JP2003224817A - Image recording method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus capable of efficiently recording a moving picture in compliance with the DVD-Video standards in a short period of time. <P>SOLUTION: In a unitization processing section 3, as part of header information of unitized data (Video Object Unit-VOBU), part of address information of the other VOBUs consecutive before and after the concerved VOBU is described in tentative data and stores the result to a buffer RAM 6. An address management section 4 stores the address information of a plurality of the other VOBUs consecutive to the concerved VOBU and overwrites the tentative data in the buffer RAM 6 after required address information in prepared. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording method and apparatus for efficiently processing moving image data and recording it on a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art DVD for recording moving image data on a DVD
-In the Video standard, when uniting moving image data, each image unit (Video Object Unit, hereinafter V
It is necessary to describe the start address information of n VOBUs before and after the VOBU in a part of the header of the VOBU). Therefore, when the moving image data is compressed in the MPEG2 format and stored in the buffer memory to be unitized, the head address information of n preceding and following VOBUs is searched and header information is created (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-2001).
-126398 gazette).

[0003]

When creating header information, conventionally, compressed moving image data is once stored in a buffer memory, and n pieces of moving image data (VOBU) before and after are prepared, and then the address information thereof is stored. A new moving image data is added by adding a header including "," and is stored again in another buffer memory or another area of the same buffer memory. Therefore, the capacity of the buffer memory is increased, the number of accesses to the buffer memory is increased, and the power consumption and the processing time are increased.

The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a DV.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for efficiently processing moving image data of D-Video standard in a short time and recording it on a recording medium.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the image recording apparatus of the present invention is a unit for uniting moving image data, generating address information for each unitized data, and adding header information. Unitization processing unit, an address management unit that sequentially holds and manages the address information of a plurality of continuous unitized data, a buffer RAM that temporarily stores the unitized data, and a recording medium that stores the unitized data of the buffer RAM. An image recording section for recording in
And a buffer RAM interface for writing and reading data to and from the buffer RAM. The unitization processing unit describes, as temporary data, part of the address information of other unitized data that continues before and after the unitized data and is described as a part of the header information. Then, in the address management section, when the address information of a plurality of other continuous unitized data necessary for describing the header information of the unitized data is prepared,
With the address information held, the buffer RA
The temporary data of the address information described in the header information of the unitized data temporarily stored in M is overwritten.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention. The configuration is such that an image input section 1 for inputting image data, an image compression section 2 for compressing the input image data, and a unitization processing section 3 for generating an image unit (hereinafter referred to as VOBU) from the compressed image data. , A buffer RA for temporarily storing VOBU
The image recording unit 7 records M6 and VOBU on a recording medium (DVD). Then, the address management unit 4 stores and manages the individual head address information of a predetermined number of VOBUs in the address management table 41. The buffer RAM interface 5 includes the unitization processing unit 3 and the buffer RAM.
6, the address management unit 4, and the image recording unit 7
U or its head address information is transmitted.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of the buffer RAM 6. The buffer RAM 6 has a plurality of VOBUs 6
1 is stored, and an SRI (Search Information) area 63 is provided in a part of the header 62 of the VOBU 61.
In the RI area, head address information of a predetermined number (n) of VOBUs before and after the VOBU 61 is described.

Next, the operation of FIG. 1 will be described. Image input section 1
When the moving image data is input to the
The moving image data is compressed in a format such as G2, and VOBU is generated from the compressed moving image data. Unitization processing unit 3
When the VOBU is generated, S of the VOBU header is
The RI area 63 has n VOs before and after the VOBU 61.
The top address information of BU must be described. However, the head address information cannot be added to the n VOBUs generated after the VOBU at that time, so temporary data is described in the SRI area 63 as the head address information. The VOBU in which the temporary data is described is transferred via the buffer RAM interface 5.
The VOBU is stored in the buffer RAM 6 and
The head address information of is sent to the address management unit 4 via the buffer RAM interface 5.

The address management unit 4 sequentially holds the head address information of each VOBU in the address management table 41. Then, n pieces before and after the VOBU of interest (address 0 in the address management table of FIG. 1), that is, (2n
When the head address information of +1) VOBUs is prepared, the held address information is sent to the buffer RAM 6 via the buffer RAM interface 5. Buffer RAM
In 6, the data in the SRI area 63 of the corresponding VOBU in which the provisional address information data was previously described is overwritten. VOB overwritten with necessary address information
U is read out via the buffer RAM interface 5 and recorded in the recording medium (DVD) by the image recording unit 7.

Each time the address management unit adds more than (2n + 1) new VOBU start address information, the start address information of the oldest VOBU (address -n in the address management table of FIG. 1). Is deleted and the start address information of the new VOBU (address
n) is added to update the address management table. Then, every time the address management table is updated, the head address information (temporary data is described) of a part of the header is overwritten on the VOBU indicated by address 0 in the center of the table.

As described above, when the VOBU is generated, temporary data is described in the address information of the VOBU before and after the VOBU, which needs to be described as a part of the header information, and the buffer RAM 6 is described.
Store it in. The head address information of a series of VOBUs is sequentially held by the address management unit 4. VO to watch
When necessary address information is prepared as BU header information, the address information in the SRI area 63 of the buffer RAM is overwritten. As a result, only one buffer RAM is required (or a minimum capacity is required), the capacity of the buffer RAM is reduced, and the number of accesses to the buffer RAM is reduced, so that power consumption and processing time can be reduced.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an image recording apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment of FIG. 1 is that the address management unit 4 has an address conversion unit 42 built therein. The address conversion unit 42 receives the size information of the VOBU generated from the unitization processing unit 3, integrates the size information of the VOBUs generated in the past, converts the size information into the head address information of the VOBU, and stores it in the address management table 41. To hold.

That is, in the first embodiment, the start address information of the VOBU is passed to the address management unit 4 via the buffer RAM interface 5, but in the second embodiment, the VOBU generated by the unitization processing unit 3 is stored. The point is that the address is converted into the head address information based on the size and held.
Also in this case, temporary data is described in the head address information of the preceding and following VOBUs required as header information when the VOBU is generated and stored in the buffer RAM 6, and when the necessary preceding and following address information is prepared. , Buffer R
Overwrite the SRI area of AM. From this, the buffer R
Similar to the first embodiment, the power consumption and the processing time can be reduced by reducing the AM capacity and the number of accesses to the buffer RAM.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an image recording apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment of FIG. 1 is that the address management unit 4 is a size management unit 8. The size management unit 8 receives the size information of the VOBU generated by the unitization processing unit 3, and uses the size information as it is as size information in the size management table 81.
Hold at. Then, pay attention to V on the buffer RAM.
When the size information necessary to describe the data in the SRI area 63 of the OBU is prepared, the V
It is converted into each head address information by accumulating the size of OBU. Also in this case, temporary data is described in the head address information of the preceding and following VOBUs required as header information when generating the VOBU, stored in the buffer RAM 6, and then converted by the address conversion unit 82. The obtained head address information is stored in the SRI area 63 of the buffer RAM 6.
To overwrite.

Although the above embodiment has been described by using the DVD as the recording medium, the present invention is not limited to this, and the HD is not limited to this.
The present invention can be applied to D, semiconductor memory and the like.

[0016]

According to the present invention, the buffer RAM capacity for temporarily storing compressed moving image data is reduced, and the buffer R is reduced.
Power consumption can be reduced by reducing access to the AM.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an image recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration example of a buffer RAM.

FIG. 3 is an image recording apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an image recording apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1. Image input section 2 ... Image compression unit 3 Unitization processing unit 4 ... Address management section 41 ... Address management table 42 ... Address conversion unit 5 ... Buffer RAM interface 6 ... Buffer RAM 61 ... VOBU 62 ... Header 63 ... SRI area 7 ... Image recording unit 8: Size management section 81 ... Size management table 82 ... Address conversion unit

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Masashi Takahashi             292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa             Ceremony Hitachi Digital Media Development Book             Department F-term (reference) 5C052 AA02 AB03 AB04 CC06 DD04                 5C053 FA24 GB06 LA11

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image recording method for recording moving image data on a recording medium, the moving image data is made into a unit, address information is generated for each unitized data, and header information is added, and a plurality of consecutive plural Managing the address information of the unitized data by sequentially holding it in an address management table, temporarily storing the unitized data in a buffer RAM, and recording the unitized data in the buffer RAM on a recording medium In the step of adding the header information, a part of the address information of other unitized data that continues before and after the unitized data is described as temporary data in the step of adding the header information. The header information of the unitized data is described in the address management table. When the address information of a plurality of other continuous unitized data necessary for this is prepared, it is described in the header information of the unitized data temporarily stored in the buffer RAM with the held address information. An image recording method characterized by overwriting the temporary data of address information stored therein. 2. An image recording apparatus for recording moving image data on a recording medium, comprising: a unitizing processing unit for uniting moving image data, generating address information for each unitized data, and adding header information; Address management unit that sequentially holds and manages the address information of a plurality of unitized data, a buffer RAM that temporarily stores the unitized data, and an image recording unit that records the unitized data of the buffer RAM on a recording medium. And a buffer RAM interface that writes and reads data to and from the buffer RAM, and the unitization processing unit describes other units that are consecutive before and after the unitized data and described as part of the header information. Part of the address information of the encrypted data is described as temporary data, and the address management unit When the address information of a plurality of other continuous unitized data necessary for describing the header information of the unitized data is prepared, the address information held is temporarily stored in the buffer RAM. An image recording apparatus characterized by overwriting temporary data of address information described in header information of unitized data. 3. The address management unit receives the size information of the unitized data generated by the unitization processing unit, and adds the size information of the unitized data generated in the past to the address information. 3. The data is converted and stored as the address information.
Image recording device described 4. An image recording apparatus for recording moving image data on a recording medium, a unitizing processing unit for uniting moving image data, and adding header information to the unitized data; A size management unit that sequentially holds and manages size information, integrates the size information and converts it into address information of predetermined unitized data, a buffer RAM that temporarily stores the unitized data, and a unit of the buffer RAM The unitized processing unit has an image recording unit for recording the unitized data on a recording medium and a buffer RAM interface for writing and reading data to and from the buffer RAM, and the unitization processing unit is described as a part of the header information. Partial address information of other unitized data that is continuous before and after the unitized data is described with temporary data. In addition, when the size information of the plurality of continuous unitized data necessary for describing the header information of the unitized data is prepared in the size management unit, each obtained by integrating from the size information In the address information of unitized data,
An image recording apparatus characterized by overwriting temporary data of address information described in header information of the unitized data temporarily stored in the buffer RAM.