JP2003032581A - Image recording and reproducing device and computer program therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To create a proper thumbnail image to each tilt in an image recording and reproducing device. SOLUTION: The image recording and reproducing device is provided with a designation means that allows a user to designate particular information to identify video image on which a thumbnail image is based, a particular information storage means that stores the particular information designated by the user, a recording means that records contents on a recording medium, a generating means that acquires video information indicated by the particular information stored in the particular information storage means from the contents recorded in the recording medium after the recording by the recording means is finished and generates a thumbnail image from the video information, and a thumbnail image storage means that stores the generated thumbnail image. The designation means allows the user to designate particular information as to the contents before recording the contents on the recording medium.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a compressed still image (hereinafter referred to as "thumbnail image") representative of the content recorded on a recording medium such as a DVD.
Also called. ) Belongs to the technology of generating and displaying. More specifically, the present invention relates to setting and changing video information on a recording medium on which thumbnail images are generated.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, image data and audio data have been recorded on a large capacity recording medium such as a DVD in place of a conventional video tape. In such a video recorder, as in a video recorder using a conventional videotape, a TV antenna is connected and T
The V broadcast can be received and recorded as the content on the recording medium. Content such as TV programs is recorded on a recording medium in units called titles, for example. That is, video data and audio data that form one TV program are recorded as one title on the recording medium.

Some DVD recorders generate a compressed image called a "thumbnail" for each of a plurality of titles recorded on a recording medium and use it as a kind of index information. More specifically, the thumbnail is compressed image data obtained by compressing specific image data in a title.

When a plurality of titles are recorded on the recording medium, the user needs to specify a title desired to be viewed from the plurality of titles and reproduce the title. At that time, thumbnails are prepared for each of the plurality of titles recorded on the recording medium, and these are displayed to the user as index information. Since the thumbnail is a compressed image of specific image data in each title, the user can understand to some extent what program the title is by seeing it. Therefore, the video recorder using the recording medium described above generates thumbnails for each of the plurality of titles recorded on the recording medium and displays the thumbnails to the user. The user looks at a plurality of thumbnails, finds and specifies a title that the user wants to see, and reproduces it. Thus, the thumbnail functions as a kind of index information of the content recorded on the recording medium.

[0005]

Now, as described above,
When making a thumbnail from image data of a certain title,
The image data which is the source of the thumbnail has been conventionally selected according to a certain rule determined for each video recorder. Specifically, in many cases, a thumbnail is generated by compressing the head part of the title or the image data after a fixed time from the head of the title.

However, when considering recording a TV program or the like, the start time of the program often does not coincide with the start time of the main part of the program due to the presence of CM. Generally, at the start of a TV program, a few commercials are broadcast before the main part is broadcast.
Is often broadcast. Therefore, if the video recorder is designed to generate a thumbnail from the image at the start of recording, when a TV program is recorded using a function such as scheduled recording, most of the thumbnails become CM images ( As shown in FIG. 10 (A), it becomes impossible to grasp the program content of the title corresponding to the thumbnail image.

Therefore, in order to generate a thumbnail so that the content of the program can be grasped from the thumbnail image, the user once reproduces the recorded content and designates an arbitrary scene being reproduced, thereby generating the thumbnail. I was working on changing the base image data and recreating thumbnails.

However, in the above-described conventional thumbnail generation method, since the thumbnail is almost always made from the CM when the title recorded by the reserved recording is first viewed, the thumbnail function is used as an index of the content recorded on the recording medium. Cannot be fulfilled. If the recorded program is viewed only once, the thumbnail function will not be utilized. Also, in the case of content that is repeatedly viewed after recording, the user has to individually recreate the thumbnails that have been generated once for each content,
It is complicated. Therefore, the above-mentioned conventional thumbnail generation method is not always convenient for the user.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to enable an image recording / reproducing apparatus to generate an appropriate thumbnail image for each title only by the user performing a simple operation. And there is a point.

[0010]

According to one aspect of the present invention, an image recording / reproducing apparatus includes a designating unit that allows a user to designate specific information that identifies video information on which a thumbnail image is based, and a user-designating unit. Specific information storage means for storing the specified information, recording means for recording the content on a recording medium, and after the recording by the recording means is completed, the content recorded on the recording medium is stored in the specific information storage means. The specifying unit includes a generating unit that acquires the image information indicated by the specific information and generates a thumbnail image from the image information, and a thumbnail storing unit that stores the generated thumbnail image, and the specifying unit stores the content on the recording medium. Before recording, the user is requested to specify specific information about the content.

According to the image recording / reproducing apparatus configured as described above, the user specifies the specific information for specifying the video information which is the basis of the thumbnail image, and the specific information is stored in the storage means. This designation is performed before recording the content on the recording medium. When the content is recorded on the recording medium, the video information indicated by the specific information stored in the storage means is acquired from the content on the recording medium, a thumbnail image is generated from the video information, and the thumbnail image is stored.
In this way, since the specific information is specified by the user before recording the content, a thumbnail image is generated from the appropriate video information included in the content by the user specifying the appropriate specific information according to the content. It

[0012] In one aspect of the image recording / reproducing apparatus, the specific information may be time information indicating a time of video information which is a basis of the thumbnail image, based on a head of the content. In another aspect of the image recording / reproducing apparatus, the specific information is included in the content.
It may be position information indicating the position of the video information that is the basis of the thumbnail image.

In still another aspect of the image recording / reproducing apparatus, the designating means accepts designation of the specific information in a specific information designating mode.

According to this aspect, when the content is recorded in the form of normal recording, the user can specify the specific information by activating the specification mode of the specific information.

In still another aspect of the image recording / reproducing apparatus, the designating means receives designation of the specific information in a setting mode of reserved recording of the content.

According to this aspect, when recording the content in the form of reserved recording, the user can specify the specific information in the reserved recording setting mode together with other setting items for reserved recording. .

In still another aspect of the image recording / reproducing apparatus, the designating means selects one from a plurality of options indicating the time from the beginning of the content or inputs the time from the beginning of the content. This allows the user to specify the specific information.

According to this aspect, the user specifies, as the specific information, one time out of the prepared options indicating the time from the beginning of the content, or the specific time of the time from the beginning of the content. The specific information can be easily designated by inputting a proper number.

In still another aspect of the image recording / reproducing apparatus, the designating unit allows the user to designate another content already recorded on the recording medium, and is the same as the specific information of the designated other content. The specific information is stored in the specific information storage means.

According to this aspect, since it is possible to use the same specific information as the specific information of the other contents for which the preferable thumbnail image is generated, it is possible to easily specify the appropriate specific information.

In still another aspect of the image recording / reproducing apparatus, the generating means is configured such that, after the recording by the recording means is completed, the video information corresponding to the specific information stored in the specific information recording means is the content. It is detected whether or not it is included, and when it is not included, a thumbnail image is generated from the video information indicated by the predetermined default specifying information.

According to this aspect, the specific information is designated by the user before recording the content, but the content actually recorded on the recording medium thereafter is represented by the specific information previously designated by the user. When the content is not included, the thumbnail image is generated using the default specifying information, so that the thumbnail image is generated even when the content is not recorded as scheduled.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in the image recording / reproducing apparatus, specific information storage means for storing specific information for specifying video information on which thumbnail images are based on a plurality of contents recorded on a recording medium. A selecting means for allowing the user to select one or more contents from the plurality of contents; a specifying means for allowing the user to specify the changed specific information; and the specifying for all of the one or more contents selected by the user. Changing means for storing the changed specific information designated by the means in the specific information storage means, and image information indicated by the specific information stored in the specific information storage means from the content recorded in the recording medium. Then, a generation unit that generates a thumbnail image from the video information, a thumbnail storage unit that stores the generated thumbnail image, Provided.

According to the image recording / reproducing apparatus configured as described above, the specific information for specifying the video information which is the basis of the thumbnail image is recorded in the storage means. When changing the specific information, the user first selects one or more contents, and then specifies the changed specific information. Then, the changed specific information is stored in the storage unit for all the contents selected by the user. After that, the video information is acquired from the content on the recording medium based on the changed specific information, and the thumbnail image is generated. In this way, it is possible to collectively change the specific information for a plurality of contents and generate an appropriate thumbnail image.

In one aspect of the image recording / reproducing apparatus, it is possible to further include means for recording the specific information stored in the specific information storage means in a predetermined area of the storage medium.

According to this aspect, even when a certain recording medium is reproduced by another image recording / reproducing apparatus, it is possible to generate a thumbnail image by reading the specific information on the recording medium into the image recording / reproducing apparatus. Become.

In another aspect of the image recording / reproducing apparatus,
Display control means for displaying the thumbnail image stored in the thumbnail image storage means on a display device can be further provided.

According to this aspect, by displaying the generated thumbnail image on the display device such as the TV receiver, the user can refer to the thumbnail image to determine the content or the like to be reproduced. .

Further, the present invention can be implemented as a computer program for causing a computer to function as the above image recording / reproducing apparatus. In that case, the above-mentioned image recording / reproducing apparatus can be realized by executing the computer program by a personal computer or the like.

[0030]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is a DV
The present invention is applied to an image recording / reproducing apparatus (that is, a DVD recorder) capable of recording / reproducing D.

In the present specification, "content"
Is information such as a TV program recorded on a DVD as a recording medium, and is actually configured to include video information and audio information. A "title" is a unit of content recorded on a DVD, such as one TV.
Corresponds to the program. The “thumbnail” is still image data obtained by data compression of specific video information of the video information included in the title recorded on the DVD, and the content of each title recorded on the DVD. Is used as index information indicating.

[1] Configuration of Image Recording / Reproducing Apparatus First, the overall configuration of the image recording / reproducing apparatus of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

In FIG. 1, the image recording / reproducing apparatus 100 is shown.
Are roughly divided functionally into a recording device side for recording contents on the DVD 200 and a reproducing device side for reproducing contents from the DVD 200.
00 is configured to include a system control unit 21 for controlling the entire system. In this embodiment, the DVD 200 is a writable DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM.
Etc.

On the recording device side of the image recording / reproducing device 100, a TV receiver 50 for receiving TV (Television) radio waves.
Is provided. The TV receiver 50 is configured to receive a TV signal via an antenna and output a video signal and an audio signal, respectively.

The recording device side of the image recording / reproducing device 100 is further provided with a switch control signal from the system control unit 21 for video input and audio input from the external input terminal and video output and audio output from the TV receiver 50. Switches 10 and 11 for switching according to Ssw1 and these switches 1
A / D video and audio signals from 0 and 11 respectively
(Analog to Digital) A / D converter for conversion 12
And 13, a video encoder (MPEG encoder) 14 and an audio encoder (AC-3 encoder) 15 for encoding the video signal and the audio signal from the A / D converters 12 and 13, respectively, and the video encoder 14 and the audio. A multiplexer 16 that multiplexes the encoded video signal and audio signal from the encoder 15, and an information recording unit 17 that supplies the multiplexed signal as a drive signal of a writing laser beam,
The optical pickup 20 is configured to irradiate the DVD 200 with a laser beam for writing data based on the drive signal.

On the other hand, the reproducing device side of the image recording / reproducing device 100 is an optical pickup 20 which is shared with the recording device side and which irradiates the DVD 200 with a laser beam for reading data and receives reflected light from the DVD 200. An information reproducing unit 37 that generates a detection signal from the light reception output of the optical pickup 20, a demultiplexer 36 that demultiplexes the detection signal generated by the information reproducing unit 37 and outputs a video signal and an audio signal, and these images. Video decoder (MPEG decoder) for decoding signal and audio signal respectively
34 and an audio decoder (AC-3 decoder) 35, and switches 30 and 31 that are switched according to a switch control signal Ssw2 from the system controller 21.

The reproducing device side of the image recording / reproducing device 100 is further provided with a video decoder 34 supplied via the switch 30.
Thumbnail image and / or O for the video signal from
Supplied via a switch 31 and a thumbnail / OSD generation / synthesis unit 38 for generating or synthesizing SD (On Screen Display), a D / A converter 32 for D / A (Digital to Analog) conversion of its digital output. The D / A converter 33 for D / A converting the audio signal from the audio decoder 35 and the thumbnail image memory 39 for storing the thumbnail image are provided.
The analog video output and the analog audio output output from the D / A converters 32 and 33 are output from a display device such as a CRT, a plasma display, a liquid crystal display, and a speaker (not shown), respectively.

Further, by switching the switch 42 according to the switch control signal Ssw3 from the system control unit 21, the recording quality of the video signal and the audio signal can be checked by the video output and the audio output.

Further, the image recording / reproducing apparatus 100 has an operation unit 2 having function keys for inputting various operation commands, a multi-dial, etc. on its front panel.
5, a display unit 26 such as a liquid crystal display unit for displaying the operation state of the image recording / reproducing apparatus 100 as text or image data, and a remote control light receiving unit 41. Remote control 40
Is provided separately from the main body of the device, and the remote control 40
The various command signals that are input in and converted into optical signals are received by the remote control light receiving unit 41, and the system control unit 2
Input to 1.

On the other hand, various command signals input by the operation unit 25 are also input by the system control unit 21, and the system control unit 21 operates various operations input by the remote controller 40 or the operation unit 25 according to a preset computer program. It is configured to control the entire image recording / reproducing apparatus 100 according to the command signal.

The system control unit 21 includes a memory unit 2 including a RAM for storing various data required for control.
2 are connected, and in the present embodiment, a thumbnail time and the like (described later) used for generating a thumbnail image are rewritably stored.

FIG. 2 shows the appearance of the image recording / reproducing apparatus 100. As shown in FIG. 2, an operation unit 25 and a display unit 26 are provided on the front panel of the image recording / reproducing device 100.

In FIG. 2, the operation unit 25 has a function key 25a for selecting an execution mode (for example, a recording mode, a reproduction mode, a TV reception mode, an editing mode, etc.) of the image recording / reproducing apparatus 100, and a function key 25a.
The multi-dial 25b for setting an execution state (for example, a volume volume setting value, a recording level setting value, a channel setting value, etc.) that can be executed in the execution mode selected by. Operation unit 25
In addition to these, various operation switches 25c for starting playback, stopping playback, etc. are included.

It should be noted that such execution mode selection and execution state setting can be easily and quickly performed by referring to the management information table stored in the memory section 22.

In addition, the display unit 26 is thus operated by the operation unit 2.
The execution mode or operation state selected in 5 and the execution state set in the selected execution mode are represented by, for example, text data consisting of short phrases such as English and Katakana, and image data such as symbols, graphs, and indicators. It is configured to display.

FIG. 3 shows the appearance of the remote controller 40. As shown in FIG. 3, the remote controller 40 includes various operation keys and operation switches, and in particular, the disc navigation key 40 for selecting the edit mode and various setting modes.
a, a multi-dial 40b capable of setting execution states in several execution modes, and various operation switches 40c including a reproduction key, a stop key, a fast forward key, a fast return key, a ten-key switch, and the like. .

Referring again to FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, as will be described later, thumbnails and OSDs (On Screen Displa
The image data for y) is generated by the thumbnail / OSD generating / combining unit 38 under the control of the system control unit 21 and is configured to be capable of outputting a video instead of a normal video signal. Such edit mode and various setting modes,
For example, when the user operates the disc navigation key 40a shown in FIG. 3, this is realized by the system control unit 21 activating a user interface, whereby the user can execute various settings using the remote controller 40 and the operation unit 25. Like In such a mode, a plurality of thumbnails and selection items of various setting items are displayed on the screen of the display device. In this state, the user can turn the multi-dial 40b to move the cursor to each thumbnail or selection item. In addition, by pressing the center button of the multi-dial 40b in a state where the cursor is placed on a desired thumbnail or selection item, selection or setting is determined.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, according to the image recording / reproducing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, T
The video signal and the audio signal input from the V receiver 50 or the external input terminal can be recorded on the DVD 200.
The video signal and audio signal recorded on the DVD 200 can be output as video and audio to the outside. And the operation unit 2
5 (see FIG. 2) and the remote controller 40 (see FIG. 3), the thumbnail generation control described below is performed according to various operation command signals input.

[2] Thumbnail Generation Processing Next, an outline of thumbnail generation processing by the image recording / reproducing apparatus 100 of the present invention will be described. The thumbnail generation process is a process for generating a compressed still image generally called a thumbnail by data-compressing video information of a content recorded on the DVD 200 as a title at a specific time, and the system control unit shown in FIG. 21 is performed by executing a program prepared in advance. Note that such a computer program may be stored in the memory unit 22, the DVD 200, another built-in RAM, or the like, or may be downloaded to the memory unit 22 or the like via a communication device such as a modem or a mobile phone. .

As described above, contents are recorded on the DVD 200 in units of titles, and thumbnails are generated for each title. That is, the thumbnail has a function as an index image of each title.

The video information used as the basis for generating the thumbnail is the video information at a certain specific time or position among the video information included in the title. Therefore, the base image for generating the thumbnail can be specified by the time or position from the beginning of each title.

The image recording / reproducing apparatus 1 determines at what point of time the video information for a title is to be used to generate a thumbnail.
In addition to being determined by the default setting on the 00 side, the user can arbitrarily set it. In the present embodiment, the video information that is the basis of the thumbnail is specified by the time from the beginning of the title, and this is hereinafter referred to as “thumbnail time”. For example, if the thumbnail time is set to 0 second, a thumbnail image is generated from the video information at the beginning of the title. Also, if the thumbnail time is set to 30 seconds, the playback time from the beginning of the title will be 30 seconds.
A thumbnail image is generated from the corresponding video information after a second.

The system control unit 21 stores the thumbnail time set by the user or the thumbnail time automatically set as the default of the image recording / reproducing apparatus 100 in the memory unit 22 shown in FIG. 1 in association with the identification information of the title. To do.

If the title is recorded as the content on the DVD disc 200 and the thumbnail time for the title is stored in the memory section 22, the system control section 21 can generate the thumbnail image. That is, the system control unit 21 acquires the thumbnail time stored in the memory unit 22, reads the video information corresponding to the thumbnail time from the video information of the title recorded on the DVD disc 200, and A thumbnail image is generated by controlling the thumbnail / OSD generation / synthesis unit 38 shown in FIG. 1 and data-compressing the video information by a predetermined compression method. Then, the system control unit 21 saves the generated thumbnail image in the thumbnail image memory 39, and displays the thumbnail image on a display device such as a TV (not shown) via the D / A converter 32 as necessary.

The thumbnail time is DVD disc 2
00 management information area (for example, DVD video manager). This allows, for example, some D
Even when the VD disc 200 is reproduced by another image recording / reproducing apparatus 100, thumbnail display can be performed. That is, when a DVD disc 200 is set in another image recording / reproducing apparatus 100, the system control unit 21 reads the thumbnail time for each title from the management information area of the DVD disc and temporarily stores the thumbnail time in the memory unit 22. At the same time, corresponding video information is obtained from the content on the DVD disc 200 based on each thumbnail time, compressed, a thumbnail image is generated, stored in the thumbnail image memory 39, and displayed on the display device.
This makes it possible to display thumbnails regardless of which image recording / reproducing apparatus 100 is used.

The time when the system control unit 21 generates the thumbnail image itself can be set variously.
For example, the system may be configured such that when the thumbnail time is set or changed, the corresponding thumbnail image is immediately generated and stored in the thumbnail image memory 39. Further, when the thumbnail time is set or changed, the thumbnail time in the memory unit 22 is stored or changed, and only when the thumbnail display is required thereafter, the system control unit 21 causes the memory unit 2 to operate.
The system can also be configured to generate thumbnail images with reference to 2. In short, as long as the thumbnail time is known, it is sufficient for the system control unit 21 to generate the thumbnail image when the thumbnail image needs to be displayed, even if the thumbnail image is not prepared in advance.

[3] Setting of Thumbnail Time Next, setting of thumbnail time according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The present invention has one feature in that the user can arbitrarily set the thumbnail time before recording the content such as a TV program. This is different from the conventional device in which the thumbnail time is automatically set by the default value and the user can change the thumbnail time only after recording.

FIG. 4A shows normal recording (other than reserved recording).
4B shows the thumbnail time setting process in the case of, and FIG. 4B shows the thumbnail time setting process in the case of reserved recording.

First, in FIG. 4A, the user operates the remote controller 40 or the like to display various setting modes (step S1), and selects a thumbnail time setting mode from among a plurality of setting modes, and the screen shown in FIG. A thumbnail time setting screen as illustrated is displayed (step S2).

In the example of FIG. 5, the user can set the thumbnail time in three ways. The first method is a method of selecting one from the thumbnail times prepared in advance on the image recording / reproducing apparatus 100 side, and in the example of FIG. 5, “0 seconds”, “30 seconds”, and “60 seconds” after the start of recording. Alternatively, either "3 minutes" can be selected. The second method is a method in which the user specifies the thumbnail time in seconds, and the thumbnail time is input in units of minutes and seconds after the start of recording. The third method is a method of setting the same thumbnail time as that of another title whose thumbnail time has already been set. This can be effectively used, for example, when recording a TV drama or other program every week. For commercial broadcast programs, if the program start time is 8:00 pm,
Some of the main program starts at 8:00 pm, and some commercials are played for the first 30 seconds or 1 minute.
The appropriate thumbnail time is different for each program. Therefore, for example, in the case of recording a certain program every week, if the thumbnail time is set to the same thumbnail time as that of another title that has already been set to the appropriate time, the thumbnail image can be generated at the appropriate time. It should be noted that these setting methods are merely examples, and other setting methods can be adopted.

In this way, when the user specifies the thumbnail time by any of the methods (step S3), the system control unit 21 stores the specified thumbnail time in the memory unit 22.
(Step S4). Thus, the setting of the thumbnail time is completed.

Next, the thumbnail time setting in the case of reserved recording will be described. As shown in FIG. 4B, the user operates the remote controller 40 or the like to display the reserved recording setting screen (step S5). Items to be set on the reserved recording setting screen include thumbnail items in addition to setting items related to reserved recording (reservation start time, reservation end time, recording channel, etc.). The user sequentially sets the setting items relating to reserved recording (step S6), and subsequently specifies the thumbnail time (step S7). When setting the thumbnail time, the same setting screen as that shown in FIG. 5 is displayed, and the user can specify the thumbnail time by a desired method. Then, when the thumbnail time is designated, the system control unit 21 stores the designated thumbnail time in the memory unit 22 (step S8), and the process is ended.

In this way, the thumbnail time can be set prior to the actual recording of the content information in both the normal recording and the reserved recording.

[4] Recording Process Next, the process of actually recording the content with the thumbnail time set as described above will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the system controller 21 determines whether or not recording should be started (step S10). In the case of normal recording, this is performed by detecting the recording operation of the user on the remote controller 40 or the like. In the case of reserved recording, it is performed by determining whether the recording start time has come.

When it is determined that the recording should be started, the system control unit 21 starts the recording (step S1).
2). Next, the system control unit 21 determines whether or not recording should be ended (step S14). In the case of normal recording, it is determined that the recording should be ended when the user performs a recording stop operation on the remote controller 40 or the like, and in the case of reserved recording, when the recording end time comes. When it is determined that the recording should be ended, the system control unit 21 performs a recording stop process (step S16).

Details of the recording stop process are shown in FIG. First,
The system control unit 21 processes the management information regarding the recorded content (step S18). This is D
This is a process of obtaining management information such as the recording position of the content on the VD disc 200 and saving it in the memory unit 22, but since it is not directly related to the present invention, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the system control unit 21 determines whether or not the recording that has been performed so far is the reserved recording (step S20). This can be determined based on whether the start or end of recording in step S10 or S14 is determined by detecting a user operation or by detecting a scheduled recording start / end time.

Next, in the case of the reserved recording, the system control unit 21 determines whether or not the actual recording of the content has been performed up to the thumbnail time designated when the reserved recording is set as described with reference to FIG. 4B. Is determined (step S21), and if so, the thumbnail time designated at the time of reserved recording setting is maintained in the memory unit 22 (step S23). On the other hand, if the actual recording of the content has not been performed until the thumbnail time specified at the time of the reserved recording setting, the system control unit sets the default thumbnail time (for example,
Simultaneously with the start of recording, one minute after the start of recording, etc. are stored in the memory unit 22 (step S24).

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S20 that the recording is not the reserved recording (that is, the normal recording), the system control unit 21 actually operates until the thumbnail time designated as described in FIG. 4A. It is determined whether or not the recording has been performed (step S22). Then, when the actual recording is performed up to the designated thumbnail time, the thumbnail time is maintained in the memory unit 22 (step S2
3) If not, the default thumbnail time is stored in the memory unit 22 (step S24).

Thus, the thumbnail time is stored in the memory unit 2.
2, the system control unit writes the management information and the thumbnail time obtained in step S18 into the management information recording area of the DVD disc 200 (step S2).
5), the process ends.

Thus, according to the present invention, when the actual content information is displayed up to the thumbnail time designated by the user in advance, the thumbnail time designated by the user is maintained as valid. Therefore, an appropriate thumbnail is generated according to the preset thumbnail time. On the other hand, when the actual recording of the content is not performed until the thumbnail time designated by the user in advance, the default thumbnail time of the image recording / reproducing apparatus 100 is used. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the situation in which the thumbnail is not generated even when the recording is not performed as scheduled.

Next, the thumbnail display process for the contents thus recorded will be described with reference to FIG. The system control unit 21 is a remote controller 4 operated by the user.
When the thumbnail display instruction is received by the operation of 0 or the like (step S30), the memory unit 22 and the thumbnail image memory 39 shown in FIG. 1 are accessed and all the titles correspond to the thumbnail times stored in the memory unit 22. It is determined whether or not the thumbnail image is stored in the thumbnail image memory 39 (step S3).
1). If not stored, the system control unit 21
Generates a thumbnail image for the lacking title based on the thumbnail time stored in the memory unit 22, and stores the thumbnail image in the thumbnail image memory 39 (step S32). In this way, when thumbnail images corresponding to the thumbnail times stored in the memory unit 22 are prepared for all titles, the system control unit 21 displays them on the display device (step S3).
3). Thus, the thumbnail display process is completed. After that, the user can play each title by selecting the thumbnail.

Next, an example of thumbnail display will be shown. Figure 10
(A) shows the case where all thumbnail images are generated for CM, for example, CM for one minute from the start of broadcasting.
This corresponds to a case in which a thumbnail image is generated based on the video at the start of recording in a TV program in which the stream is played.

On the other hand, for example, for a title for the first time of a certain program that is broadcast every week, the user changes the thumbnail time to the start time of the main part of the program, sets reserved recording for subsequent broadcasts, and sets the title for the first time. Assuming that the same thumbnail time is set, the thumbnail images of the titles that are reserved and recorded after that are as shown in FIG.
All are generated from the video information at the start time of the main program. Therefore, the user can know the content of the title by looking at the thumbnail image.

As described above, according to the present invention, the thumbnail image corresponding to the thumbnail time designated by the user can be automatically obtained prior to the actual recording of the content. Therefore, the user does not need to individually change the thumbnail time for the content once recorded, and can obtain the thumbnail corresponding to the appropriate time.

[5] Thumbnail Time Change Processing Next, the processing for collectively changing the thumbnail time for a plurality of titles for which thumbnail times have already been set will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the user operates the remote controller 40 or the like to activate the thumbnail time change mode (step S40). Next, the user selects one or a plurality of titles for which the thumbnail time should be changed (step S41), and further specifies the changed thumbnail time (step S42). Note that the thumbnail time at this time can be specified by various methods as illustrated in FIG. 5, for example.

The system control unit 21 changes the thumbnail time stored in the memory unit 22 for all the titles selected in step S41 to the changed thumbnail time specified in step S42 (step S43). . Then, the management information including the changed thumbnail time stored in the memory unit 22 is stored in the DVD disc 2
00 in the management information recording area (step S4
4), the process ends.

As described above, according to the present invention, by selecting a plurality of titles whose thumbnail times should be changed and designating the changed thumbnail times, the thumbnail times of all the selected titles can be collectively changed. it can. Therefore, it is possible to change all the thumbnail times for a title whose recording has already been completed by a single process. For example, for a program in which it is known how many seconds after the broadcast start time the main program starts, such as a TV program recorded every week, this thumbnail time change processing causes the thumbnail time to be changed at once for all the already recorded titles. Can be changed.

[Modification] In the above embodiment, the video information that is the basis for generating the thumbnail image is specified as the thumbnail time indicating the time from the beginning of each title. Alternatively, the video information that is the basis for generating the thumbnail image can be specified by position information (for example, address, number of frames, etc.) with the head of each title as a reference. In that case, when the user specifies the thumbnail time on the thumbnail time setting screen as shown in FIG. 5, the system control unit 21 converts the specified thumbnail time into position information based on the head of the title. The thumbnail position information may be stored in the memory unit 22.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to DV.
The case where the present invention is applied to a dedicated device such as a D recorder has been described, but it is also possible to realize the same function by a program for causing a personal computer or the like to execute the same function. In that case, by executing the program by a computer such as a personal computer, it is possible to realize the same function as that of the DVD recorder.

[0083]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the user specifies the thumbnail time before recording the content, the thumbnail image can be generated based on the appropriate video information included in the content. By specifying the same thumbnail time as the title for which an appropriate thumbnail time has already been set for the program to be recorded, it is possible to use the same thumbnail time for all the content that is regularly recorded thereafter. . Therefore, an inappropriate image such as CM is not used as a thumbnail image, and the thumbnail image image can be effectively used as index information of each title.

Also, for the content that has already been recorded, the thumbnail time can be changed collectively by designating one thumbnail time for a plurality of titles, so it is necessary to change the thumbnail time individually for each title. Disappears.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image recording / reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a front panel of an apparatus main body including an operation unit and a display unit of the image recording / reproducing apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the outer appearance of the remote controller of the image recording / reproducing apparatus of the embodiment.

4 is a flowchart showing a method of setting a thumbnail time, FIG. 4 (A) shows a case of normal recording, and FIG.
(B) shows the case of reserved recording.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a thumbnail time setting screen.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a recording process by the image recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a recording stop process shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing thumbnail display processing.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a thumbnail time change process.

FIG. 10 shows a display example of thumbnail images.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 11 ... Switch 12, 13 ... A / D converter 14 ... Video encoder 15 ... Voice encoder 16 ... Multiplexer 17 ... Information recording section 21 ... System control unit 22 ... Memory section 30, 31 ... Switch 32, 33 ... D / A converter 34 ... Video decoder 35 ... Audio decoder 36 ... Demultiplexer 37 ... Information reproducing section 38 ... Thumbnail / OSD generation / synthesis unit 40 ... Remote control 41 ... Remote control light receiving section 200 ... DVD

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F term (reference) 5B075 ND12 NK10 NK25 PP03 PP13                       PQ02 PQ46 PQ48 UU34                 5C052 AA02 AB04 AC08 CC11 DD02                       EE03                 5C053 FA06 FA07 FA25 GB37 JA01                       JA22 KA04 KA05 LA07                 5D110 AA19 AA29 BB06 DA05 DA12                       DA17 DA20 DB08 EA08 FA02

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A specification unit for allowing a user to specify specific information for specifying video information that is the basis of a thumbnail image, a specific information storage unit for storing the specific information specified by the user, and a record for recording contents on a recording medium. And a recording means that acquires video information indicated by the specific information stored in the specific information storage means from the content recorded on the recording medium after the recording by the recording means is completed, and generates a thumbnail image from the video information. And a thumbnail storage unit for storing the generated thumbnail image, wherein the designating unit causes a user to designate specific information about the content before recording the content on a recording medium. Image recording / reproducing device. 2. The image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific information is time information indicating a time of video information which is a basis of the thumbnail image, based on a head of the content. . 3. The image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific information is position information indicating a position of video information which is a base of the thumbnail image in the content. 4. The image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the designation unit accepts designation of the specific information in a specific information designation mode. 5. The image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the designating unit receives designation of the specific information in a setting mode of reserved recording of the content. . 6. The specifying means causes one of a plurality of options indicating the time from the beginning of the content to be selected, or
By inputting the time from the beginning of the content,
The image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a user is made to specify the specific information. 7. The specifying unit causes the user to specify another content already recorded on the recording medium, and stores the same specific information as the specific information of the specified other content in the specific information storage unit. The image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 8. The generating means detects whether the video information corresponding to the specific information stored in the specific information recording means is included in the content after the recording by the recording means is completed, and the content is included. If not, the image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a thumbnail image is generated from video information indicated by predetermined default specifying information. 9. A specific information storage unit for storing specific information for specifying video information which is a basis of a thumbnail image for a plurality of contents recorded on a recording medium, and a user who selects one or more contents from the plurality of contents. Selecting means for selecting the specified information, specifying means for specifying the changed specific information to the user, and the specified information after the change specified by the specifying means for all of the one or more contents selected by the user. Changing means for storing in the information storing means, and image information indicated by the specific information stored in the specific information storing means, from the content recorded in the recording medium,
An image recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: a generation unit that generates a thumbnail image from the video information; and a thumbnail storage unit that stores the generated thumbnail image. 10. The image according to claim 1, further comprising means for recording the specific information stored in the specific information storage means in a predetermined area of the storage medium. Recording / playback device. 11. The display control means for displaying the thumbnail image stored in the thumbnail image storage means on a display device is further provided.
The image recording / reproducing device according to any one of 0. 12. A computer program for causing a computer to function as the image recording / reproducing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11.