JP5375298B2 - Video processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten a processing time of retrieval using metadata, and to facilitate editing by a user using the metadata. <P>SOLUTION: A video processing system includes a metadata recording means of recording a metadata recording format including an area where processing target specification metadata for specifying a processing target of metadata is recorded and an area where video description metadata representing properties of video data and related to the processing target specification metadata is recorded. Further, the video processing system includes a video processing apparatus which relates metadata and video data and performs recording/reproduction processing on the video data, and includes a video description metadata input means of inputting the metadata and the processing target specification metadata for specifying the processing target of the metadata, and a processing target metadata generating means of relating the video description metadata and processing target specification metadata. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a metadata processing device, a video processing device, and a video processing system that perform recording and change processing on metadata to be recorded in association with video data such as a captured video.

  In recent years, devices for recording video and audio data as files on a randomly accessible recording medium such as an optical disk or a semiconductor memory have become common. For example, such a recording is also used in broadcasting stations and video production companies. Video editing work or the like is performed using an editing device equipped with a medium. In order to perform such video editing work, content data such as video and audio data is recorded on a recording medium together with metadata that is additional information of the content, and the editing work is made more efficient using the metadata. It has been.

  Against this background, a method for recording metadata as additional information related to video and audio data (material) recorded on a recording medium has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Broadcasting stations and video production companies record video and audio (hereinafter referred to as materials as appropriate), and edit and process these materials to produce broadcast programs. Or audio data is recorded or recorded on a recording medium. In each processing step such as the material recording step, the editing step, and the storage step, additional information for identifying the material in detail is also recorded on the recording medium and used for each processing of the material. In addition, there is metadata as such additional information. The metadata is data describing information necessary for identifying a material obtained by interviewing or recording, such as a recording time, a recording ID (IDentifier, identification information), a recording title, and a photographer name.

  As described above, the metadata is recorded on the recording medium together with the material data in the recording process of recording each data as the material (hereinafter referred to as material data) on the recording medium. Further, there are the following two types of metadata added to the material. As one type, there is metadata determined in advance in the planning process, and this metadata includes information such as shooting start time, end time, shooting location (place name), and photographer. As another type, there is metadata generated at the same time as shooting and recorded on a recording medium. This metadata includes position information (latitude, longitude, altitude) and time detected by GPS (Global Positioning System). Information, such as the place name of the recording location, is included. As described above, the metadata recorded on the recording medium together with the material data in the recording process is associated with the material and used in the subsequent process, and is particularly effective means for improving the operability and convenience in the search.

  On the other hand, these metadata are effective in improving operability and convenience in search. However, if these metadata are recorded in detail, the amount of data becomes enormous, and the processing load for searching the recorded metadata increases accordingly. In addition, even in the case of a user, for example, a large amount of metadata is displayed and it is difficult to search for desired video data, so that searchability of desired metadata and video data is deteriorated. In response to this problem, for example, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for reducing the search load by limiting the metadata to be searched based on the metadata summary information (profile).

JP 2001-292411 A JP 2004-247844 A

  However, in the conventional configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, when metadata is recorded in, for example, a planning process, a recording process, and an editing process, it is unclear in which process the metadata was recorded. Therefore, for example, there is a problem that it takes time to specify which metadata the user can refer to. In addition, when there are a plurality of metadata candidates in an editing process or the like, there is a problem that a plurality of candidates cannot be recorded at the same time and it is difficult to operate the metadata.

  In view of the above problems, the video processing apparatus and video processing system according to the present invention reduce the processing time of searching by metadata, and edit using metadata operations, such as making it easier for a user to search for desired video data. The purpose is to make it easier.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the video processing system according to the present embodiment includes an area for recording processing target designation metadata for designating a processing target of metadata, and metadata representing attributes of the video data. And metadata recording means for recording a metadata recording format including an area for recording video description metadata associated with the processing target designating metadata.

  Furthermore, video description metadata input means for inputting the video description metadata, processing target designation metadata input means for inputting processing target designation metadata for designating a processing target of the video description metadata, Processing target designation meta generating means for associating the video description metadata with the processing target designation metadata.

  Furthermore, metadata reproducing means for reproducing the metadata recorded on the recording medium, and for limiting the processing to the video description metadata associated with the processing target designation metadata recorded on the recording medium And a processing target designation meta processing means.

  Furthermore, it comprises metadata display means for displaying the video description metadata and the processing target designation metadata, and the metadata display means includes the video description metadata processed by the processing target designation metadata processing means and the metadata. Display processing target specification metadata.

  Furthermore, it comprises a processing target designation meta selection means for inputting the processing target designation metadata, wherein the processing target designation meta processing means is configured to input the processing target designation metadata into the processing target designation metadata. Means for changing to data input by the designated meta selection means is provided, and the metadata recording means records the processing target designation metadata after the change by the processing target designation meta processing means.

  Furthermore, a video reproduction means for reproducing the video data recorded on the recording medium is provided.

  Further, the image processing apparatus includes a video input unit for inputting video data, and a video recording unit for recording the video data input by the video input unit on a recording medium.

  Furthermore, metadata reproducing means for reproducing the metadata recorded on the recording medium, and a processing target for limiting the processing to the video description metadata associated with the processing target designation metadata recorded on the recording medium Designated meta processing means.

  Further, the metadata recording means reproduces the metadata recorded on the recording medium, and additionally records new processing target designation metadata and video description metadata associated with the new processing target designation metadata. To record.

  Further, the video description metadata includes one or more of a clip name representing the name of the video data and an operation date / time representing the date / time when the metadata was recorded, and includes a plurality of processing target designation metadata. The corresponding video description metadata is recorded.

  Further, the video description metadata includes a link point associated with an arbitrary position in the video data.

  Further, the processing target designation metadata processing means is based on video data corresponding to the metadata recorded on the recording medium and a link point which is one of video description metadata corresponding to the recorded processing target designation metadata. A play list is created from the playback start point and playback end point determined in this manner.

  Based on the processing target designation metadata, it is possible to provide a video processing apparatus that reduces the search processing time by metadata and makes it easy for a user to search for desired video data.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the video processing system of a present Example. The figure which shows one specific example of the directory structure in a recording medium Conceptual diagram showing the relationship between metadata in this embodiment Diagram showing one specific example of temporal changes in video production process and video description metadata Diagram showing an example of metadata display for a clip Diagram showing one specific example of metadata structure Diagram showing one specific example of metadata file recording format Diagram showing one specific example of metadata file recording format Diagram showing one specific example of metadata file recording format A diagram showing one specific example of the scenario file recording format in the planning process The figure which shows one specific example of the recording format of a play list file The figure which shows one specific example of the input method of process target designation | designated metadata The figure which shows one specific example of the input screen for associating scenario data and video data The figure which shows one specific example of the metadata file in the recording process

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a video processing system in an embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, a video recording apparatus for recording video data on a recording medium, a recording medium for recording video and metadata, and a metadata recording apparatus for recording and changing metadata on the recording medium And a playback device for playing back video data and metadata recorded on the recording medium.

  Such a video processing system is a system intended for commercial use for video production companies, etc. and consumer use for editing, and shooting events at lectures, wedding venues, music concerts and performance venues. It is used for video editing. For example, video data acquired by a camera at a lecture or wedding venue is recorded on a removable recording medium via a video recording device. Thereafter, editing work is performed in the editing room using the video data recorded on the recording medium together with other video data.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the present video processing system includes a video recording apparatus 101 for recording video data on a recording medium, a recording medium 100 for recording video data and metadata, and metadata on the recording medium. It comprises a metadata recording device 102 for recording or changing, and a playback device 103 for playing back video data and metadata recorded on a recording medium. As a flow of a large recording / reproducing process in this embodiment, first, video data is recorded on a recording medium by the video recording apparatus 101, and metadata is recorded on the recording medium 100 by the metadata recording apparatus 102, or the recording medium 100 Change the metadata recorded in. Next, the video data and metadata recorded on the recording medium 100 are played back by the playback device 103.

  In this embodiment, the video recording medium 100 may be a random accessible medium such as a semiconductor memory, a hard disk drive, or an optical disk. In this embodiment, an example in which a semiconductor memory is used for the video recording medium 100 will be described. The semiconductor memory only needs to be managed by a file system such as FAT so that it can be recorded / reproduced as a file (it is a general technique and will not be described in detail).

  The clip in the present embodiment refers to a generic name of video data and metadata corresponding to one continuous recording section from the start to the end of video data recording, and the metadata is associated with the clip. A scene represents a video segmentation (scene) at the planning stage of video production. In this embodiment, it is assumed that recording is performed after a scene is determined, and clips are recorded. Therefore, for example, when the same scene is repeatedly recorded, a plurality of clips are recorded for one scene.

  The video recording apparatus 101 includes video input means 110 for inputting video data for recording, and video recording means 111 for recording the video data input by the video input means 110 on the recording medium 100. In this embodiment, the video recording apparatus 101 may be a video recording apparatus and a camera recorder that are generally used in the production field. Since the video recording apparatus 101 in this embodiment can be realized by a widely known technique, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  The metadata recording apparatus 102 inputs video description metadata input means 120 for inputting / selecting video description metadata to be recorded, and the video description metadata input by the video description metadata input means 120 to the recording medium 100. Video description metadata generation means 121 for converting to a recording format to be recorded, processing target designation meta input means 122 for inputting and selecting processing target designation metadata, and processing target designation meta input means 122 are input. The processing target designation metadata is converted into a recording format for recording, and the processing target designation meta generation means 122 for generating / changing the processing target designation metadata, the video description metadata generation means 121, and the processing target designation meta generation Metadata recording means 1 for recording the metadata generated by the means 122 on the recording medium 100 Equipped with a 3 and. Here, the video description metadata is descriptive metadata about video, and refers to attribute information for video data such as a clip name, a clip number, and a link point, for example. The metadata can be classified into descriptive metadata (descriptive metadata) and structural metadata (structural metadata). The structure metadata refers to metadata representing the structure of a material necessary for reproduction such as video format information and codec information. In this embodiment, an example in which the structural metadata is not recorded is described in order to explain an example in which a predetermined video format or the like is used. However, the structural metadata may be recorded as necessary. Furthermore, the processing target designation metadata is metadata for limiting processing (for example, search and display) related to video description metadata in all video description metadata. In addition, the video description metadata and the processing target designation metadata are collectively referred to simply as metadata, and the processing target designation metadata is appropriately abbreviated as processing target designation metadata.

  In this embodiment, the metadata recording apparatus 102 is developed as a program on a computer, for example. The above program runs on a computer, reads metadata recorded on the recording medium 100, adds new metadata, changes the contents of existing metadata, and records the data on the recording medium 100. To do. Note that the video recording apparatus 101 and the metadata recording apparatus 102 may be realized as one apparatus.

  The playback device 103 extracts metadata to be processed from the metadata playback means 132 for playing back the metadata recorded on the recording medium 100, and the metadata played back by the metadata playback means 132, Processing target designation meta processing means 131 for limiting video description metadata to be reproduced (for example, displayed), and metadata display for displaying video description metadata limited by the processing target designation meta processing means 131 Means 130, video reproducing means 133 for reproducing the video data recorded on the recording medium 100, and video display means for displaying the video for presenting the video data reproduced by the video reproducing means 133 to the user. 134 and processing target designation metadata for selecting processing target designation metadata to be subject to reproduction processing (for example, display) of video description metadata. And a-option means 135. In the present embodiment, the playback apparatus 103 has a metadata playback means 132, a target designation meta processing means 131, and a metadata for a video playback apparatus (video playback means 133 and video display means 134) that are generally widely used. A data display unit 130 and a processing target designation meta selection unit 135 are added. Since the video playback device (video playback unit 133 and video display unit 134) can be realized by a general technique, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  In the video processing system configured as described above, first, a basic processing flow of video data recording in the video recording apparatus 101 will be described.

  In the video recording apparatus 101, the video input unit 110 inputs video data and provides the input video data to the video recording unit 111. For example, video data may be input using HD-SDI (High Definition Serial Digital Interface) standardized by SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) -292M, which is generally used for business.

  The video recording unit 111 performs video processing such as a video filter on the video data provided from the video input unit 110 and then records the video data as a video data file on the video recording medium 100. The video recording means 111 can also compress and encode the supplied video data. Examples of the compression encoding method include a widely used MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) -2 method, an MPEG-4 / AVC (Advanced Video Coding) method, or a business-use digital VTR (Video Tape Recorder). One of the standards is SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) -314M (DV-Based 25M) standard. Note that since the present invention does not depend on the compression encoding method, any compression encoding method can be used. If a sufficient recording capacity can be secured in the video recording medium 100, the video data may not be compressed and encoded. This embodiment will be described as an example of recording in an uncompressed file format in which a luminance signal and a color difference signal of effective pixels of video data are arranged in order and used as a file.

  Next, a basic processing flow of metadata recording in the metadata recording apparatus 102 will be described. The user inputs video description metadata such as a clip name, operation date / time, and link point via the metadata input means 120. Further, the metadata input unit 120 provides the input video description metadata to the video description metadata generation unit 121. The video description metadata generation unit 121 converts the provided video description metadata into a format for recording on the recording medium 100 and provides the metadata to the metadata recording unit 123. A specific description of the recording format in the video description metadata generation means 121 will be described later.

  On the other hand, the user inputs processing target designation metadata desired by the user via the processing target designation meta input means 122. Further, the processing target designation meta input unit 122 provides the input processing target designation metadata to the processing target designation meta generation unit 122. The processing target designation metadata generation unit 122 converts the provided processing target designation metadata into a format for recording on the recording medium 100, and provides the processing target designation metadata converted to the recording format to the metadata recording unit 123. .

  The metadata recording unit 123 records the video description metadata and the processing target designation metadata converted into the recording format by the metadata generation unit 121 and the processing target designation meta generation unit 122 on the recording medium 100. Further, the metadata recorded on the recording medium 100 is read out and added or modified as appropriate (specific description will be described later).

  Next, an example of a recording format in the recording medium 100 will be described. FIG. 2 shows an example of a directory structure in the recording medium 100. In this embodiment, a video data file as video data and a metadata file as metadata are recorded on the recording medium 100. Accordingly, the directory structure in the recording medium 100 is that the “Content” directory as the content directory 200 is the top directory, the “Video” directory as the video storage directory 201 for recording the video data file, and the metadata file are recorded. And a “Meta” directory as a metadata storage directory 202. In the video storage directory 201, for example, CLIP0001. yuv, CLIP0002. yuv, CLIP0002. A video data file such as yuv is stored. In the metadata storage directory 202, CLIP0001. xml, CLIP0002. xml, CLIP0003. A metadata file such as xml is stored. The metadata file is recorded using, for example, an XML (extensible Markup Language) format. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, each metadata (item and content) is described between <ClipContent> and </ ClipContent>. For example, “<ClipName>“ Speech Scene ”</ ClipName>” indicates that the clip name is ““ Speech Scene ””. A specific description of the metadata file recording format (XML format) will be described later.

  Here, the file name or extension may be an arbitrary character string, and a method that facilitates content management may be used. In this embodiment, as described above, the extension of the video data file is a character string obtained by adding a number to “CLIP” in the file name. yuv, extension of metadata file. It will be described as xml. Further, the video data file and the metadata file are associated by setting the file name of the metadata file corresponding to the video data file to the same file name (excluding the extension). That is, for example, the video data file CLIP0001. The name of the metadata file of the metadata associated with yuv is CLIP0001. xml. Further, in this embodiment, CLIP0001. yuv and CLIP0001. A clip recorded as xml is called “clip 1”, and CLIP0002. yuv and CLIP0002. The clip recorded as xml is “Clip 2”, CLIP0003. yuv and CLIP0003. A clip recorded as xml is called “clip 3”.

  Further, the “Meta” directory includes a scenario file “ScenarioList.xml” and a playlist file “PlayList.txt”. Details of these will be described later.

  Next, the flow of basic playback processing in the playback device 103 will be described. A video data file and a metadata file are recorded on the recording medium 100, and each reproduction operation will be described.

  First, the video data file recorded on the recording medium 100 is read by the video playback means 133. The video reproduction means 133 performs video processing (for example, filtering processing or decoding when the data is compressed and recorded) on the read video data, and then reproduces it. It is provided as video data to the display means 134. The video display means 134 presents the video data provided from the video playback means 133 to the user using a liquid crystal screen or the like. Instead of the video display means 134, a method of providing video data output means (not shown) and connecting to an external display means (for example, a video monitor) may be used. In addition, a method for reproducing and displaying video on the video reproducing means 133 and the video display means 134 and a method for presenting video on an external display means shown as another example are realized by a generally well-known technique. Since it is possible, detailed description is omitted.

  Next, the metadata file recorded on the recording medium 100 is read by the metadata reproducing means 132. The metadata reproduction means 132 interprets the recording format (for example, XML format) and creates a metadata matrix. Here, the metadata matrix refers to a metadata database in which, for example, metadata items as shown in FIG. 6 are set on the vertical axis and each clip is set on the horizontal axis. Further, the metadata reproducing unit 132 supplies the created metadata matrix to the processing target designation meta processing unit 131. The processing target designation meta processing means 131 is a video description meta to be processed (for example, displayed) based on the supplied matrix of metadata and the processing target designation metadata selected by the processing target designation meta selection means 135. Determine the data. Thereafter, the processing target designation metadata and the video description metadata determined as the processing target are provided to the metadata display unit 130. The metadata display unit 130 displays the provided metadata (video description metadata determined as a processing target and processing target designation metadata) on a GUI (Graphical User Interface) screen (for example, FIG. 5). Instead of the metadata display unit 130, for example, a method of outputting a GUI screen as multiplexed video data and connecting to an external display unit (for example, a video monitor) may be used. In addition, a method for displaying metadata in the metadata display unit 130 and a method for presenting video data in which a metadata display screen (GUI screen) is multiplexed on an external display unit are realized by a widely known technique. Since this is possible, a detailed description is omitted. It should be noted that specific processing contents such as the processing target designation meta selection unit 135 and the processing target designation meta processing unit 131 and a specific description of the processing target designation metadata will be described later.

  The basic recording / reproducing operation flow of the video data and metadata in the present embodiment has been described above. Next, an overview of the relationship between the processing target designating metadata and the video description metadata in the present invention and the role of these metadata will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the relationship between the metadata of the present invention. FIG. 3A shows a metadata file when the video description metadata is a clip name, and a display example corresponding to the metadata file. For example, it is assumed that metadata configured as shown in the metadata file (1) is recorded in the metadata file. That is, the processing target designation metadata is “STEP3”, and the processing target designation metadata and the video description metadata are recorded in association with each other (for example, “STEP1” and clip name ““ entrance scene 1 (take 2) ””). doing. Here, the processing target designation metadata is associated with a character string in advance by, for example, a video production process or a producer. For example, as shown in FIG. 4 (1), STEP 1, STEP 2, etc. are associated with each video production process. By defining the association and recording the processing target designation metadata and the video description metadata in association with each other, at the time of a certain step “STEP 1”, the item of the clip name of the metadata includes “entrance scene 1 ( "Take 2)" is recorded. It should be noted that the association (meaning) of the processing target designation metadata may be determined in accordance with the usage such as the production process and operation as appropriate.

  Next, an outline of display on the playback device 103 in the case of the metadata file (1) shown in FIG. The metadata recorded in the metadata file (1) is read out via the metadata reproduction means 132, and the metadata that matches the processing target designation metadata is displayed by the processing target designation metadata processing means 131. In the case of FIG. 3 (1), the clip name ““ entrance scene 1 ”” whose processing target designation metadata is “STEP3” is displayed. This is because the processing target designation metadata is “STEP3” and the clip name corresponding to “STEP3” is ““ entrance scene 1 ””.

  FIG. 3B is a display example of other video description metadata (link point). Similar to FIG. 3A, the video description metadata associated with the processing target designation metadata “STEP2” is displayed. Here, the head item (for example, “100 frames” at the first link point) of each link point (LinkPoint) represents an offset from the head of the video data. The link point is used, for example, when the playback apparatus 103 starts playback from the offset value in the video data (specific description will be described later).

  In the video processing system configured as described above, the video production process from video data recording to editing and authoring will be described separately for each process.

  In the present embodiment, an example of a clip name, a link point (LinkPoint), and an operation date will be described as an example of video description metadata. The clip name is metadata representing the name of the clip, and the link point (LinkPoint) is metadata in which the name and data indicating the position in the video data are combined. Pointing to a position means, for example, being associated with a specific frame (a specific time in the video data) by the number of frames from the top of the video data file or a time code embedded in the video data. This indicates one point (usually one frame) of the video data, and plays a role of jumping to the video data associated with an arbitrary link point and reproducing it according to a user's reproduction instruction. The operation date / time is metadata representing the date and time when recording or changing the recording or metadata of the clip.

  Note that the video description metadata exhibits the same effect other than in the present embodiment. Further, the classification method of the video production process may be classified by any process as long as it can be distinguished as the processing target designation metadata. Preferably, classification is performed based on a time axis as in the present embodiment. Here, for example, when the person in charge of work is separated in each process (time axis), processing target designation metadata may be defined for each person in charge of work.

  FIG. 4 shows a flow of a video production process described as a specific example in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the video production process is configured in the order of a planning process, a recording process, a temporary editing process, a main editing process, and an authoring process as shown in FIG. The planning process is a process for planning a video examination, recording, and editing necessary for editing scenes and the like, and scenario (schedule) information (hereinafter referred to as scenario data) is determined. Here, the scenario data is a metadata group in which metadata input patterns such as the name of a scene to be photographed and a photographer are described. In this embodiment, an example in which a scene name as scenario data is determined in the planning process will be described. The scenario data is recorded on the recording medium 100 as a scenario file. The recording process is a process of actually recording and shooting video data, and records the scene as planned according to the planning process. The temporary editing step is a step of performing temporary editing (so-called rough editing) such as deleting unnecessary parts on the video data recorded in the recording step or previously recorded video data such as a video library. This editing step is a step of making detailed adjustments to the video data temporarily edited in the temporary editing step. For example, in cut editing, the editing point of video data is adjusted with one frame accuracy, for example. . The authoring step is a step of recording or writing the video data that has been edited in the main editing step on a distribution recording medium in order to distribute it to a delivery person or the like. For example, conversion or the like is performed so as to comply with a standard corresponding to each recording medium (for example, DVD-Video standard for DVD which is one of optical disk media), and recording on a distribution recording medium is performed. .

  Each process in these video productions is a model of a general video production process. In these processes, editing work is performed using video data and metadata associated with the video data. Is called. The temporary editing process and the main editing process are collectively referred to as an editing process as appropriate. In the editing process, it is common to perform editing and processing (for example, video processing such as cut editing and video effect addition) on video data using an editing device such as a non-linear editing device. is there. However, in this embodiment, it does not depend on the editing or processing method of the video data, and preferably the video data is not processed. In the present embodiment, an example in which the video data is not processed will be described. However, the video data may be appropriately processed in the editing process as long as the association between the video data and the metadata can be maintained. Since the video data processing in the editing apparatus is a general technique, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. In the video production process, there is a case where an operation to return to the previous process (so-called manual return operation) occurs. For example, when a malfunction of video data is detected in this editing process, there is a case where the video data to be used is changed and the work is started again from the temporary editing process. Even in such a case, the present invention has an advantage that the production work can be efficiently performed by changing the processing target designation metadata.

  Next, processing in each process of video production will be specifically described by paying attention to metadata. First, as shown in FIG. 4 (1), the planning process is STEP1, the recording process is STEP2, the temporary editing process is STEP3, the main editing process is STEP4, the authoring process is STEP5, and the video production process and processing target designation. Associate with metadata. Each video production process may be divided in more detail and associated with the processing target designation metadata. For example, the video production process is not classified according to the video production process, but based on the classification of the person in charge or the like. Data may be associated. FIG. 4 (2) shows an example of transition of video description metadata of one clip in each step of video production shown in FIG. 4 (1). FIG. 6 shows a specific example of the metadata recording structure in three clips. The clip 1 in FIG. 6 corresponds to the clip shown in FIG. FIG. 7 shows a specific example of the metadata file of clip 1 (CLIP0001) in FIG. Similarly, FIG. 8 shows one specific example of the metadata file of clip 2 (CLIP0002) in FIG. 6, and FIG. 9 shows the metadata file of clip 3 (CLIP0003) in FIG. These specific examples show the state of the metadata file after the authoring process is completed.

  Examples of scenario data in the planning process include a scene name and an operation date / time. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 4B, the scene name is ““ entrance scene 1 ””, and the operation date and time (date and time when the scenario data is recorded) is 19:12 on February 3, 2009. This indicates that at 19:12 on February 3, 2009, the scene name was ““ entrance scene 1 ”” and recorded as scene data. At this time, the video data file is not recorded, and the metadata recording unit 124 creates only the scenario data and records the scenario file as the scenario data on the recording medium 100. Here, the scenario data is a metadata group for facilitating input of video description metadata. The scenario data is used for the purpose of inputting video description metadata required after the recording process of each scene in the planning process, and selecting from the scenario data and recording it as video description metadata after the recording process.

  FIG. 10 shows one specific example of the scenario file. In this embodiment, the scenario file is recorded using, for example, the XML format, and the file name is “ScenarioList. The scenario data of a plurality of scenes is recorded in one scenario file. In FIG. 10, a portion surrounded by <Scenario> and </ Scenario> corresponds to scenario data of one scene. Further, a portion surrounded by <SceneName> and </ SceneName> is a scene name, and a portion surrounded by <Date> and </ Date> is an operation date and time. The scenario file has a format in which a plurality of scenario data of one scene described above are collected and surrounded by <ScenarioList> and </ ScenarioList>. Note that the scenario file may be other than the XML format as long as the scenario data of one scene can be recognized, and the file name is “ScenarioList. It may be other than xml. The operation date and time is, for example, “2009/2/3 19:12” on February 3, 2009 in the order of year, month, day, hour (24-hour notation), and minute. Format.

  Next, the association between the clip recorded in the recording process and the scenario data scene will be described. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 10, scenario data (operation date / time: 2009/2/319: 12, scene name: “entrance scene 1”) corresponding to the first scene is associated with the first recorded clip. . This association may be performed by any method, and the association with the recorded clip may be performed by a method of presenting and selecting the scene name of the scenario data to the user. For example, in the case where the same scene is repeatedly shot, an input unit (not shown) for switching scenes and a unit (not shown) for incrementing a take number such as take 1 and take 2 are provided. Good.

  Note that “None” in the LinkPoint column in the planning process of FIG. 4B indicates that no LinkPoint is given.

  The scenario data recording process of the metadata recording apparatus 102 in the planning process will be specifically described. In the planning process, a user inputs metadata, and a scenario file using the input metadata as scenario data is recorded on the recording medium 100.

  The user inputs, for example, a scene name (such as a character string ““ entrance scene 1 ””) to the video description metadata input unit 120. The video description metadata input means 120 provides these input character strings to the video description metadata generation means 121. For example, metadata recording such as “<ClipName>“ entrance scene 1 ”</ ClipName>”. Convert to format. The data converted into the metadata recording format is combined with other input metadata by the metadata recording means 124 and recorded on the recording medium 100 as a scenario file as shown in FIG.

  In addition, LinkPoint does not record video scenes in the planning process and cannot associate video scenes. For this reason, LinkPoint is not recorded as scenario data in the planning process of this embodiment.

  Examples of the video description metadata in the recording process include a clip name, an operation date and time, and a link point (LinkPoint). In the example shown in FIG. 4 (2), for the clip name, the character string ““ entrance scene 1 (take 1) with the take number added to the scene name “entrance scene 1” ”as the scenario data of the planning process. ) ”” Has been renamed. Here, in this embodiment, the scene name in the planning process is associated with the recorded clip and then associated with the clip name of the recorded clip. As for the operation date and time, the date and time when the metadata file is recorded is recorded. For LinkPoint, LinkPoint is given to important points in recording such as ““ recording start ”” and ““ recording end ””. These are associated with video data recorded at the time when recording started or ended. For example, the link point ““ recording start ”” is associated with the time of the video data about several seconds (eg, 100 frames) after the video data recording start in the video recording apparatus 101, and the link point ““ recording end ”” is the video recording. Assume that the time of video data about several seconds (for example, 100 frames) before the end of video data recording in the apparatus 101 is associated. This is because video data is generally recorded including a marginal part for several seconds before and after a desired video. By the association in the LinkPoint, the search to the start point and the end point in the video data (movement to the video frame) is facilitated. In the present embodiment, the association between LinkPoint and video data is performed by recording the LinkPoint as video description metadata including the number of frames from the head of the video data file. For example, it is recorded as “<LinkPoint frames = 100 word =“ recording start ”/>” in the example shown in FIG. This represents that the position of 100 frames from the beginning of the video data is set as the “recording start” point. Note that the number of frames from the beginning in LinkPoint will be referred to as LinkPoint offset.

  The metadata recording process of the metadata recording apparatus 102 in the recording process will be specifically described. In the recording process, a first step of creating a metadata file based on the scenario file recorded in the planning process, and new video description metadata in the recording process for the metadata file created in the first step The process of the 2nd step which adds is added.

  In the first step, the scenario data recorded in the scenario file recorded in the planning process is referenced, the video data and the scenario data are associated, and a new metadata file is created. In this embodiment, a method for associating scenario data and video data with recorded video data will be described. Note that the video recording device 101 and the metadata recording device 102 may be realized by a single device, and the video data may be recorded by associating the video data and the scenario data with a file name or the like together with the recording of the video data. (Because it can be realized by a widely known technique, a specific description is omitted). For example, as shown in FIG. 13, the video description metadata input unit 120 displays the scene name (501) of each scene recorded in the scenario file and the file name (502) of the video data. The displayed scene name and video data file name are selected, and a decision button 503 is pressed to determine a clip to be associated with the scenario data from this selection. The association between the scenario data and the video data is performed by the processing described above.

  FIG. 14 shows an example of one part of the time course of the metadata file in the recording process of the example shown in FIG. FIG. 14A shows an example of a metadata file after the first step in the recording process. A portion surrounded by <ScopeMeta> and </ ScopeMeta> represents processing target designation metadata, and records a character string “STEP1” which is processing target designation metadata corresponding to a recording process. <STEP1> and </ STEP1> are identifiers indicating video description metadata corresponding to the processing target designation metadata “STEP1”, and a portion surrounded by <STEP1> and </ STEP1> This is the content of the video description metadata corresponding to the processing target designation metadata “STEP1”. Further, the portion surrounded by <Date> and </ Date> is the operation date and time, and the date and time when the metadata file is created may be recorded in the recording process. The operation date and time can be acquired by mounting an integrated circuit (RTC) having a Real Time Clock function. Further, a portion surrounded by <ClipName> and </ ClipName> represents a clip name that is one of video description metadata. The content of the clip name is the same character string as the scene name of the scenario data for the scene associated with the video data in the recording process (that is, the portion surrounded by <SceneName> and </ SceneName> in the scenario file). To do. The file name of the metadata file is generated by changing the extension to xml with respect to the file name of the video data file associated with the scenario data. For example, the video data file name is CLIP0001. If it is yuv, the metadata file name is CLIP0001. xml. This file name is used to associate the video data file with the metadata file. In the present embodiment, LinkPoint is not recorded in the first step.

  In the second step, new video description metadata in the recording process is added to the metadata file created in the first step. These video description metadata are associated with processing target designation metadata “STEP 2” representing the recording process. FIG. 14 (2) shows an example of the metadata file after the second step in the recording process. In the second step, a part surrounded by <STEP2> and </ STEP2> is newly added. Note that the video description metadata before additional recording (that is, the previous process in video production) is held in association with the processing target designation metadata, for example, as a history or a next candidate. This is processed when you want to go back to the video production process as a metadata operation history in clips, such as when a rework occurs in the video production process, or when there are multiple candidates for video description metadata such as names and edit points. This is effective because the video description metadata of an arbitrary process can be acquired simply by changing the target designation metadata.

  A method for adding video description metadata in the second step will be described. First, the user inputs new process target designation metadata via the process target designation meta input unit 122. For example, the processing target designation meta input unit 122 includes a processing target designation meta display / selection unit 300 as shown in FIG. The processing target designation meta display / selection unit 300 is configured to select corresponding processing target designation metadata (for example, “STEP 2” in the recording process) in a pull-down menu format as shown in FIG. 12, for example. The processing target designation meta input unit 122 displays a pull-down button 401. When the pull-down button 401 is pressed by the user by the user's input, the pull-down menu 402 is displayed, and the user can select from the displayed options. Enter the processing target specification meta. As the displayed options, all processing target designation metadata (for example, “STEP 1” to “STEP 5”) may be displayed. The processing target designation metadata input unit 122 provides the input processing target designation metadata to the processing target designation metadata generation unit 123. The processing target designation metadata generation unit 123 changes the processing target designation metadata to the data (character string) input by the processing target designation metadata input unit 122. That is, for example, in the second step in the recording process, the portion surrounded by <ScopeMeta> and </ ScopeMeta> in the example shown in FIG. 14 (2) is changed from “STEP1” to “STEP2”.

  The video description metadata input means 120 is configured to display, for example, a metadata display unit 302 as shown in FIG. 5 (1), and the user describes the video description for each item of the video description metadata to be displayed. Inputs character strings as metadata. The video description metadata generating unit 121 converts the video description metadata input by the video description metadata input unit 120 into, for example, an identifier corresponding to each video description metadata (for example, <ClipName> in the clip name example). </ ClipName>) to convert to a metadata recording format.

  The metadata recording unit 124 includes processing target designation metadata (metadata recording format) generated by the processing target designation metadata generation unit 123, and video description metadata group generated by the video description metadata generation unit 121. (Metadata recording format) are collectively recorded on the recording medium 100. These video description metadata are recorded in association with the processing target designation metadata. That is, as shown in FIG. 14 (2), for example, it is surrounded by <STEP2> and </ STEP2>, and the video description metadata group and the processing target designation metadata “STEP2” are associated with each other. Further, the metadata recording means 124 of this embodiment additionally writes video description metadata corresponding to the previous process (if the current process is the recording process “STEP2”, the video description metadata associated with “STEP1”). Format. That is, the metadata recording unit 124 reads the recorded metadata file and newly adds new video description metadata corresponding to the processing target designation metadata to the metadata file. In this embodiment, since the association with the processing target designation metadata is performed in a format surrounded by <STEP2> and </ STEP2>, new metadata can be added easily.

  Next, a specific example of processing for the clip name, operation date and time, and LinkPoint as video description metadata in the second step of the recording process will be described. Regarding the clip name in the recording process, for example, as shown in FIG. 14 (2), in addition to the clip name “entrance scene 1” as the scene name of the scenario data in the planning process, for example, a character string “ “Entrance scene 1 (take 1)”. The clip name ““ entrance scene 1 (take 1) ”” is input by the user via the video description metadata input means 120. The metadata recording unit 124 associates the clip name as one of the video description metadata with the processing target designation metadata “STEP 2”. That is, the metadata file is recorded in a portion surrounded by <STEP2> and </ STEP2>. The operation date and time in the second step of the recording process may be acquired by recording the date and time when the metadata file is recorded using the RTC function. As for the name of LinkPoint, as described above, the user inputs the names “recording start” and “recording end” via the video description metadata input means 120. Next, the video description metadata generation unit 121 generates data in a recording format by associating the input name of LinkPoint and the offset. Here, the offset of LinkPoint is, for example, 100 frames after the start of recording (100 frames from the beginning of the video data) and 100 frames before the end of recording (if the recording interval is 1100 frames, the LinkPoint offset is the offset of the video data, respectively. 1000 frames from the top). The metadata recording unit 124 records the new video description metadata in the recording process and the processing target designation metadata “STEP2” in association with each other as described above.

  The metadata file in the recording process is completed in the first step and the second step of the recording process.

  Examples of the video description metadata in the temporary editing process include a clip name, an operation date and time, and a LinkPoint. In the example shown in FIG. 4 (2), the clip name is “candidate 1” indicating that it is a candidate clip for the clip name ““ entrance scene 1 (take 1) ”” in the recording process, The name is changed to ““ entrance scene 1 (candidate 1) ”. For example, the name change as described above is performed when the clip becomes a candidate to be used for the main editing due to, for example, confirmation of video data in the temporary editing process or cutting of an unnecessary section. In addition, with regard to the name of LinkPoint, the edit start point candidate is recorded as ““ edit start (candidate 1) ”, and the edit end point candidate is recorded as“ “edit end (candidate 1)”. The LinkPoint offset changes the position (offset value) associated with the video data so that the unnecessary portion is outside the range surrounded by the start point and the end point based on LinkPoint in the recording process. For example, if the number of frames of the first frame in the necessary section in the video data is Fst_preedit and the last frame is Fend_preedit, the necessary section (provisional editing section) PreEdit in the video data is expressed by the following equation.

Fst_preedit ≦ PreEdit ≦ Fend_preedit
At this time, the offset of LinkPoint ““ edit start (candidate 1) ”” may be Fst_predit, and the offset of LinkPoint ““ end of edit (candidate 1) ”may be Fend_preedit.

  If it is determined that the clip is not used for the main editing, video description metadata such as the clip name and LinkPoint is not added. This makes it possible to determine that the clip is unnecessary after this step. In this case, like the clip 2 shown in FIG. 6, in the steps after this step, the video description metadata need not be recorded in association with the processing target designation metadata corresponding to the steps after this step (None in FIG. 6). ).

  The metadata recording process of the metadata recording apparatus 102 in the temporary editing process will be specifically described. In the temporary editing step, new video description metadata corresponding to the processing target designation metadata “STEP 3” is added to the metadata file recorded in the recording step. The user changes the process to the processing target designation metadata input unit 122, that is, inputs the processing target designation metadata and the new video description metadata in the temporary editing step to the video description metadata input unit 120. Instruct to input. The processing of the processing target designation metadata input unit 122, the processing target designation metadata generation unit 123, the video description metadata input unit 120, the video description metadata generation unit 121, and the metadata recording unit 124 is performed in the recording process. This is basically the same process as the second step. The difference in processing is that the processing target designation metadata becomes “STEP3”.

  A processing example of the clip name, operation date and time, and LinkPoint as video description metadata in the temporary editing process will be specifically described. The clip name and operation date / time are the same as the clip name / operation date / time processing method in the second step of the recording process, except that the clip name and the operation date / time are associated with the processing target designation metadata “STEP3”. Also, the basic recording process flow is the same for the LinkPoint process, but the offset determination method and the new LinkPoint addition method are different.

  The name of LinkPoint is changed to, for example, ““ Start of editing (candidate 1) ”and“ End of editing (candidate 1) ”. For example, when the link point offset is used as a material for editing all sections of recorded video data (adopted as an editing material), the offset value of the link point is the same as the offset value of the link point as the processing target designation metadata “STEP 2” (For example, as in the example shown in FIG. 7, the offset (the value of the number of frames) is set to the same value). Here, ““ edit start (candidate 1) ”and“ edit end (candidate 1) ”are“ record start ”and“ record end ”in the processing target designation metadata“ STEP 2 ”, respectively. Corresponding to the link point named This association may be performed by using a LinkPoint list number or name. In this embodiment, “Recording start” and “Edit start (candidate 1)” recorded first in the LinkPoint are recorded, and “Recording end” and ““ The editing end (candidate 1) "" is associated with the recording order and name of the LinkPoint.

  Further, for example, when there is an unnecessary section without using all sections of the recorded video data as editing material, the video description metadata generation unit 121 sets the offset of LinkPoint as the processing target designation metadata “STEP2”. What is necessary is just to change from the offset (frame value) of the same LinkPoint. For example, the LinkPoint offset is changed from 120 frames to 125 frames as in the example of ““ Start of editing (candidate 1) ”in FIG. The metadata recording device 102 is preferably configured to be able to check while reproducing video data in the vicinity of the offset of the corresponding LinkPoint. In addition, when there are a plurality of editing point candidates in the temporary editing process (for example, “Point of editing (candidate 2)” in FIG. 9), the user enters the video description metadata input unit 120. Then, the name of the new LinkPoint and its offset value are input, and the video description metadata generating means 121 may add the newly created LinkPoint by the method described above.

  Examples of the video description metadata in the editing process include a clip name, operation date and time, and LinkPoint. In the example shown in FIG. 4B, the clip name represents, for example, a clip determined as video data to be distributed with respect to the clip name ““ entrance scene 1 (candidate 1) ”” in the temporary editing process. “Determination” is given and changed to ““ entrance scene 1 (decision) ””. This is performed, for example, when it is determined as video data for distributing the main clip in the editing work or video data confirmation in the main editing process. In addition, the names of LinkPoints are “edit start (decision)” and “edit end (decision)”, respectively. Further, the offset of LinkPoint adjusts or changes the position (offset value) associated with the video data based on LinkPoint in the temporary editing process. Here, for example, in consideration of the section length, the section of the video data to be distributed matches the section surrounded by ““ edit start (decision) ”and“ edit end (decision) ”. Keep it.

  The metadata recording process of the metadata recording apparatus 102 in this editing process is basically the same as the process in the temporary editing process. The difference in processing is that the processing target designation metadata becomes “STEP 4”.

  Examples of the video description metadata in the authoring process include a clip name, operation date and time, and LinkPoint. In the example shown in FIG. 4B, the name of the clip is changed to ““ Chapter 23 / Admission ””, for example, depending on the order of all clips recorded on a distribution recording medium such as a DVD in the authoring process. Also, the name of LinkPoint is changed from “editing start (decision)”, which is determined as distribution video data in the editing process, to “chapter 23”. Further, the offset of LinkPoint is set to the same value as the offset value in ““ edit start (decision) ””, for example, like the name. This is because, usually, the end point of the scene and the start point of the next scene are continuous frames (neighboring frames), so that only the start point of the scene (clip) is appropriate as the LinkPoint in the authoring process.

  Another metadata recording method in the authoring process is a method of creating a playlist. A play list is a list that specifies the playback order of video data and the playback section of each video data. FIG. 11 shows a specific example of a playlist file. In the present embodiment, the playlist file is a text file in Comma Separated Values (CSV) format with a comma as a delimiter, and the file name is, for example, PlayList. Let txt be. In the playlist file of this embodiment, the reproduction order of video data is represented by lines, and reproduction is started from the video data file described in the first line. The first of each row represents the video data file name, the second represents the playback start point, and the third represents the playback end point. The reproduction start point and the reproduction end point are represented by using, for example, the number of frames from the first frame of the video data, and the number of frames from the first frame of each video data in the playlist is referred to as a reproduction offset.

  In the present embodiment, the distribution recording medium is described as the recording medium 100, but may be recorded on another recording medium. In that case, the recording format such as video data and directory structure may be the same as that of the recording medium 100, or may be converted in accordance with a standard such as DVD-Video.

  The metadata recording process of the metadata recording apparatus 102 in the authoring process will be specifically described. In the authoring process, distribution video description metadata is added to the metadata file recorded in the editing process, and the metadata file and the video data are written to the distribution recording medium. In the authoring process, as a specific example of authoring, two examples of authoring methods are described: a first authoring method that does not record a playlist and a second authoring method that records a playlist as a playlist file.

  First, the first authoring method will be described. The processing target designation metadata input unit 122 changes the processing target designation metadata to “STEP 5” in the same manner as the processing in the above-described process. For example, when the video data to be authored is the 23rd chapter, the video description metadata input unit 120 associates the clip name ““ Chapter 23 / Enter ”” with the processing target designation metadata “STEP 5”. input. Here, the chapter is a section of a video chapter and corresponds to a scene in the planning process in this embodiment. Note that the specific processing in the processing target designation metadata generation unit 123, the video description metadata generation unit 121, and the metadata recording unit 124 is the same as the processing content described in the provisional editing step and the like. In the first authoring method, it is desirable to delete unnecessary sections from the video data. This can be done by deleting video data other than the section surrounded by LinkPoint in this editing step (STEP 4). This deletes video data other than the section surrounded by the link points ““ edit start (decision) ”” and ““ edit end (decision) ”” in the present editing step (processing target designation metadata “STEP 4”). Deletion of an unnecessary section of video data is a technique that is widely and generally realized in video editing apparatuses by cut editing or the like, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  Next, the second authoring method will be described. The playlist file is created by the metadata recording unit 124 from the LinkPoint in the main editing process (processing target designation metadata “STEP4”) of the metadata file recorded on the recording medium 100 and the file name of the metadata file. Is done. In the authoring process, video description metadata up to the main editing process (STEP 4) is recorded in this metadata file.

  The metadata recording unit 124 obtains the associated video data file name from the file name of the read metadata file. This video data file name is recorded in the playlist file as the video data file name in the playlist. This process is performed on a plurality of metadata files, and the reproduction order of video data (that is, the order of video data in a playlist) is determined as appropriate in the order of file names or user input.

  Further, the metadata recording unit 124 extracts video description metadata corresponding to the editing process (processing target designation metadata “STEP 4”) from the metadata file read out above. For example, in this embodiment, video description metadata of a portion surrounded by <STEP4> and </ STEP4> is extracted. Next, LinkPoint is extracted from the video description metadata corresponding to the main editing process (processing target designation metadata “STEP 4”). Using the extracted LinkPoint offset, the playback offset of the playback start point and playback end point in the playlist for the video data to be processed is determined. For example, the playback offset at the playback start point is the LinkPoint offset corresponding to the LinkPoint name ““ edit start (decision) ””, and the playback offset at the playback end point is the LinkPoint offset corresponding to the link point name ““ end editing (decision) ””. To. Note that the name of LinkPoint may be changed to ““ Chapter 23 ”” or the like, as in the first authoring method.

  The metadata recording unit 124 creates a playlist by the above processing, and records the playlist as a playlist file on the recording medium 100. In the second authoring method, it is not necessary to perform an editing process such as deleting an unnecessary section on the video data, so the editing processing load (that is, a load for creating a playlist) is low, and editing for the entire video production process is performed. There is an advantage that the processing time is shortened. The example in which the playlist file is recorded in the CSV format has been described. However, if the video data, the playback order thereof, the playback start point, and the playback end point are defined, other playlist formats such as the XML format are used. It may be in the form. Furthermore, the playlist file name may be an arbitrary file name. Details of the playback operation using the playlist will be described later.

  Next, with regard to the metadata playback processing in the playback device 103, details of processing in the metadata playback means 132, processing target designation meta processing means 131, metadata display means 130, and processing target designation meta selection means 135 will be specifically described. To do.

  First, the metadata reproducing unit 132 reads a metadata file recorded on the recording medium 100 and creates a metadata matrix having a structure as shown in FIG. 6, for example. In this method, an identifier and a character string surrounded by the identifier are extracted from an XML format metadata file to form a matrix. Since the video description metadata recorded in the metadata file is related by the processing target designation metadata, the metadata matrix is classified for each processing target designation metadata as shown in FIG. The metadata matrix is provided to the processing target designation meta processing unit 131 and is held by the processing target designation meta processing unit 131. The retention format of the metadata matrix may be an efficient format when searching based on the processing target designation metadata.

  The processing target designation meta selection unit 135 selects / inputs the processing target designation metadata using, for example, a pull-down menu format as shown in FIG. This is, for example, the same method as the processing target designation meta input unit 122 in the metadata recording apparatus 102. Note that the processing target designation metadata selection unit 135 can change not only the new processing target designation metadata but also the processing target designation metadata with the above-described configuration. This is realized by the user inputting different processing target designation metadata via the processing target designation meta selection means 135.

  The processing target designation metadata processing unit 131 includes each item (clip name, etc.) of the metadata matrix created by the metadata reproduction unit 132, and the processing target designation metadata input by the processing target designation meta selection unit 135. Display video description metadata (that is, metadata to be provided to and displayed on the metadata display means 130) is determined. This is associated with the processing target designation metadata that matches the processing target designation metadata input by the processing target designation meta selection means 135 from the metadata matrix classified by the processing target designation metadata as shown in FIG. This is realized by extracting the video description metadata. This extraction process can be easily extracted because the metadata matrix is associated with the processing target designation metadata and each video description metadata. Further, the processing target designation metadata processing unit 131 provides the metadata display unit 130 with the display video description metadata and the processing target designation metadata input by the processing target designation metadata selection unit 135.

  The metadata display unit 130 displays the display video description metadata and the processing target designation metadata supplied from the processing target designation meta processing unit 131 to the user. These are displayed using, for example, a GUI screen configured as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5A, the GUI screen includes a processing target designation meta display / selection unit 300, thumbnail image display units 301 and 303, and metadata display units 302 and 304. The processing target designation metadata display / selection processing related to the processing target designation meta display / selection unit 300 has been described above, and a description thereof will be omitted here. The thumbnail image display units 301 and 303 may display the image of the first frame of the video data in each clip, for example. The metadata display units 302 and 304 display the display video description metadata supplied from the processing target designation meta processing unit 131. With the above configuration, the metadata display units 302 and 304 have video description metadata corresponding to the processing target designation metadata selected / displayed by the processing target designation metadata display / selection unit 300 (that is, display video description). Metadata). In the example shown in FIG. 5A, the video description metadata corresponding to the same processing target metadata is displayed for two clips. FIG. 5B shows a display result when the processing target designation metadata is changed from “STEP 3” to “STEP 4” in the processing target designation meta display / selection unit 300. It can be seen that the contents displayed in the metadata display sections 302 and 304 are changed to display video description metadata corresponding to the processing target designation metadata “STEP 4”.

  Next, the video playback operation based on the playlist file in the playback device 103 will be described. The playlist file recorded on the recording medium 100 is read out by the video playback means 133, and the video data file to be played back recorded in the playlist file, its playback order, and playback section (playback start of each video data). Are played back in the order recorded in the playlist. Based on the playlist, the video playback unit 133 provides video data corresponding to the section described in the playlist to the video display unit 134 in the order in which the playlist is described for each frame. For example, when the play list file shown in FIG. 11 is recorded on the recording medium 100, the playback offset of the video data file “CLIP0001.yuv” is 100 frames from the frame having the playback offset of 100 frames first. Video data corresponding to a section up to a certain frame is provided to the video display means 134. In addition, after the playback of the video data file is finished for the first time, in the video data file “CLIP0003.yuv” recorded in the second line of the playlist, the playback offset is changed from a frame having a playback offset of 128 frames. Video data corresponding to a section up to 1028 frames is provided to the video display means 134. The video display means 134 presents the supplied video data to the user. In this embodiment, since the video data is uncompressed data and the size of each video frame is fixed, the video frame corresponding to the playback offset in the video data can be easily specified from the playback offset. Thereby, a section of arbitrary video data recorded in the playlist can be reproduced.

  As another format of the playlist, there is a format in which the video frame corresponding to the playback end point in the video data is not played (displayed). In this case, the playback offset at the playback end point may be added with a value (for example, for one frame) so that the playback end point is played back from the LinkPoint offset corresponding to the playback end point. For example, in the above example, if the playback end point is 1029 frames, up to 1028 frames are played back. In this case, a method may be used in which a value for one frame is added in advance to the LinkPoint offset corresponding to the playback end point, and the value is not added when calculating the end point of the playlist. For example, if the number of frames of the first frame of the necessary section in the video data is Fst_edit and the last frame is Fend_edit, the necessary section (for example, editing section) Edit in the video data is represented by the following equation.

Fst_edit ≦ Edit <(Fend_edit + 1)
At this time, the offset of LinkPoint corresponding to the start point of the playlist may be Fst_edit, and the offset of LinkPoint corresponding to the end point may be (Fend_edit + 1).

  As described above, according to the video processing system of this embodiment, it is possible to dramatically improve the search efficiency and editing efficiency of video data based on metadata, and realize a video processing system that is highly convenient for the user. be able to.

  The method of recording in the XML format when recording the metadata file and the scenario file has been described. For example, the method of recording in the text format (CSV format), the format in which the text format is converted into binary data, etc. The same effect is demonstrated even if described in.

  In addition, although the video recording device 101, the recording medium 100, the metadata editing device 102, and the video reproduction device 103 have been described as having one device, any device configuration may be used. For example, the video recording device 101 and the metadata editing device 102 may be a single device, the metadata recording device 102 and the video playback device 103 may be a single device, or all may be realized as a single device. May be. When the metadata recording apparatus 102 and the video reproduction apparatus 103 are combined into one apparatus, the video metadata input means 120 and the processing target designation meta input means 122 in the metadata recording apparatus 102 and the metadata display in the reproduction apparatus 103 are displayed. There is an advantage that the implementation in the means 130 and the processing target designation meta selection means 135 can be made common.

  Although the recording medium 100 has been described as a single recording medium, the video data file and the metadata file may be recorded on separate recording media.

  In the metadata file, the method of adding the video description metadata in each processing target designation metadata (each step of video production) has been described. However, the video description metadata may be deleted as appropriate. In this case, the metadata recording unit 124 deletes a desired item of video description metadata corresponding to the processing target designation metadata to be deleted. As the deletion process, the video description metadata corresponding to the processing target designation metadata to be deleted may be deleted. In this case, for example, when deleting the video description metadata corresponding to the processing target designating metadata “STEP3”, the part surrounded by <STEP3> and </ STEP3> may be deleted (identifier). And delete them). It is also possible to delete one desired item of video description metadata corresponding to the processing target designation metadata to be deleted.

  In this embodiment, the same item (for example, the clip name exists in any process) has been described as an example of the video description metadata in each process of video production. This item may be added. In this case, an identifier corresponding to the new item may be used.

  The metadata processing apparatus, video processing apparatus, and video processing system according to the present invention drastically improve the convenience in searching and editing video data using the user's metadata. The present invention is widely applicable to applied video editing systems, video editing devices, video recording / playback devices, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Recording medium 101 Video recording apparatus 102 Metadata recording apparatus 103 Playback apparatus 110 Video input means 111 Video recording means 120 Video description metadata input means 121 Video description metadata generation means 122 Processing target designation metadata input means 123 Processing target designation meta Data generation means 124 Metadata recording means 130 Metadata display means 131 Processing target designation meta processing means 132 Metadata reproduction means 133 Video reproduction means 134 Video display means 135 Processing target designation meta selection means 200 Content directory 201 Video storage directory 202 Meta Data storage directory 300 Processing target designation meta display / selection unit 301 Thumbnail image display unit 302 Metadata display unit 303 Thumbnail image display unit 304 Metadata display unit 40 Pull-down button 402 a pull-down menu 500 scenario data associated screen 501 scene name display 502 the image data file name display 503 set button

Claims (14)

An area for recording the processing target designation metadata for designating the processing target of the metadata and metadata representing the attribute of the video data, and recording the video description metadata associated with the processing target designation metadata A metadata recording means for recording metadata on a recording medium in a metadata recording format including an area to be
The processing target specified metadata is data for designating one image descriptive meta data from a plurality of video description metadata including the same item associated with one clip, the video processing apparatus. Furthermore, video description metadata input means for inputting the video description metadata;
Processing target designation metadata input means for inputting processing target designation metadata for designating a processing target of the video description metadata;
The video processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: processing target designation meta generation means that associates the video description metadata with the processing target designation metadata. An area for recording the processing target designation metadata for designating the processing target of the metadata and metadata representing the attribute of the video data, and recording the video description metadata associated with the processing target designation metadata A metadata reproducing means for reproducing the metadata recorded on the recording medium in a metadata recording format including an area to be
Processing target designation meta processing means for limiting the processing to the video description metadata associated with the processing target designation metadata recorded in a recording medium,
The processing target specified metadata is data for designating one image descriptive meta data from a plurality of video description metadata including the same item associated with one clip, the video processing apparatus. Furthermore, a metadata display means for displaying the video description metadata and the processing target designation metadata,
4. The video processing device according to claim 3, wherein the metadata display means displays the video description metadata processed by the processing target designation meta processing means and the processing target designation metadata. Furthermore, it comprises a processing target designation meta selection means for inputting the processing target designation metadata,
The processing target designation meta processing means includes means for changing the processing target designation metadata to data input by the processing target designation meta selection means,
The video processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the metadata recording unit records the processing target designation metadata after being changed by the processing target designation meta processing unit. 6. The video processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising video playback means for playing back video data recorded on the recording medium. Furthermore, video input means for inputting video data;
Video recording means for recording the video data input by the video input means on a recording medium,
The metadata recording means records the video data in association with the processing target designation metadata and the video description metadata.
The video processing apparatus according to claim 2. Further, metadata reproducing means for reproducing the metadata recorded on the recording medium,
The video processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: processing target designation meta processing means for limiting processing to the video description metadata associated with the processing target designation metadata recorded on the recording medium. Further, the metadata recording means reproduces the metadata recorded on the recording medium, and additionally records new processing target designation metadata and video description metadata associated with the new processing target designation metadata. The video processing apparatus according to claim 2, which is recorded in The video description metadata includes one or more of a clip name representing the name of the video data and an operation date and time representing the date and time when the metadata was recorded, and corresponds to a plurality of processing target designation metadata. The video processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the video description metadata is recorded. The video description metadata includes one or more of a clip name representing the name of the video data and an operation date and time representing the date and time when the metadata was recorded, and corresponds to a plurality of processing target designation metadata. 6. The video processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein video description metadata corresponding to the processing target designation metadata input by the processing target designation meta selection means is displayed on the metadata display means from the video description metadata. The video processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the video description metadata includes a link point associated with an arbitrary position in the video data. 9. The video according to claim 8, wherein the video description metadata includes a link point associated with an arbitrary position in the video data, and refers to video data at a position associated with the link point based on the link point. Processing equipment. The processing target designation meta processing means determines reproduction based on video data corresponding to the metadata recorded on the recording medium and a link point which is one of video description metadata corresponding to the processing target designation metadata. The video processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein a playlist is created from a start point and a playback end point.

Images