot, and the like, various attached information can be presented as a list display.

FIG. 4 shows a system configuration in a hierarchical model when file management by the FAT file system and content file management by the management file are performed as described above.
First, this hierarchical model is roughly divided into a software layer and a hardware layer as a lower layer.
In this case, the software layer corresponds to a program executed by the CPU and software processing realized by various firmware, middleware, and the like in a device that is a host (in the embodiment, the digital video camera 1) for the medium. It is supposed to be. The software layer in this case is basically configured such that the management file control system is located after the application file system and the device driver are located from the upper layer to the lower layer as shown in the figure.
It can be considered that the physical storage area of the medium (HDD 14) itself is located in the hardware layer.

  The application in this case has various processing functions (recording, reproduction, update, etc.) for the file, and makes an access request at the file level to the management file control system.

The file system corresponds to software that realizes the function as the file system. In this embodiment, since the FAT file system is adopted, the software that provides the file system function is also configured corresponding to the FAT file system.
As is well known, the FAT file system manages storage files by a tree-type directory structure, and manages files as a cluster unit set. Such file management and data management are realized by management information (file system management information) including directory entries and table information called FAT (File Allocation Table). The directory entry is information indicating the location of a file or directory (subdirectory) on the medium at the cluster level, and the FAT is information indicating a chain (link or link) at the cluster level that forms the directory or file. File system such as access to the file system management information (directory entry, FAT), and update of the file system management information in accordance with the file operation result such as reading (playing) or writing (adding or updating) of the file Operations on the management information itself are performed according to the hierarchy of the file system.
In the file system, an access request at a file level from an application (and a management file control system to be described later) is converted into a cluster level that is a data management unit in the FAT file system format, and is sent to the device driver. Make an access request.

  The device driver corresponds to software for controlling the media as a device to be controlled, and an access request from the file system in accordance with the FAT file system format according to the FAT file system format in units of data writing / reading on the media. Convert to a certain sector level and make a request to access the media.

The media in this case is logically formatted (initialized) according to the FAT file system. In FIG. 1, the HDD corresponds to the medium here. In response to the sector level access request from the device driver, the medium reads data from the designated sector address and returns it to the device driver. That is, an access response at the sector level is executed.
The device driver receives an access response from the medium at the sector level, that is, receives data in units of sectors, and treats the received data as data in units of clusters and passes it to the file system (access response at the cluster level). ).
In the file system, data received from the device driver is transferred to the application as file level data. The application executes a required process at the application level according to, for example, an operation input by the user on the data received as a file.

The management file control system is compatible with software that realizes a file operation function such as generation of a management file, reading to a medium, and writing shown in FIG. For example, when an application searches for a content file using a management file, the management file control system refers to the management file that is read from the medium and imported.
Further, when recording, deleting, updating, etc., of content files as file operations of applications, access requests and read data are received via the management file control system. In this case, the application and the management file control system may perform communication at the file level using, for example, a file name or a file ID determined mutually.
In addition, the management file control system updates (rewrites) the management file so that the operation result is reflected in accordance with the file operation result by the application as described above. In this way, the management file control system operates the management file. In the present embodiment, as described with reference to FIG. 2, there is also a backup file of the management file, and this backup file also needs to be updated according to the operation result of the content file by the application. Such a file operation of the backup file is also executed by the management file control system.
For example, when the management file control system makes a management file access request, it makes a request to the file system at the file level in the same manner as the application. In the lower layer than the file system, an access request and data are exchanged in the same manner as described above, and the data of the management file is returned to the management file control system.

As can be understood from the above description, the digital video camera 1 according to the present embodiment manages all files stored in a storage medium by a file system (FAT: basic file management means). Of these files, content files (specific types of files) are also managed by a management file. In such a file management configuration, it is necessary for normal file management that the file management contents on the file system side and the file management contents by the management file are mutually consistent. .
However, the digital video camera 1 according to the present embodiment corresponds to the USB mass storage class as described above with reference to FIG. The fact that the USB mass storage class is supported means that a personal computer connected to the digital video camera 1 via USB is handled as an external storage device (drive) mounted on the personal computer, and the HDD 14 of the digital video camera 1 is connected. This means that file operations can be executed. This may cause inconsistencies in the management contents of the file system and the management file. This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5A schematically shows a state in which two files, content files A and B, are managed by the file system, and these contents A and B are properly managed by the management file. Has been.
Here, it is assumed that the digital video camera 1 of the present embodiment and a personal computer are connected by USB under the state shown in FIG.
Then, since the digital video camera 1 of the present embodiment is compatible with the USB mass storage class, the HDD 14 of the digital video camera 1 can be seen as an external storage device on the personal computer side as described above. Then, the file operation (new file recording, deletion, change, etc.) stored in the HDD 14 from the personal computer side can be performed. In other words, for example, when the user performs an operation on the personal computer, a file is newly recorded on the HDD 14 or deleted, and further, the file is read by the personal computer, changed, and rewritten (updated). )It can be performed. Therefore, in this case, it is assumed that the content file B is deleted by an operation from the personal computer side under the file management state shown in FIG.

Since the personal computer mounts the HDD 14 of the digital video camera 1 as an external storage device, deleting the content file B by the personal computer rewrites the file system management information (directory entry, FAT) of the HDD 14. The process is executed by a personal computer.
However, when connected by the USB mass storage class in this way, the digital video camera 1 on the storage device side is in a state to completely transfer the access control right to the HDD 14 to the personal computer side. In general, the digital video camera 1 side is prevented from accessing the HDD 14 to execute processing. Further, the management file stored as a file in the HDD 14 is merely one file as viewed from the file system, and it is not related to whether or not the content is managing the content file. The management file is basically used for complete file management in the digital video camera 1 alone, and corresponds to, for example, a file management program installed in the digital video camera 1.
Therefore, when the content file B is deleted by the operation from the personal computer side as described above, the content file B is deleted on the file system as shown in FIG. Although only the content file A is managed as being stored in the HDD 14, the management file manages the content file A as well as the content file B as being stored in the HDD 14. In other words, the file management content by the file system and the file management content by the management file become inconsistent.

As another example, assume that a file operation is performed on the personal computer side to change and rewrite the content file B in the state of FIG. Even in this case, the file management content of the file system is updated in response to the rewriting of the content file B, whereas the management file is updated according to this file operation. The content file B is managed without changing the content file B. Therefore, also in this case, inconsistency occurs between the file system and the file management by the management file.
As understood from these examples, a file operation on the HDD 14 may be performed from the external information processing apparatus in a state where the digital video camera 1 of the present embodiment is connected to a personal computer by the USB mass storage class. If so, an inconsistent state occurs in which the management content of the content file by the management file does not match the management content of the file system.

Then, in a state where inconsistency has occurred, for example, as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, the USB connection between the digital video camera 1 and the personal computer is disconnected, and the digital video camera 1 is used alone. Suppose that For confirmation, at this time, the digital video camera 1 cannot recognize that a mismatch has occurred. This is because, as described above, when the HDD 14 is controlled from the outside by the USB mass storage class, the application on the digital video camera 1 side does not execute management control on the HDD 14.
Then, if the digital video camera 1 does not recognize the inconsistency in this way, for example, if a normal operation is executed, a malfunction occurs or an inappropriate file management situation is presented. This may cause inconvenience such as confusion for the user.
For example, assume that the index display of the content file is performed under the management state shown in FIG.
In this case, the management file side manages the content file B as being stored in the HDD 14. For this reason, in the index display, it is indicated that the content file B is stored in the HDD 14 and can be normally reproduced. However, even if the content file C is designated from the index display and playback is instructed, the content file B in the HDD 14 cannot be accessed because the content file B has already been deleted on the file system. A playback error occurs. Such a reproduction error is confusing to the user, and in some cases, an error in device operation such as a hang-up of the digital video camera 1 is likely to occur.

Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to avoid such inconvenience, a configuration as described below is adopted.
First, the flowchart of FIG. 6 shows a processing procedure related to a management file corresponding to a new recording of a content file obtained by imaging or the like when the digital video camera 1 is operating alone.
In the processing shown in this figure, a hardware device having a program execution function such as the CPU 10 executes a program as a software layer (application, management file control system, file system, and device driver) shown in FIG. This is realized. Such a program is stored in the ROM 11, the nonvolatile memory 12a, the HDD 14, or the like, for example. Alternatively, the program can be stored in, for example, a removable storage medium, and can be stored in the digital still camera 1 so as to be installed later using this storage medium. It is also conceivable that the data is stored in a storage device in a server on the network, acquired by downloading via the network, and installed in the digital still camera 1. This also applies to the flowcharts of FIGS. 7, 9, 10, and 12, which will be described later.

In FIG. 6, first, a new content file is recorded on the HDD 14 in step S101. The processing in step S101 includes control for transferring the actual data forming the content file to be newly recorded to the HDD 14 and writing the file system management information according to the result of writing the content file data to the HDD 14. (Directory entry, FAT) is rewritten.
If it is determined that the content file is managed as newly recorded on the file system in step S101, the newly recorded content file is managed as a management file in the next steps S102 and S103. To be registered. For this purpose, in step S102, the information of the content file newly recorded this time is registered in the management file. Specifically, various necessary information about the newly recorded content file is collected to create a file entry, which is added to the property file structure shown in FIG. Also, if the optional metadata is set as valid, in step S102, information as metadata about the newly recorded content file is collected to create a metadata slot, and the metadata is created. Add to the structure of the data file.
In the present embodiment, an optional thumbnail file is set to be valid. In the case of the present embodiment, the thumbnail image data stored in the thumbnail file is used for index display (table of contents display) on the display unit 7. That is, in the index display of the present embodiment, each content file is indicated by a thumbnail image, and the thumbnail image data of the thumbnail file is used for displaying the thumbnail image.
Therefore, in step S103, thumbnail image data is created using the newly recorded content file data for the thumbnail file in the management file, and this thumbnail image data corresponds to the newly recorded content file. After being converted to the thumbnail slot format, it is added to the thumbnail file.

Here, in the present embodiment, as the structure of the management file, predetermined information items included in the file system management information are commonly used.
Specifically, in the FAT which is a file system to which the present embodiment is compatible, as is well known in the structure of directory entries defined as entry information for each directory (file), a file name, a file It has information items of size, creation date, and update date. The management file according to the present embodiment also has information items such as a file name, a file size, a creation date / time, and an update date / time, as shown in the file entry structure in the property file. As described above, in the present embodiment, the information items forming the management file have the same information items as the file system for the four information items of file name, file size, creation date and time, and update date and time. ing. In the following description, the four information items that are common to the management file and the file system management information are referred to as “common information items”.

Next, a configuration for causing the digital video camera 1 to display an index for content files on the display unit 7 will be described.
As described above, the index display of the content file is a display for showing the information regarding the content file stored in the HDD 14 in a table of contents. An example of the display mode is as shown in FIG. Thus, at least thumbnail images (TN1 to TN4) can be displayed as index contents for individual content files.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a processing procedure for displaying an index as the present embodiment.
In this case, first, as shown in step S201, the variable n is initialized with n = 1. This variable n indicates the display order of content files to be displayed as thumbnail images on the screen in the index display. This display order is determined based on predetermined management information items in the management file. As an example, if an ID or the like is assigned to each file entry, the display order can be determined based on this ID.

  In step S202, a display command for the index image of the nth content file is issued. The index image here refers to an image portion where the content corresponding to each content file in the index display is displayed. FIG. 8 shows an index image display example in which thumbnail images corresponding to content files are displayed.

In step S203, common item information (file name, file size, creation date / time, and update date / time) is read from the file entry corresponding to the nth content file in the property file of the management file. In the next step S204, the directory entry corresponding to the nth content file in the file system management information is accessed, and the common item information is similarly read out.
In the next step S205, the contents of the common item information in the management file read out in step S203 are compared with the contents of the common item information in the file system read out in step S204.

In step S206, as a result of the comparison processing in step S205, it is determined whether or not the contents of the common item information are the same.
Here, the case where the contents of the common item information do not match specifically refers to a case where at least one of the file name, file size, creation date / time, and update date / time that is the common item information does not match. .

  First, the reason why the file names do not match is that, for example, the external information processing apparatus changes the file name when the digital video camera 1 and an external information processing apparatus such as a personal computer are connected by the USB mass storage class. The case where it was done can be mentioned. In this case, as an aspect of the inconsistency state shown in FIG. 5C, the file system management information is updated according to the change of the file name. On the management file side, the file name is changed. Will not be reflected and will be managed with the file name before the change.

A typical cause of the file size mismatch is a case where an external information processing apparatus performs an editing operation for changing the content of the content file and then re-saves the content file. In this case, as an aspect of the inconsistency state shown in FIG. 5C, the file size changed according to the editing is reflected on the file system, but the file before change is reflected on the management file side. It will be in the state of managing with showing the size.
In addition, the reason why the creation date and time does not match is that, for example, the external information processing apparatus has performed a copy operation of the content file that should not be performed originally, and the creation date and time is not displayed on the file system. Although it has been updated, on the management file side, it can be considered that the management file has fallen into a state of management while showing the creation date and time before copying.
In addition, as a typical cause of the inconsistency of the update date and time, the update date and time was updated on the file system by making some changes to the contents of the content file by the external information processing device and re-saving, but on the management file side It is possible to consider a case where management is performed with the update date and time before the change being shown.
As shown in FIG. 5B, when a content file is deleted by an external information processing apparatus, the result of the deletion is reflected on the file system. If it is determined that the file is managed without being deleted, the common item information on the file system side for this content file does not exist. Accordingly, even in this case, the relationship between the common information items on the file system management information side and the management file side does not match.
Thus, the fact that the common information items in the file system management information and the management file are inconsistent indicates that there is some inconsistency between the management contents of both. From this, it is said that the process of comparing the contents of the common information items in steps S205 and S206 and determining the coincidence is a process of determining the consistency between the file system management information and the management file. I can say that.

If a positive determination result is obtained in step S206 that the two common information items match, the processes in steps S207 to S209 are executed.
First, in step S207, the thumbnail image data corresponding to the nth content file is read. That is, the thumbnail slot corresponding to the nth content file is searched from the thumbnail file in the management file, and the thumbnail image data stored in the searched thumbnail slot is read out. The thumbnail image data read out in this way is thumbnail image data indicating the nth content file. Therefore, in the next step S208, a decoding process for displaying and outputting the thumbnail image data read out and acquired in step S207 is executed. Further, in the next step S209, by using the thumbnail image data decoding result (thumbnail image display image data) in step S208, an index image for the nth content file is stored in the screen as an index display. Display it so that it is placed at the right position.

  The index display displayed by the procedure of steps S207 to S209 is a normal state in which the representative image of the corresponding content file is reduced as shown by thumbnail images TN1, TN3, TN4, etc. of FIG. Will be displayed including the thumbnail images.

On the other hand, if a negative determination result is obtained in step S206 that the contents of the common information items do not match, the process of step S210 is executed.
In step S210, the index image of the n-th content file is displayed with a picture and design indicating a state where the image is broken, for example, as shown as thumbnail image TN2 in FIG. This design of the index image indicates that the corresponding content file is treated as being incapable of normal reproduction due to data status or file management being invalid. That is, in step S210, the index image is displayed in such a manner that the n-th content file is indicated by a predetermined display mode to be normal.

After the process of step S209 or step S210 is executed, it is determined in step S211 whether or not the variable n has reached a predetermined maximum value full. The fact that the variable n has reached the maximum value full means that the display of all index images to be arranged in the index display for one screen displayed on the display unit 7 has been completed.
Accordingly, assuming that there are still index images to be arranged in the index display, and if a negative determination result is obtained in step S211, after incrementing the variable n by 1 in step S212, step S202 is performed. It returns to the process of. Thereby, the procedure for displaying the index image of the next content file is started. In contrast, if a positive determination result is obtained in step S2 11, it means that the index display for one screen is completed, so that the exit of the processing shown in FIG.

Next, an example of a processing procedure for reproducing and outputting a content file by the digital video camera 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Further, the processing shown in this figure shows a procedure when the content files stored in the HDD 14 are sequentially reproduced according to the reproduction order set according to a predetermined rule.
First, in this case, the variable m is initialized with m = 1 in step S301. The variable m indicates the playback order of the content file. As described above, the playback order of the content files is set in advance according to a predetermined rule. This playback order setting can be determined based on file system management information or predetermined management information items in the management file. Good. For example, it is conceivable to set the playback order based on the file name on the assumption that the file name is given so as to include the contents of serial numbers according to the recording order in the HDD 14. Further, as in the case of the previous index display, it may be set based on other management information items such as an ID attached to the file entry.

In step S302, a command for reproducing and outputting the mth content file is issued.
Since the processing from step S303 to S306, which is executed in response to the above-described command issuance, is the same as step S203 to S206 described with reference to FIG. 7, the description thereof is omitted here.

If an affirmative determination result is obtained in step S306 that the two common information items match, control for reading out the actual data of the mth content file from the HDD 14 and reproducing and outputting in step S307. Execute the process. As a result, the content file is normally reproduced and output.
On the other hand, if a negative determination result is obtained in step S306 that the two common information items do not match, the process related to the reproduction output of the m-th content file is stopped in step S308. To be. In other words, the content file managed in an inconsistent state is not reproduced.

  Here, according to the description with reference to FIG. 7, for the content file determined in step S206 that the common information items do not match, it indicates that the content file is not normal (invalid) in step S210. An index image (see FIG. 8) is displayed. In other words, depending on the procedure of FIG. 10, reproduction is not performed for a content file on which an index image indicating that the content file is not normal in the index display is displayed. That is, in this embodiment, the index image indicating that the content file is not normal (invalid) also means that it cannot be reproduced.

After executing the processing of step S307 or step S308, in the same manner as steps S211 and S212 of FIG. 7, it is determined whether or not the variable m has reached the predetermined maximum value full in step S309, and negative If the determination result is obtained, the variable m is incremented by 1 in step S310, and the process returns to step S302.
As a result, an operation of sequentially reproducing the content file according to the reproduction order is obtained. After that, when step S308 is executed, and after returning to step S302 through steps S309 and S310, the flow of processing of skipping the reproduction of the non-reproducible content file and proceeding to the next content file reproduction procedure is performed. Will be obtained.
If a positive determination result is obtained in step S309, the process shown in this figure is skipped.

Here, according to the description so far, in the digital video camera 1 of the present embodiment, the consistency check related to the content file management is executed on the occasion of the index display or the opportunity to reproduce the content file. Has been. This is due to the following reason.
For example, even when a file operation is performed on the HDD 14 by this external information processing apparatus when it is connected to an external information processing apparatus by the USB mass storage class, even if a result of inconsistency occurs, a problem caused by the inconsistency Does not necessarily manifest immediately after disconnecting the USB connection. It can be said that any event as a defect becomes apparent only when an operation involving the use of management information of a file system or a management file is executed. The index display and the reproduction output of the content file according to the present embodiment are nothing but the processing using the management file and the file system management information. In this embodiment, paying attention to this, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the consistency check is executed as a process at the time of index image display in index display or a process at the time of content file reproduction output. I am doing so.
For example, when the connection by the USB mass storage class is disconnected, it is necessary to check whether an inconsistency has occurred due to the content file operation of the external information processing apparatus. This is because in order to stabilize the system operation, the system operation after disconnecting the USB connection should be started after the completion of the consistency check.
However, if the configuration of the present embodiment is adopted, first, there is no need to always perform a consistency check at the timing after the USB connection is disconnected. Furthermore, it is not necessary to access all the content files at once for the consistency check. As a result, according to the present embodiment, the time required for the consistency check is greatly reduced, and in particular, the rise time after the USB connection is disconnected is shortened.

Further, in the present embodiment, at the time of index display, common information items as a consistency check are compared for each index image process corresponding to a content file to be displayed on one screen as the display unit 7. I am doing so. In other words, for example, the consistency check for displaying an index for one screen only needs to execute comparison processing of common information items a number of times corresponding to the number of index images (content files) to be arranged in the index display. Well, it is not always necessary to execute the comparison processing of the common information items for all the content files that are stored and managed at once. As a result, the processing load at the time of index display does not increase more than necessary, and the total time required for the display can be suppressed to a certain level or less.
Even in the case of playback output of a content file, each time a content file is started to be played, the comparison of common information items is performed only for the content file to be played back. The common information item comparison process for all content files is not executed at the same time. Further, since the time required for the comparison process of the common information items executed each time the content file is reproduced can be very short, the waiting time until the content file reproduction is started is not particularly long.

  Further, as a method for checking consistency according to the present embodiment, instead of accessing a content file stored in the HDD 14, file system management information (directory entry) and a required number of information items in the management file are used. It has become a thing. For this reason, the access time to the HDD 14 during the consistency check process is also shortened. This also greatly contributes to shortening the processing time required for the consistency check.

  By the way, in a personal computer in which Windows XP (registered trademark) is installed as the OS, for example, when calling the property screen for still image files including JPEG format, in addition to the “General” tab, “Summary” The tab is also displayed. The “Summary” tab was newly established after the Windows OS became Windows XP. For example, the user can input and register additional information such as title, title, creator, category, keyword, and comment. It has become.

However, although it depends on the version of Windows XP, the following cases have been confirmed for the "Summary" tab.
Here, the property window for one still image file is called, and the "Summary" tab in this property window is clicked to bring the "Summary" window screen displaying various input boxes to the front. Is displayed. Then, as a subsequent operation, it is assumed that the OK button is clicked to close the “Summary” window screen without inputting anything in the input box. Then, the operation of this OK button is treated as something that has been updated about "Summary", and the file system management information update date and file size are changed by the file system processing implemented in Windows XP. Result.
In the following, the operation on the above-described “outline” window screen will be referred to as “example operation”.

As a general rule, when operating a personal computer, if there are no particular changes to the settings in a window, as in the case example above, it is not a cancel button to close that window. , Operating the OK button is often done. In such a case, as long as the setting contents in the window are not changed, the contents that are re-registered by operating the OK button are the same as before, and this is the same as the user. Because I understand.
From this, in the case of the above example operation, the user operates the OK button as usual when closing the window screen, even though the user has not made any changes to the contents in the window screen. If this happens, there will be a slightly special result that the update date and time and the file size of the file system management information have been changed (updated) without knowing it.

  However, for example, for a still image file stored in the HDD of a personal computer, even if the update date and time and the file size are updated as described above, the update is performed by the file system itself implemented by the personal computer. And the subsequent file management will also execute the same file system (that is, the file management is completed in the personal computer), so the file management content is consistent. .

However, for example, when the above case operation is performed in an environment in which a personal computer and the digital video camera 1 of the present embodiment are connected via USB according to the USB mass storage class, that is, on the personal computer side via USB. When the property screen of a certain still image file stored in the HDD 14 of the digital video camera 1 connected in the above is called and closed by clicking the OK button, the update date and file size are updated as follows. Such inconvenience occurs.
That is, in the configuration according to the present embodiment described above, the management file and the file system management information are compared with respect to four information items that are common item information, ie, file name, file size, creation date and time, and update date and time. If at least one of the files does not match, the management contents of the file are treated as inconsistent in the management contents between the file system and, for example, set as unplayable. Accordingly, among the still image files stored in the HDD 14, it is determined that inconsistency has occurred in the file whose file system management information update date and file size has been changed due to the above-described case, and reproduction disabled is set. It will be. The reason why the still image file is inconsistent is that the corresponding property screen is simply called and closed, and the actual inconsistent state that causes an error in the operation of the digital video camera 1 is It has not occurred. As described above, when the user closes the “Summary” window screen by operating the OK button without performing any change setting, the user makes some changes to the still image file. I have no awareness of this. Nevertheless, if it is determined that playback is not possible due to inconsistency, the user may not be able to specify the cause of playback failure, for example, misunderstanding that it is a malfunction, for example. It can be confusing.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the configuration described below is adopted for the purpose of taking measures against the above case. In addition, about the structure demonstrated hereafter, on the basis of previous embodiment, it shall treat as other embodiment. In other embodiments, the contents described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 are the same as those in the previous embodiments.

First, an example of a processing procedure for displaying an index as another embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
In FIG. 10, the procedure from the first step S401 to S406 is the same as the step S201 to S206 in FIG. Further, the procedures of steps S407 and S408, which are executed when a positive determination result is obtained in step S406, are the same as steps S207 and S208 of FIG.

  In this case, in step S409 following step S408, it is determined whether the thumbnail image data decoding process in step S408 has been successful. If a positive determination result is obtained because the decoding process is successful, the process proceeds to step S410. In step S410, as in step 209 of FIG. 7, the index image for the nth content file is arranged at a required position in the index display screen using the display image data of the thumbnail image as the decoding result. Display.

On the other hand, in step S409, a negative determination result is obtained because the decoding process has not been successful. This is because, for example, only the thumbnail image data is destroyed. Although the decoding could not be performed, the consistency of the nth file is obtained. Therefore, in this case, the process proceeds to step S415, and an index image indicating that “thumbnail image data” is not normal is displayed as an index image for the n-th file instead of “content file”. More specifically, the “thumbnail image data” is not normal, for example, in a state where the decoding process for reproduction output results in an error because the actual data of the thumbnail image data is destroyed. It refers to something.
As an index image indicating that the “thumbnail image data” is not normal, for example, a mode in which a question mark is displayed as shown as a thumbnail image TN4 in FIG. 11 can be considered. By viewing this index image, the user can recognize that the file corresponding to the thumbnail image TN4 cannot be displayed due to some trouble, but the file itself can be reproduced.

If a negative determination result is obtained in step S406 that the contents of the common item information do not match, the determination process in step S411 is executed.
The case where a negative determination result is obtained in step S406 is a case where at least one of the four common item information, ie, the file name, file size, creation date / time, and update date / time, does not match. Here, the update date / time and the file size are updated and rewritten by the case operation on the “summary” window screen in the previous property screen. Therefore, if the update date and time and the file size are only inconsistent and the remaining file name and creation date and time are both inconsistent in the above-mentioned four common item information, this state is the same as that in the “Summary” window screen. It can be estimated that the content of the common item information as a result of the case operation is inconsistent.

  Therefore, in step S411, in order to determine whether or not the mismatch of the common item information content determined in this step S406 is due to the result of the case operation on the “overview” window screen. Whether or not the file name and the creation date and time are in the same state is determined. In other words, in this determination process, it is determined whether or not “one of the update date / time and the file size is inconsistent and the remaining common item information is all in agreement”. Since the update date / time and file size are rewritten depending on the case operation as described above, the content status of the common item information is “the update date / time and the file size are both inconsistent, and the remaining common item information is all the same”. That is, it does not correspond to the above determination processing. However, the present embodiment is based on the idea that there is a possibility that only one of the update date and time and the file size may be rewritten by the case operation for some reason. , Following this idea.

If a positive determination result is obtained in step S411, the process proceeds to step S412.
In step S412, thumbnail image data for display is generated not using thumbnail image data but using main body data (actual data) of the n-th file that is the current processing target. The format of the display thumbnail image data is the same as the thumbnail image display data obtained by decoding the thumbnail image data in step S408, for example.
When step S412 is reached, there is a high possibility that inconsistency has occurred due to the case operation, but the possibility that inconsistency has occurred due to other reasons cannot be denied. In the case where inconsistency has occurred other than the case operation, if the thumbnail image data is decoded and the display thumbnail image data is displayed as an index image as in step S408, for example, the main data of the file is rewritten for some reason. Therefore, there is a possibility that the image content indicated by the index image is different from the image content obtained by reproducing the file body data (inconsistency occurs). Since such a possibility is conceivable, it is considered that it is preferable not to display the display thumbnail image data as an index image when it is assumed that the processing has reached step S412. Therefore, in step S412, the correct thumbnail image data corresponding to the current n-th file is obtained by using the data of the file body to generate the display thumbnail image data.

In step S413, it is determined whether or not the generation of display thumbnail image data in step S412 is successful. If a positive determination result is obtained, the process proceeds to step S414.
In step S414, the index image for the n-th content file is arranged and displayed at a required position in the index display screen using the display thumbnail image data generated in step S412.
If a negative determination result is obtained in step S413, the process proceeds to step S415 as in the case where a negative determination result is obtained in step S409, and the index image indicating that the thumbnail image data is not normal. Is displayed.

  If a negative determination result is obtained in step S411, it is estimated that the state is inconsistent due to factors other than the case operation. Therefore, in this case, in the same way as executing step S210 when a negative determination result is obtained in step S206 in FIG. 7, it is determined in step S416 that the nth content file is not normal. The index image shown (thumbnail image TN2 in FIG. 8) is displayed.

  Further, step S417 after the procedure of steps S410, S414, S415, and S416 is completed, and step S418 when a negative determination result is obtained in step S417, are the same as steps S211 and S212 of FIG. Become.

  By executing the processing shown in FIG. 10 as described above, at least one of the file size and the update date / time among the four common item information (file name, file size, creation date / time, and update date / time). For a content file that only has a mismatch, that is, a content file that is presumed to have a mismatch of common item information due to the previous case operation, thumbnail image data is generated in step S412 and unless this fails, Is displayed as an index image in step S414. This means that a policy has been established so that files that are presumed to have inconsistent common item information as a result of case manipulations are treated as reproducible rather than not reproducible. . As a result, the inconvenience caused by setting the non-reproducible setting for the file whose file system management information has been rewritten by the case operation as described above is avoided.

  Next, an example of a processing procedure for reproducing and outputting a content file according to another embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that, also in the process shown in this figure, the content files stored in the HDD 14 are sequentially reproduced according to the reproduction order set according to a predetermined rule, as in the case of the process procedure of FIG. 9 in the previous embodiment. The procedure to go is shown.

In this figure, first, the procedure from step S501 to S506 is the same as the procedure from step S301 to S306 in FIG.
If it is determined in step S506 that the contents of the four pieces of common item information (file name, file size, creation date / time, and update date / time) match, the process proceeds to step S507. In the same manner as in step S307 in FIG. 9, a control process for reading out the actual data of the m-th content file from the HDD 14 and outputting it is executed. That is, normal playback for the content file is executed.
On the other hand, if a negative determination result is obtained in step S506 that there is at least one mismatch in the common item information, the process proceeds to step S508.

In step S508, similarly to step S411 in FIG. 10, it is determined whether or not the file name and the creation date / time are the same. That is, it is determined whether or not the mismatch of the common item information contents is due to the result of the case operation.
As described above, the other embodiment is based on the idea that the incompatibility between the management file and the file management information generated as a result of the case operation should not be set so as not to be reproducible. Therefore, when a positive determination result is obtained in step S508, that is, when it is estimated that the inconsistency of the mth file is caused by the case operation, the process proceeds to step S507. The reproduction of the mth file is executed.

On the other hand, if a negative determination result is obtained in step S508, that is, if it is determined that the inconsistency of the m-th file is caused by a cause other than the case operation, step S509 is executed. The processing relating to the reproduction output of the m-th content file is stopped.
Thus, in other embodiments, a content file whose management state has become inconsistent by the previous case operation is played back without being disabled. Is.

  Here, looking at the relationship between the setting of whether or not the content file can be reproduced by the processing of FIG. 12 and the index display by the processing of FIG. 10, the content file to be reproduced and output in step S507 of FIG. The index image is displayed based on the thumbnail image data read from the management file (thumbnail file) in step S410 in FIG. 10 or the thumbnail image data generated using the main data (actual data) of the content file in step S414. An image is displayed, or an index image indicating that the thumbnail image data is not normal is displayed in step S415. That is, as another embodiment, when a thumbnail image is displayed as an index image, the original thumbnail image data is read from the management file or generated from the actual data of the content file. Regardless of this, it indicates that the corresponding content file can be reproduced. In addition, even if an index image indicating that the thumbnail image data is not normal could not be displayed due to some trouble, it indicates that the content file can be reproduced as to whether it can be reproduced. . In addition, when a positive determination result is obtained in step S411, an index image based on the thumbnail image or an index image indicating that the thumbnail image data is not normal is displayed by the processing in either step S414 or S415. become. In other words, the content file whose content of the common item information is presumed to be inconsistent as a result of the previous case operation is set to be reproduced and output (reproducible) according to the policy described above. It is what has become.

  In the content file playback control procedure shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 9 above, the content files are automatically played back sequentially according to a predetermined order, but playback is started by selecting the content files to be played back one by one. Even in such a case, whether to reproduce the selected content file is set by executing the procedure from step S503 to S509 or the procedure from step S303 to S308 before the start of the reproduction process. It is possible.

  In the digital video camera 1 of the present embodiment, the consistency check at the time of index display as shown in FIG. 7 and the consistency check at the time of content file reproduction output are used together. Depending on the circumstances, such as the convenience of the specifications, it may be considered that only one of the consistency checks is adopted.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the configuration described as the embodiment so far.
For example, in the above embodiment, the common information item used for the consistency check is a combination of file name, file size, creation date / time, and update date / time. It's okay. In addition, regarding other embodiments, the configuration may correspond to other similar cases, and according to this, even if the common item information does not match, the common item information of the content file that should be handled reproducibly The condition setting for the contents state of matching / mismatching may be changed as appropriate.

  Further, the management mode by the file system for the management file (and backup file), and the format and specification of the management file may be considered other than those described with reference to FIGS. Further, in the above-described embodiment, a content file whose information content is an image, sound, or the like is managed depending on the management file, but the file type that is managed by the management file is not particularly limited. For example, it may be a document file. Further, depending on the actual use of the device, there is a possibility that a specific type of file to be managed by the management file matches all types of files managed by the file system (basic file management means). Accordingly, the device to which the present invention is applied is not limited to a digital video camera, and can be applied to other various devices.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the digital video camera which is an information processing apparatus as embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a management mode of the content file by the file system in this Embodiment, a management file, and a backup file by a directory structure. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a management file typically. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration related to media (HDD) access in a digital video camera according to an embodiment using a hierarchical model. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a state of inconsistency which arises when the file operation with respect to HDD of the digital video camera of this Embodiment is performed by the external information processing apparatus. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a management file processing operation when recording a content file in the digital video camera of the embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure for displaying an index in the digital video camera of the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of an aspect of an index display. It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation example for the content file reproduction | regeneration output as embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a process sequence for the index display as other embodiment. It is a figure which shows the other example of an aspect of an index display. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a processing operation for content file reproduction | regeneration output as other embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  1 digital video camera, 2 optical system unit, 3 photoelectric conversion unit, 4 video signal processing unit, 5 image input / output unit, 6 camera function unit, 7 display unit, 8 audio processing unit, 9 audio input / output unit, 10 CPU, 11 ROM, 12 RAM, 12a Non-volatile memory, 13 Media controller, 14 HDD, 15 Operation input part, 16 Communication part

Claims (4)

Basic file management means for managing files stored in the storage medium using basic file management information stored in the same storage medium;
The basic file management means has a predetermined management information item in the management information item set for each individual file, and uses the specific file management information stored in the storage medium to Specific file management means for managing a specific type of file in the file managed by the file management means;
The basic file management information and the specific file management information for the specific type of file to be displayed in the table of contents display when performing the table of contents display for displaying the specific type of file stored in the storage medium in a table of contents. A comparison means for comparing the contents of the management information items that and
As a comparison result by the comparison means , the contents of at least one of the predetermined management information items among the management information items to be compared do not match, and the management information other than the predetermined management information item As for a specific type of file having a predetermined match / non-match content whose items match each other, it is stored in a storage medium corresponding to the specific type of file so as to indicate that the file can be reproduced. Instead of the stored thumbnail image data, the generated thumbnail image data generated using the actual data of the specific type of file is displayed and output as an image, and management information items other than the predetermined management information item are displayed. For a specific type of file that is at least one of which does not match, the table of contents display indicates that the file cannot be played. And display control means for executing the contents displayed as being,
An information processing apparatus comprising: The display control means includes
The display according to claim 1, wherein when the generation of the generated thumbnail image data fails, the table of contents display displays that the specific type of file indicates that the thumbnail image cannot be displayed. The information processing apparatus described. A basic file management procedure for managing files stored in a storage medium using basic file management information stored in the same storage medium;
The basic file management procedure uses the specific file management information stored in the storage medium so as to have a predetermined management information item in the management information item set for each individual file included in the basic file management procedure. A specific file management procedure for managing a specific type of file in the file managed by the file management procedure;
The basic file management information and the specific file management information for the specific type of file to be displayed in the table of contents display when performing the table of contents display for displaying the specific type of file stored in the storage medium in a table of contents. A comparison procedure for comparing the contents of management information items shared by
As a comparison result by the comparison procedure , the contents of at least one of the predetermined management information items out of the management information items to be compared do not match, and the management information other than the predetermined management information item As for a specific type of file having a predetermined match / non-match content whose items match each other, it is stored in a storage medium corresponding to the specific type of file so as to indicate that the file can be reproduced. Instead of the stored thumbnail image data, the generated thumbnail image data generated using the actual data of the specific type of file is displayed and output as an image, and management information items other than the predetermined management information item are displayed. For a specific type of file that is at least one of which does not match, the table of contents display indicates that the file cannot be played. And a display control procedure for executing the contents displayed so as to be,
Information processing method to execute. A basic file management procedure for managing files stored in a storage medium using basic file management information stored in the same storage medium;
The basic file management procedure uses the specific file management information stored in the storage medium so as to have a predetermined management information item in the management information item set for each individual file included in the basic file management procedure. A specific file management procedure for managing a specific type of file in the file managed by the file management procedure;
The basic file management information and the specific file management information for the specific type of file to be displayed in the table of contents display when performing the table of contents display for displaying the specific type of file stored in the storage medium in a table of contents. A comparison procedure for comparing the contents of management information items shared by
As a comparison result by the comparison procedure , the contents of at least one of the predetermined management information items out of the management information items to be compared do not match, and the management information other than the predetermined management information item As for a specific type of file having a predetermined match / non-match content whose items match each other, it is stored in a storage medium corresponding to the specific type of file so as to indicate that the file can be reproduced. Instead of the stored thumbnail image data, the generated thumbnail image data generated using the actual data of the specific type of file is displayed and output as an image, and management information items other than the predetermined management information item are displayed. For a specific type of file that is at least one of which does not match, the table of contents display indicates that the file cannot be played. And a display control procedure for executing the contents displayed so as to be,
For causing an information processing apparatus to execute the program.

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