KR100429820B1 - Thumbnail data recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for recording data defining thumbnails. The recording apparatus according to the present invention. A controller for generating an identifier of the program, a playback start time information, and a playback duration information for defining a thumbnail that can be reproduced as a moving picture for a program including video data and / or audio data; And a recording unit for recording the identifier of the program, the reproduction start time information and the reproduction duration time information provided from the control unit. Accordingly, a device for recording a thumbnail that can be reproduced as a moving picture can be obtained by designating a specific section of the bitstream corresponding to a predetermined program as a thumbnail.

Description

Thumbnail data recording apparatus {Thumbnail data recording apparatus}

The present invention relates to a recording apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus for recording a thumbnail for identifying or representing at least one program.

Thumbnails are derived from the meaning of "thumbnail-sized pictures," which represent relatively large original data in smaller images so that a large amount of images or data can be quickly retrieved or managed.

In a conventional recording medium in which thumbnails are defined, N A / V (Audio / Video) bitstreams in which audio data and / or video data are multiplexed are recorded. One bitstream means a program in which content such as a movie or a music video is recorded. However, since the conventionally defined thumbnail is composed of one still picture, the thumbnail pointer as a navigation information indicating the thumbnail points to a point of the bitstream. That is, according to the conventional thumbnail definition method, only still pictures without audio data can be defined. Therefore, even in a program including moving picture content such as a movie or a music video, the thumbnail provided as search information is composed of only still pictures. However, thumbnails displayed with only one still picture are not easy to identify or represent video content, and are not easy to convey to the user what the content of the program is.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for recording a thumbnail that can be reproduced as a moving picture so as to more appropriately represent and identify the program.

1 is a reference diagram for explaining a recording medium according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a program and a thumbnail pointer of FIG. 1;

3 is a reference diagram for explaining a recording medium according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a program of FIG. 3 and a thumbnail pointer;

5 is a block diagram of a recording apparatus for specifying thumbnails according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

6 is a block diagram of a playback apparatus for reproducing thumbnails according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of recording thumbnails according to an embodiment of the present invention;

8 is a flowchart for explaining a method of recording thumbnails according to another embodiment of the present invention;

9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of step 802 of FIG. 8;

10 is a flowchart illustrating another example of step 802 of FIG. 8;

11 is a flowchart for describing a method of playing a thumbnail according to an embodiment of the present invention;

12 is a flowchart for explaining a method of playing a thumbnail according to another embodiment of the present invention;

13 is a flowchart for explaining a method of reproducing thumbnails according to another embodiment of the present invention.

An object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus for recording data on a recording medium, comprising: an identifier of the program for defining a thumbnail that can be reproduced as a moving picture for a program including video data and / or audio data, and start of playback in the program A controller for generating time information and reproduction duration information; And a recording unit for recording the identifier of the program, the reproduction start time information, and the reproduction duration information provided from the control unit.

In addition, the above object is a recording apparatus for recording data on a recording medium, comprising: an identifier of the program for defining a thumbnail that can be reproduced as a moving picture for a program including video data and / or audio data, in the program A control unit for generating navigation information including playback start information and playback end information; And a recording unit for recording the navigation information provided from the control unit.

The control unit generates the playback start position and playback end position in the program as the playback start information and playback end information, and the recording unit records the playback start position and the playback end position generated from the controller,

The control unit generates the reproduction start time and the reproduction end time in the program as the reproduction start information and the reproduction end information, and the recording unit records the reproduction start time and the reproduction end time generated from the control unit and starts the reproduction. The time and playback end time are preferably represented by an identifier of a start frame and an identifier of a last frame constituting the thumbnail.

The controller further generates additional effect information defining additional effects to be used in reproducing the thumbnail as the navigation information, the recording unit further records additional effect information generated from the controller, and the additional effect information includes: Defining the use of fade-in in the first half of playback, or the definition of fade-out in the second half of playback, or the definition of freeze after playback in the second half of playback. More preferred.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a reference diagram for explaining a recording medium according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, as an embodiment of the recording medium according to the present invention, N programs are recorded as presentation data and N thumbnail pointers corresponding to each program are recorded as navigation information. Each program including moving image content such as a movie or a music video is recorded as one bitstream according to the present embodiment. The bitstream refers to digital data in which video data and / or audio data are multiplexed. However, each program may be recorded in one or more bitstreams as necessary.

2 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a program and a thumbnail pointer of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the thumbnail pointer indicates one section of the corresponding bitstream. More specifically, the thumbnail pointer includes an AV bitstream ID, a start frame offset, and a last frame offset. Furthermore, a lead in effect and a lead out effect may be further included as necessary.

The bitstream identifier is a field for selecting a corresponding bitstream among N bitstreams. The start frame offset and the last frame offset correspond to the fields of the thumbnail pointer which is one of the navigation information defining the thumbnail according to the present embodiment, and the file system indicates the position where the start frame and the last frame are recorded among the selected bitstreams. Means a value marked as accessible by. Accordingly, the thumbnail corresponds to the hatched portion of the corresponding bitstream, and the thumbnail can be reproduced as a video.

On the other hand, the lead-in effect and lead-out effect are fields that define the screen processing effect as an additional effect added during the playback of the thumbnail. The lead-in effect specifies the screen processing effect introduced in the first half of the playback. Specifies the picture processing effect introduced later in playback. For example, fade-in may be used as a lead-in effect, and fade-out or freeze-after-playback may be used as a lead-out effect. Can be used, so that thumbnails can be played more naturally and effectively. However, since the lead-in and lead-out effects are not necessarily fields for defining thumbnails to be reproduced as moving images, they may be omitted or changed to other additional effects as necessary.

3 is a reference diagram for explaining a recording medium according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, as an embodiment of the recording medium according to the present invention, N programs are recorded as presentation data and N map tables and thumbnail pointers corresponding to each program as navigation information are recorded on a DVD (Digital Video Disc). Is recorded. The program is recorded in one bitstream according to this embodiment. The bitstream is digital stream data in which video data and / or audio data are multiplexed. However, each program may be recorded in one or more bitstreams as necessary.

The map table plays a role of mapping positional information accessible by the file system to reproduction time information of predetermined data, and a thumbnail pointer indicates a thumbnail defined for each bitstream.

4 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a program and a thumbnail pointer of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 4, the thumbnail pointer indicates one section of the corresponding bitstream through the map table. More specifically, the thumbnail pointer includes an AV bitstream ID, a start frame ID, and a last frame ID. Furthermore, a lead in effect and a lead out effect may be further included as necessary.

The bitstream identifier is a field for selecting, as navigation information, a bitstream corresponding to a thumbnail among N bitstreams. The start frame identifier and the last frame identifier are navigation information for defining a thumbnail according to the present embodiment, and in particular, are corresponding to playback period information.

The moving picture is implemented by quickly displaying a plurality of still images expressed slightly differently. That is, in order to implement a video, a predetermined number (eg, 30) of still images should be sprayed per second. Each still picture that constitutes a video is called a frame, and the number of frames to be sprayed per second is called a frame rate. Therefore, the frame identifier has the same meaning as the reproduction time information. On the other hand, the map table is one of navigation information defined according to the DVD standard, and maps reproduction time information and recording position information of predetermined data. Therefore, referring to the map table #n corresponding to the thumbnail pointer #n, it is possible to determine the position value at which the specified thumbnail is recorded from the start frame identifier and the last frame identifier. Accordingly, the thumbnail is reproduced as a moving picture from the frame having the start frame identifier to the frame having the last frame identifier.

On the other hand, the lead-in effect and lead-out effect are fields that define the screen processing effect as an additional effect added during the playback of the thumbnail. The lead-in effect specifies the screen processing effect introduced in the first half of the playback. Specifies the picture processing effect introduced later in playback. For example, fade-in may be used as a lead-in effect, and fade-out or freeze-after-playback may be used as a lead-out effect. Can be used, so that thumbnails can be played more naturally and effectively. Similarly, the lead-in and lead-out effects are not necessary fields for defining thumbnails to be reproduced as moving images, and thus may be omitted or changed to other additional effects as necessary.

5 is a block diagram of a recording apparatus for specifying thumbnails according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The recording device 5 is a device used by a manufacturer in the production stage of an optical disc such as a DVD or used to record a desired program or thumbnail by a general user. When a predetermined program and thumbnails according to the intention of the producer are recorded on the optical disk 500 by the recording apparatus 5, the recording apparatus 5, as shown in FIG. 5, includes a control unit 51, an encoder 52, and a recording unit. 53 is provided. The control unit 51 generates navigation information that defines thumbnails for programs including video data and / or audio data. The recording unit 52 records a program on the optical disc 500 as a recording medium, and records the navigation information provided from the control unit 51. When a program is input as unencoded data (A), the encoder 52 encodes it and delivers it to the recording unit 53. When a program is input as encoded digital data (B), it is immediately transmitted to the recording unit 53 and recorded on the optical disc 500.

On the other hand, when the general user records a predetermined program and thumbnail on the optical disk 500 according to the intention of the user, the recording device 5, the control unit 51, the encoder 52, and the recording unit 53, referring to FIG. , Reader 54 and / or decoder 55. The roles of the control unit 51, the encoder 52, and the recording unit 53 are as described above with reference to FIG. 5. However, the reading unit 54 outputs the read program immediately if it can be output without decoding it or transfers it to the decoder 55 when decoding is necessary. Thus, the decoder 55 decodes and outputs the received program.

The user starts to play a section to be designated as a thumbnail while watching a program played through a display device (not shown) and a speaker (not shown) interfaced to the reader unit 54 or the decoder 55. Upon completion, the playback start and playback completion of the thumbnail are input to the controller 51, and the controller 51 generates a thumbnail pointer (and map table) to be defined as a thumbnail from the playback start position input from the user to the playback completion position.

In this case, the navigation information defining the thumbnail includes position information indicating a corresponding bitstream in which the thumbnail is recorded and playback section information indicating a section defined as a thumbnail in the corresponding bitstream. The location information is represented by a bitstream identifier. The playback section information is displayed as a playback start position and playback end position or playback start time and playback end time of the section designated as thumbnails in the selected bitstream. Here, the play start position and the play end position are expressed as offset values in the file system for the start position and the end position among the areas where the data of the section defined as the thumbnail are recorded, or the identifier and the last frame of the start frame constituting the thumbnail. It may be represented by an identifier of. In addition, the navigation information defining the thumbnail may include a field defining a screen processing effect to be used in playing the thumbnail. In fact, the thumbnail pointer is navigation information for defining a thumbnail according to the present embodiment and includes a field for defining a screen processing effect as described above.

6 is a block diagram of a playback apparatus for playing a thumbnail in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The playback device 6 is a device used for playing back a desired program or thumbnail by a general user. The predetermined program and / or thumbnail recorded on the optical disc 600 is reproduced by the reproduction device 6 according to the intention of the producer, or the predetermined program and / or thumbnail recorded on the optical disc 600 is reproduced according to the user's intention. do. Referring to FIG. 6, the playback device 6 includes a control unit 61, a decoder 62, and a reading unit 63.

The reading unit 63 reads the navigation information recorded on the optical disc 600 as a recording medium. The playback device 6 decodes and outputs the thumbnails recorded in the bitstream (C) or outputs them in the digital bitstream (D). For example, a thumbnail when the playback device 6 includes a speaker (not shown) and / or a display portion (not shown) or interfaces with a speaker (not shown) and / or a display portion (not shown). Is output through the decoder 62. When the playback device 6 is connected to another digital device or network via a digital interface, the thumbnail is output as an undecoded digital bitstream.

As described above, the navigation information defining the thumbnail includes location information indicating a corresponding bitstream in which the thumbnail is recorded and playback section information indicating a section defined as a thumbnail in the corresponding bitstream. The location information is represented by a bitstream identifier. The playback section information is displayed as a playback start position and playback end position or playback start time and playback end time of the section designated as thumbnails in the selected bitstream. Here, the play start position and the play end position are expressed as offset values in the file system for the start position and the end position among the areas where the data of the section defined as the thumbnail are recorded, or the identifier and the last frame of the start frame constituting the thumbnail. It may be represented by an identifier of. In addition, the navigation information defining the thumbnail may include a field defining a screen processing effect to be used in playing the thumbnail. In fact, the thumbnail pointer is navigation information for defining a thumbnail according to the present embodiment and includes a field for defining a screen processing effect as described above.

Referring to the recording method and the reproduction method according to the present invention according to the configuration as described above are as follows.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a method of recording thumbnails according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Through the steps shown in FIG. 7, the producer or general user of the optical disc 500 can use the recording device 5 to record programs and thumbnails as intended. The recording apparatus 5 receives a predetermined program from the outside and records it on the optical disk 500 through the recording unit 53 (step 701). At this time, the input program is recorded after being encoded by the encoder 52 (A) or, if already encoded and input, is recorded without going through the encoding step (B). Next, the control unit 51 records navigation information defining a thumbnail for the program in a predetermined area of the optical disk 500 (step 500).

8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of recording thumbnails according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Through the steps shown in FIG. 8, the general user plays back and watches a program already recorded on the optical disc 500 using the recording apparatus 5, and when the section to be designated as a thumbnail starts to be played or is played, the playback is completed. The navigation information defining the thumbnail is recorded by transmitting the start position or the reproduction completion position to the control unit 51.

Referring to FIG. 8, when information for defining a thumbnail for a corresponding program is received by the controller 51 of the recording apparatus 5 (step 801), the controller 51 generates navigation information based on the received information. The recording unit 53 records the generated navigation information in a predetermined area of the optical disk 500 (step 802).

9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of step 802 of FIG. 8.

Referring to FIG. 9, for example, when playback of a section to be designated as a thumbnail is started or ended, the user is provided in the recording device 5 to inform the playback start position or the playback end position (not shown). Press. Accordingly, the controller 51 transmits the identifier of the program currently being reproduced as the position information of the thumbnail to the recording unit 53, and the recording unit 53 records the generated program identifier (step 901). In addition, the control unit 51 finds the position being reproduced at the time when the button is pressed in the corresponding bitstream as the reproduction section information of the thumbnail, that is, the reproduction start position and the reproduction end position, and transmits the recorded portion to the recording unit 53, and the recording unit 53. In step 902, the transferred playback start position and playback end position are recorded as navigation information. The playback start position and the playback end position may be expressed as offset values accessible through the file system as start positions and end positions of the section defined as thumbnails as described above.

Next, the controller 51 transmits the additional effect information set as a default or selected and input from the user to the recording unit 53, and the recording unit 53 records the input additional effect information as navigation information (step 903). However, the step of recording the additional effect information can be omitted.

10 is a flowchart illustrating another example of step 802 of FIG. 8.

Referring to FIG. 10, similarly, the controller 51 transmits the identifier of the corresponding program as the location information of the thumbnail to the recording unit 53, and the recording unit 53 records the generated program identifier (step 1001). In addition, the control unit 51 generates a playback start position and playback end position in the corresponding program, and the recording unit 53 records the generated playback start position and playback end position (step 1002). Here, the playback section information, that is, the playback start time and the playback end time are recorded as the identifier of the start frame and the last frame constituting the thumbnail (1002-1) or included in the identifier and thumbnail of the start frame constituting the thumbnail. At least some of the frames may be recorded (1002-2).

Next, the control unit 51 outputs the additional effect information set as default or selected and input from the user, and the recording unit 53 records the additional effect information (step 1003). Here, the additional effect information is recorded using fade-in in the first half of reproduction (1003-1), or using fade-out in the second half of reproduction (1003-2). It may be recorded that using Freeze after playback later in playback (1003-3). Similarly, the step of recording the side effect information can be omitted.

11 is a flowchart for explaining a method of reproducing thumbnails according to an embodiment of the present invention. The playback device 6 reads out navigation information defining a thumbnail for a program from the optical disc 600, and allows the thumbnail to be reproduced based on the read navigation information.

When the user requests reproduction of a thumbnail for a predetermined program through the menu screen, as shown in FIG. 11, the reading unit 63 reads the identifier of the corresponding program as navigation information (step 1101), and the playback start position in the corresponding program. And the reproduction end position is read (step 1102). Here, the reproduction start position and the reproduction end position mean offset values accessible through the file system as described above. In addition, the reading unit 63 reads the additional effect information defined for the reproduction of the thumbnail and transmits it to the control unit 61 (step 1103). The controller 61 reproduces the thumbnail based on the received navigation information (step 1104).

12 is a flowchart for describing a method of reproducing thumbnails according to another embodiment of the present invention.

When the user requests reproduction of a thumbnail for a predetermined program through the menu screen, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the reading unit 63 reads the location information and the playback section information as navigation information defining the thumbnail (step 1201). Next, the control unit 61 interprets the read position information and the reproduction section information, and transmits the read position information to the reading unit 63. The reading unit 63 reads a plurality of frames constituting a thumbnail based on the received information. To be reproduced (step 1202).

13 is a flowchart for explaining a method of reproducing thumbnails according to another embodiment of the present invention.

When the user requests reproduction of a thumbnail for a predetermined program through a menu screen, as shown in FIG. 13, the reading unit 63 reads an identifier of a corresponding program recorded in a predetermined area of the optical disc 600 (step 1301). ). In addition, the reading unit 63 reads out the playback start time and playback end time (step 1302). Here, the reading unit 63 reads the identifier of the start frame and the last frame constituting the thumbnail as the playback start time and the playback end time (1302-1), or includes it in the identifier and thumbnail of the start frame constituting the thumbnail. The number of the at least some frames may be read (1302-2).

Next, the control unit 61 extracts the play start position and play end position mapped to the read play start time and play end time with reference to the corresponding map table, and the readout unit 63 plays the play start position and play. The end position is read (step 1303).

The reading unit 63 also reads additional effect information (step 1304). At this time, a fade-in is used in the first half of playback (1004-1), a fade-out is used in the second half of playback (1304-2), or a freeze after playback in the second half of playback. Side effect information defining that (Freeze after playback) is used may be read (1304-3). However, when the additional effect information is not recorded on the optical disc 600, the step of reading the additional effect information is omitted.

Accordingly, the controller 61 allows the data constituting the thumbnail, that is, the frame, to be read out and reproduced based on the read program identifier, the reproduction start time, and the reproduction end time (and additional effect information).

As described above, according to the present invention, a recording apparatus capable of recording a thumbnail that can be reproduced as a moving picture is provided by designating a specific section of a bitstream corresponding to one program as a thumbnail.

Claims (10)

A recording apparatus for recording data on a recording medium, A controller for generating an identifier of the program, a playback start time information, and a playback duration information for defining a thumbnail that can be reproduced as a moving picture for a program including video data and / or audio data; And And a recording unit for recording the identifier of the program, the reproduction start time information, and the reproduction duration information provided from the control unit. The method of claim 1, And the reproduction start time information and the reproduction duration time information are recorded with an identifier of a predetermined frame included in the thumbnail and the number of at least some frames included in the thumbnail. A recording apparatus for recording data on a recording medium, A control unit for generating navigation information including an identifier of the program for defining a thumbnail that can be reproduced as a moving picture for a program including video data and / or audio data, playback start information and playback end information in the program; And And a recording unit for recording the navigation information provided from the control unit. The method of claim 3, The control unit generates a play start position and a play end position in the program as the play start information and play end information. And the recording unit records the reproduction start position and the reproduction end position generated from the control unit. The method of claim 3, The control unit generates a reproduction start time and a reproduction end time in the program as the reproduction start information and reproduction end information, And the recording unit records the reproduction start time and the reproduction end time generated from the control unit. The method of claim 5, And the playback start time and playback end time are identifiers of a start frame and an end frame of the thumbnail. The method of claim 3, The controller further generates additional effect information defining additional effects to be used in playing the thumbnail, And the recording unit further records additional effect information generated from the control unit. The method of claim 7, wherein And the fade-in is used in the first half of reproduction as the additional effect information. The method of claim 7, And the fade-out is used later in the reproduction as the additional effect information. The method of claim 7, wherein And the free effect after playback is used in the second half of the reproduction as the additional effect information.