JP2000092426A - Video cassette recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a video cassette recorder which can display a list of the titles of videotaped programs on a monitor. SOLUTION: This video cassette recorder 1 is equipped with a tuner 2 which receives a television broadcast signal, a XDS(extended data service) signal extracting circuit 4 which extracts an XDS signal from the received television broadcast signal, a tape 10 in which the television broadcast signal is recorded, and a control circuit 5, which discriminates whether or not title information is included in the XDS signal and writes a flag in an auxiliary data recording area when so. Then the control circuit 5 discriminates whether or not a flag is written in the auxiliary data recording area as to each program recorded on the tape 10 and each time it is discriminated that a flag is written, the control circuit extracts title information from the television broadcast signal reproduced from the broadcast signal recording area and generates and outputs data for visually displaying the extracted title information to a TV receiver 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video cassette recorder (VCR) for receiving a television broadcast signal and recording it on a tape, and in particular, displays a list of program titles recorded on the tape on a monitor. Video cassette recorder capable of doing so.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 6, a VCR having a function of displaying recording information of all programs recorded on a magnetic tape as a recording list has been known. In a VCR of this type, a magnetic tape is used as shown in FIG.
As shown in the signal recording format shown in FIG. 1, a recording area for a television broadcast signal and a recording area for auxiliary data narrower than the broadcast signal recording area are provided. VISS data indicating the start point is recorded, and then VASS data including user data and recorded data indicating recorded contents is recorded. Here, the recording data includes, for example, data relating to a channel number, a recording date, a recording start time, and a recording end time.

In the above-mentioned VCR, when a list display operation is performed by a user, a magnetic tape is fast-forward-reproduced, and recording data is read from a VASS data recording area of an auxiliary data recording area. A recording information display signal is created based on the
Output to the receiver. As a result, on the screen of the TV receiver,
The recording list shown in FIG. 6 is displayed. In the figure, "CH" is a channel number, "DATE" is a recording date,
“START” indicates the recording start time, and “END” indicates the recording end time.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional VCR, the title of the program is not displayed in the recording list as shown in FIG.
Since only the recording start time and the recording end time are displayed, there is a problem that even if the recording list is viewed, it is not clear what the program is. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a video cassette recorder capable of displaying a list of program titles recorded on a tape on a monitor.

[0005]

By the way, in North America, a control signal called an XDS (Extended Data Service) signal is transmitted to a 21st horizontal section in a vertical blanking period of a second field of a television broadcast signal. Is transmitted while being superimposed. Here, the XDS signal includes title information indicating the title of the program.

In order to solve the above problem, it is conceivable to display the title of a program on a monitor screen by using title information included in an XDS signal. As a configuration of a VCR having such a function, for example, when a user performs a title list display operation, the entire area of the broadcast signal recording area shown in FIG. 5 is searched, and the television broadcast signal recorded in the area is searched. , The title information is sequentially extracted from the extracted title information, and the title is displayed based on the extracted title information. However, in the VCR having such a configuration, since the broadcast signal recording area is large, it takes time to extract the title information, and it takes a long time to finish displaying the list of program titles. .

[0007] As another configuration, title information extracted from a television broadcast signal is recorded in a user data recording area of a VASS data recording area, and when a user performs a title display operation, the title information is deleted from the user data recording area. A configuration is conceivable in which title information is sequentially read and title display is performed based on the read title information. However, since the user data recording area is small, title information with a large amount of information cannot be recorded. Then, the present inventors conducted intensive research in view of the above problems, and as a result, completed the present invention.

[0008] A video cassette recorder according to the present invention comprises:
A television broadcast signal in which title information is superimposed at a predetermined position on at least a part of a plurality of programs included in a television broadcast signal, and the television broadcast signal is recorded on the tape. It is possible to record a television broadcast signal of a plurality of programs in a broadcast signal recording area by providing a recording area for recording the auxiliary data and a recording area for auxiliary data. In the characteristic configuration of the video cassette recorder, in the process of recording a plurality of programs, for a program including title information, a flag indicating the fact is written to the auxiliary data recording area. Means for extracting a title information from a predetermined position of a television broadcast signal reproduced from a broadcast signal recording area for a program in which the flag is written in an auxiliary data recording area according to a display operation by a user, and extracting the title information. Second information processing means for creating and outputting data for visually displaying title information.

More specifically, the first information processing means determines whether or not the received television broadcast signal contains title information for the program being recorded, and the first determination means. Means for writing the flag in the auxiliary data recording area when it is determined by the means that the title information is included. On the other hand, the second information processing means includes a reproduction control means for reproducing the tape in response to the display operation by the user, and whether or not the flag is written in the auxiliary data recording area for each program recorded on the tape. And a title information is extracted from a predetermined position of the television broadcast signal reproduced from the broadcast signal recording area each time the flag is determined to be written by the second decision means. It comprises an information extracting means and a second data processing means for creating and outputting data for visually displaying the title information extracted by the information extracting means.

A monitor device is connected to an output terminal of the video cassette recorder. In the video cassette recorder, when the user performs a recording operation start operation,
Alternatively, when the scheduled recording start time comes, the recording operation is started. When the recording operation is started, the first judging means judges whether or not the television broadcast signal received by the antenna or the like includes the title information for the program currently being recorded, and the first data processing means. When the first determining means determines that the title information is included, for example, "0" or "1" is added to the auxiliary data recording area of the tape.
Write a flag that takes the value of Here, since the information amount of the flag is small, the flag can be written in a narrow area of the auxiliary data recording area. In this manner, for a program including title information, a television broadcast signal is recorded in the broadcast signal recording area of the tape, and a flag is written in the auxiliary data recording area.

[0011] When the user performs a display operation to display a list of program titles recorded on the tape on the screen of the monitor device, the reproduction control means starts reproduction of the tape. The second determining means searches the auxiliary data recording area of the tape while the tape is being reproduced, and sequentially determines whether or not a flag is written in the area for each recorded program. The information extracting means extracts title information from a predetermined position of the television broadcast signal reproduced from the broadcast signal recording area each time the second determining means determines that the flag has been written. Here, since the flag is written for the program including the title information among the programs recorded on the tape, the flag is reproduced when the second determining means determines that the flag is written. A television broadcast signal always includes title information. Then, the second data processing means creates data for visually displaying the title information extracted by the information extracting means, and outputs the data to the monitor device. As a result, the titles of one or a plurality of programs including the title information are sequentially displayed for each program on the screen of the monitor device.

In the above video cassette recorder,
The second judging means searches the auxiliary data recording area having a smaller area than the broadcast signal recording area. Therefore, the second judging means searches the broadcast signal recording area in a shorter time than the video cassette recorder which searches the entire broadcast signal recording area. All recorded title information can be extracted. As a result, the time required to complete displaying the list of program titles is reduced.

More specifically, the first information processing means further includes, when the first determining means determines that the title information is not included in the program being recorded, the recording data representing the recorded contents of the program. Third data processing means for recording in the auxiliary data recording area is provided. Here, the recording data includes, for example, data relating to a channel number, a recording date, a recording start time, and a recording end time. On the other hand, the second information processing means further includes:
Each time it is determined that the flag has not been written for a recorded program, the recorded data of the program is read from the auxiliary data recording area, and data for visually displaying the read recorded data is created. A fourth data processing means for outputting is provided.

In the specific configuration, when the first determining means determines that the title information is not included, the third data processing means records the recording data of the program in the auxiliary data recording area. In this way, for a program that does not include title information, a television broadcast signal is recorded in the broadcast signal recording area on the tape, and recording data is recorded in the auxiliary data recording area.

The fourth data processing means reads the recorded data from the auxiliary data recording area each time the second determining means determines that the flag has not been written, and visually displays the read recorded data. Is created, and the data is output to the monitor device. As a result, recording information, such as a channel number, a recording date, a recording start time, and a recording end time, for one or a plurality of programs that do not include title information are sequentially displayed on the screen of the monitor device for each program. Will be. In this manner, in the video cassette recorder having the above specific configuration, the title of the program including the title information is displayed, while the title of the program not including the title information is displayed. The recording information is displayed.

[0016] More specifically, the first information processing means further includes, when the first judging means judges that the title information is included for the program being recorded, a recording indicating the recorded contents of the program. A fifth data processing means for recording data in the auxiliary data recording area is provided. On the other hand, the second information processing means reads the recorded data of the program from the auxiliary data recording area each time the second determining means determines that the flag is written for the recorded program, and reads out the read data. And a sixth data processing means for creating and outputting data for visually displaying the recorded video data.

In the specific configuration, when the first determining means determines that the title information is included,
The first data processing means writes the flag in the auxiliary data recording area as described above, and the fifth data processing means records the recording data in the auxiliary data recording area. And the sixth
The data processing means reads out the recorded data from the auxiliary data recording area every time the flag is written by the second determining means, and creates data for visually displaying the read recorded data. , And outputs the data to a monitor device. Each time the information extracting means determines that the flag has been written by the second determining means,
The title information is extracted from the television broadcast signal reproduced from the broadcast signal recording area as described above, and the second data processing means creates data for visually displaying the extracted title information, and Is output to the monitor device. As a result, on the screen of the monitor device, for one or a plurality of programs including title information, recording information is sequentially displayed for each program in addition to the title.

More specifically, the reproduction control means rewinds the tape to the start at a higher speed than during the normal reproduction in accordance with the display operation by the user, and then performs fast-forward reproduction at a higher speed than during the normal reproduction. Then, during the operation of the information extracting means, normal reproduction is performed.

In this specific configuration, since the reproduction control means reproduces the tape from the beginning, the title information or the recorded data is read out according to the recording order of the program. Therefore, the title of the program or the recording information is displayed on the screen of the monitor device according to the recording order of the program. According to this specific configuration, when the user wants to view a program recorded on a tape, a list of program titles and recording information is displayed on the screen of the monitor device, and the list is displayed. It is possible to know the recording order, and it becomes easy to search for a program. Also, since the playback control means performs fast-forward playback of the tape at a higher speed than during normal playback except during the operation of the information extraction means, all the title information recorded in the broadcast signal recording area can be further shortened. Can be extracted. As described above, since the second determination means searches the auxiliary data recording area smaller than the broadcast signal recording area, the presence / absence of the flag can be reliably determined even when the tape is fast-forward reproduced. . In addition, since the tape is normally reproduced during the operation of the information extracting means, the information extracting means can reliably extract the title information from the television broadcast signal reproduced from the broadcast signal recording area.

[0020]

According to the video cassette recorder of the present invention, a list of the titles of the programs recorded on the tape can be displayed on the screen of the monitor device.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. VCR of this embodiment
In (1), a title display mode in which a recording list shown in FIG. 2 can be displayed for a program recorded on a magnetic tape can be set. In FIG. 2,
"CH" is the channel number, "DATE" is the recording date,
“START” indicates the recording start time, “END” indicates the recording end time, and “TITLE” indicates the title of the program.

The VCR (1) of this embodiment includes a tuner (2) for receiving a television broadcast signal as shown in FIG. 1, and a television broadcast signal obtained from the tuner (2) is a video signal processing circuit. (3), a video signal of a predetermined format is created by the circuit, and the TV receiver (11)
Output to An XDS signal extraction circuit (4) is connected to an output terminal of the tuner (2), and the circuit extracts an XDS signal superimposed on a television broadcast signal. The extracted XDS signal is supplied to a control circuit (5) including a microcomputer. In the control circuit (5),
A magnetic tape (10) and a VCR mechanism (6) for recording a video signal on the magnetic tape (10) are connected, and the VCR mechanism (6)
Is controlled by the control circuit (5). Control circuit
(5) includes a key input device (7) having a plurality of operation keys,
And a remote control receiver for receiving a remote control signal from a remote control transmitter (9)
(8) is connected. When a recording list display command is issued from the key input device (7) or the remote control transmitter (9), the control circuit (5) generates a title information display signal and a recording information display signal, which will be described later, in sequence.
It is output to the V receiver (11).

FIG. 3 shows a VASS data writing procedure of the control circuit (5) during video recording, which is a characteristic configuration of the present invention. As shown, first, in step S1,
It is determined whether or not recording has been started. If the determination is No, the determination is repeated in step S1, while
If s (yes) is determined, the process moves to step S2. In step S2, it is determined whether or not the title display mode has been set. If the determination is no, the process proceeds to step S5, where the recording data of the program currently being recorded is shown in FIG. The data is written in the recording data recording area of the VASS data recording area of the magnetic tape 10, and the procedure is completed.

On the other hand, if the answer is YES in step S2, the process shifts to step S3 to determine whether or not title information is included in the XDS signal obtained from the XDS signal extraction circuit (4). Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the determination in step S3 is that after the cueing code data (VISS data) has been written into the VISS data recording area,
For a second. If it is determined NO in step S3 of FIG. 3, the process proceeds to step S5, where the recording data is written in the recording data recording area of the VASS data recording area as described above, and the procedure ends.

If the answer is affirmative in step S3, the process proceeds to step S4, where the magnetic tape (1) shown in FIG.
In the user data recording area of the VASS data recording area of (0), for example, a title information presence flag having a value of “0” or “1” is written, and then the process proceeds to step S5, where the recorded data is transferred to the VASS data as described above. The data is written in the recording data recording area of the recording area, and the procedure ends.

In the VCR according to the present embodiment, a TV broadcast signal is recorded in the broadcast signal recording area of the magnetic tape (10) for a program whose title information is included in the XDS signal by the above procedure. The flag with the title information and the recording data are written in the VASS data recording area of the auxiliary data recording area. On the other hand, XD
For a program whose title signal is not included in the S signal, the television broadcast signal is recorded in the broadcast signal recording area of the magnetic tape (10), and the V
Only the recording data is written in the ASS data recording area.

FIG. 4 shows a recording list display procedure by the control circuit (5) of this embodiment. The key input device (7) and the remote control transmitter (9) of the present embodiment are
A list display key (not shown) to be operated when displaying the recording list shown in FIG. 2 is provided. As shown, first, in step S11 of FIG. 4, it is determined whether or not the list display key has been pressed. Here, the user sets the recording list to T
When the list display key is pressed to display on the screen of the V receiver (11), the determination is yes and the process proceeds to step S12. On the other hand, when it is determined NO in step S11, the determination is repeated in step S11.

In step S12, it is determined whether or not the magnetic tape (10) set in the VCR (1) has been rewound to the start end.
3 and start the rewinding operation of the magnetic tape (10).
It returns to step S12. When the magnetic tape (10) is rewound to the start end, the result of the determination in step S12 is YES, and the process proceeds to step S14 to start the fast forward operation of the magnetic tape (10). Then, in step S15, the magnetic tape (10)
It is determined whether or not the VISS data is recorded in the auxiliary data recording area of the magnetic tape (10). If the determination is yes, the process proceeds to step S16, and the title is recorded in the user data recording area of the VASS data recording area of the magnetic tape (10). It is determined whether the information presence flag is written.

If the answer is affirmative in step S16, the process proceeds to step S17, in which the vertical blanking period of the second field of the television broadcast signal reproduced from the broadcast signal recording area of the magnetic tape (10) is used. , The title information is extracted from the 21st horizontal section. At this time, the magnetic tape (10) is normally reproduced for a certain period. Subsequently, in step S18, a title information display signal is created based on the extracted title information and output to the TV receiver.
It returns to step S15. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the title of the program recorded on the magnetic tape (10) is displayed on the screen of the TV receiver (11). For example, if a program with the title “Godzilla” is recorded, “TITLE”
Is displayed as "Godzilla".

On the other hand, if it is determined NO in step S16, the process proceeds to step S19, where the magnetic tape (10)
The recording data is read from the recording data recording area of the VASS data recording area. In step S20, a recording information display signal is created based on the read recording data and output to the TV receiver (11), and then the process returns to step S15. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the recording information of the program recorded on the magnetic tape (10), for example, the channel number, the recording date, the recording start time and the recording end time are displayed on the screen of the TV receiver (11). You. For example, the program of channel 15 is November 24
If the video was recorded from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm on the day, “CH”, “DATE”, “START” and “E”
In the column of “ND”, “15”, “11/24”, “7:
00 PM "and" 8:00 PM "are displayed.

In this way, of the programs recorded on the magnetic tape (10), the title of the program whose title information is included in the XDS signal is recorded, and the title of the program whose title information is not included is recorded. Information is displayed on the TV receiver (1
It will be displayed sequentially on the screen of 1). Then, when the title or the recording information is displayed for all the programs recorded on the magnetic tape (10), it is determined as NO in step S15, and the process proceeds to step S21, where the magnetic tape (1) is displayed.
The fast-forward operation of 0) is stopped, and the procedure ends.

According to the VCR (1) of the present embodiment, a program whose title information is included in the XDS signal is shown in FIG.
The program title is displayed in the recording list shown in.
It is easy to know what the program is. Since the magnetic tape (10) is played back fast-forward except during the operation of extracting the title information of the control circuit (5), title information or recording information of all programs recorded on the magnetic tape (10) is stored. Reading can be performed in a short time, which shortens the time until display of the recording list is completed. The control circuit (5) of the present embodiment
Searches the auxiliary data recording area with a small area,
Even in the state where the magnetic tape (10) is fast-forward-reproduced, the presence / absence of the title information presence flag can be reliably determined. Also, during the title information extraction operation of the control circuit (10), the magnetic tape (10) is normally reproduced, so that the control circuit (5) can reliably retrieve the title information from the television broadcast signal reproduced from the broadcast signal recording area. Can be extracted. Furthermore,
Since the magnetic tape is played back from the beginning, the title of the program or the recording information is recorded according to the recording order of the program.
It will be displayed on the screen of the V receiver (11). Therefore,
If you look at the recording list, you can know the recording order, and when you want to watch the program recorded on the magnetic tape (10),
Program search is easy.

The configuration of each part of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the technical scope described in the claims. For example, in the above embodiment, among programs recorded on a magnetic tape, for a program including title information, a configuration is adopted in which only the title is displayed on the screen of the TV receiver. In addition, it is also possible to adopt a configuration for displaying recording information. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration is adopted in which the title or recording information of the program recorded on the magnetic tape is sequentially displayed for each program. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which information is displayed at one time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a VCR embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a recording list of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a VASS data writing procedure of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a recording list display procedure of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a signal recording format of a magnetic tape.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a conventional recording list.

[Explanation of symbols]

 (1) VCR (2) Tuner (3) Video signal processing circuit (4) XDS signal extraction circuit (5) Control circuit (6) VCR mechanism (7) Key input device (8) Remote control receiver (9) Remote control Transmitter (10) Magnetic tape (11) TV receiver

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5C018 AA00 AB12 AC00 CA00 DC00 DC04 FA03 HA00 HA14 JC04 5C025 AA30 BA14 CA09 CB08 DA08 5C053 FA14 FA21 GB01 GB12 HA30 JA16 JA30 LA04 LA06 5D102 AC01 AD18 GA02 GA08 GA50 GA64

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A video cassette recorder for recording, on a tape, a television broadcast signal having title information superimposed at a predetermined position for at least a part of a plurality of programs included in the television broadcast signal, the tape comprising: A video cassette recorder capable of recording a television broadcast signal of a plurality of programs in a broadcast signal recording area by providing a recording area for a television broadcast signal and a recording area for auxiliary data, In the process of recording a program, for a program including title information, a first information processing means for writing a flag indicating the fact to the auxiliary data recording area; For a program in which a flag is written, a predetermined position of a television broadcast signal reproduced from a broadcast signal recording area Extracts Luo title information extracted second creating and outputting data for visually displaying the title information
A video cassette recorder comprising information processing means. 2. A first information processing means for determining whether or not a received television broadcast signal includes title information for a program being recorded.
A first data processing unit that writes the flag in the auxiliary data recording area when the first determination unit determines that the title information is included, wherein the second information processing unit includes: Playback control means for playing back a tape in response to a display operation by a user; second determination means for determining whether or not the flag is written in an auxiliary data recording area for each program recorded on the tape; Each time the second determining means determines that the flag has been written, the information extracting means extracts title information from a predetermined position of the television broadcast signal reproduced from the broadcast signal recording area; And second data processing means for generating and outputting data for visually displaying the generated title information. Video cassette recorder. 3. The first information processing means further includes: when the first determining means determines that the title information is not included in the program being recorded, the recording data representing the recording content of the program is recorded in the auxiliary data recording means. A third data processing means for recording in the area, the second information processing means further comprising an auxiliary data recording area each time the second determining means determines that the flag is not written for the recorded program. 3. The video cassette recorder according to claim 2, further comprising: fourth data processing means for reading out the recorded data of the program from the program, creating and outputting data for visually displaying the read recorded data. 4. The first information processing means further comprises: when the first determining means determines that the title information is included in the program being recorded, the recording data representing the recording contents of the program is recorded as auxiliary data. A fifth data processing means for recording in the area, the second information processing means further comprising an auxiliary data recording area each time the second determining means determines that the flag is written for the program being recorded. 4. The video cassette recorder according to claim 3, further comprising: sixth data processing means for reading out the recorded data of the program from, and creating and outputting data for visually displaying the read out recorded data. 5. The playback control means rewinds the tape to a start end at a higher speed than during normal playback in accordance with the display operation by the user, and then performs fast-forward playback at a higher speed than during normal playback to extract information. 5. The video cassette recorder according to claim 2, wherein the video cassette recorder performs normal reproduction during operation of the means.