JP2003228962A - Device, method, and program for write once read many information recording and reproduction, and computer- readable program storage medium where the program for worm (write once read many) recording and reproduction is recorded - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device, method, and program for WORM (write once read many) information recording and reproduction with which different contents are reproduced when a plurality of optical disks where the same contents as some specified contents are recorded are reproduced and a computer-readable program storage medium where the program for WORM information recording and reproduction is recorded. <P>SOLUTION: Provided are a decision means 8 of deciding whether WORM information is already present in a WORM area where WORM information for modifying contents reproduced from an optical disk 3 is recorded and a WORM means 6 which records the WORM information in the WORM area when it is decided the WORM information is not present in the WORM area; and the contents are reproduced while altered according to the WORM information recorded in the WORM area. <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 a write-once information recording / reproducing device, a write-once information recording / reproducing method, a write-once information recording / reproducing program, and an additional recording, which additionally record additional recording information on an optical disc on which a content recorded in a data recording area is reproduced. The present invention relates to a computer-readable program storage medium in which an information recording / reproducing program is recorded.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the recent development of the information industry, a method of storing and distributing contents such as game software on a recording medium such as an optical disc is mainly adopted.
An optical disc will be used as an example of the recording medium in the following description. In the conventional optical disc, when the reproduction process is started in a predetermined drive device, the content is read and reproduced.

[0003]

However, in the conventional optical disc, the same contents as the recorded contents are merely reproduced as they are. Therefore, no matter how many optical discs on which a specific content is recorded are purchased and reproduced, the same content is reproduced.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above problem and, when a plurality of optical discs that record the same content as a certain specific content are reproduced, different contents are reproduced respectively, and an additional recording information recording / reproducing apparatus and an additional recording information recording / reproducing apparatus. Method,
An object of the present invention is to provide a write-once information recording / reproducing program and a computer-readable program storage medium on which the write-once information recording / reproducing program is recorded.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the invention of claim 1, the additional write information is already recorded in the additional write area in which the additional write information for changing the content reproduced from the optical disc is recorded. A determining means for determining whether or not it exists, and, if it is determined that the additional write information does not exist in the additional write area, has additional write means for recording the additional write information in the additional write area, The content is achieved by a write-once information recording / reproducing apparatus, which is reproduced while being changed based on the write-once information additionally written on the write-once area. According to the structure of claim 1, the content is reproduced from the optical disc. On this optical disc, additional write information for changing the reproduced content is additionally written in the additional write area. In this optical disc, first, it is judged whether or not the additional write information is present in the additional write area, and if it is not present, the additional write information is recorded in the additional write area. The optical disc in which the additional write information is recorded in the additional write area is reproduced while the content is changed based on the additional write information in the additional write area. Therefore, on the optical disc, instead of reproducing the content as it is, the content changed based on the additionally recorded information is reproduced. Therefore, for each optical disc, if additional recording information to be additionally recorded is set variously, different contents will be reproduced, and even if a plurality of optical discs are purchased by the same end user, they can be enjoyed without getting tired.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect, a plurality of selectable contents that can be selected are recorded as the contents on the optical disc, and a plurality of the selected contents are recorded based on the additional recording information. At least one of the contents is selected and reproduced as a part of the content. In the structure of claim 2, in addition to the operation of claim 1, at least one of the plurality of selected contents is selected based on the additional recording information and is reproduced as a part of the content. Therefore, for each optical disc, if the additional recording information to be additionally recorded is set variously, different selected contents are reproduced, and even if a plurality of the same end users purchase the optical disc, they can be enjoyed without getting tired.

According to a third aspect of the invention, in the configuration of the first aspect, the content is software related to a game. According to the configuration of claim 3, in addition to the operation of claim 1, different game contents are reproduced on the respective optical discs on which the software related to the game is recorded and which are sold in plural.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the structure of the first aspect, the additional write information is information regarding another development that replaces a development of a part of the game. According to the configuration of claim 4, in addition to the operation of claim 1, a development of a part of the game is replaced with another development of each optical disc, so that an end user who purchases a plurality of discs gets tired, for example. You can enjoy it without any trouble.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect, the additional write information is information regarding a character or an appearance item of the game. According to the configuration of claim 5, in addition to the effect of claim 1, the characters or characters of the game can be changed or added to each optical disc, so that, for example, end users who have purchased a plurality of optical discs will not get tired. You can enjoy.

The above object is, in the invention of claim 6,
A step of judging whether or not the additional write information already exists in the additional write area in which the additional write information for changing the content reproduced from the optical disc is recorded; and the additional write information exists in the additional write area. If it is determined that the additional recording area is not recorded, the additional recording step of recording the additional recording information in the additional recording area, and the reproducing step of reproducing the content while changing the content based on the additional recording information additionally recorded in the additional recording area. It is achieved by a write-once information recording / reproducing method characterized by: According to the structure of claim 6, the content is reproduced from the optical disc. On this optical disc, additional write information for changing the reproduced content is additionally written in the additional write area. In this optical disc, first, it is judged whether or not the additional write information is present in the additional write area, and if it is not present, the additional write information is recorded in the additional write area. The optical disc in which the additional write information is recorded in the additional write area is reproduced while the content is changed based on the additional write information in the additional write area. Therefore, on the optical disc, instead of reproducing the content as it is, the content changed based on the additionally recorded information is reproduced. Therefore, for each optical disc, if additional recording information to be additionally recorded is set variously, different contents will be reproduced, and even if a plurality of optical discs are purchased by the same end user, they can be enjoyed without getting tired.

The above object is, in the invention of claim 7,
The additional recording area where the additional recording information for making changes to the content reproduced from the optical disc is recorded, the determining means determines whether the additional recording information already exists, and the additional recording information exists in the additional recording area. When it is determined that it is not, while functioning as a write-once means for recording the write-once information in the write-once area, the content is reproduced while being changed based on the write-once information added to the write-once area. This is achieved by a characteristic write-once information recording / reproducing program. According to the structure of claim 7, the content is reproduced from the optical disc. On this optical disc, additional write information for changing the reproduced content is additionally written in the additional write area. In this optical disc, first, it is judged whether or not the additional write information is present in the additional write area, and if it is not present, the additional write information is recorded in the additional write area. The optical disc in which the additional write information is recorded in the additional write area is reproduced while the content is changed based on the additional write information in the additional write area. Therefore, on the optical disc, instead of reproducing the content as it is, the content changed based on the additionally recorded information is reproduced. Therefore, for each optical disc, if additional recording information to be additionally recorded is set variously, different contents will be reproduced, and even if a plurality of optical discs are purchased by the same end user, they can be enjoyed without getting tired.

The above object is, in the invention of claim 8,
The additional recording area where the additional recording information for making changes to the content reproduced from the optical disc is recorded, the determining means determines whether the additional recording information already exists, and the additional recording information exists in the additional recording area. If it is determined that it is not, the additional recording information that functions as an additional recording unit that records the additional recording information in the additional recording area and that reproduces the content while changing the content based on the additional recording information that is additionally recorded in the additional recording area. This is achieved by a computer-readable program storage medium characterized in that a recording / playback program is recorded. According to the structure of claim 8,
Content is reproduced from the optical disc. On this optical disc, additional write information for changing the reproduced content is additionally written in the additional write area. In this optical disc, first, it is judged whether or not the additional write information is present in the additional write area, and if it is not present, the additional write information is recorded in the additional write area. The optical disc in which the additional write information is recorded in the additional write area is reproduced while the content is changed based on the additional write information in the additional write area.
Therefore, on the optical disc, instead of reproducing the content as it is, the content changed based on the additionally recorded information is reproduced. Therefore, for each optical disc, if additional recording information to be additionally recorded is set variously, different contents will be reproduced, and even if a plurality of optical discs are purchased by the same end user, they can be enjoyed without getting tired.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiment described below is a preferred specific example of the present invention,
Although various technically preferable limitations are given, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these forms unless otherwise specified in the description below.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration example of a write-once information recording / reproducing system 22 including an optical disc 3 as a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A write-once information recording / reproducing system 22 as a write-once information recording / reproducing device has at least a store server 18, and preferably has a selling server 20. The store server 18 uses the reproducing means 2,
The display unit 4, the additional recording unit 6, the additional recording control unit 8, and the communication unit 10 are provided as software (an additional recording information recording / reproducing program). The reproducing means 2, the display means 4, the additional recording means 6, the additional recording control means 8 and the communication means 10 may be wholly or partly constituted by hardware instead of software. For example, the reproducing means 2 and the display means. It goes without saying that a part of the configuration such as 4 may be omitted. Further, the additional recording information recording / reproducing system 22 can mount the optical disk 3 in which the later-described additional recording information is not recorded in a recording area (not shown).

A predetermined content is recorded in the recording area of the optical disc 3, and the content is reproduced by a drive device (not shown) of the end user. The optical disc 3 is manufactured in a large amount by copying the same content, for example.

By the way, the optical disk 3 is, for example, a reproduction-only optical disk, but has a structure having the additional recording area. An example of the optical disc 3 having such a write-once area is, for example, a DVD (Digital).
Versatile Disc: trade name) BCA
(Burst Cutting Area) is defined, and in addition to this, Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-17
There are techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3781 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-269100. According to this technology, a normal ROM
(Read Only Memory) Drive area allows playback, so program area (additional area)
Can be recorded in.

The reproducing means 2 has a function of reproducing the content recorded on the optical disc 3. This optical disc 3
In addition to recording the content, is configured to record additional information (not shown). The additional recording information may be recorded in a recording area (not shown) in which the content is recorded, or may be recorded in a dedicated additional recording area (not shown) different from the recording area. . In the following description, it is assumed that the additional write information is recorded in a dedicated additional write area. Further, in the following description, it is assumed that the content recorded on the optical disc 3 is software related to a game (hereinafter referred to as “game software”).

The display means 4 has a function of performing a predetermined display based on the game software reproduced from the optical disk 3 by the reproduction means 2. The display means 4 is, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro Lumin).
Escape), CRT (Cathode Ray)
Tube).

The additional write control means 8 has a function of determining whether or not additional write information already exists in the additional write area in which additional write information for changing the content reproduced from the optical disc 3 is recorded. Also, this additional recording control means 8
When it judges that the additional write information does not exist in the additional write area of the optical disc 3, it controls the additional write means 6 to record the predetermined additional write information in the additional write area.

The postscript information is acquired by the function of the communication means 10, for example, from the selling server 20. It is needless to say that the additional record information may be prepared in advance in, for example, the store server 18 instead of being acquired from the selling source server 20. Also, the reproducing means 2
Has a function of reproducing the content while changing the content based on the additional write information added to the additional write area of the optical disc 3.

The sale-source server 20 has a function of providing the above-mentioned additional recording information, and has a communication means 12, a database control means 14 and a database 16. This communication means 12
Has a function of performing data communication with the communication means 10 on the dealer server 18 side. The database control means 14
Searching, updating, adding data to and from the database 16
It has a function to control deletion.

The database 16 manages additional recording information so as to correspond to the manufactured optical disc 3. This additional write information is information that can give individuality to the optical disc 3 that stores the same content.

In the database 16, for example, one identification number is associated with additional write information having a plurality of contents. Specifically, the additional information is, for example, information on another development that replaces a partial development of the game.
By doing so, a development of a part of the game is replaced with another development of each optical disc 3, so that an end user who has purchased a plurality of optical discs 3 can enjoy it without getting tired. .

Further, it goes without saying that the additional information may be, for example, information on the characters and the appearances of the game instead. By doing so, the characters or characters of the game can be changed or added to each optical disc 3, so that, for example, an end user who has purchased a plurality of images can enjoy it without getting tired.

2 to 6 are diagrams showing an example of additional write information. The additional information is information for enabling various changes or additions of a character as a character in the content whose title is “ABC01” as shown in FIG. 2, for example. Further, the additional record information may be information for enabling various changes or additions of scenes developed in the content whose title is "ABC01" as shown in FIG.
In addition, "●" in the used column in FIGS. 2 and 3 represents a flag indicating that it has already been used.

Further, in the additional recording information, as shown in FIG. 4, the appearance frequency of the characters and the appearance characters appearing in the content whose title is "ABC01" may be weighted. In this way, the end user can enjoy various characters. In addition to the additional write information as shown in FIG.
Alternatively, the writing order (selection order) may be selected.

As for the additional recording information, for example, 100 characters may be prepared as shown in FIG. 6, and the check may be moved each time the character is written. In the actual recording in the additional recording area, a desired character may be generated by linking the writing order (identification number) and the character in the allocation table. At this time, the identification number is
It may be appropriately circulated. This way,
It is possible to create a character with rare value (occurrence frequency), and it is possible to increase the commercial value of the optical disc 3 in which the content is recorded.

The write-once information recording / reproducing system 22 has the above-mentioned structure. Next, an example of the write-once information recording / reproducing method as an operation example will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the additional recording information recording / reproducing method. In step ST1, the end user first purchases a desired optical disc 3 at a disc shop, for example. Next, in step ST2, additional recording of additional recording information on the optical disc 3 is started. Specifically, step ST
In 2, the additional write information is additionally written in the additional write area of the optical disc 3. Therefore, for example, the salesclerk of the store sets the optical disc 3 purchased by the end user in the additional write means 6 (additional write writer) to start additional write.

Next, in step ST3, it is confirmed whether or not the additional write information has already been written in the additional write area of the set optical disk 3. When the additional write information has already been written in the additional write area, a warning indicating that the additional write has been performed is given, and the additional write operation is stopped. On the other hand, when the additional write information is not written in the additional write area, step ST5
In step ST5, it is determined whether or not the additional recording information is prepared in advance in, for example, the database 16 of the selling server 20, and is acquired by the additional recording control means 8.

If the additional write information has not been obtained, the process proceeds to step ST6. In this step ST6,
The communication means 10 automatically connects to a network (not shown), then accesses the sale-source server 20 and automatically connects to request additional write information. It should be noted that this additional record information may be distributed in advance from the sale source server 20 to the store server 18 via a network (not shown), or the end user purchases the optical disc 3 to additionally record the additional record information. It goes without saying that the configuration may be such that each time it is obtained from the selling source server 20. In this way, the selling source server 20 side can grasp the actual number of purchased discs, the number of sales at each store, the number of sales for each title, etc. in real time.

Next, in step ST7, the selling server 2
In accordance with the above request, 0 acquires additional write information from the database 16 and delivers it to the store server 18, and proceeds to step ST8. On the other hand, in step ST5, the database 16
Even if the postscript information is prepared in advance, step S
Then, in step ST8, the additional recording unit 9 records desired additional recording information in the additional recording area. Therefore, in the case where the same content as the specific content recorded in each of the plurality of optical discs 3 is recorded, the content is changed based on the additional write information added in the additional write area, The content is reproduced by the user's drive device.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, when a plurality of optical discs 3 in which the same content as a specific content is recorded are reproduced, different individual contents are reproduced, so that the optical disc 3 is reproduced. Can be more fun for end users of. Therefore,
According to the present embodiment, it is possible to stimulate the willingness to purchase the optical disc 3 in which the content is recorded, and it is possible to promote sales such that one end user purchases a plurality of optical discs 3.

Further, even if the contents of the same title are recorded on the plurality of optical discs 3, the characters appearing in the contents of the contents can be different for each optical disc 3. Therefore, it is possible for the end user to enjoy the content without being tired even with a plurality of optical discs 3 on which the content of the same title is recorded. Furthermore, by setting the additional write information as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 and setting a plurality of characters, it is possible for each character to have different occurrence probabilities in the content. That is, since a rare character can be made to appear on the optical disc 3, it is possible to stimulate the end user's willingness to purchase the optical disc 3 and lead to the next purchase.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. In the above embodiment, the optical disc 3
, A plurality of selectable contents that can be selected are recorded as contents, and at least one of the plurality of selected contents is selected based on the additional recording information.
It may be reproduced as a part of the content.
In this way, if the additional information to be additionally written is set variously on each optical disc, different selected contents will be played back. For example, even if a plurality of purchases are made by the same end user, they can be enjoyed without getting tired. become.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the content is described as information about a game, but it is needless to say that the content may be information about a movie. Further, in the above-described embodiment, when the end user reproduces the content of the optical disc 3 and accesses the content, it is first checked whether or not the additional write information is recorded in the additional write area, and it is not recorded. It goes without saying that, if there is any, it is also possible to display a warning or the like indicating that the recording has not been performed and stop the processing.

A program storage medium used to install the additional write information recording / reproducing program for executing the above-described series of processes in a computer so that the program can be executed by the computer is a flexible medium such as floppy (registered trademark). Disc, CD-R
OM (Compact Disc Read Only)
Memory), DVD (Digital Versa)
Not only a package medium such as a tile disc) but also a semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk in which a program is temporarily or permanently stored may be realized.

As means for storing the program in these program storage media, wired and wireless communication media such as a local area network, the Internet and digital satellite broadcasting may be used, and various communication interfaces such as routers and modems may be interposed. You may make it store it.

Further, the above-mentioned additional recording information recording / reproducing system 22 may be provided with a drive device capable of reading at least data such as the program stored in the program storage medium.

Further, the program for exhibiting the above-mentioned functions may be not only stored in the program storage medium but also in the form of data communication via various communication means such as the Internet. Needless to say.

A part of each structure of the above-mentioned embodiment can be omitted or can be arbitrarily combined so as to be different from the above.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An additional write information recording / reproducing apparatus, an additional write information recording / reproducing method, an additional write information recording / reproducing program, and an additional write information recording / reproducing that reproduce different contents when reproducing a plurality of optical discs recording the same content as a certain specific content. A computer-readable program storage medium recording a program can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration example of a write-once information recording / reproducing system including an optical disc as a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of additional write information.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of additional write information.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of additional write information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of additional write information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of additional write information.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a write-once information recording / reproducing method.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 ... Optical disk, 6 ... Additional recording means, 8 ... Additional recording control means (judgment means), 22 ... Additional recording information recording / reproducing system (additional information recording / reproducing apparatus)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G11B 20/10 G11B 20/10 311 311 20/12 20/12 27/00 D 27/00 27/02 K (72) Inventor Toshihiko Saino 6-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo F-term in Sony Disc Technology Co., Ltd. (reference) 2C001 BA02 BB08 BC05 CB01 CB02 CB06 CB08 5D044 AB03 BC03 BC08 CC06 DE02 DE03 DE12 DE14 DE29 DE54 DE57 DE58 EF05 GK12 HL11 5D090 AA01 BB02 CC01 CC14 DD03 DD05 FF14 FF34 GG12 GG16 5D110 AA15 AA27 AA29 CA05 CA06

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A write-once area in which write-once information for changing a content reproduced from an optical disc is recorded,
A determination unit that determines whether the additional write information already exists, and an additional write unit that, when it is determined that the additional write information does not exist in the additional write region, records the additional write information in the additional write region. The additional recording information recording / reproducing apparatus, wherein the content is reproduced while being changed based on the additional recording information additionally recorded in the additional recording area. 2. A plurality of selectable contents that can be selected are recorded as the contents on the optical disc, and at least one of the plurality of selected contents is selected based on the additional recording information to obtain the contents. The additional write information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the additional write information recording / reproducing apparatus is configured to be reproduced as a part of the recording medium. 3. The write-once information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the content is software related to a game. 4. The write-once information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the write-once information is information on another development that replaces a development of a part of the game. 5. The write-once information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the write-once information is information on a character or an appearance item of the game. 6. A write-once area in which write-once information for changing a content reproduced from an optical disc is recorded,
A determining step of determining whether or not the additional recording information already exists, and an additional recording step of recording the additional recording information in the additional recording area when it is determined that the additional recording information does not exist in the additional recording area. And a reproducing step of reproducing the content while changing the content based on the additional recording information additionally recorded in the additional recording area. 7. An additional write area in which additional write information for making changes to content reproduced from an optical disc is recorded.
Judgment means for judging whether or not the additional write information already exists, and when it is determined that the additional write information does not exist in the additional write area, as additional write means for recording the additional write information in the additional write area A write-once information recording / reproducing program, which is made to function and which is played back while changing the content based on the write-once information additionally written in the write-once area. 8. A write-once area in which write-once information for changing a content reproduced from an optical disc is recorded,
Judgment means for judging whether or not the additional write information already exists, and when it is determined that the additional write information does not exist in the additional write area, as additional write means for recording the additional write information in the additional write area A computer-readable program storage medium, which is recorded with a write-once information recording / playback program which is made to function and which is played back while changing the content based on the write-once information additionally written in the write-once area.