JPH07222091A - Video tape recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To record a title of a program automatically to a nonvolatile memory fitted to a tape cassette main body by storing a still image to a memory when a still picture state is consecutive for a prescribed time. CONSTITUTION:An input analog television video signal is A/D-converted by an A/D converter circuit 1 and received by a frame memory 2. A video image by one frame (pattern) at the start of video recording mode is received in a nonvolatile memory 14 built in a tape cassette 7 via a memory control circuit 6. A recording content of the frame memory 2 and an output of the A/D converter circuit 1 are compared by a frame comparator circuit 3 to detect the presence of a still picture. When a still picture is detected, the memory control circuit 6 starts a counter 4. When the counter 4 counts the signals for 3sec or over, the memory control circuit 6 discriminates that the still image state is consecutive for 3sec or over and stores the still image to the memory 14 as title information.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video tape recorder (VTR) into which a tape cassette equipped with a non-volatile memory is inserted.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a plurality of programs are recorded on one tape cassette, the user manages each time by recording the recorded contents on a paper label attached to the cassette. on the other hand,
Regarding program reservation, VT for each program you want to reserve
It was directly input to the R main unit or transfer input was performed using a remote control.

However, the program reservation operation is complicated and inconvenient for the user. For this reason, in recent years, many VTRs have adopted a program reservation system capable of making a program reservation simply by inputting an 8-digit number.

[0004]

However, when recording and reproducing are frequently repeated on the same tape, it is necessary to rewrite the recorded contents in the paper label or the tape cassette case each time, and if the number of cassettes increases Not only is the content management extremely troublesome, but when the paper label is filled in, it is not possible to know all the contents recorded in the cassette with the tape cassette mounted in the VTR main body.

Further, regarding the program reservation, since the number that can be registered in the VTR main body is limited, it is necessary to input in order of recording date and time when many programs are reserved. For example, when the number of reserved programs that can be registered is four for simplicity, a, b, and
If you reserved the programs c and d and want to schedule the recording of the program e whose recording date and time is between a and b, wait until the recording of a is completed or cancel the reservation of d once. It was necessary to make a reservation for and then make a reservation for d again after the end of a.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and automatically records the title of a program recorded in a non-volatile memory attached to a tape cassette body, and also records a designated scene in the program. This makes it possible to read the contents of the memory and display them on the display without having to write the recorded contents on the cassette label attached to the tape cassette, and to know the recorded contents at a glance. It is an object of the present invention to provide a VTR that makes it possible to make a timer reservation according to the reservation content of each cassette by inserting the reservation program information.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a tape cassette having a large capacity non-volatile memory capable of exchanging data with the outside through a contact provided on a case is inserted, and the memory and the data are stored. A video tape recorder for transmitting and receiving, a still image detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a still image of an input video signal when recording is started, and a measuring means for measuring the time of the still image state by the still image detecting means. And a control means for automatically storing the still image in the memory when the still image state continues for a predetermined time by the measuring means. Also,
In the video tape recorder according to the present invention, when a still image is automatically stored in the memory when the still image state continues for a predetermined time, the still image is displayed on the display.

Further, in the video tape recorder according to the present invention, when the cancel switch is pressed by the user, the storage of the still image in the memory is stopped.

Further, in the video tape recorder according to the present invention, when recording is started, the image for one frame at the start of recording is stored in the memory before the detection of a still image.

Further, in the video tape recorder according to the present invention, the recording information such as the recording time, the recording time zone and the recording channel is automatically stored in the memory when the recording is completed.

Further, in the video tape recorder according to the present invention, the control means stores the input video signal in the memory as title data at arbitrary timing by a user's operation when a predetermined time has elapsed from the recording start time. I was able to move to.

[0012]

[Operation] A still image of a predetermined time or more is used as a title image,
It is stored in the memory in the tape cassette. At this time, the still image automatically captured in the memory is displayed on the display. Also, when a predetermined time has elapsed from the recording start time,
The index mode in which the input video signal is stored in the memory as title data can be shifted at any timing by a user operation. Further, when the recording is completed, the recording information such as the recording time, the recording time zone, the recording channel, etc. is automatically taken into the memory in the tape cassette.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the essential parts of a VTR embodying the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart of its operation. In the following description, S1, S2, ... Show each step of the flowchart in FIG.

The input analog television video signal is A
A / D (analog / digital) conversion is performed by the / D conversion circuit 1, and the data is taken into the frame memory 2 and VT
When R16 enters the recording mode (S1), the image for one frame (screen) at the start of the recording mode is also captured in the nonvolatile memory (MIC) 14 built in the tape cassette 7 via the memory control circuit 6 ( S2). FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the tape cassette 7, showing a VT through a metal terminal 15 provided on the tape cassette case.
Data is exchanged with the memory control circuit 6 of R16.
A VTR using a tape cassette having such a non-volatile memory built therein is described in, for example, Nikkei Electronics Book “Data Compression and Digital Modulation” P. 137-140.

When the recording mode is entered and one frame of image is loaded into the memory 14, the VTR enters the title-in mode, but this title-in mode continues for one minute (S
3). When the title-in mode is entered, the contents stored in the frame memory 2 and the output of the A / D conversion circuit are compared by the frame comparison circuit 3, that is, the image of the current frame and the image of the previous frame are compared, and the still image is displayed. The presence or absence of an image is detected (S4).

When a still image is detected in step 4 (S4), the memory control circuit 6 determines whether or not the counter 4 has been started (S5), and if the counter 4 is not started, the counter 4 is started (S6). ), If the counter 4 has been started, it is determined whether or not the counter has measured for 3 seconds or more (S7). When the counter 4 has measured for 3 seconds or more, the memory control circuit 6 determines that the still image state has continued for 3 seconds or more, and in the next step (S8), it is determined that the cancel switch (not shown) is pressed by the user. If not, this still image is recorded in the memory 14 as title information. At this time, if it is determined in step S7 that the still image state has continued for 3 seconds or more, the memory control microcomputer 6 displays the still image on screen on the display device 8 such as a cathode ray tube of the TV receiver as shown in FIG. , At this time, the title displayed on-screen is displayed in a red frame so that it can be easily understood as a title, or if a picture-in-picture function is provided, it is displayed on a small screen with that function. . Step S1
0 is a step of resetting the counter 4 when a still image is not detected in step 4.

The still image of 3 seconds or more is automatically loaded as a title in the MIC 14 as described above for the following reason.

About 90% of TV programs are about 1 at the beginning.
During the minute, a title credit representing the title of the program is broadcast. On the other hand, even if a still image is used in a commercial, the cut is almost 2 seconds or less. Therefore, when a still image of 3 seconds or more is extracted in one minute at the beginning of the program, most of the still image is a title credit.

As described above, the memory control circuit 6 displays on the display 8 as shown in FIG. 3 to inform that the still image is taken in as the title of the program. When the user determines that the title is extracted as a title, the user can stop writing to the memory 14 by pressing a title cancel switch (not shown) provided on the VTR. Otherwise, the extracted data replaces the data written in the memory at the start of recording (S1).

When it is determined in step S3 that one minute has elapsed from the start of recording, the mode is shifted to the index mode. In this mode, when the user presses the index switch at an arbitrary position and timing (S11), the video data at that time can be written as index data in the cassette memory (S12). In particular,
When setting the index mode, the system controller 13 sends an instruction to the mode switching circuit 9, so that the mode switching circuit 9 sets the operation of the frame comparison circuit 3 to the index mode and drives the index detection circuit 10. The index detection circuit 10 detects whether the index switch is operated,
By transmitting the detection signal to the memory control circuit 6, the memory control circuit 6 causes the memory 14 to store the image for one frame at the time when the index switch is pressed.

Instead of steps S11 and S12, there may be provided a step of writing the video data in the memory in the cassette at regular time intervals. Through the series of steps described above, the user can read the contents of the memory in the cassette to know the recorded contents by viewing the title credit (or something similar) of the program recorded in the cassette or the index video. .

When the writing of the index information is completed or the index switch is not pressed, it is judged in step S13 whether or not the recording is completed, and in the next step S14, the recording information (recording time zone, The recording time and recording channel) are written to the memory, and the recording ends.

In this way, by writing the recording information in the memory and terminating the recording, the tape cassette V
By inserting into the TR main body and turning on the one-touch timer switch, the system control circuit 13 issues a command to the one-touch timer circuit 11, and the one-touch timer circuit 11 writes the recording condition (in the cassette memory read by the control circuit 6 ( The mechanical control circuit 12 is driven according to the recording time zone, recording time, and recording channel) to perform recording.

By using such a function, when recording a continuous program for a long term in the same cassette (when recording a program broadcast on the same channel every week or every day), once recording By using a cassette for a VTR, it is not necessary to make a program reservation, and if a program is determined for each cassette, the program recording can be automatically performed only by exchanging the cassette.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, every time a program is recorded, the title of the program or the image at the start of recording is automatically taken into the memory in the tape cassette, so that the user can store it in this memory. The contents of the program recorded on the cassette can be known at a glance by reading out the contents.

Further, since the image stored in the memory as the title can be confirmed on the display, if the user thinks that the image is not suitable as the title,
The cancel switch can stop the acquisition of the image in the memory.

Further, when a predetermined time has elapsed from the recording start time, the mode is shifted to the index mode, so that the user can take an arbitrary image as a title image in the memory.

Further, when the recording is finished, the recording information such as the recording time, the recording time zone and the recording channel is automatically stored in the memory. Therefore, when recording a series of programs on the same tape, There is also an effect that it is not necessary to input each time and only the cassette is inserted.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a main part of a VTR embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flowchart for explaining the operation of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a title display screen displayed according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the tape cassette used in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 A / D converter 2 frame memory 3 frame comparator 4 counter 5 title extraction circuit 6 memory control circuit 7 tape cassette 8 display 9 mode switching circuit 10 index data detection circuit 11 one-touch timer circuit 12 mechanical control circuit 13 system controller 14 nonvolatile Sex memory

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI Technical display location G11B 23/30 E 7177-5D 27/00 A 8224-5D

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A video tape recorder in which a tape cassette incorporating a large-capacity non-volatile memory capable of exchanging data with the outside via a contact provided in a case is inserted and the data is exchanged with the memory. Therefore, when recording is started, a still image detecting unit that detects the presence or absence of a still image in the input video signal, a measuring unit that measures the time of the still image state by the still image detecting unit, and a still image by the measuring unit. A video tape recorder comprising: control means for automatically storing the still image in the memory when the state continues for a predetermined time. 2. The video tape recorder according to claim 1, wherein the presence or absence of a still image is determined by comparing an image of a current frame and an image of a previous frame. 3. The video tape recorder according to claim 1, wherein the still image is displayed on a display when the still image is automatically stored in a memory when the still image state continues for a predetermined time. 4. The video tape recorder according to claim 1, wherein when the user presses a cancel switch, storage of the still image in the memory is stopped. 5. The video tape recorder according to claim 1, wherein when recording is started, an image for one frame at the start of recording is stored in the memory before detection of a still image. 6. The video tape recorder according to claim 1, wherein the recording information such as the recording time, the recording time zone, and the recording channel is automatically stored in the memory when the recording is completed. 7. A video tape recorder in which a tape cassette incorporating a large-capacity non-volatile memory capable of exchanging data with the outside through a contact provided in a case is inserted and data is exchanged with the memory. Then, when recording is started, a still image detecting unit that detects the presence or absence of a still image in the input video signal, a measuring unit that measures the time of the still image state by the still image detecting unit, and a still image by the measuring unit. And a control means for automatically setting the still image in the memory when the state continues for a predetermined time, and the control means, when the predetermined time has elapsed from the recording start time,
A video tape recorder adapted to shift to an index mode in which the input video signal is stored in the memory as title data at an arbitrary timing by a user's operation.