WO2003092002A1

WO2003092002A1 - Information recording device, information reproduction device, information recording method, information reproduction method, recording control program, reproduction control program, information recording medium, and recording medium

Info

Publication number: WO2003092002A1
Application number: PCT/JP2003/003734
Authority: WO
Inventors: Takao Sawabe; Masanori Nakahara; Akira Imamura
Original assignee: Pioneer Corporation
Priority date: 2002-04-25
Filing date: 2003-03-26
Publication date: 2003-11-06
Also published as: AU2003227214A1; JPWO2003092002A1; JP4015151B2

Abstract

An information recording device and the like capable of protecting copyright of a still image when related music information is moved away and restoring their relationship when the music information is moved back to a previous recording medium. This can be achieved by recording on an optical disc DK: identification information CID for identifying still image data STL related to an audio object AOB, and existence information SFG indicating whether the audio object AOB and the still image data STL related to the audio object AOB exist on the same optical disc DK.

Description

Description Information recording device, information reproducing device, information recording method, information reproducing method, recording control program, reproduction control program, information recording medium, and recording medium

The present invention belongs to the technical fields of an information recording device, an information reproducing device, an information recording method, an information reproducing method, a recording control program, a reproduction control program, and an information recording medium and a recording medium. Recording device, information reproducing device, information recording method, information reproducing method, recording control program, reproduction control program, and the like, which handle main information such as main image information and sub-information such as still image information associated with the main information. It belongs to the technical field of an information recording medium and a recording medium on which the main information and the sub information are recorded. Background art

In recent years, so-called music distribution, in which music information such as music is distributed through a network such as the Internet for a fee, has been generally performed.

When this music information is distributed, the distributed music information is generally recorded on a recording device constituted by a so-called personal computer or the like. On the other hand, in recent years, a portable so-called audio recorder equipped with a solid-state memory such as a semiconductor memory has been developed, and music information recorded on the personal computer or the like is recorded on the audio recorder and is used when going out. It is also possible to enjoy the music information at. In this case, since the music information is protected by copyright, the music information on the personal computer is processed so that it cannot be reproduced. That is, the music information is not "copied" but "moved (called a move)" from the personal computer or the like to the audio recorder.

Recently, enjoy still images in synchronization with the playback of music information, such as DVD audio, or display still images in menus for selecting music information. Demands for use and the like are increasing.

However, handling of still images accompanying the movement of music information as described above has not been specified at all.

Therefore, for example, when music information recorded on a personal computer is moved to a portable audio recorder, a still image is left behind in the personal computer, and copyright protection for the still image is not sufficiently performed. When music information was returned from a portable audio recorder to a personal computer (called “moveback”), problems such as the inability to restore the association between music information and a still image occurred. Disclosure of the invention

Accordingly, the present invention provides an information recording apparatus, an information reproducing apparatus, an information recording method, an information reproducing method, a recording control program, a reproduction control program, an information recording medium, and an information recording apparatus which have been made in view of the above problems. It is to provide a recording medium on which main information and sub-information are recorded.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first aspect of the present invention provides an information recording device that records main information and sub-information on a recording medium, comprising identification information for identifying the sub-information related to the main information. Information that indicates whether or not the main information and sub-information related to the main information are present on the same recording medium. The above-mentioned problem has been solved.

According to the first aspect, the identification information for identifying the sub-information related to the main information, and whether the main information and the sub-information related to the main information exist on the same recording medium. Is recorded on the recording medium, even after the main information, the sub-information, and the are separately moved to another recording medium, the main information and the sub-information are stored in the main information and the main information. It is possible to accurately maintain the correspondence between the sub-information to be linked and reproduced, and the copyright protected by each of them.

Further, a preferred first aspect of the first aspect of the present invention is characterized by further recording copyright presence / absence information indicating presence / absence of a copyright for the sub-information.

According to this aspect, the copyright presence information is further written in addition to the identification information and the presence information. Since the sub-information is recorded, the correspondence with the main information can be maintained depending on whether or not the sub-information has a copyright.

Furthermore, in a preferred second aspect of the first aspect of the present invention, when the main information whose related sub-information is present on the same recording medium is moved to another recording medium, the presence information is The main information and sub-information related to the main information are rewritten to a content indicating that they do not exist on the same recording medium.

According to this aspect, when the related sub-information moves the main information existing on the same recording medium to another recording medium, the existence information is replaced with the main information and the related sub-information. Since the information is rewritten to indicate that it does not exist on the recording medium, even after the main information and the sub-information have been moved separately, the relationship of the mutual association before the movement is restored to the state before the movement. can do.

In a preferred aspect of the second aspect of the first aspect of the present invention, when the main information moved to another recording medium is returned on the recording medium, the presence information is represented by the main information and The sub-information related to the master information is rewritten to the contents existing on the same recording medium.

According to this aspect, when the main information moved to another recording medium is returned to the recording medium, the presence information is converted to the content in which the main information and the sub information related thereto are present on the same recording medium. Because of the rewriting, even after the main information and the sub-information have been separately moved, the relationship of mutual association before the movement can be restored to the state before the movement.

Further, a third preferred aspect of the first aspect of the present invention is characterized in that inhibition information indicating whether or not the association of the sub information related to the main information is temporarily inhibited is further recorded.

According to this aspect, the inhibition information indicating whether the association of the sub-information related to the main information is temporarily inhibited is further recorded. Therefore, when the association is inhibited, it is easy to recognize the fact. can do.

In order to solve the above problem, a second aspect of the present invention provides main information, sub information, identification information for identifying the sub information related to the main information, the main information and the main information. Presence information indicating whether or not sub-information related to the same exists on the same recording medium And an information reproducing apparatus for reproducing a recording medium on which is recorded, wherein, based on the identification information and the presence information, sub-information that can be reproduced in relation to the main information is specified; The above-described problem has been solved by an information reproducing apparatus characterized in that the information is reproduced in association with the main information.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the sub-information that can be reproduced in relation to the main information is specified based on the identification information and the presence information, and the specified sub-information is reproduced in relation to the main information. The correspondence between the main information and the sub-information to be reproduced in association with the main information can be accurately maintained, and the copyright protected by each can be maintained.

Further, in a preferred first aspect of the second aspect of the present invention, the recording medium further comprises: inhibition information indicating whether or not the association of the sub-information related to the main information is temporarily inhibited. The information reproducing apparatus reproduces only the sub-information of which the association is not suppressed, out of the specified sub-information, in association with the main information, based on the suppression information.

According to this aspect, based on the suppression information, only the sub-information of which the association is not suppressed among the specified sub-information is reproduced in association with the main information, so that when the association is suppressed, the inhibition is performed. The sub information to be reproduced can be reproduced in compliance with the status.

In order to solve the above problem, a third aspect of the present invention is a recording medium on which main information and sub information are recorded, wherein identification information for identifying the sub information related to the main information, A recording medium characterized by comprising an area for recording main information and presence information indicating whether or not sub-information related to the main information is present on the same recording medium. Settled.

According to the third aspect, the identification information for identifying the sub-information related to the main information, and whether the main information and the sub-information related to the main information exist on the same recording medium. Since the presence information indicating and is recorded on the recording medium, even after the main information, the sub-information, and are separately moved to another recording medium, the main information and the It is possible to accurately maintain the correspondence between the sub-information to be reproduced in association with the main information, and the copyright that each is protected.

Further, in a third preferred aspect of the present invention, the copyright of the sub-information is possessed. It is characterized by further comprising an area for recording copyright presence information indicating nothing.

According to this aspect, since the copyright presence information is further recorded in addition to the identification information and the presence information, it is possible to maintain the correspondence between the sub information and the main information according to the presence or absence of the copyright.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information recording method for recording main information and sub-information on a recording medium, the method comprising the steps of: Recording the following information on the recording medium: identification information for identifying the sub-information related to the main information; and the main information and the sub-information related to the main information on the same recording medium. The above-described problem has been solved by an information recording method comprising: a step of recording presence information indicating whether or not the information exists in the recording medium;

According to the fourth aspect, the identification information for identifying the sub-information related to the main information, and whether the main information and the sub-information related to the main information exist on the same recording medium. Is recorded on the recording medium, even after the main information, the sub-information, and the are separately moved to another recording medium, the main information and the sub-information are stored in the main information and the main information. It is possible to accurately maintain the correspondence between the sub-information to be linked and reproduced, and the copyright protected by each of them.

Further, a preferred first aspect of the fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that copyright information indicating whether or not there is a copyright to the sub-information is further recorded.

According to this aspect, since the copyright information is further recorded in addition to the identification information and the presence information, it is possible to maintain the correspondence between the sub information and the main information according to the presence or absence of the copyright. .

In order to solve the above problems, a fifth aspect of the present invention is directed to a main information, sub information, identification information for identifying the sub information related to the main information, the main information and the main information. Presence information indicating whether or not sub-information related to exists on the same recording medium; and an information reproducing method for reproducing the recording medium on which is recorded, based on the identification information and the presence information. An information reproducing method characterized by comprising: a step of specifying sub-information related to the main information; and a step of reproducing the specified sub-information in relation to the main information. Solved the problem. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the sub-information that can be reproduced in relation to the main information is specified based on the identification information and the presence information, and the specified sub-information is reproduced in relation to the main information. The correspondence between the main information and the sub-information to be reproduced in association with the main information can be accurately maintained, and the copyright protected by each can be maintained.

Further, in a preferred first aspect of the fifth aspect of the present invention, the recording medium further comprises: inhibition information indicating whether to temporarily inhibit the association of the sub-information related to the main information. The reproducing step is characterized in that, based on the suppression information, only the sub-information of which the association is not suppressed out of the specified sub-information is reproduced in association with the main information.

According to this aspect, based on the inhibition information, only the sub-information of the identified sub-information, whose association is not inhibited, is reproduced in association with the main information, so that when the association is inhibited, the inhibition is performed. The sub information to be reproduced can be reproduced in compliance with the status.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a sixth aspect of the present invention is a recording control program for controlling a computer provided in an information recording device that records main information and sub-information on a recording medium. Identification information for identifying the sub-information related to the main information, and presence information indicating whether the main information and the sub-information related to the main information are present on the same recording medium. The above-described problem has been solved by a recording control program that functions as a recording unit that records on a recording medium.

According to the sixth aspect, the identification information for identifying the sub-information related to the main information, and whether the main information and the sub-information related to the main information exist on the same recording medium. Since the computer functions to record the presence information indicating whether the main information, the sub information, and the main information and the sub information have been separately moved to another recording medium, the computer functions as such. Correspondence between the main information and the sub-information to be reproduced in association with the main information can be accurately maintained, and the copyright protected for each can be maintained. Furthermore, a sixth preferred aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the computer further functions as means for recording copyright presence / absence information indicating presence / absence of a copyright for the sub-information. According to this aspect, the computer functions to further record the copyright presence information in addition to the identification information and the presence information, so that the correspondence between the sub information and the main information is maintained according to the presence or absence of the copyright. can do.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information recording medium in which the recording control program according to the sixth aspect of the invention is recorded so as to be readable by the computer. .

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, by reading and executing the recorded sixth aspect of the invention by a computer, the identification information for identifying the sub-information related to the main information, the main information, and the main information Since the computer functions to record the presence information indicating whether or not the sub-information related to the information is present on the same recording medium and the information on the recording medium, the main information, the sub-information, and the Even after being moved to another recording medium separately from each other, the correspondence between the main information and the sub-information to be reproduced in association with the main information is accurately maintained, and each is protected. Copyright can be retained.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, an eighth aspect of the present invention is directed to a main information, sub-information, identification information for identifying the sub-information related to the main information, the main information and the main information. Presence information indicating whether or not sub-information related to is present on the same recording medium; and reproduction control for controlling a computer provided in an information reproducing apparatus for reproducing the recording medium on which is recorded. A program for causing the computer to specify, based on the identification information and the presence information, sub-information that can be reproduced in relation to the main information; The above-mentioned problem has been solved by a reproduction control program characterized by functioning as reproduction means for reproducing in connection with information.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, based on the identification information and the presence information, the sub-information that can be reproduced in relation to the main information is specified, and the specified sub-information is reproduced in relation to the main information. Since the computer functions, the correspondence between the main information and the sub-information to be reproduced in association with the main information can be accurately maintained, and the copyright protected for each can be maintained.

Further, in a preferred first aspect of the eighth aspect of the present invention, the recording medium further comprises: Inhibition information indicating whether or not the association of the sub-information related to the information is temporarily suppressed is recorded, and the computer functioning as the reproducing unit, based on the inhibition information, Among them, only the sub-information whose association is not suppressed is made to function to be reproduced in relation to the main information.

According to this aspect, the computer functions so as to reproduce only the sub-information of which the association is not suppressed among the specified sub-information in association with the main information, based on the suppression information, so that the association is suppressed. Sub-information to be reproduced can be reproduced in compliance with the suppression state.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information recording medium in which the reproduction control program according to the eighth aspect of the present invention is recorded so as to be readable by the computer. .

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, by reading and executing the recorded eighth aspect of the invention by a computer, the sub-information that can be reproduced in relation to the main information based on the identification information and the presence information. Since the computer functions to specify the sub information and reproduce the specified sub information in relation to the main information, the correspondence between the main information and the sub information to be reproduced in association with the main information is accurately determined. You can keep the copyrights that each is protected. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a diagram (I) showing a physical format according to the embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram (II) illustrating a physical format according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram (III) illustrating a physical format according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram (IV) showing a physical format according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the information recording / reproducing device according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart (I) showing a recording process of music information and the like according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart (II) showing a recording process of music information and the like according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart (III) showing a recording process of music information and the like according to the embodiment. is there.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a change in management information in the recording process of the embodiment, (a) is a diagram (I) showing the change, (b) is a diagram (II) showing the change, (C) is a diagram (III) showing the change.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a reproduction process of music information and the like according to the embodiment. _C FIG. 11 is a diagram showing preconditions for a movement process of music information and the like according to the embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram (I) illustrating a movement process of music information and the like according to the embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram (II) illustrating a movement process of music information and the like according to the embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram (III) illustrating a movement process of music information and the like according to the embodiment. FIG. 15 is a diagram (IV) illustrating a movement process of music information and the like according to the embodiment. FIG. 16 is a diagram (V) illustrating a movement process of music information and the like according to the embodiment. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a modification of FIG. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Next, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the embodiment described below, music information including copyright information indicating that copyright information is protected under copyright law and still image information including copyright information related to the main information are combined. The present invention is applied to an information recording / reproducing apparatus capable of recording the music information or the still image information independently on the other optical disk while recording the information on the other optical disk. It is an embodiment of the case.

In the following description, “move” means that either the music information or the still image information is moved onto another optical disk, and that the original disk before movement is not moved or shifted. Either one of them is prohibited from being reproduced or one of them is erased from the original disk.

(I) Recording format embodiment

First, before specifically describing the configuration of the information recording / reproducing device according to the embodiment, music information (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as an audio object or simply an object) is written on an optical disc using the information recording / reproducing device. Physical format, which is a physical recording format used when recording still image information. This will be described with reference to FIGS.

1 to 4 are diagrams showing the physical format in a hierarchical manner. As shown in FIG. 1, an optical disc DK on which music information and still image information related to the music information are recorded by the information recording / reproducing apparatus of the embodiment, the information recorded on the optical disc DK from the inner side. Lead-in information LI, which is information to be read first when starting playback, and information for centrally managing the file structure of music information and still image information recorded on the optical disc DK. File system information FS, recorded information AV including music information and still image information, and other information ET as other information, and are finally read out when the reproduction of the information recorded on the optical disc DK is completed. The readout information LO, which should be read, and are recorded.

Next, concretely, as recording information AV, from the inner side of the optical disc DK, management information MG, audio information AD, still image information ST, backup information BU, protection information CP, and other information. ETC and are included.

At this time, the audio information AD includes the music information itself recorded on the optical disc DK and information related thereto, and the still image information ST is recorded in association with the music information. Still image information itself and related information are included.

Further, the management information MG includes information for setting the reproduction mode of the music information and the still image information (specifically, the reproduction order and which music information and the like are to be reproduced, etc.). The information as a backup in case the management information MG is accidentally altered is the backup information BU. Therefore, the backup information BU includes the information in the management information MG as it is copied.

Next, the protection information CP includes information for protecting the music information and the still image information recorded on the optical disc DK under the copyright law.

Next, a detailed configuration of the management information MG will be described.

The management information MG includes general information GN, audio data information table ADT, still image data information table S, program chain information table PGT, text data information table TXT, and other information ETT. Re ing.

At this time, the general information GN includes the detailed information DT, which is the detailed information as the general information GN, and the information defined by the user after the music information and the like according to the embodiment are first recorded on the optical disc DK. And user-defined playlist information PL indicating the playback order of music information and the like. At this time, the playlist is defined to reproduce the music information in an order or combination different from the order or combination when the music information was first recorded on the optical disc DK.

Further, the detailed information DT includes start address information STT indicating the start position of the recording area on the optical disk DK, such as each information included in the management information MG, and other information as the detailed information DT. Some other information ET 1 is included.

Next, the audio data information table ADT contains information indicating the attribute (kind) to which one or more pieces of music information recorded on the optical disc DK belong (the number of which is the number of music information recorded on the optical disc DK). Audio attribute information CG, and an object including, for each piece of music information, address information indicating the start position of a recording area on the optical disc DK for each piece of music information. An information table OBT and other information ET2, which is other information as an audio data information table AD, are included.

The object information table OBT contains audio object information which is information on each piece of music information recorded on the optical disc DK (the number thereof is the same as the number of music information recorded on the optical disc DK). The information AO BI and other information ET 3 which is other information as the object information table OBT are included.

Further, each audio object information AO BI includes object start address information SAOB indicating a start position of a recording area of the corresponding music information on the optical disc DK, and other information as each audio object information AO BI. Information ET 4 and are included.

Next, the details of the still image data information table STT will be described.

First, in the physical format of the present embodiment, one music information can be associated with one or a plurality of still image information, and one music information or one Refers to a group of still image information associated with a group of still image information to be reproduced according to one program described below.

The still image data information table STT contains information indicating the position on the optical disc DK where each still image group is recorded or each still image group itself (accordingly, the number of still image groups recorded on the optical disc DK Still image group search pointer SSP, which is the same as the number of groups, and information indicating the details of the contents of each still image group (therefore, the number is the same as the number of still image groups recorded on the optical disc DK). The still image group information SV and the other information ET5 as other information as the still image data information table STT are included.

Next, one still image group information SV includes still image group start address information STV indicating the start position of the recording area on the optical disc DK of the still image group to which the still image group information SV corresponds, and the still image The total number of still images SNM indicating the number of still images (ie, still image information) included in the group, and detailed information of each still image (therefore, the number is the number of still images included in the still image group). ) And the other information ET6, which is other information as the still image group information SV.

One piece of still image information STI includes size information s Z indicating the amount of still image information to which the still image information STI should correspond, and temporarily hides the still image during playback. And a non-display flag FG indicating whether or not to perform the operation, and other information ET7, which is other information as the still image information STI.

Next, details of the program chain information table PGT will be described with reference to FIG.

The program chain information table PGT contains information on the reproduction order of the music information recorded on the optical disc DK. At this time, the playback order in the program chain information table PGT is not defined by the user, unlike the user-defined playlist described above, and is not defined by the user, but is used when each music information is first recorded on the optical disc DK. It is the same as the order.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the concept of “program” is used as a reproduction unit of each music information. This program is, for example, a conventional CD (Compact Disc) This is the so-called “truck”. And the aggregate of this program is the program chain.

Next, one program is conceptually composed of one or a plurality of program cells. Here, the program cell has a one-to-one relationship with an object which is one piece of music information itself recorded on the optical disc DK.

And, for example, it is possible in the physical format that the user independently configures one program using two program cells. In this case, when music information is first recorded on the optical disc DK, the program and the program cell have a one-to-one relationship, but if editing work such as division or integration for each piece of music information is subsequently performed. Means that the one-to-one relationship breaks down.

Based on the above assumptions, the program chain information table PGT contains the program information PGI, cell information search pointer CSP, cell information CI, total program information PNT, total cell information CNT, and program chain information. Other information ET 8, which is other information as a table PGT, is included.

At this time, the program information PGI is composed of information on each of the programs (therefore, the number thereof is the same as the number of programs configured on the optical disk DK).

Further, the cell information search pointer CSP is a position on the optical disc DK where the program cell information, which is information on the program cells included in each program, is recorded, or information indicating the program cell information itself (accordingly, the number thereof). Is the same as the number of program cells configured on the optical disk DK).

Further, the cell information CI is constituted by information on music information corresponding to each program cell (the number thereof is the same as the number of program cells configured on the optical disc DK).

The program total number information PNT is information indicating the total number of programs recorded on the optical disk DK, and the cell total number information CNT is information indicating the total number of program cells recorded on the optical disk DK.

Next, one program information PGI contains a text search pointer XSP and File information CNB, still image group search pointer number information PNM, still image group mode definition information MD, and other information ET9 as other information as program information PGI.

At this time, the text search pointer XSP is constituted by information indicating a recording position on the optical disc DK of the text information (character information) corresponding to the program.

In addition, the cell number information CNB is configured by information indicating the number of program cells included in the program.

Further, the still image group search pointer number information PNM is composed of information indicating a still image group number corresponding to the program.

Still further, the still image group mode definition information MD is composed of information defining a display mode of a still image group corresponding to the program. Here, the information defining the display mode is information defining a display mode such as a display time when displaying still image information in a corresponding still image group.

On the other hand, one cell information CI includes audio object number information ADN, playback start address information STA, playback end address information ENA, and other information ET10 which is other information as cell information CI. It is included.

At this time, the audio object number information ADN is constituted by information indicating the number of an audio object which is music information to be reproduced in the reproduction mode defined by the program.

Next, the playback start address information ST A is address information indicating a start position of a recording area on the optical disc DK in which the audio object to be played is recorded, and the playback end address information ENA is to be played back. This is address information indicating the end position of the recording area on the optical disc DK on which the audio object is recorded.

Next, details of the text data information table TXT will be described with reference to FIG. 2 (b).

As shown in FIG. 2 (b), the text data information table T XT includes a text data search pointer TDP, text data TD, and a text data information table. It consists of other information ET11 and ET2, which are other information as one TXT.

At this time, each text data search pointer TDP is a position on the optical disc DK where the text data TD as character information to be reproduced as a program is recorded, or information indicating the text data TD itself (accordingly, the number is The same number of text data TDs are configured on the optical disc DK).

Further, each text data TD includes the character information itself to be reproduced as the program.

Next, details of the audio information AD and the still image information ST will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the audio information AD includes the audio object AOB, which is the music information itself, so as to be mutually identifiable.

Further, the still image information ST includes one or more pieces of the above-described still image information, and includes a still image data group SUV corresponding to the still image group so as to be distinguishable from each other.

Each still image data group SUV includes one or more still image data STLs. At this time, the still image data STL corresponds to the above-described still image information itself. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the first still image data group SUV 1 includes two still image data STL 1 and STL 2. The second still image data group SUV2 includes three still image data STL1 to STL3.

Next, details of the protection information CP will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the protection information CP includes a management information search pointer CPS P, management information CPS, management information number information CPSN, and other information ET12 which is other information as the protection information CP. include.

At this time, each management information search pointer CPSP is set to the position on the optical disc DK where the above management information CPS, which is information related to the copyright protection processing applied to each music information and still image information, is recorded or the relevant information. Information indicating each management information CPS itself (therefore, the number of management information CPSs configured on the optical disc DK is The same as the number).

The management information CPS is information on the copyright protection processing applied to each music information and still image information as described above, and manages the movement of each music information and still image information to another optical disk. Includes information for: Here, the management information CPS has a different structure depending on whether the information under the management of the management information CPS is music information or still image information. In Fig. 4, the structure of the management information CPS when the information under the management of the management information CPS is music information is shown in Fig. 4 (a). Fig. 4 (b) shows the structure of the management information CPS when the information is image information. Further, the management information number information CPSN is information indicating the total number of management information CPS recorded on the optical disc DK.

Next, when the information under the management of the management information CPS is music information (FIG. 4 (a)), the type information KK, the presence information flag SFG, and the program Number information PGN, copy permission information CPA, transfer permission information MVA, a plurality of sub-information management information SMG, identification information CPID, and other information ET 13 which is other information as management information CPS. ing.

Here, the type information KK is information indicating an attribute of information under the management of the management information CPS, and in this case, information “00 b” indicating music information is entered. Next, the presence information flag SFG determines whether or not the music information under the management of the management information CPS and the still image information and text information related to the music information exist on the same optical disc DK. Is a flag indicating Specifically, when the music information and both the still image information and the text information related to the music information exist on the same optical disc DK, "llb (" b "is a binary number) The same applies hereinafter.) " When only music information and text information related to the music information are present on the same optical disc DK, “01b” is set. When only music information and still image information related to the music information exist on the same optical disc DK, the value is set to “10b”. When the music information and the still image information (or text information) related to the music information do not exist on the same optical disc DK, the value is set to “00b”. The program number information PGN is information indicating the number of the program information PGI (see FIG. 2) to which the music information managed by the management information CPS belongs. Instead of the program number information PGN, a search pointer indicating the recording position of the program information PGI may be placed.

Next, the copy permission information CPA is information indicating whether or not music information under the management of the management information CPS is permitted to be copied. If the copy of the music information can be freely performed, the value is set to "0b". If the copy of the music information is prohibited, the value is set to "lb".

Further, the movement permission information MVA is information indicating whether or not the music information under the management of the management information CPS is a power permitted to be moved, and as a value, specifically, If the movement is free, "lb" is assigned. If the movement of the music information is prohibited, "0b" is assigned.

Each sub-information management information SMG is information on still image information or text information related to music information managed by the management information CPS. Details will be described later.

The music identification information CP ID is information for identifying the music information itself under the management of the management information CPS.

Next, each sub-information management information SMG described above includes type information KD, identification information CID, suppression information flag RFG, copyright flag CP FG, and other information as other information as sub-information management information SMG. ET 14 and

The type information KD is information indicating whether the information identified by the identification information CID described later is still image information or text information, and specifically, as a value, the information identified by the identification information CID Is set to “01 b” when it is still image information and “10 b” when it is character information.

Next, the identification information CID is ID information for identifying still image information or character information itself related to the music information identified by the music identification information CPID. Further, the inhibition information flag RFG is a flag indicating whether or not the association of the still image information or the character information associated with the music information is temporarily inhibited. Specifically, when the association is temporarily suppressed, “1 b” is used as the value. If the association is not suppressed, it will be “O b”.

Finally, the copyright flag CPFG is information indicating whether or not the still image information or character information identified by the identification information CID is to be protected under copyright law, and has a specific value. Is “lb” if the still image information or text information is to be protected under copyright law, and is “0b” if it is not protected by copyright.

Next, when the information under the management of the management information CPS is not music information (FIG. 4 (b)), the management information CPS includes the type information KD and the address information ADI. , Identification information CI DD, inhibition information flag RFGD, copyright flag CPFGD, and other information ET15 which is other information as management information CPS. At this time, the type information KD is information indicating whether the information identified by the identification information CIDD described later is still image information or text information, and as a value, specifically, the identification information CIDD Recognized information power If the information is still image information, “01b” is set, and if it is character information, “10b” is set.

Next, the address information ADI is the number of the still image group search pointer SSP (see FIG. 1) to which the still image information or character information belonging to the management information CPS belongs or the text data information table TXT. This is information indicating the number of a search pointer (not shown) indicating the position of the text data in the box. The identification information CIDD is ID information for identifying still image information or character information itself managed by the management information CPS.

Further, the inhibition information flag RFGD is a flag indicating whether or not the association of the still image information or the text information with the music information is temporarily inhibited. Specifically, the value is “lb” when the association with the music information is inhibited, and “Ob” when the association with the music information is not inhibited.

Lastly, the copyright flag CPFGD is information indicating whether the still image information or character information identified by the identification information CI DD is to be protected under copyright law, and has a specific value. In general, if the still image information or text information is to be protected by copyright law, it is set to "lb" and is not protected by copyright If it is, "O b J.

(II) Embodiment of information recording / reproducing device

Next, the optical disk DK has a function of recording music information and still image information or character information associated therewith on the optical disk DK based on the physical format as described above, and also stores the music information and the like. The configuration and operation of the information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the embodiment, which also has a function of reproducing the music information or the like, will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, a schematic configuration and an overall operation of the information recording / reproducing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.

The information recording apparatus according to the embodiment includes music information including copyright information electronically distributed from an external distribution server while being protected by copyright law, and copyright information associated therewith. The still image information or character information (hereinafter, the still image information or character information is referred to as still image information or the like as appropriate) and the music information and the still image information are reproduced from the optical disk. It has the function of moving to another optical disc while maintaining the protection under the Copyright Act. In addition to this, the information recording / reproducing apparatus also outputs still image information or the like that does not include copyright information input from a digital still camera or the like via an input terminal (not shown) to music information that has already been recorded. The recorded music information is output to an external speaker or the like via an output terminal (not shown), and the recorded still image information or the like is used for reproducing the music information. It also has a function of synchronizing output via an output terminal (not shown) and displaying it on an external display or the like.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the information recording apparatus S according to the embodiment includes a spindle motor 1, a pickup 2, a demodulation unit 3, switches 4 and 12, an audio reproduction unit 5, a D / A (Digital / Analog) converters 7 and 22; system controller 8; system interface 9; formatter 11; AZD (Analog / Digital) converter 13; memory 14; , A servo IC (Integrated Circuit) 16, an information analyzer 20, and an image reproducer 21. The formatter 11 includes a switch 11b and a recording data generator 11a.

Further, the system controller 8 includes a navigation information generator 8a and a copy information determination generator 8b.

Next, the operation will be described.

(A) Embodiment of recording operation of music information from external sound source or still image information from external image source

First, from an external sound source that does not contain copyright information (more specifically, for example, an optical disc player) or an external image source that does not contain copyright information (more specifically, for example, a private digital still camera) The operation of recording the output music information or still image information on the recordable optical disc DK will be described.

At this time, the switch 11 b in the formatter 11 is switched to the switch 12 based on the control signal S sf from the system controller 8.

First, when the music information input from the external sound source via an input terminal (not shown) is the music information S ina which is an analog signal, the music information S ina is input to the AZD converter 13, After being digitized by the A / D converter 13, it is output to the first input terminal 122 of the switch 12 as digital music information Sad.

On the other hand, when the music information from the external sound source is the music information S ind which is originally a digital signal, the music information S ind is output to the second input terminal 122 of the switch 12 as it is.

Still image information and the like (usually a digital signal) from an external image source are output to the third input terminal 123 of the switch 12 as image information S inv.

Then, based on the control signal S sc3 from the system controller 8, the switch 12 serves as the digital music information Sad or the music information S ind or the image information S in the form of music information or still image information to be recorded on the optical disc DK. Select one or the other of inv and output it as input information S in to the first input terminal 11 b 1 of switch 11 b. As a result, the input information Sin is output to the recording data generator 11a as the input information Srr from the switch 11b that has been switched to the switch 12 side. On the other hand, based on the content of the music information S ina or S ind or the image information S inv input from the external sound source or the external image source, the navigation information generator 8a in the system controller 8 To control the playback mode (playback order or V, whether to play out the shifted music information or still image information, etc.) when any of the music information or still image information is recorded on the optical disc DK and then played back Control information (generally referred to as navigation information, which is stored in the program chain information table PGT) in accordance with the physical format described above, and generates control information S nv Is output to the recording data generator 11a.

Next, the recording data generator 11a superimposes the input information Srr and the control information Snv so as to conform to the format described above, and outputs the superimposed information Smx to the modulation unit 15 as superimposed information Smx.

Accordingly, the modulator 15 modulates the intensity of the recording light beam B emitted from the pickup 2 based on the superimposition information Smx to record the superimposition information Smx on the optical disc DK. A signal Sr is generated and output to a semiconductor laser driving unit (not shown) for driving a semiconductor laser (not shown) in the pickup 2. Thereafter, the semiconductor laser driving section drives the semiconductor laser so as to modulate the intensity of the light beam B in accordance with the content of the recording signal Sr, and emits the light beam B. Then, by irradiating the light beam B onto the information recording surface in the optical disc DK while being intensity-modulated, recording pits whose shape changes in accordance with the content of the recording signal Sr are formed in the information recording surface. As a result, the music information S ina or S ind or the image information S inv is recorded on the optical disc DK.

At this time, the irradiation position of the light beam B in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction with respect to the information recording surface is determined based on the control signal S sp from the servo IC 16, that is, the irradiation position in the vertical direction (that is, the light beam B The light position) is controlled by driving a focus actuator (not shown) in the pickup 2. On the other hand, the irradiation position in the horizontal direction is driven by a tracking actuator (not shown) in the pickup 2. Is controlled by

Further, the spindle motor 1 is controlled based on the control signal S sm from the servo IC 16. To control the rotation of the optical disk DK to a preset number of revolutions.

For these reasons, the service IC 16 generates and outputs the control signals S sm and S sp based on the control signal S ss from the system controller 8, respectively.

(B) Embodiment of playback output operation to outside

Next, an operation in a case where music information or still image information or the like recorded on the optical disk DK is reproduced by the operation described in the above section (A) and output to an external speaker or a display or the like will be described.

At this time, the switch 4 has been switched to the audio reproducing unit 5 and the image reproducing unit 21 based on the control signal S scl from the system controller 8. First, at the time of the reproduction process, the spindle motor 1 controls the rotation of the optical disc DK based on the control signal S sm from the servo IC 16 so that the optical disc DK has a preset rotation speed.

Then, from the semiconductor laser (not shown) in the pickup 2, a light beam B having a constant intensity for reproduction is applied to the information recording surface of the optical disk DK. At this time, the irradiation position of the light beam B in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction with respect to the information recording surface is determined based on the control signal S sp from the servo IC 16 in the same manner as in the information recording described above. The focus actuator and the tracking actuator which are not operated are controlled by driving.

Further, for these reasons, the servo IC 16 generates and outputs the control signals S sm and S sp based on the control signal S ss from the system controller 8, respectively.

Note that from which position on the optical disc DK the information is reproduced, the music information to be reproduced or the still information to be reproduced based on the contents of the control information recorded together with the music information or the still image information by the recording process described above. The recording position of the image information and the like on the optical disk DK is obtained, and based on this, the position on the optical disk DK where the music information or still image information to be reproduced is recorded is specified.

Next, the light beam B applied to the information recording surface is modulated by the recording pits formed on the information recording surface, and the reflected light is received by a photodetector (not shown) in the pickup 2 . Then, a detection signal S pp that changes in response to a change in the intensity of the reflected light received by the photodetector is generated and output to the demodulation unit 3. You.

Thereafter, the demodulation unit 3 performs a predetermined demodulation process on the detection signal S pp to generate a demodulation signal Sp, which is switched to the audio reproduction unit 5 and the image reproduction unit 21 side. Output to the audio playback unit 5 and the image playback unit 21 via the switch 4.

As a result, the audio reproducing unit 5 performs a preset reproducing process on the music information component included in the demodulated signal Sp to generate a reproduced signal S outd as a digital signal, and The signal is output to an external speaker or the like via a digital output terminal (not shown), and is also output to the DZA converter 7.

Then, the DZA converter 7 converts the reproduction signal S outd into an analog signal and outputs the analog signal as an analog reproduction signal S outa to another external speed through an analog output terminal (not shown).

On the other hand, the image reproduction unit 21 performs a predetermined reproduction process on components such as still image information included in the demodulated signal Sp to generate a reproduced signal S otvd as a digital signal. Is output to an external display or the like via a digital output terminal (not shown) and to the D / A converter 22.

Then, the 0-input converter 22 converts the reproduction signal S otvd into an analog signal, and outputs the analog signal as an analog reproduction signal S otva to another external display or the like via an analog output terminal (not shown).

(C) Implementation of recording operation of music information and still image information based on copyright protection m

Next, music information including copyright information such as DRM information and still image information including copyright information related to the music information, which are electronically distributed from an external distribution server (not shown), are recorded on the optical disc DK. The information recording operation will be described. At this time, the switch 11 b in the formatter 11 is switched to one of the system interfaces 9 based on the control signal S sf from the system controller 8. The switch 4 is switched to the terminal 41 based on a control signal Sscl from the system controller 8.

First, the music information S input from the distribution server via an input terminal (not shown) ine is output to the second input terminal 11 b 2 of the switch 11 b after the interface processing set in advance in the system interface 9. Further, the image information S inve, which is still image information or the like input from the distribution server via an input terminal (not shown), is subjected to the interface processing in the system interface 9 and then the third information of the switch 11 b is output. Output to the input terminals 1 1 b 3 of the.

Then, the switch lib outputs the music information Sine or the image information Sinve as it is to the recording data generator 11a as input information Sir.

Then, the recording data generator 11a outputs this to the modulating unit 15 as superimposition information Smx without performing any processing on the input information Sir.

Accordingly, the modulation unit 15 generates a recording signal Sr for recording the superimposition information Smx on the optical disc DK by intensity-modulating the recording light beam B based on the superimposition information Sra. The signal is output to the semiconductor laser driving section in the pickup 2. Thereafter, the semiconductor laser driving section drives the semiconductor laser so as to modulate the intensity of the light beam B in accordance with the content of the recording signal Sr, and emits the light beam B. Then, by irradiating the light beam B onto the information recording surface in the optical disc DK while being intensity-modulated, recording pits whose shape changes in accordance with the content of the recording signal Sr are formed in the information recording surface. Thereby, the music information Sine or the image information Sinve is recorded as it is on the optical disc DK as distribution data.

At this time, the irradiation position of the light beam B in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction with respect to the information recording surface is determined in the same manner as in the case of (A) the recording operation of the music information and the still image information without the copyright information described above. It is controlled by driving the focus actuator and the tracking actuator in the pickup 2.

Further, the spindle motor 1 controls the control signal S from the servo IC 16 in the same manner as (A) the recording operation from the recording operation of the music information from the external sound source or the still image information from the external image source. The rotation of the optical disc DK is controlled so as to reach a preset rotation speed based on sm.

And for these reasons, the servo IC 16 is controlled by the system controller 8. The control signals S 信号 πι and Ssp are generated and output based on the control signal Sss, respectively. On the other hand, the management information for managing the copyright related to the music information Sine or the image information Sinve (specifically, the copyright management information to be recorded on the optical disc DK as the protection information CP) is the music information. The information Sine or the image information Sinve is input from the server to the system interface 9 together with the music information Sine or the image information Sinve, and is separated from the music information Sine or the image information Sinve as the management information Scpp. Output to b. Then, the data is recorded on the optical disc DK by the copy information determination generator 8b via the formatter 11, the modulator 15 and the pickup 2 in accordance with the physical format described above.

Next, an operation when the distribution data (the distribution data including the music information Sine and the image information S inve) recorded on the optical disk DK by the above-described series of operations is moved to another reproducing device or the like will be described.

At this time, the switch 4 is switched to the system interface 9 (terminal 41) based on the control signal S scl from the system controller 8. When executing the movement process, first, the spindle motor 1 controls the rotation of the optical disc DK based on the control signal S sm from the servo IC 16 so that the optical disc DK has a preset rotation speed. .

Then, from the semiconductor laser (not shown) in the pickup 2, a light beam B having a constant intensity for reproduction is irradiated on the information recording surface of the optical disk DK. At this time, the irradiation position of the light beam B in the vertical and horizontal directions on the information recording surface is determined based on the control signal S sp from the servo IC 16 in the same manner as in the information recording described above. The focus actuator and the tracking actuator which are not operated are controlled by driving.

The position from which the distribution data is reproduced on the optical disk DK should be reproduced based on the control information recorded together with the music information or the still image information by the recording process described above. The recording position of the distribution data on the optical disk DK is obtained, and based on this, the position on the optical disk DK where the distribution data is to be reproduced is specified.

Next, the light beam B applied to the information recording surface is formed on the information recording surface. The light is modulated by the recording pit, and the reflected light is received by a photodetector (not shown) in the pickup 2, and the detection signal Spp is generated and output to the demodulation unit 3.

Then, the demodulation unit 3 performs a preset demodulation process on the detection signal Spp to generate a demodulation signal Sp, and outputs this to the information analysis unit 20.

Next, the information analyzer 20 extracts the management information Scpp from the demodulated signal Sp, outputs this to the system interface, and outputs the demodulated signal Sp itself to the system interface 9 via the switch 4.

Then, the system interface 9 performs a preset interface process on the demodulated signal Sp, superimposes the management information S cpp on the demodulated signal Sp after the inter-use process, and outputs the music information S oute and the music information S oute. Move to another playback device or the like as image information Sotve. At this time, the distribution data after the movement is deleted or invalidated from the optical disk DK.

(D) Recording operation according to the embodiment

Next, of the series of recording operations described above, the overall operation of the recording operation according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 6 to 8 are flowcharts showing the recording operation, and FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the manner of change of information that changes with the recording operation.

First, the operation of the information recording / reproducing apparatus S when only music information including copyright information not associated with still image information or the like is recorded on the optical disc DK will be described with reference to FIG.

In the recording operation, first, the music information Sine transmitted via the system interface 9 is recorded in the audio information AD (see FIG. 1) as the audio object AOB (see FIG. 3) (step S1).

Next, the audio data information table ADT (see FIG. 1) is updated (step S2), and the program information PGI and the cell information CI (see FIG. 2) in the program chain information table PGT are newly updated. Add the content corresponding to the music information Sine recorded in (step S3).

Next, as update of protection information CP, first, management information number information CPN (Fig. 4 (a) (See step S4), and newly create a management information search pointer CPPS (see Fig. 4 (a)) that indicates the recording start position of the management information CPS to be added. The search pointer number is set to “k + l” (step S5).

Then, the value of the type information KK (see FIG. 4 (a)) in the corresponding k + 1st management information CPS is set to “0 0b” indicating that the corresponding object data is music information (step S6). ), And sets the value of the presence information flag SFG to “00b” indicating that still image information and the like related to the music information, which is the music information, does not exist on the optical disc DK (step S7).

Next, the program number to which the newly recorded music information Sine belongs is set as a program number PGN (see FIG. 4 (a)) (step S8). Then, by referring to the management information Scpp included in the newly recorded music information Sine, it is confirmed whether or not the recorded audio object AOB is prohibited from being copied thereafter (step S9).

If the recorded audio object AOB is prohibited from copying (step S9; YES), the value of the copy permission information CP A (see FIG. 4 (a)) in the corresponding management information CPS is set to “lb”, If copying is not prohibited (step S9; NO), the value of the copy permission information CP A is set to “ _0b ” (step S11). Next, by referring to the management information Scpp in the newly recorded music information Sine, it is confirmed whether or not the recorded audio object AOB is permitted to move (step S12). If the recorded audio object AOB is permitted to move (step S12; YES), the value of the movement permission information MVA (see Fig. 4 (a)) in the corresponding management information CPS is set to "lb" ( If the movement is not permitted (Step S12; NO), the value of the movement permission information MVA is set to “0b” (Step S13). Next, music identification information CPID (see FIG. 4A) for identifying the newly recorded music information Sine is set with reference to the management information Scpp (step S15). When the management information Scpp does not include an ID number for identifying the newly recorded music information Sine, the information recording / reproducing apparatus generates a unique ID number by using a random number generator or the like.

Then, the value of the management information number information CPN is updated (+1 is added to the previous value), and Step SI6) Further, other necessary information is set, and the updated protection information CP is recorded on the optical disc DK (step S17), and the new recording process of the music information Sine is completed. Next, FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 show the processing when the still image information is additionally recorded on the optical disc DK on which the music information Sine is recorded by the processing shown in FIG. It will be described using FIG.

As the additional recording process, first, the image information S inve transmitted via the system interface 9 is recorded as still image data STL (see FIG. 3) in the still image information ST (see FIG. 1) (step S20), and additionally updates the corresponding still image data information table STT (see Fig. 3) (step S21).

Next, the still image search pointer information PNM and the still image group display mode definition information MD (see FIG. 2) of the program information PGI corresponding to the previously recorded audio object AOB are updated (step S22).

Next, as updating of the protection information CP, first, the value “k” of the management information number information CPN (see FIG. 4A) is obtained (step S23), and the recording start position of the management information CPS to be added is started. A new management information search pointer CPPS (see FIG. 4) indicating this is created, and its search pointer number is set to “k + 1” (step S24).

Then, the value of the type information KD (see FIG. 4 (b)) in the corresponding k + 1st management information CPS is set to “01b” indicating the still image information (step S25), and the management information The number of the corresponding still image data group SUV (see Fig. 3) is set in the address information AD I in the CPS (step S26).

Next, identification information CIDD (see FIG. 4B) for identifying the newly recorded still image data STL is set with reference to the management information Scpp (step S27). If the management information Scpp does not include an ID number for identifying the newly recorded image information S inve, the information recording / reproducing apparatus generates a unique ID number by a random number generator or the like. .

Next, it is determined whether or not the association of the newly recorded image information Sinve with the music information is temporarily suppressed (step S28).

This inhibition determination is based on the setting of the operator who records the image information S inve, and in the determination in step S28, it is set so that the association is not inhibited. If it is present (step S28; YES), the suppression information flag RFGD (see FIG. 4 (b)) in the corresponding management information CPS is set to “Ob” (step S29), while the association is temporarily made. If it is set to be inhibited (step S28; NO), the inhibition information flag RFGD (see FIG. 4 (b)) is set to “lb” (step S30). Next, by referring to the management information Scpp included in the image information Sinve, it is confirmed whether or not the recorded still image data STL is protected by the copyright law (step S31).

As a result, when the still image data STL is protected by the copyright law (Step S31; YES), the copyright flag CP FGD in the corresponding management information CPS (see FIG. 4 (b)) Is set to “lb” (step S33). On the other hand, if the image information Sinve is not protected by the copyright law (step S31; NO), the value of the copyright flag CP FGD is set to “0”. b ”(step S32).

Then, other necessary information is recorded (step S34), and the value of the management information number information CPN is updated (step S35).

Next, management information CPS (see FIG. 4 (a)) for managing the audio object AOB associated with the above-described still image data STL is obtained (step S36). Hereinafter, this management information CPS is tentatively referred to as management information A.

Then, the value of the presence information flag SFG in the management information A is updated to “10b”, that is, the value indicating that the music information and the still image information related to the music information exist on the optical disc DK. Then, the sub-information management information SMG corresponding to the new image information Sinve is added to the management information A, the management information CPS (step S38). The processing in step S38 will be described later in detail with reference to FIG.

Next, it is checked whether or not the image information Sinve to be further recorded has a certain force (step S39). If there is no image information Sinve to be additionally recorded (step S39; NO), the image information is updated as described above. The protection information CP is recorded on the optical disc (step S40), and the additional recording process ends. On the other hand, if there is image information Sinve to be additionally recorded (step S39; YES), the above-described series of processing is executed in step S20 to execute the newly added image information Sinve to be additionally recorded. Go back and say so far Repeat the process.

Next, the process of step S38 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the process of adding the sub-information management information SMG in the above step S38, first, the value of the type information KD in the sub-information management information SMG to be newly added indicates the still image information. It is set to “01b” (step S40), and the identification information CID (see FIG. 4 (a)) for identifying the previously recorded still image data STL is set to the same value as the previous identification information CI DD. Set (Step S41).

Next, based on the processing results of steps S28 to S30 described above, it is again confirmed whether or not the association of the static data STL is temporarily suppressed (step S42). S42; YES), the above-mentioned inhibition information flag RFG is set to “lb” (step S44), while if not inhibited (step S42; NO), the above-mentioned inhibition information flag RFG is set to “0 b”. Set (Step S43). Next, referring to the management information Scpp in the newly recorded image information Sinve, it is confirmed whether or not the recorded still image data STL is protected by the copyright law (step S45). ₀

As a result, when the still image data STL is protected by the copyright law (Step S45; YES), the copyright flag CP FG (see FIG. 4 (a)) in the corresponding management information CPS is set. The value is set to “lb” (step S 47). On the other hand, if the still image data STL is not protected by the copyright law of the image information S inve (step S 45; NO), the copyright flag CP The value of FG is set to “0 b” (step S46). Then, other necessary information is recorded in the sub information management information SMG (step S48), and the process proceeds to the original step S39.

Next, the change of each information value in the protection information CP when recording the music information Sine and the image information Sinve described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 9. .

First, based on the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the copyrighted music information Sine and the image information S inve associated with the music information Sine based on the copyright (the image information S inve The content of the protected information CP after recording the data is assumed to be protected by copyright, using Fig. 9 (a). explain.

After recording the copyrighted music information Sine (audio object AOD 1) and the associated first image information Sinve (first still image data STL 1) on the optical disc DK, In the protection information CP, the first management information CPS 1 (having the structure shown in FIG. 4A) attached to the audio object AOD 1 is set, and the content of the existence information flag SFG is The audio object AOD 1 and the first still image data STL 1 associated with the audio object AOD 1 have a value “10b” indicating that they are both present on the optical disc DK. Therefore, the content of the music identification information CPID is a value for identifying the music information Sine itself (the value “aaa” in FIG. 9A). Also, with the recording of the first still image data STL1 related to the audio object AOD1, the first sub-information management information SMG1 is set in the first management information CPS1, and the inhibition information flag RFG The content of 1 is a value “0 b” indicating that the association of the first still image data STL 1 is not suppressed, and the content of the copyright flag CP FG 1 indicates that the associated first still image data STL 1 is The value is “lb” indicating that the content is protected by copyright, and the content of the identification information CID 1 is a value for identifying the first still image data STL 1 itself (in the case of FIG. ZZZ ”).

In the protection information CP, the second management information CPS2 (having the structure shown in Fig. 4 (b)) attached to the first still image data STL1 is set, and the content of the suppression information flag RFGD is The value is “O b” indicating that the association of the first still image data STL 1 is not suppressed, and the content of the first copyright flag CP FGD 1 is also the same as the associated first still image data STL 1 Is a value “1 b” indicating that the first still image data STL 1 belongs to the first still image data STL 1. The pointer number for identifying SSP 1 (the value of “# 1” in FIG. 9 (a)) is used, and the content of the first identification information CI DD 1 is also the first still image data STL 1 A value for identifying itself (in the case of FIG. 9 (), a value “ZZZ” which is the same value as the first identification information CID 1 above) It has become. Next, on the optical disc DK in the recording state shown in FIG. 9A described above, the second image information Sinv (second still image) from a private digital still camera or the like that is not newly protected by copyright is added. The contents of the protection information CP after recording the data STL 2) in association with the music information Sine will be described with reference to FIG. 9 (b).

With the additional recording of the second still image data STL2 related to the audio object AOD1, the first management information CPS1 attached to the audio object AOD1 further contains the second sub information management. Information SMG 2 has been added, and the content of the inhibition information flag RFG 2 has a value “0 b” indicating that the association of the first still image data STL 2 is not inhibited, and the content of the copyright flag CP FG 2 is associated The value of the second still image data STL 2 that is not protected by copyright is “0b”, and the content of the identification information CID 2 identifies the second still image data STL 2 itself. (In the case of Fig. 9 (b), the value "YYY").

Also, with the additional recording of the second still image data STL2 related to the audio object AOD1, the protection information CP further includes third management information CP S3 (FIG. 4) attached to the second still image data STL1. (consisting of the structure shown in (b)), and the content of the suppression information flag RFGD 2 is a value “0 b” indicating that the association of the second still image data STL 2 is not suppressed. The content of CP FGD 2 is the value “0 b” indicating that the associated second still image data STL 2 is not protected by copyright, and the content of identification information CI DD 2 is the content of the second still image The value is used to identify the data STL2 itself (the value “YYY” in FIG. 9B).

On the optical disc DK in the recording state shown in FIG. 9 (b) described above, the third image information S inve (third still image data STL 3), which is further protected by copyright, is added to the music information Sine ( The contents of the protection information CP after recording in association with the audio object AOD1) will be described with reference to Fig. 9 (c).

As shown in Fig. 9 (c), with the additional recording of the third still image data STL2 related to the audio object AOD1, the first management information CPS1 attached to the audio object AOD1 In addition, the third sub-information management information SMG 3 is further added, and the content of the inhibition information flag RFG 3 is associated with the third still image data STL 3. The value of not inhibiting is `` 0 bj '', and the content of the copyright flag CP FG 3 is the value `` 1 b '' indicating that the associated third still image data STL 3 is protected by copyright The content of the identification information CID 3 is a value for identifying the third still image data STL 3 itself (the value “KKK:” in FIG. 9C). Further, with the additional recording of the third still image data STL3 related to the audio object AOD1, the protection information CP further includes fourth management information CPS4 (FIG. 4 (b)) attached to the third still image data STL1. )), And the content of the inhibition information flag RFGD 3 is “O b” indicating that the association of the third still image data STL 3 is not inhibited, and the copyright flag CP FGD The content of 3 is the value “lb” indicating that the associated third still image data STL 3 is protected by copyright, and the content of the identification information CI DD 3 is the third still image data STL 3 It is a value for identifying itself (in the case of Fig. 9 (b), the value is “KKK:”).

(Ε) Playback operation of the embodiment

Next, a reproducing operation according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the reproduction operation.

In the reproducing operation of the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, first, an audio object すべき to be reproduced is determined (step S50), and then the program chain information table PGT in the management information MG is referred to. Then, still image group information SV corresponding to the determined audio object AOB is obtained (step S5. Next, all of the still image data group suv indicated by the still image group information sv is included). The still image data STL is read into the memory 14 (step S52), and the management information CPS (FIG. 4 (b)) corresponding to the read still image data STL is obtained (step S53).

Then, by referring to the presence information flag SFG in the acquired management information CPS, it is confirmed whether or not the still image data STL associated with the audio object AOB exists on the optical disc DK (step S54). . As a result, when the associated still image data STL does not exist (step S 54; NO), the audio object AOB determined in step S50 is reproduced according to the description in the program chain information table PGT (step S55), and a series of reproduction processing ends.

On the other hand, if the associated still image data STL exists on the optical disc in the determination in step S54 (step S54; YES), similarly, while the determined audio object AOB is being reproduced (step S54). S55), the suppression information flag RFGD in the sub information management information SMG of the management information CPS (FIG. 4 (a)) corresponding to such a small object AOB is confirmed (step S56), and the associated still image data is It is checked whether the association has been temporarily suppressed (step S57).

When the inhibition information flag RFGD is a value “0” that does not inhibit the association of the related still image data (step S57; YE S), the associated still image data STL is reproduced (step S57). 58) On the other hand, when the inhibition information flag RFGD is a value “1” for temporarily inhibiting the association of the related still image data (step S57; NO), the associated still image data STL is reproduced. Instead, it is determined whether there is still image data STL to be displayed next based on the presence / absence of the sub-information management information SMG located next (step S59).

As a result, when there is no still image data STL to be synchronously reproduced next (step S59; NO), the reproduction processing is terminated as it is, while when there is still image data STL to be synchronously reproduced next, (Step S59; YES), the inhibition information flag RFGD of the next sub-information management information SMG is confirmed (Step S60), and the process returns to Step S57 to describe the still image data STL to be synchronously reproduced next. Repeat the process.

(F) Movement processing of the embodiment

Next, a moving process of moving music information Sine to another optical disk when the music information Sine is recorded on the optical disk DK in association with the image information Sinve will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the prerequisites of the movement processing, and FIGS. 12 to 16 are diagrams showing various modes of the movement processing. First, the prerequisites of the movement processing described below will be described with reference to FIG. In the following embodiment, as an example of the movement processing, as shown in FIG. 11, music information Sine (audio object AOB 1), first image information S inve (first still image data STL 1), second image information S inve (second still image data STL 2), and third image information S inve (third still image data STL 3), respectively An embodiment in which the following processing is performed in the following order on the optical disc DK recorded together with the management information CPS 1 to CPS 4 to be performed will be described.

(1) Temporarily suppress the association of the third still image data STL 3 with the audio object AOB 1 on the optical disk DK.

(2) Next, using the information recording / reproducing apparatus S according to the embodiment, only the audio object AOB1 on the optical disc DK is read out from the optical disc DK, and this is read out together with the corresponding management information CP S1 on the second optical disc DK. Go to DK 2. At this time, the recording process of the audio object AOB1 on the optical disc DK2 is executed by another information recording / reproducing device having the same configuration and operation as the information recording / reproducing device S of the embodiment.

(3) Next, using another information recording / reproducing device similar to the information recording / reproducing device S according to the embodiment, the audio object AOB1 on the optical disk DK2 is read from the optical disk DK2, and this is handled. Move to the third optical disk DK 3 together with the management information CPS II. At this time, the recording process of the audio object AOB1 on the optical disc DK3 is also executed by another information recording / reproducing device having the same configuration and operation as the information recording / reproducing device S of the embodiment.

④ Next, the fourth image information is newly added and associated with the music information Sine moved on the optical disk DK3. At this time, the additional recording processing of the fourth image information on the optical disc DK3 is also executed by the other information recording / reproducing device.

⑤ Finally, the first still image data STL1, the second still image data STL2, and the third still image data STL3 remaining on the optical disk DK are added to the optical disk DK together with the accompanying management information CP S2-4. 3 and restores the association with the music information Sine on the optical disc DK 3 as before. At this time, The process of moving each image information to the disk DK3 is also executed by the other information recording / reproducing device. ,

(1) First, on the optical disc DK, the association cancellation process for temporarily canceling the association formed between the third still image data STL3 and the audio object ΑΟΒ1 with reference to FIG. explain.

The prerequisite optical disk DK includes an audio object AOD1, first still image data STL1 to third still image data STL3, management information CPS1 attached to the audio object AOD1, and each still image data STL. Management information CPS2 to CPS4 respectively associated with 1 to STL3 are recorded.

Each of the management information CPS1 to CPS4 has the same form as that of FIG. 9 (c), and the management information CPS1 includes a presence information flag SFG, a first inhibition information flag RFG1, and a first copyright flag. First sub information including CPFG 1 and first identification information CID 1 Management information SMG 1 and second inhibition information flag RFG2 ^ _Second copyright flag CP FG 2 and second identification information CID 2 The third sub-information management information SMG3 including the second sub-information management information SMG2, the third inhibition information flag RFG3, the third copyright flag CPFG3 and the third identification information CID3, and the music identification Information CPID and. The management information CPS2 includes a first inhibition information flag RFGD1, a first copyright flag CPFGD1, first address information ADI1, and first identification information CIDD1. Management information CPS 3 is the second suppression information flag, RFGD 2, and the second copyright flag. 002, including second address information AD I2 and second identification information C I DD2. Management information CPS 4 is the third inhibition information flag R F GD3, 3rd copyright flag? 003, third address information AD I3 and third identification information CIDD3.

In this state, when the association between the third still image data STL 3 and the audio object AOB 1 is canceled, first, as shown in the left of FIG. 12, the audio object AOB 1 for canceling the association is used. Then, the third still image data STL 3 is specified (steps S61 and S62), and their association is canceled (step S63). More specifically, as shown in the right side of FIG. 12, the processing in step S63 is the third ij of the management information CPS1 corresponding to the audio object AOB1. The value of the third inhibition information flag RFG3 of the management information SMG3 and the value of the third inhibition information flag RFGD3 of the management information CPS4 corresponding to the third still image data STL3 are set to "O" on the optical disc DK. Change "b" to "lb". As a result, the association between the audio object AOB 1 and the third still image data STL 3 is temporarily canceled on the respective management information CPS.

(2) Next, the first moving process of reading the audio object AOB1 on the optical disc DK from the optical disc DK and moving it to the second optical disc DK2 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in the left of FIG. 13, first, the moving audio object AOB1 is specified (step S65), and the moving destination is specified as the optical disc DK2 (step S66).

Next, on the optical disc DK, the association between the moving audio object AOB1 and each of the still image data STLs 1 to 3 is suppressed (step S67). More specifically, as shown in the right side of FIG. 13, the processing of step S67 includes the presence information flag SFG of the management information CPS1 corresponding to the audio object AOB1, and the audio object and the audio object Indicating that the still image data related to the sub-data does not exist on the optical disk, that is, from “10 b” to “0 0 b”, and the inhibition information flag R FG of the sub management information SMG 1 and SMG 2 Change the value of both 1 and R FG2 to a state in which the association is temporarily suppressed, that is, "0 bJ force to" lb ". Similarly, the suppression information flags RFGD1R and RFGD2 of the management information CPS2 and CPS3 corresponding to the related still image data STL1 and ST are both changed from "0b" to "lb".

Then, the audio object AOB1 whose association has been canceled is moved to the optical disk DK2 together with the corresponding management information CPS1 (step S68).

(3) Next, the audio object AOB1 on the second optical disk DK2 is read out from the optical disk DK2, and is moved to the third optical disk DK3 together with the corresponding management information CPS. The movement process of the above will be described with reference to FIG. The optical disk DK2 as the transfer source has an audio object AOD1 and management information attached to the audio object AOD1. CP S 1 will be recorded.

As shown on the left side of FIG. 14, first, the moving audio object AOB1 is specified (step S70), and the moving destination is specified as the optical disk DK3 (step S71). Then, the audio object AOB 1 and the corresponding management information CPS 1 are moved to the optical disk DK 3 with the current values (step S 72).

Next, the associating process for adding and associating the fourth image information (the fourth still image data STL 4) with the audio object AOB1 moved on the optical disc DK3 will be described with reference to FIG. I do.

As shown in FIG. 15 left, first, the audio object AOB 1 to be associated is designated on the optical disc DK3 (step S75), and new fourth still image data STL 4 is recorded on the optical disc DK 3 (step S75). S 76). Then, the recorded fourth still image data STL4 is associated with the audio object AOB1 on the optical disc DK3 (step S77).

Specifically, in the process of step S77, as the management information associated with the fourth still image data STL4, as shown in the right of FIG. 15, a fourth inhibition information flag having a value of “0 b” RFGD4, fourth copyright flag CP FG D4 with a value of “1 b”, fourth address information AD I4 with a value of “# 4”, and fourth identification information with a value of “MMM” Generate new management information CPS5 including CI DD4 and record it on the optical disc DK3. Also, the fourth sub-information management information SMG4 corresponding to the fourth still image data STL4 is added to the management information CPS1 attached to the audio object AOB1 recorded on the optical disc DK3. This fourth sub-information management information SMG4 is, like the management information CPS5 described above, a fourth inhibition information flag RFG4 having a value of “0 b” and a fourth copyright information having a value of “lb”. It includes a right flag CP FG 4 and a fourth identification information CI D4 having a value of “MMM”.

⑤ Finally, the still image data STL 1 remaining on the first optical disc DK ¾ To STL 3 are moved onto the optical disc DK 3 together with the accompanying management information CPS 2 to CPS 4, respectively. The second movement process associated with audio object AO B 1 will be described with reference to FIG. Before the execution of the second movement processing, the optical disc DK includes still image data STL 1 to STL 3 and management information CPS 2 to CPS 4 attached to the still image data STL 1 to STL 3. , Are recorded. On the other hand, on the optical disk DK3, the audio object AOB1, the management information CPS1 attached to the audio object AOB1, the still image data STL4, and the management information CP attached to the still image data STL4 are stored. S5 and are recorded.

As shown on the left side of FIG. 16, first, an audio object AOB 1 that associates the still image data STL 1 to STL 3 is specified (step S 80), and management information attached to the specified audio object AOB 1 Check the contents of CP S1 (step S81). At this time, in step S81, in the sub-information management information SMG1 to SMG4 of the management information CPS1, the identification information CID of the image information in which the value of the inhibition information flag RFG is “lb” (see FIG. 16) In this case, confirm the identification information CID1, identification information CID2, and identification information CID3).

Then, using the confirmation result in step S81, the still image data moving from the optical disc DK is defined as the first still image data STL1, the second still image data STL2, and the third still image data STL3. The specified still image data STL1 to STL3 are moved together with the associated management information CPS2 to CPS4 (step S83).

Thereafter, on the optical disc DK3, the association between the moving still image data STL1 to STL3 and the audio object AOB1 is restored (step S84). Specifically, in the process of step S84, the management data CPS2 corresponding to each of the still image data STL1 to STL3 that has newly moved and the inhibition information flags RFGD1 to RFGD3 of the The value and the value of the suppression information flag RFGD 4 of the management data CPS 5 corresponding to the still image data STL 4 recorded on the optical disk DK 3 later from the current “1 b” to “0 b” respectively And records it on the optical disc DK3. Also, the sub-information management information SMG1 to SMG3 corresponding to the still image data STL1 to STL3 in the management information CPS1 attached to the audio object AOB1 The values of the inhibition information flags RFG1 to RFGD3 are changed from "lb" to "0b", respectively. By the above, The association of each still image data STL1 to STL3 with the audio object AOB1 is restored on the disk DK3.

When the audio object AOB 1 on the optical disk DK 2 is read from the optical disk DK 2 and is returned to the original optical disk DK together with the corresponding management information CPS 1, first, the audio object AOB 1 on the optical disk DK 2 Specify the object AOB 1 and specify the return destination to the optical disk DK. Next, the specified audio object AOB 1 and the associated management information CPS 1 are moved to the return optical disk DK. Then, the existence flag SFG of the management information CPS 1 recorded on the return optical disk DK is changed from “00 b” to “10 b”, and all the suppression information flags of the sub management information SMGs 1 to 3 are changed. Change from “lb” to “O b”. Further, all the suppression information flags of the management information CPSs 2 to 4 attached to the still image data STLs 1 to 3 are changed from “lb” to “0 b”. As described above, the association between the audio object AOB1 on the optical disc DK and the still image data STL:! ~ 3 is restored.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made. For example, according to the above-described embodiment, the management information CPS has the structure shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, but the management information CPS has the structure shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, respectively. It can be changed to management information CPS with. The details are described below. As shown in Fig. 17 (a), the management information CPS associated with the audio object is different from the management information shown in Fig. 4 (a) in that the sub information flag SFG and the sub information management information SMGl to n are Instead, it contains an identification AID to identify the corresponding audio object. On the other hand, the management information CPS attached to the still image data is the presence information that indicates whether or not the related audio object exists on the same optical disc, in contrast to the management information shown in Fig. 4 (a). It further includes a flag S FG and identification information AID for identifying the associated audio object.

According to the above configuration, for example, when the audio object AOD 1 is moved from the optical disk DK on which the audio object AOD 1 and the related still image data STL 1 are recorded to another optical disk DK 1, The management information CPS 1 attached to the object AOD on the optical disc DK is erased, and the management information CPS 2 attached to the still image data STL 1 remaining on the optical disc DK is changed from the existence information SFG value of `` 10 b '' to `` 10 b ''. 00b ”and the value of the suppression information flag RFGD is changed from“ 0b ”to“ lb ”.

Thereafter, when the audio object AOD 1 recorded on the optical disc DK 1 is returned to the original optical disc DK again, the management information CPS 1 on the optical disc DK 1 is erased, and the audio object AOD 1 and the accompanying audio object are stored on the optical disc DK 1. Management information CPS 1 is recorded. The value of the presence information SFG of the management information CPS1 is set to “10 b”, and the value of the suppression information flag RFG is set to “0 b”. Also, in the management information CPS 2 recorded on the optical disc DK, the value of the existence information SFG is changed from “00 b” to “10 b”, and the value of the suppression information flag RFGD is changed from “1 b” to “10 b”. 0 b ”. Thus, the association between the audio object AOB1 on the optical disc DK and the still image data STL1 is restored.

In the above embodiment, the case where image information is associated with music information has been described. However, it is needless to say that text information can be associated with music information instead of the image information.

Furthermore, a program corresponding to the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIG. 10, or FIG. 12 to FIG. 16 is recorded on a flexible disk or obtained via a network such as the Internet. By recording these and reading and executing them with a general-purpose microcomputer or the like, the microcomputer or the like can also be executed as the system controller 8 according to the embodiment.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. An information recording apparatus for recording main information and sub-information on a recording medium, comprising: identification information for identifying the sub-information related to the main information;

Presence information indicating whether or not the main information and sub-information related to the main information are present on the same recording medium;

An information recording apparatus, wherein the information is recorded on the recording medium.

2. The information recording device according to claim 1 further comprises:

An information recording device characterized by recording copyright presence / absence information indicating presence / absence of a copyright for the sub information.

3. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1,

When the main information whose related sub-information is present on the same recording medium is moved to another recording medium, the presence information is replaced with the main information and the sub-information related to the main information. An information recording device characterized by rewriting to a content indicating that the content does not exist on a recording medium.

4. The information recording apparatus according to claim 3,

When returning the main information moved to another recording medium onto the recording medium, the presence information is changed to a content in which the main information and the sub-information related to the main information exist on the same recording medium. An information recording device characterized by rewriting.

5. The information recording device according to claim 1 further comprises:

An information recording apparatus for recording inhibition information indicating whether or not the association of the sub information related to the main information is temporarily inhibited.

6. Main information, 畐 I Xiaohua, identification information for identifying the sub-information related to the main information, and the main information and sub-information related to the main information are on the same recording medium. An information reproducing apparatus that reproduces a recording medium on which presence information indicating whether or not exists, and

An information reproducing apparatus characterized in that based on the identification information and the presence information, sub-information that can be reproduced in relation to the main information is specified, and the specified sub-information is reproduced in relation to the main information. .

7. The information reproducing apparatus according to claim 6,

The recording medium further stores inhibition information indicating whether or not the association of the sub information related to the main information is temporarily inhibited,

The information reproducing apparatus, based on the suppression information, reproduces only the sub-information of which the association is not suppressed among the specified sub-information in association with the main information. .

8 · A recording medium on which main information and sub-information are recorded,

Identification information for identifying the sub-information related to the main information, and presence information indicating whether or not the main information and the sub-information related to the main information are present on the same recording medium. A recording medium comprising a recording area.

9. The recording medium according to claim 8, further comprising:

A recording medium comprising an area for recording copyright presence / absence information indicating presence / absence of a copyright for the sub-information.

10. An information recording method for recording main information and sub-information on a recording medium, comprising: recording the main information and sub-information reproducible in relation to the main information on the recording medium;

Identification information for identifying the sub-information related to the main information, and presence information indicating whether or not the main information and the sub-information related to the main information are present on the same recording medium. Recording on the recording medium;

An information recording method comprising:

11. The information recording method according to claim 10 further comprises:

An information recording method characterized by recording copyright presence / absence information indicating presence / absence of a copyright for the sub information.

12. The main information, the sub-information, the identification information for identifying the sub-information related to the main information, and the sub-information related to the main information and the main information are on the same recording medium. An information reproduction method for reproducing a recording medium on which presence information indicating whether or not exists, and

Identifying sub-information related to the main information based on the identification information and the presence information; Reproducing the identified sub-information in association with the main information.

1 3. In the information reproducing method according to claim 12,

The information reproducing method, wherein, in the reproducing step, based on the suppression information, only the sub-information of which the association is not suppressed, out of the specified sub-information, is reproduced in association with the main information.

14. A recording control program for controlling a computer provided in an information recording device that records main information and sub-information on a recording medium,

The computer indicates the identification information for identifying the sub-information related to the main information, and indicates whether the main information and the sub-information related to the main information are present on the same recording medium. Recording means for recording the presence information and

A recording control program characterized by functioning as:

15. The recording control program according to claim 14, further comprises:

An information recording method, comprising: causing the computer to function as means for recording copyright presence / absence information indicating presence / absence of a copyright for the sub information.

16. An information recording medium in which the recording control program according to claim 14 or 15 is recorded so as to be readable by the computer.

17. The main information, the sub-information, the identification information for identifying the sub-information related to the main information, and the main information and the sub-information related to the main information are on the same recording medium. A reproduction control program for controlling a computer provided in an information reproducing apparatus for reproducing a recording medium on which the presence information indicating whether or not exists, and

The computer

Specifying means for specifying, based on the identification information and the presence information, sub-information that can be reproduced in relation to the main information; and

Reproducing means for reproducing the specified sub-information in association with the main information,

A reproduction control program characterized by functioning as a program.

18. The reproduction control program according to claim 17, wherein the recording medium further stores suppression information indicating whether or not the ability to temporarily suppress the association of the sub information related to the main information is recorded. Has been

Causing the computer functioning as the reproducing unit to reproduce only the sub-information of which the association is not suppressed, out of the specified sub-information, in association with the main information, based on the suppression information. Characteristic playback control program.

19. An information recording medium on which the reproduction control program according to claim 17 or 18 is recorded so as to be readable by the computer.