JP2003045154A - Information recording medium, device and method for recording/reproducing information in/from information recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information recording medium for integrated management of data of various AV(audio visual) formats, and a device and a method for recording and reproducing data in/from the information recording medium. SOLUTION: In the optical disk in which objects such as a picture or voice data are recorded, PGC information 50 for defining the order of reproduction of objects as control information and object information 80 being information related with the objects are recorded. The object information 80 is provided with general information 80a and attribute information 80b of objects and a map 80c in which the reproducing time of objects is made to correspond to the addresses of object configuration data to be reproduced on the optical disk. The PGC information 50 is provided with cell information 60, 61, and so on for designating the kinds, identification information, and reproduction blocks of objects to be reproduced. The order of the cell information 60, 61, and so on in the PGC information 50 corresponds to the order of reproduction of the objects.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a readable / writable information recording medium, and more particularly to an information recording medium on which multimedia data including data of various formats such as moving image data, still image data and audio data is recorded. Regarding Further, it relates to an apparatus and method for recording data on such an information recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the field of rewritable optical disks whose upper limit was about 650 MB, a phase change disk DVD-RAM having a capacity of several GB has appeared. In addition, digital A
Along with the practical use of MPEG (MPEG2), which is a V data encoding standard, DVD-RAM is expected as a recording / reproducing medium not only for computer applications but also in the audio / video (AV) technical field. In other words, it is expected to become popular as a medium replacing the conventional magnetic tape, which is a typical AV recording medium.

(Description of DVD-RAM) In recent years, densities of rewritable optical discs have increased, and it has become possible to record not only computer data and audio data but also image data.

For example, on the signal recording surface of an optical disk, a guide groove having an uneven shape has been conventionally formed.

Conventionally, the signal was recorded only on the convex or the concave, but it has become possible to record the signal on both the convex and the concave by the land group recording method. As a result, the recording density has been improved about twice. For example, the one described in JP-A-8-7282 is known.

In addition, a zone CLV system, etc., which simplifies the control of the CLV system (constant linear velocity recording) effective for improving the recording density and facilitates its practical use, has also been devised and put into practical use. This is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-93873.

[0007] How to record AV data including image data by using the optical discs aiming at the large-capacity, and to realize the performance and the new function that greatly exceed the conventional AV equipment, will be a big future issue.

With the advent of such a large-capacity rewritable optical disc, it is conceivable that the optical disc will be the main component for AV recording / reproduction in the future instead of the conventional tape.
The transfer of recording media from tapes to disks has various effects on the functions and performance of AV equipment.

The greatest feature of the shift to the disk is a significant improvement in random access performance. If the tape is randomly accessed, it usually takes several minutes to rewind one roll. This is orders of magnitude slower than the seek time (several 10 ms or less) in the optical disc medium. Therefore, the tape cannot practically be a random access device.

Due to such random access performance, distributed recording of AV data, which was impossible with conventional tapes, has become possible with optical discs.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a drive device of a DVD recorder. The drive device includes optical pickups 11 and E for reading data from the DVD-RAM disc 10.
A CC (Error Correcting Code) processing unit 12, a 1-track buffer 13, a switch 14 for switching input / output to / from the track buffer 13, an encoder unit 15, and a decoder unit 16 are provided.

As shown in the figure, on the DVD-RAM disk 10, data is recorded with 1 sector = 2 KB as a minimum unit. Further, error correction processing is performed by the ECC processing unit 12 with 16 sectors = 1 ECC block.

The track buffer 13 is a DVD-RAM.
This is a buffer for recording AV data at a variable bit rate in order to more efficiently record AV data on the disc 10. The read / write rate (Va) to / from the DVD-RAM 100 is a fixed rate, whereas the bit rate (Vb) of AV data changes according to the complexity of the content (image if video). This is a buffer for absorbing the bit rate difference. For example, when AV data has a fixed bit rate as in a video CD, the track buffer 13 is unnecessary.

Further effective use of the track buffer 13 makes it possible to dispose AV data on the disc 10 in a discrete manner. This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2A is a diagram showing an address space on the disk. As shown in FIG. 2A, when the AV data is recorded in a continuous area of [a1, a2] and a continuous area of [a3, a4], the track is recorded while performing seek from a2 to a3. By supplying the data accumulated in the buffer to the decoder unit 16, continuous reproduction of AV data becomes possible. The state at this time is shown in FIG.
It is (b).

The AV data read out at the position a1 is input to the track buffer 13 from time t1 and data output from the track buffer 13 is started. Thus, the input rate (Va) to the track buffer and the output rate (Vb) from the track buffer
The data is accumulated in the track buffer by the rate difference (Va-Vb). In this state, the search area is a2
Until, that is, until time tt2 is reached. If the amount of data accumulated in the track buffer 13 during this period is B (t2), B (t2) accumulated in the track buffer 13 from time t2 to time t3 when the reading of the data in the area a3 is started. Need only be consumed and continuously supplied to the decoder 16.

In other words, if the data amount ([a1, a2]) to be read out before seek is secured at a certain amount or more, continuous supply of AV data is possible even if a seek occurs.

Although an example of reading data from the DVD-RAM, that is, reproducing is explained here, DV
The same can be considered when writing data to the D-RAM, that is, in the case of recording.

As described above, in the DVD-RAM, continuous reproduction / recording is possible even if the AV data is distributed and recorded on the disk, as long as a certain amount of data or more is continuously recorded.

In addition, this large-capacity recording medium DV
In order to use D-RAM more effectively, DVD-RA
In M, as shown in FIG. 3, UDF (Universal Disc For
mat) It has a file system on it and can be accessed on a PC. UDF information is recorded in Volume in the figure. For details on the UDF file system, see "Univer
sal Disc Format Standard ”.

(Conventional AV Equipment) Next, the AV equipment that we have used in the past will be described. FIG. 4 shows the conventional A
It is a figure showing the relation of V equipment, a medium, and a format. For example, when a user wants to watch a video, it is natural to put a video cassette in a VTR and watch it on a television, and when he wants to listen to music, a CD is played by a CD player or a C player.
It was natural to put it in a D-boombox and listen with speakers or headphones. That is, the conventional AV device is paired with one medium corresponding to one format (video or audio).

For this reason, the user must always replace the media or AV equipment with respect to what he / she wants to see or hear, which is inconvenient.

(Digitalization) With the recent widespread use of digital technology, DVD video disks have been put into practical use as packaged software, and digital satellite broadcasting has been put into practical use as a broadcasting system. It goes without saying that the background of these is the innovation of digital technology, and in particular the practical application of the international standard MPEG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an MPEG stream used in the above-mentioned DVD video disc and digital satellite broadcasting. The MPEG standard has a hierarchical structure as shown in FIG. What is important here is that the MPEG stream finally used by the application is different between a package media system such as a DVD video disc and a communication media system such as digital satellite broadcasting. The former is called "MPEG program stream", and data is transferred in pack units in consideration of a sector (2048 bytes in the case of DVD) which is a recording unit of a DVD video disc, and the latter is called "MPEG transport stream". Called, especially paying attention to ATM 18
Data is transferred in units of 8-byte TS packets.

It has been expected that AV data can be freely handled without depending on the medium by MPEG, which is a digital technique or a video / audio encoding technique. However, due to such a delicate difference, it has been considered as a package medium until now. There are no AV devices or media compatible with both communication media.

(Influence of DVD-RAM) The advent of a DVD-RAM having a large capacity means one step closer to eliminating the inconvenience felt in conventional AV equipment. As described above, the DVD-RAM can be accessed from the PC by mounting the UDF file system.
As a result, it has become possible to enjoy various contents such as videos, still images, and audio on a single device called a PC by using various application software on the PC.

As shown in FIG. 6, just by moving the mouse cursor to the file displayed on the screen and double-clicking (or single-clicking) the moving image, which is the contents of the file, is reproduced as in the upper left of the screen. .

It can be said that such convenience can be realized by combining the flexibility of the PC and the large capacity of the DVD-RAM.

Certainly, due to the widespread use of PCs in recent years, various AV data can be easily handled on PCs as shown in FIG. However, although the number of PC users is increasing, consumer AV such as TV and video
Needless to say, it does not reach the penetration rate or ease of use of the device.

[0030]

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
In an optical disk such as a DVD-RAM expected as a recording medium, the following problems that are an obstacle to maximizing the performance of the optical disk are solved.

The world aimed at by a DVD recorder is a world in which a user can freely display and reproduce various formats and contents on a single medium and a single AV device as shown in FIG. 7 without the user being aware of the individual formats. Is.

FIG. 8 is an example of a menu screen on a DVD recorder. In this menu, "1) Western-style theater" of digital satellite broadcasting, "morning serial drama" of terrestrial broadcasting, "World Cup final" and "4) Beethoven" dubbed from CD are the recording media and recording format. It is possible to select on the TV screen without being aware of.

The biggest problem in realizing such a DVD recorder is how to manage AV data and AV streams in various formats in a unified manner.

If only a limited number of formats are managed, it is not necessary to use a special management method, but a management method that can support not only a large number of existing formats but also new formats that will appear in the future. Using it leads to the realization of the world aimed at by the DVD recorder mentioned above.

Further, depending on the difference in user interface caused by whether or not various AV streams can be handled in a unified manner, the inconvenience described in the conventional example, that is, the user consciously operates for each content or format. May need to be done.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information recording medium that can handle various AV streams in a unified manner, and further to such an information recording medium. An object is to provide a data recording / reproducing apparatus and method.

[0037]

A recording medium according to the present invention is an information recording medium for recording a video object and management information for managing the video object. The formats allowed for video objects include at least two types of formats having different unit sizes for data transfer. The management information includes type information and object information corresponding to each recorded video object. The type information indicates the format type of each recorded video object. The object information includes a plurality of types of information in a format depending on the format type of the video object. The plurality of types of information include map information for obtaining an address on the information recording medium in which the reproduction time of the corresponding video object and the reproduction section of the video object reproduced at that time are recorded.

The reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is a reproducing apparatus for reproducing the above information recording medium. The reproducing apparatus controls a read means for reading a video object and management information from an information recording medium, a plurality of decode means for decoding the read video object according to a format type of the video object, and a control for controlling the read means and the decode means. And means. The control means determines the address of the video object to be read as the reproduction section and the decoding means for decoding the read video object based on the read management information.

A recording apparatus according to the present invention is a recording apparatus for recording data on the above information recording medium. The recording device includes recording means for recording a video object and management information on an information recording medium, and control means for controlling the recording means. The control means generates map information of the recorded video object as management information of the recorded video object based on the format type of the video object.

The reproducing method according to the present invention is a reproducing method for reproducing the above-mentioned information recording medium. The reproducing method controls a reading step of reading a video object and management information from an information recording medium, a plurality of decoding steps of decoding the read video object according to a format type of the video object, a reading step and the decoding step. And a control step. The control step determines, based on the read management information, the address of the video object to be read as the reproduction section and the decoding step of decoding the read video object.

The recording method according to the present invention is a recording method for recording data on the above information recording medium. The recording method includes a recording step of recording a video object and management information on an information recording medium, and a control step of controlling the recording step. The control step generates map information of the recorded video object as management information of the recorded video object based on the format type of the video object.

[0042]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A DVD-RAM, a DVD recorder and a DVD player, which are one embodiment of an information recording medium, a recording device and a reproducing device according to the present invention, will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Data Logical Structure on DVD-RAM) The DVD-RAM according to the present invention enables recording of AV data and AV stream of various formats on one disc, and manages these data in a unified manner. It is possible. This allows, for example, terrestrial broadcasting,
One AV stream of various different formats such as digital broadcasting transmitted in the MPEG transport stream format, video captured by a digital video camera, still images captured by a digital still camera, and video data recorded in the MPEG program stream. It is possible to record on a disc. Also, D
The data recorded in the VD-RAM can be reproduced in a predetermined order. To this end, the DVD-
The RAM includes management information for managing the AV data and the AV stream regardless of the format type of the AV data and the AV stream.

First, the data structure of data recorded in the DVD-RAM according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9A is a diagram showing the data structure of the DVD-RAM disc 100 as seen through the file system on the disc 100, and FIG. 9B is a diagram showing the configuration of physical sectors on the disc 100.

As shown in the figure, there is a lead-in area 31 at the beginning of the physical sector, and a reference signal necessary for stabilizing the servo, an identification signal with other media, etc. are recorded therein. Following the lead-in area 31, there is a data area 33. Logically valid data is recorded in this portion. Finally, there is a lead-out area 35, and the same reference signals as those in the lead-in area 31 are recorded.

At the top of the data area 33, file system management information called volume information is recorded. Since the file system is a well-known technique, its explanation is omitted here.

Through the file system, the data in the disc 100 can be handled as directories and files as shown in FIG. 9A. As shown in FIG. 9A, all the data handled by the DVD recorder is ROO.
It is managed under the VIDEO_RT directory directly under the T directory.

There are two types of files handled by the DVD recorder of this embodiment: an AV file containing audio / video data (AV data) and a management information file containing information for managing those AV files. There is a file. In the example illustrated in FIG. 9A, the management information file is “VIDEO_RT.IFO”, and the AV file is “M_VOB.V” that is a file including moving image data.
OB ", a file containing video data for digital broadcasting" D_VOB.VOB ", a file containing data for audio" AOB.AOB ", and the like. These files are explained in detail below.

In the present embodiment, each AV is
A stream is defined as an object (Object). That is, the object includes various types of A such as an MPEG program stream, an MPEG transport stream, an audio stream, and still image data.
V stream is included. Here, the management information of these AV streams is defined as unified object information (ObjectI) by abstracting these AV streams and capturing them as objects.

(Management Information) First, the management information will be described with reference to FIG. The management information includes the object information 80 for managing the recording position of the object and the DVD-
PGC information 5 that defines the reproduction order and reproduction time of the data to be reproduced among the data recorded in the RAM
0 and 70.

The AV stream has individual differences depending on the format, but since it also has elements that can be made common, such as having a time attribute, such an abstraction is possible. Also, AV streams having the same format are stored in the same AV file in the recording order.

Object information (ObjectI) 80
Is general information about the object (Object G
I) 80a and attribute information (Attrib) of the object
uteI) 80b and an access map 80c for converting the reproduction time of the object into an address on the disc.

The access map 80c is required
This is because an AV stream generally has two standards of a time axis and a data (bit string) axis, and there is no perfect correlation between these two standards. For example, in the case of MPEG-2 video, which is an international standard for video streams, it is becoming mainstream to use a variable bit rate (a method that changes the bit rate according to the complexity of the image quality). Since there is no proportional relationship between the data amount and the reproduction time, random access based on the time axis cannot be performed. In order to solve this problem, the object information 80
Has an access map 80c for converting between the time axis and the data (bit string) axis. As will be described later, since one object consists of a plurality of object units (VOBU), the access map 80c has data for associating a time area and an address area for each object unit.

PGC information 50, 70 is DVD-RAM
This is information for controlling reproduction of image data and audio data recorded in 100, that is, an object. PGC
The information 50 and 70 are information indicating one unit when the DVD player continuously reproduces data. That is,
The PGC information 50, 70 indicates the reproduction sequence of the cells 60, 61, 62, 63 showing the object to be reproduced and an arbitrary reproduction section in the object. The cells 60 ... Will be described later. There are two types of PGC information 50 and 70: original PGC information 50 that is automatically generated by the DVD recorder so as to show all recorded objects at the time of recording an object, and user-defined PGC information 70 that allows the user to freely define a reproduction sequence. Except that the user-defined PGC information 70 is defined by the user,
Since both PGC information 50 and 70 have the same configuration and function, the original PGC information 50 will be described in detail below.

As shown in FIG. 10, the original PGC information 50 is at least one piece of cell information 60, 61, 62,
Including 63. The cell information 60 ... Designates an object to be reproduced, and also designates a reproduction section of the object. Normally, the PGC information 50 records a plurality of cells in a certain order. The recording order of the cell information in the PGC information 50 indicates the reproduction order when the object designated by each cell is reproduced.

One piece of cell information 60 is type information (Type) 60a indicating the kind of object designated by the cell information 60.
And the object ID that is the identification information of the object
(Object ID) 60b, start position information (Start) 60c in the object on the time axis, and end position information (End) 60 in the object on the time axis
d and are included.

At the time of data reproduction, the cell information 60 in the PCG information 50 is sequentially read out, and the object designated by each cell is reproduced for the reproduction section designated by the cell.

(Subclass of Object Information) In order to apply the abstracted object information to an actual AV stream, it is necessary to make it more concrete. This idea is based on the inheritance of classes found in the object-oriented model,
In particular, each object A as a super class
It is easy to understand if the structure embodied for the V stream is regarded as a subclass. FIG. 11 shows the embodied subclass.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, a moving image subclass,
The still image collection subclass, audio subclass, and digital broadcasting subclass are defined. That is, video object information (M_VOB) that is video object information (MPEG program stream).
I: Movie Video Object Information), digital broadcast object information (D_VOBI: Digital Video Object Informatio) that is object information for digital broadcast data (MPEG transport stream)
n), audio object information (AOBI) which is object information for audio
mation), still picture object information (S_VOBSI: Still Picture Vi) that is object information for still picture collection.
deo Object Information) is defined as a concrete example. Hereinafter, each object information will be described.

The moving picture object information 82 is general information (M_VOB_GI) 8 of the MPEG program stream.
2a and the stream information of the video object (M_VO
B_STI) 82b and T map 82c.

The general information (M_VOB_GI) 82a is
Identification information (M_VOB_ID) of the moving image object,
Recording time of movie object (M_VOB_REC_T
M) and the start time information of the video object (M_VOB
_V_S_PTM) and end time information (M_VOB_V_E_PTM) of the moving image object.

Stream information of moving image object (M_
The VOB_STI) 82b is video stream information (V
_ATR) and the number of audio streams (AST_
Ns) and audio stream information (A_AT) including the audio stream coding mode.
R) and.

The T map 82c includes the start address of the moving image object in the AV file and the playback time (VOBU_PB_T) of each moving image object unit (VOBU).
M) and the data size (VOBU_SZ).
Here, the video object unit (VOBU) is
The minimum access unit in the moving image object (M_VOB) is shown, and details thereof will be described later.

Digital broadcasting object information (D_V
The OBI) 86 has general information (D_VOB_GI) 86a of the MPEG transport stream, stream information (D_VOB_STI) 86b, and a T map 86c.

The general information (D_VOB_GI) 86a of the digital broadcasting object includes the identification information (D_VOB_ID) of the digital broadcasting object and the recording time (D_VOB_REC_T) of the digital broadcasting object.
M), the start time information (D_VOB_V_S_PTM) of the digital broadcast object, and the end time information (D_VOB_V_E_PT) of the digital broadcast object.
M) and.

The stream information (D_VOB_STI) of the digital broadcasting object is information (PROVIDER_I) for storing additional information delivered by digital broadcasting.
NF) is included. The T map 86c includes a start address of a digital broadcast object (D_VOB) in the AV file, a reproduction time (VOBU_PB_TM) of each object unit (VOBU), and a data size (VOB).
U_SZ).

Audio object information (AOB
I) 88 is general information (AOB) of the audio stream.
_GI) 88a, stream information (AOB_STI) 88b of an audio stream, and a T map 88c. General information of audio stream (AO
B_GI) 88a includes audio object identification information (AOB_ID), audio object recording time (AOB_REC_TM), audio object start time information (AOB_S_TM), and audio object end time information (AOB_E_).
TM). AOB stream information (A
The OB_STI) 88b includes audio stream information (A_ATR) including the coding mode of the audio stream. The T map is the AOB start address in the AV file and the playback time (AOBU_PB_) for each audio object unit (AOBU).
TM) and a data size (AOBU_SZ). Here, the audio object unit (AO
BU indicates a minimum access unit in the audio object (AOB), which will be described in detail later.

Still picture object information (S_VOBS
I) 84 is general information (S_VOBS_G) of the still image.
I) 84a and stream information of the still image (S_VOB
S_STI) 84b and S map 84c. The general information (S_VOBS_GI) 84a of the still image is the identification information (S_VOBS_ID) of the still image object.
And the recording time of the still image object (S_VOBS_R
EC_TM), a start still image number of a still image object (S_VOBS_S_NO), and an end still image number of a still image object (S_VOBS_E_NO). Still image stream information (S_VOBS_ST
I) 84b includes still image attribute information (V_ATR) including the compression format of the still image object.
The S map 84c includes the start address of S_VOBS in the AV file and the data size of each still image (S_VOB_
SZ).

By embodying the abstracted object information in this way, as shown in FIG. 11, a corresponding stream information table can be defined for each AV stream.

(Correspondence between Object Information and Cell Information) Next, referring to FIG. 12, the object information (Object
I), which is one of the embodiments of the moving picture object information (M_
Regarding VOBI), a correspondence relationship with cell information will be described.

The type information specified in the cell information (Type
If the value of e) is "M_VOB", it means that the cell corresponds to the moving image object. Similarly,
If the value of the type information is “D_VOB”, it means that the cell corresponds to the digital broadcasting object, and if the value of the type information is “AOB”, it means that it corresponds to the audio object.

Object ID (Object ID)
Based on, the corresponding object information (VOBI) can be found. Object ID and general information (M_V) in the video object information (M_VOBI)
There is a one-to-one correspondence with the moving image object ID (identification number) (M_VOB_ID) included in OB_GI).

Thus, it is possible to find the object information corresponding to the cell information by the type information (Type) and the object ID (Object ID).

Start information position (Star) in the cell information
t) is the start time information (M_VOB) of the moving image object.
_V_S_PTM), and if the values indicated by them correspond to the same time, the cell indicates reproduction from the beginning of the moving image object. When the value of the start position information (Start) is larger than the start time information (M_VOB_V_S_PTM), the cell indicates reproduction from the middle of the moving image object. In this case, the start time information (M_V
OB_V_S_PTM) value and start position information (Sta
It means that the cell starts the reproduction with a delay (time difference) from the value of rt) from the beginning of the moving image object.
Further, the end position information (End) of the cell and the end time information (M_VOB_V_E_PTM) of the moving image object have the same relationship.

As described above, the start position information (Start) in the cell information, the end position information (End), and the general information (M_V) in the moving image object information (M_VOBI).
Start time information (M_VOB_V_S_ in OB_GI)
PTM) and end time information (M_VOB_V_E_PT
From M), the playback start and end positions of the cell can be obtained as relative time in the moving image object.

The T map in the moving image object is a table composed of the reproduction time and the data size for each moving object unit (VOBU). By referring to this T map, the relative start and end times of reproduction of the cell in the moving picture object can be converted into address data.

The address conversion referring to the T map will be specifically described below with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 13, (a) is a moving image object (M_VOB) representing a video display on the time axis.
(B) is a time map composed of a reproduction time length and data size for each moving object unit (VOBU), (c) is a moving object represented on the data (sector column) axis, and (d) is Is a video object (M_V
OB) shows a pack sequence obtained by enlarging a part thereof, (e) shows a video stream, and (f) shows an audio stream.

The moving image object (M_VOB) is MP
This is an EG program stream, and an MPEG program stream is a pack sequence in which a video stream and an audio stream are sequentially packetized (PES packets) and a plurality of these packets (PES packets) are bundled. In this case, one packet (PES packet) is put in one pack, and one pack is set as one sector (= 2048B) to facilitate access. Also, the packed video pack (V_PCK) and audio pack (A_PCK) are multiplexed into one stream. This is shown in FIG.
(C), (d), (e), and (f).

The MPEG system stream (general term for program stream and transport stream) has a time stamp in the stream for synchronous reproduction of multiplexed video and audio streams. In the case of a program stream, the time stamp is a PTS (Presentation Time) indicating the playback time of the frame.
Stamp). The start time information (M_VOB_V_S_PTM) of the moving image object and the end time information (M_VOB_V_E_PTM) of the moving image object are the time information obtained based on this PTS. On the other hand, in the case of the transport stream, PCR (Program Clock Reference) indicating the input time to the buffer is used as the time stamp.

Here, the moving image object unit (VOB
U) will be described. Video object unit (V
OBU) indicates the minimum access unit in the moving image object (M_VOB). In order to realize highly efficient image compression, the MPEG video stream performs not only image compression using spatial frequency characteristics within video frames but also image compression using motion characteristics between video frames, that is, on the time axis. ing. This means that when decompressing a certain video frame, information on the time axis, that is, information on a future or past video frame is required, and the video frame cannot be decompressed alone. In order to solve this problem, in the MPEG video stream, a video frame (I-picture) that does not use the motion characteristic on the time axis is inserted at a rate of about 1 frame every 0.5 seconds to improve random accessibility. I am raising.

Movie Object Unit (VOBU)
Is a section including a pack including the head data of the I-picture as a head and extending to a pack immediately before a pack including the head data of the next I-picture. The T map includes the data size (the number of packs) of each object unit (VOBU) and the playback time (the number of fields) of the video frame in the object unit (VOBU).

For example, the value indicated by Start of the cell and the start time information (M_VOB_V_S_) of the moving image object.
It is assumed that the difference from the value indicated by PTM) is 1 second (60 fields).

Each object unit (V
The reproduction start time of each object unit from the beginning of the moving image object (M_VOB) can be obtained by accumulating the reproduction time of the OBU) from the beginning. Similarly, by adding up the data size (the number of packs) of each object unit, the moving image object (M_V
The address of each object unit from the beginning of (OB) can be obtained.

In the case of this embodiment, the moving image object (M
Since object units (VOBUs) of 24, 30, and 24 fields are arranged from the beginning of _VOB), a video frame 1 second (60 fields) after the beginning of the moving object (M_VOB) is the third object unit from the beginning. It is required to be included in (VOBU # 3). In addition, since the data amount of the object unit (VOBU) is 125, 98, and 115 sectors from the beginning of the moving image object, the start address of the third object unit (VOBU # 3) is 223 sectors from the beginning of the object. Is required.

By adding 5010 sectors, which is the start address (ADR_OFF) of M_VOB in the AV file, the start address of the data for starting the reproduction can be obtained.

In the above, the reproduction from the video frame of the 60th field from the beginning is assumed, but as described above, since it is impossible to decode and reproduce from an arbitrary video frame due to the nature of MPEG video, the I- In order to reproduce from the beginning of the picture, reproduction is performed from the beginning of the object unit (VOBU) in the vicinity, which is shifted by 6 fields. However, if the decoder only decodes these 6 fields and does not display them, reproduction from the video field specified by the cell is also possible.

As in the above description, the reproduction end time of the moving image object corresponding to the cell end position and the address in the AV file can be obtained.

Next, the digital broadcast object information (D_VOBI) will be described. Since the digital broadcast object information is a subclass derived from the object information, it is basically the same as the moving image object information. The big difference is the video object (M_V
OB) is created by recording terrestrial waves. That is, while the moving image object is an AV stream encoded by the recorder itself, the digital broadcast object (D_VOB) is directly recorded by the data transmitted from the digital broadcasting satellite, and thus the recorder itself is used. It is not an encoded AV stream.

That is, when the data is encoded by itself, the internal structure of the stream is self-evident, whereas when the data is directly recorded, the structure is unknown unless the inside of the stream is analyzed. That is, the T map cannot be created.

MPEG supplied by digital satellite broadcasting
Although the transport stream can be analyzed in detail, in the present embodiment, the T map is created using the information in the MPEG transport stream. Next, this method will be described.

In FIG. 14, (a) shows an MPEG transport stream, (b) shows an enlarged view of transport packets, (c) shows a PES packet, and (d) shows a video stream.

As shown in FIG. 14A, the MPEG transport stream is composed of a packet string of transport packets, and the transport packet is composed of a header, an adaptation field and a payload. The applicable field includes a random access indicator (random_access_indicator). The random access indicator indicates that in this transport packet or a subsequent transport packet (strictly speaking, a transport packet having the same program ID), the next PES packet (in other words, the first byte of the PES packet appears first).
This indicates that there is an access point for the video stream or audio stream in the ES packet). Particularly, in the case of a video stream, it means that the above-mentioned I-picture is included.

It is possible to determine a video object unit (VOBU) based on this random access indicator and generate a T map.

Further, the transport packet is 188
It is a fixed size in bytes. Therefore, DVD-RAM
A plurality of transport packets (2048 bytes / 188 bytes = 10 TS packets) will be recorded in one sector of 2048 bytes. Video object (M
In the case of _VOB), 1 pack = 1 sector can be treated, but in the case of a digital broadcast object (D_VOB), this condition does not hold. However, DVD-RAM
Since the unit that can read and write data is a sector, even in the case of digital broadcasting objects,
The information in the T map is composed of the playback time length of the moving picture object unit (VOBU) expressed by the number of video fields and the data size of the moving picture object unit expressed by the number of sectors.

Therefore, the moving image object unit is
If the definition is made from transport packets to transport packets, the address accuracy of the T map is insufficient, so instead, the moving image object unit (VOBU) is defined using the sectors that include the transport packet.

Also, PROVIDE in the stream information (D_VOB_STI) of the digital broadcasting object
In the R_INF field, an ID for identifying the broadcasting company
And information unique to each broadcasting company.

The audio object information (AOBI) will be described with reference to FIG. The audio object information is also a subclass derived from the object information like the moving image object information, and therefore is basically the same as the case of the moving image object information. The major difference is that audio objects are audio-only objects and are not MPEG system streamed. The audio object information will be described below.

Since the audio object is not converted into an MPEG system stream, no time stamp is attached to the audio object, and there is a reference time for indicating the reproduction start time and reproduction end time of the cell and the object. do not do. Therefore, general information (AOBI_G) in the audio object information is
Start time (AOB) of the audio object in (I)
_A_S_TM) is set to 0, and the reproduction time length of the audio object is set to the end time (AOB_A_E_TM) of the audio object information. Also, the relative time in the audio object is put in the Start field and End field in the cell information.

Further, unlike MPEG video data, audio data can be reproduced in units of all audio frames, so that it is possible to configure an audio object unit (AOBU) with an integral multiple of the audio frame. However, if the audio object unit (AOBU) is taken too finely, the amount of data managed by the T map will become huge, so the audio object unit will be set at about 0.5 second intervals, which is similar to the object unit (VOBU) of the moving image object. (AOBU) is configured to manage the reproduction time length and the data size of each audio object unit in the T map.

Still picture object information (S_VOBSI) will be described with reference to FIG. The still image object information (S_VOBSI) is also a subclass derived from the object information like the moving image object information, and is basically the same as the moving image object information. The major difference is that the still image object is an object in which a plurality of still image data are collected, and that the still image object is not converted into an MPEG system stream. The still image object information will be described below.

A still image does not have time information unlike a moving image or a sound. Therefore, the start and end information in the general information (S_VOBS_GI) of the still image object describe the start still image number (Start_Video) and the end still image number (End_Video), respectively.
Further, in the Start and End fields in the cell, not the time information but the still image number in the still image object is described.

Since the minimum access unit in the still image collection is the still image unit, an S map, which is a table containing the data size (S_VOB_SZ) of each still image, is defined as the access map.

FIG. 17 shows a summary of the data structure described above. FIG. 17 shows the entire management information in the DVD-RAM. The entire management information will be described below with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 17, the DVD-RAM of this embodiment has the above-mentioned PGC information 50 and 70.
In addition to the above, video management overall information 90 and various file information tables 92, 94, 96, 98 are provided.

Overall Video Management Information (VMGI: Video Manage
r General Information) 90 is management information about the entire disc, for example, original PGC information 5
0, user-defined PGC information 70, and start addresses of various file management tables 92, 94, etc., that is, pointer information. By referring to this pointer information, these tables 50, 70, 82, 94 ...
Access to.

The file management tables 92, 94, 96 and 98 shown in FIG. 17 will be described. Each of the file management tables 92, 94, 96, 98 is a table for managing a data file composed of objects, and is provided for each type of object. For example, there are a moving image file management table 92 for managing moving image files in which moving image objects are recorded, a still image file management table 94 for managing still image files in which still image objects are recorded, and the like.

As described above, the object information is specified based on the object ID of the cell information in the PGC information. In this case, the file management tables 92, 94, 9
The address of the object information is specified via 6, 98. Therefore, the file management tables 92, 94, 9
Reference numerals 6 and 98 have information such as the number of pieces of object information to be managed, the object ID, and the size of the object information. For example, when the object IDs indicate the order, based on the object ID specified by the cell information, the specified object information is the number of the object information in the object information managed by the file management table. I can recognize After that, the address of the designated object information can be obtained by calculating the offset amount based on the start address of the file management table from the order of the object information and the file size.

As shown in FIG. 17, the moving picture file management table 92 is a table for managing a moving picture file in which moving picture objects are recorded. The moving picture file management table 92 includes moving picture object information (M_VOBI) 92.
a, 92b ... And table management information (M_AVFITI) 92h including the number of moving image object information managed by the table 92, the size of the moving image object, and the like. As many moving image object information items as the moving image object information items described in the table management information 92h are continuously recorded on the disc. As described above, the moving image object information 92a includes the general information (M_VOB_
GI), stream information (M_VOB_STI), and T map. In addition, the T map indicates the display time and size (VOBU) of each moving image object unit (VOBU).
_ENT) is included.

A still picture file management table (S_AVFIT) 94 in which still picture objects are recorded, a digital broadcasting file management table (D_AVFIT) 96 in which digital broadcasting objects are recorded, and an audio file management table in which audio objects are recorded. The (A_AVFIT) 98 has the same configuration.

In the original PGC information 50, cell information 61, 62, 63 ... Is recorded in the order of reproduction.
The cell information has correspondence information (type and object ID) to the object information and reproduction section information (Start and End) in the object. The reproduction section information indicated by the cell can be converted into address information of the actual object through the access map in the object information.

As described above, the original PGC information 50
The difference between the user-defined PGC information 70 and the original PG
While the C information 50 is automatically generated by the recorder so as to reproduce all the objects recorded on the disc, the user-defined PGC information 70 is a PGC that allows the user to freely define a reproduction sequence according to his or her preference. Therefore, the user-defined PGC information 70 has the same structure as the original PGC information 50.

As described above, by abstracting the AV stream management information in advance, the PGC which is the reproduction control information.
Information and cell information can be defined in a form that does not depend on unique information for each AV stream format.
It is possible to manage the V stream in an integrated manner. This makes it possible to realize an environment in which the user can freely reproduce AV data without being aware of the AV format.

Further, by having such a structure, when a new AV format is taken in, the existing A
By defining the management information derived from the object information as in the V format, it is possible to easily incorporate the management information into the data structure.

(Player Model) Next, a player model for reproducing the optical disc will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 18, the player uses the optical disc 1
Optical pickup 1701 for reading data from 00,
An ECC processing unit 1702 that performs error correction of read data, a track buffer 1703 that temporarily stores read data after error correction, a PS decoder 1705 that reproduces a program stream such as a moving image object (M_VOB), and a digital decoder. A TS decoder 1706 for reproducing a transport stream such as a broadcast object (D_VOB), an audio decoder 1707 for reproducing an audio object (AOB),
A still image decoder 1708 that decodes a still image, a switching unit 1710 that switches data input to each of the decoders 1705, 1706 ..., And a control unit 1711 that controls each unit of the player.

The data recorded on the optical disc 100 is read from the optical pickup 1701 and the ECC
It is stored in the track buffer 1703 through the processing unit 1702. The data stored in the track buffer 1703 includes the PS decoder 1705, the TS decoder 1706,
Audio decoder 1707, still image decoder 1708
Is input to any of the above and is decoded and output. At this time, the control unit 1711 is suitable for decoding the read data by switching the switching unit 1710 by judging the type information of the cell information in the PGC information that defines the reproduction sequence from the read data by the above method. Select another decoder.

Furthermore, the player of the present embodiment further
It has a digital interface 1704 for supplying an AV stream to the outside. This makes it possible to supply the AV stream to the outside via a communication protocol such as IEEE1394 or IEC958.
This is particularly because when a new AV format is captured, it is output to an external AV device through the digital interface 1704 without going through the decoder inside the player,
It is effective when played back on the AV device.

If this player supports a new AV format, a decoder 1709 corresponding to the new AV format, which is connected to the track buffer 1703 like other decoders, may be further provided.

(Recording of DVD Recorder) Next, the configuration and operation of the DVD recorder according to the present invention for recording and reproducing data on the optical disc will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in the figure, the DVD recorder is a user interface section 1901 that receives a display to the user and a request from the user, a system control section 1902 that manages and controls the entire DVD recorder, and an analog that receives VHF and UHF. A tuner 1903, an encoder 1904 that converts an analog signal into a digital signal and encodes it into an MPEG program stream, a digital tuner 190 that receives a digital satellite broadcast.
5, an analysis unit 1906 that analyzes an MPEG transport stream sent by a digital satellite, a display unit 1907 such as a television and a speaker, and a decoder 1908 that decodes an AV stream. Decoder 1908
Is composed of the first and second decoders shown in FIG. The DVD recorder further includes a digital interface unit 1909, a track buffer 1910 for temporarily storing write data, and a DVD-RAM 100.
And a drive 1911 for writing data to the. The digital interface unit 1909 is IEEE1394.
It is an interface that outputs data to an external device by a communication protocol such as.

In the DVD recorder thus constructed, the user interface section 1901 first receives a request from the user. User interface section 1
Reference numeral 901 conveys a request from the user to the system control unit 1902, and the system control unit 1902 interprets the request from the user and requests each module to process.

If the user's request is to record an analog broadcast, the system controller 1902 requests the analog tuner 1903 for reception and the encoder 1904 for encoding.

The encoder section 1904 video-encodes the AV data sent from the analog tuner 1903,
Audio-encoded and system-encoded signals are sent to the track buffer 1910.

Immediately after the encoding is started, the encoder unit 1904 sends the reproduction start time (M_VOB_V_S_PTM) of the encoded MPEG program stream to the system control unit 1902, and subsequently, the moving image object unit (as information for creating the T map). VO
BU) time length and size information is sent to the system control unit 1902 in parallel with the encoding process.

Next, the system controller 1902 issues a recording request to the drive 1911, and the drive 1911 takes out the data accumulated in the track buffer 1910 and records it on the DVD-RAM disc 100. At this time, the system control unit 1902 also instructs the drive 1911 where to record on the disk 100 based on the allocation information of the file system.

The end of recording is instructed by a stop request from the user. A request to stop recording from the user is sent through the user interface unit 1901 to the system control unit 1
Then, the system control unit 1902 issues a stop request to the analog tuner 1903 and the encoder unit 1904.

The encoder 1904 is the system controller 19
In response to an encoding stop request from 02, the encoding process is stopped, and the reproduction end time (M_VOB_V_E_PT) of the last encoded MPEG program stream
M) is sent to the system controller 1902.

After the encoding process is completed, the system control unit 1902 generates moving image object information (M_VOBI) based on the information received from the encoder 1904. Next, this movie object information (M_VOBI)
The cell information corresponding to is generated, but the important thing at this time is
This is to set the type information in the cell information to "M_VOB". As described above, the information in the cell information is configured to be independent of the video object (M_VOB), and all the information dependent on the video object (M_VOB) is hidden in the video object information (M_VOBI). It has a shape. Therefore, if the type information of the cell information is erroneously recognized, normal reproduction cannot be performed, and in some cases the system may go down.

Finally, the system control unit 1902 requests the drive 1911 to finish recording the data accumulated in the track buffer 1910 and record the moving image object information (M_VOBI) and the cell information. The remaining data of 1910, the moving image object information (M_VOBI), and the cell information are recorded in the DVD-RAM disc 100, and the recording process ends.

Next, the operation when the user's request is to record a digital broadcast will be described.

The user's digital broadcast recording request is
It is transmitted to the system control unit 1902 through the user interface unit 1901. The system control unit 1902 receives the digital tuner 1905 and analyzes and receives it.
Request data analysis to.

The MPEG transport stream sent from the digital tuner 1905 is transferred to the track buffer 1910 through the analysis unit 1906. The analysis unit 1906 firstly outputs the digital broadcast object information (D_VOBI) from the MPEG transport stream.
Is the start time information (D_VOB
_V_S_PTM) to extract the system control unit 1902
Send to. Next, the object unit (VOBU) in the MPEG transport stream is determined, and the time length and size of the object unit required for T map generation are sent to the system control unit 1902. The object unit (VOBU) is determined by the applicable field (adaptatio) in the TS packet header as described above.
Random access indicator (random_access_indicator) in nfield)
It is possible to detect it based on.

Next, the system controller 1902 outputs a recording request to the drive 1911, and the drive 1911
Extracts the data accumulated in the track buffer 1910 and records it on the DVD-RAM disc 100. At this time, the system control unit 1902 also instructs the drive 1911 where to record on the disk from the allocation information of the file system.

The end of recording is instructed by a stop request from the user. A request to stop recording from the user is sent through the user interface unit 1901 to the system control unit 1
Informed to 902, the system control unit 1902 issues a stop request to the digital tuner 1905 and the analysis unit 1906.

The analysis unit 1906 is the system control unit 1902.
The analysis processing is stopped in response to the analysis stop request from the system control unit 19
Send to 02.

After the completion of the digital broadcast reception processing, the system control unit 1902 receives the digital broadcast object information (D_V) based on the information received from the analysis unit 1906.
OBI). Next, cell information corresponding to this digital broadcast object information (D_VOBI) is generated. At this time, "D_VOI" is used as type information in the cell information.
VOB "is set.

Finally, the system controller 1902 requests the drive 1911 to finish recording the data stored in the track buffer 1910 and record the digital broadcast object information and cell information. Drive 1
911 is the remaining data of the track buffer 1910,
The digital broadcast object information (D_VOBI) and the cell information are recorded on the DVD-RAM disc 100, and the recording process ends.

The operation has been described above on the basis of the recording start and end requests from the user. For example, in the case of timer recording used in a VTR, the system controller automatically starts recording on behalf of the user. And issuing an end request, the operation of the DVD recorder is not essentially different.

(Playback of DVD Recorder) Next, the playback operation of the DVD recorder will be described. First, the user interface unit 1901 receives a request from the user. The user interface unit 1901 transmits a request from the user to the system control unit 1902, and the system control unit 1902 interprets the request from the user and makes a processing request to each module. When the request from the user is PGC reproduction, the system control unit 1902 analyzes the PGC information and cell information to analyze which object is reproduced. In the following, one moving image object (M
_VOB) and the original PGC composed of one cell information will be described.

The system controller 1902 first analyzes the type information in the cell information in the PGC information. If the type information is "M_VOB", the AV stream to be reproduced is recorded as an MPEG program stream A.
It can be seen that it is a V stream. Next, the system control unit 1902 stores the corresponding video object information (M_VOBI) from the cell information ID in the table (M_AVFI).
Search from T). Next, the start and end position information of the cell information and the start time information (M_
VOB_V_S_PTM) and end time information (M_VO
B_V_E_PTM) and the T map to reproduce A
Find the start and end addresses of the V data.

Next, the system controller 1902 sends a read request from the DVD-RAM disk 100 to the drive 1911 together with the read address. The drive 1911 reads the AV data from the address designated by the system control unit 1902 and stores it in the track buffer 1910.

Next, the system controller 1902 requests the decoder 1908 to decode the MPEG program stream. The decoder 1908 reads the AV data stored in the track buffer 1910,
Performs decoding processing. The decoded AV data is output through the display device 1907.

The drive 1911 is a system control unit 190.
After the reading of all data instructed from 2 is completed, the system controller 1902 is notified of the completion of reading, and the system controller 1902 issues a reproduction end request to the decoder 1908. The decoder 1908 is a track buffer 1910.
Data is reproduced until the track buffer 1910 becomes empty, the track buffer 1910 becomes empty, and after the decoding and reproduction of all the data are completed, the system controller 1902 is notified of the completion of the reproduction, and the reproduction process is completed.

Thus, one moving image object (M_VO
B) Original PGC composed of one cell information
Although the original PGC includes only one digital broadcast object (D_VOB), a plurality of moving picture objects, a plurality of digital broadcast objects, or a moving picture object and a digital broadcast, Even when objects and objects are mixed, the AV stream can be reproduced by performing the same process. The same applies when the original PGC includes a plurality of cells or a user-defined PGC.

In addition, the audio object (AO
B) and A such as still image object (S_VOBS)
The V stream is also different only in the configuration within the decoder 1908, and other modules and operation processing are basically the same. In this case, the decoder 1908 may, for example,
PS decoder 1705 and TS decoder 170
6, audio decoder 1707, still image decoder 17
08 can be configured.

Next, an example in which the decoder 1908 does not have a reproducing function for all AV streams will be described.

For example, when the decoder 1908 does not have the MPEG transport stream playback function,
As described above, since reproduction through the decoder 1908 is impossible, in this case, data is supplied to the external device via the digital interface unit 1909, and the external device reproduces the data.

The system control unit 1902 determines that the cell information in the PGC information requested for reproduction by the user indicates that the digital broadcast object (D_V) that the system does not support.
When it is detected that it is OB), the external output request of the data is issued to the digital interface 1909 instead of the reproduction request to the decoder 1908. The digital interface unit 1909 transfers data according to the communication protocol of the digital interface connecting the AV data stored in the track buffer 1910. The process other than the above-described process is the same as when the moving image object (M_VOB) is reproduced.

Further, the decoder 1908 selects the AV to be reproduced.
Whether or not the stream is supported is determined by the system control unit 1
902 may make its own judgment, or the system control unit 19
It is also possible to make an inquiry from 02 to the decoder 1908.

(DVD Player) Next, the structure of the DVD player according to the present invention for reproducing the above optical disk will be described with reference to FIG. This DVD player realizes the player model described above.

As shown in the figure, the DVD player has a user interface section 2001 that receives a display to the user and a request from the user, and a system control section 200 that manages and controls all the components of the DVD player.
2, a display unit 2003 including a television and a speaker,
A decoder 2004 for decoding the MPEG stream,
Digital interface unit 2005 connected to IEEE 1394 or the like, track buffer 200 for temporarily storing data read from the DVD-RAM 100
6. A drive 2007 for reading data from the DVD-RAM 100 is provided. The DVD player configured as described above performs the same reproducing operation as that of the DVD recorder described above.

Although the DVD-RAM has been described as an example in the present embodiment, the same applies to other media, and the present invention is not limited to the DVD-RAM and the optical disc.

Further, in this embodiment, in the case where the AV stream not supported by the decoder is reproduced through the digital interface, even if the AV stream supported by the decoder is requested by the user. You may make it output to an external device via a digital interface.

In the present embodiment, the audio data and the still image data are explained as the original data which is not the MPEG stream, but these data are MP data.
It may be recorded in the configuration of the EG system stream.

[0154]

According to the present invention, not only various AV formats can be simultaneously recorded but also integrated management is possible, and various kinds of objects, that is, objects recorded in various formats can be recorded in one recording medium. It will be possible to manage above.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a drive device of a DVD recorder.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an address space on a disk and a data storage amount in a track buffer.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a file system and a file structure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between conventional AV equipment and media.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an MPEG program stream and a transport stream.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a case where AV data is handled on a PC.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a relationship between an AV device and a medium which a DVD recorder aims at.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a menu of a DVD recorder.

FIG. 9: Relationship between AV file and directory (a)
And FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an address space (b) on the disc.

FIG. 10: Object, object information and PG
The figure explaining the relationship of C information.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing each stream management information derived from object information.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a relationship between a moving image object (M_VOB), moving image object information (M_VOBI), and PGC information.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a time map according to the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an MPEG transport stream.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a relationship between an audio object (AOB) and audio object information (AOBI).

FIG. 16 is a still image object (S_VOBS),
Still image object information (S_VOBSI) and PGC
The figure which shows the relationship with information.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating management information in a DVD-RAM.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of a player model according to the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a DVD recorder.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram of a DVD player according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

50, 70 PGC information (PGCI: Program Chain Inform
ation) 60 Cell information (Cell I) 80 Object information (OBJECT I: Object Informatio)
n) 80c Access map 100 DVD-RAM 1701 Optical pickup 1704, 1909, 2005 Digital interface unit 1705 PS decoder 1706 TS decoder 1707 Audio decoder 1708 Still image decoder 1710 Selection unit 1711 Control unit 1902, 2002 System control unit 1908, 2004 Decoder 1906 Analysis unit 1911, 2007 drive

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Kazuhiro Tsuga             1006 Kadoma, Kadoma-shi, Osaka Matsushita Electric             Sangyo Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 5C052 AA02 AB03 AB04 AB05 CC06                       CC11 DD04                 5C053 FA25 GB06 GB21 GB37 JA21                       LA06 LA11                 5D044 AB05 AB07 BC04 BC06 CC06                       DE12 DE38 DE49 EF05 FG18                       GK12                 5D110 AA17 AA27 AA29 BB01 DA04                       DA17 DB05 DC05 DC16 EA07

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An information recording medium for recording a video object and management information for managing the video object, wherein a format allowed for the video object is:
There are at least two types of formats having different unit sizes of data transfer, the management information includes type information and object information corresponding to each recorded video object, and the type information is each recorded video object. The object information includes a plurality of types of information in a format depending on the format type of the video object, and the plurality of types of information are played back at the playback time of the corresponding video object and at that time. An information recording medium including map information for obtaining an address on the information recording medium in which a reproduction section of a video object is recorded. 2. The management information further includes information indicating a reproduction section and a reproduction order of a video object to be reproduced, and the type information indicates a format type of a video object corresponding to each reproduction section. 1. The information recording medium described in 1. 3. The information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the format type indicated by the type information includes at least an MPEG transport stream. 4. A reproducing apparatus for reproducing the information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the reproducing apparatus reads the video object and the management information from the information recording medium, and reads the read video object. The video object includes a plurality of decoding means for decoding according to the format type of the video object, and a control means for controlling the reading means and the decoding means, and the control means reads the video object as a reproduction section based on the read management information. And a decoding means for decoding the read video object. 5. A recording device for recording data on the information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the recording device records the video object and the management information on the information recording medium, and A recording device for controlling the recording means, wherein the control means generates the map information of the recorded video object as management information of the recorded video object based on the format type of the video object. 6. A reproducing method for reproducing the information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the reproducing method includes a reading step of reading the video object and the management information from the information recording medium, and a read video object. It includes a plurality of decoding steps for decoding according to the format type of the video object, and a control step for controlling the reading step and the decoding step, wherein the control step reads a video as a reproduction section based on the read management information. A reproducing method for determining an address of an object and a decoding step for decoding the read video object. 7. A recording method for recording data on the information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the recording method includes a recording step of recording the video object and the management information on the information recording medium, And a control step of controlling the recording step, the control step generating the map information of the recorded video object as management information of the recorded video object based on a format type of the video object. .