JP2003333518A - Recording and reproducing apparatus and recording and reproducing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem in a conventional technology wherein a user has to confirm a video image for a long time because the time required for movement to apply MOVE operations to other apparatus while confirming the video image of contents of an AV-HDD is equal to a reproduction time of the contents subjected to streaming transfer. <P>SOLUTION: A contents division section 12 applies time division to a received video/audio stream, and an apparatus control section 13 properly selects a stream divided by the contents division section 12 and a monitor 3 reproduces the stream. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a recording / reproducing apparatus and a recording / reproducing method for a video / audio stream.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A hard disk device (hereinafter referred to as an AV-HDD) in a stream format of information such as moving images and audio.
The products to record are emerging. Since the disk in the AV-HDD is a non-replaceable medium, if there is not enough free space in the AV-HDD when recording new video information etc. (hereinafter referred to as content), the content is deleted and freed. Need to increase capacity.

On the other hand, digital broadcasting programs such as BS digital broadcasting and CS digital broadcasting are copy-controlled to prevent duplication. This copy control standard is what is called the 5C standard. In this standard, the copy control is roughly divided into four types: copyable, once-only copyable, recopyable, and copy-disabled. When the content under copy control is recorded in the AV-HDD, the content is recorded in a state in which recopying is not possible. Therefore, if you want to increase the new free space, delete the content or
Or, while making a copy on another recording device,
It has been proposed to perform a moving operation of deleting the content recorded in the HDD (hereinafter, this moving operation is called MOVE).

In the move operation, the own AV-HDD
In order to delete the content stored in the device and record it on another device, the user is requested to confirm the progress of the move and whether the content is really about to be moved or not while watching the video. is there. Then, in order to perform the MOVE operation of the video to another device while checking the content recorded in the AV-HDD to satisfy this request, the streaming transfer has been conventionally performed. Therefore, the time required for the above-described MOVE operation in the related art is as long as the reproduction time of the content being streaming-transferred, and the user has to check the video for a long time.

As for shortening the image confirmation time, for example, a method of reproducing only a highlight scene has been proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-2001).
(See Japanese Patent No. 333353). However, there is no mention of shortening the recording time.

[0006]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]
The time required to move the content of the V-HDD to another device while checking the video is only the playback time of the content being streaming-transferred, and the user must check the video for a long time. did not become. The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and for example, when moving the content recorded in the AV-HDD to another device, it is possible to confirm the video / audio stream during the moving work. And a recording / reproducing apparatus capable of completing the MOVE operation in a short time,
And a recording and reproducing method.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording / reproducing apparatus, wherein the video / audio stream recorded on a recording medium is time-divided in parallel, and the parallel reproduction is performed. And a means for selecting and outputting a stream.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording / reproducing apparatus which includes scene extracting means for extracting a characteristic scene from a video / audio stream recorded on a recording medium and time information about the scene extracted by the scene extracting means. Based on the video /
It is characterized by comprising means for time-division of an audio stream for parallel reproduction, and means for selecting and outputting a stream containing the scene from the streams reproduced in parallel.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording / reproducing apparatus in which scene extracting means for extracting a plurality of characteristic scenes from a video / audio stream recorded on a recording medium and time information about the scenes extracted by the scene extracting means. Means for time-division and parallel reproduction of the video / audio stream based on the above, and the stream to be reproduced in parallel is appropriately selected to output the plurality of scenes without temporal overlap. Means and means are provided.

A recording / reproducing apparatus according to a fourth aspect is the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the first to third aspects, wherein the output of the reproducing means is output to the outside of the apparatus and the video / audio stream recorded on the recording medium. And a means for erasing.

A recording / reproducing apparatus according to a fifth aspect is the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the second or third aspect, wherein the scene extracting means extracts a scene based on an image characteristic or an acoustic characteristic in a video / audio stream. At the same time, the duration of the image feature or the acoustic feature is measured and used as time information of the scene.

A recording / reproducing method according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is based on a step of extracting a characteristic scene from a video / audio stream recorded on a recording medium and time information of the scene extracted in the scene extracting step. And a step of time-divisionally reproducing the video / audio stream in parallel, and a step of selecting and outputting a stream including the scene from the streams reproduced in parallel in the reproducing step. It is a feature.

A recording / reproducing method according to a seventh aspect of the present invention also includes a step of extracting a plurality of characteristic scenes from a video / audio stream recorded on a recording medium, and time information about the scenes extracted in the scene extracting step. And a step of time-divisionally reproducing the video / audio stream in parallel, and a step of appropriately selecting the streams to be reproduced in parallel in this reproducing step to output the plurality of scenes without temporal overlap. And a step of performing.

[0014]

Embodiments of the recording / reproducing apparatus and the recording / reproducing method according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a digital television receiver (hereinafter referred to as digital TV), 2 is a stream interface unit for receiving digital broadcasts such as BS digital broadcasts and CS digital broadcasts, and decoding and outputting received video, 3 Is a monitor for reproducing the video / audio signal decoded by the stream interface unit 2, and 4 is a hard disk device for recording the undecoded video / audio signal stream from the stream interface unit 2 as content (hereinafter, AV -Referred to as HDD). Further, 5 is a serial bus control unit for performing control for transmitting / receiving a digital stream to / from an external device connected to the digital TV 1, the connector 6, the IEEE 1394 serial cable 7
An external device and the digital TV 1 can be connected via the. Here, an AV-HDD 8 is connected as an external device. Reference numeral 9 denotes a recording / reproducing control device built in the digital TV 1. This device 9 is a stream input switching unit 1
0, a scene extraction unit 11, a content division unit 12, and a device control unit 13.

Next, the operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to a flow chart and the like. For convenience of explanation,
First, the operation when the content recorded in the HDD 4 is reproduced according to a user's instruction will be described.

A content reproduction instruction from the user is transmitted to the stream interface unit 2, and the stream interface unit 2 controls the HDD 4 to reproduce the content. The stream reproduced from the HDD 4 is decoded by the stream interface unit 2 and displayed on the monitor 3. The stream interface unit 2 inputs the decoded stream to the scene extraction unit 11 at the same time.

The scene extraction unit 11 receives the stream from the stream interface unit 2 as an input and extracts a characteristic scene. The scene extracting operation will be described below with reference to FIG. 2 which is a flowchart showing the operation of the scene extracting unit 11.

First, an array of variables S start and S end for storing relative start times and end times of a plurality of characteristic scenes in a content is initialized, and 0 is substituted for a variable Sn for substituting the number of characteristic scenes. To initialize (step S11). Next, timing of the relative reproduction time of the content is started (step S12). Further, it is determined whether or not the portion of the currently input stream at the current time is a characteristic scene (classification is performed) (step S13). The details of the scene extraction will be described later.

In step S14, it is determined whether or not the portion of the stream at the current time is a characteristic scene by using the classification result in step S13. If the stream is not a characteristic scene, it is determined whether the stream has ended (step S15), and if the stream has ended, the processing ends. On the other hand, if the stream has not ended, the process returns to step S13. If the characteristic scene is determined in step S14 (“Yes” in step S14), it is determined that the characteristic scene has started, 1 is added to Sn, and then the initial is determined in step S11. The time when the clocking is started in step S12 is substituted into the Sn-th element of the converted characteristic scene recording variable array S start. That is, the start time of the characteristic scene is recorded (step S1).
6).

Next, scene extraction is continued (step S17), and based on the result, it is judged whether the scene is a characteristic scene (step S18). If it is a characteristic scene, it is judged whether the stream has ended (step S18). S1
9) If the stream has ended, the relative time at the end of the stream is set as the characteristic scene end time in S
The data is stored in the Sn-th element of end (step S20), and the process ends. If it is determined in step S19 that the stream has not ended, the process returns to step S17. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S18 that the scene is not a characteristic scene, it is determined that the characteristic scene has ended, and the relative time is set as the characteristic scene end time.
It is stored in the Sn-th element of (step S21). Then, it is determined whether or not the stream has ended (step S22). If the stream has ended, the processing ends, and if the stream has not ended, step S13.
Return to.

Next, the scene extracting operation (steps S14 and S17) in the flowchart of FIG. 2 will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This Figure 3
The flowchart shown in is an example in which whether or not the scene is characteristic is automatically determined based on the volume of the stream.

First, a variable for adding a volume value within a certain fixed time is initialized (step S31), and time measurement is started (step S32). Next, the volume of the current input stream is measured (step S33), and the value is added to the value initialized in step S31 (step S3).
4). Further, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time, for example, 1 second has elapsed (step S35), and if it has not elapsed, the process returns to step S33. On the other hand, when 1 second has elapsed, it is determined whether or not the variable into which the total value of the volume measured in 1 second is substituted is larger than a value given in advance (step S36). If the condition is true, the scene for 1 second is set as a characteristic scene (step S37). If the condition is false, the scene for 1 second is set as not a characteristic scene. (Step S38), the process ends.

From the above, when the processes of the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 are completed, the start times and end times of a plurality of characteristic scenes are stored. Figure 4 (A)
[Fig. 4] is a schematic diagram of extraction results of characteristic scenes in content, showing that four characteristic scenes (S1 to S4) have been extracted.

In the above embodiment, an example in which the characteristic scene is extracted by using the volume is shown, but the characteristic scene may be extracted based on a user's instruction to start and end the characteristic scene. (For example, when the temporal position of the characteristic scene is known at the time of recording), an image processing technique may be used to recognize and extract a portion where the image frequently changes.

Next, the flow in the case of performing the MOVE operation on the contents of the HDD 4 according to the instruction from the user will be described with reference back to FIG. Content division unit 1 of recording control device 9
When receiving a MOVE instruction from the user, the second apparatus acquires the start time and end time of the characteristic scene recorded in the scene extraction unit 11, and divides the content into a plurality of contents. Then, the device control unit 13 controls the HDD 4 to reproduce the plurality of contents divided by the content dividing unit 12 so that the characteristic scenes do not overlap each other. Further, the serial bus control unit 5 is instructed to output a plurality of streams in parallel, and the external device HD
A recording instruction is issued to D8 to record a plurality of streams in parallel. The serial bus control unit 5 is instructed by the device control unit 13 so that the C defined by IEC618188-1 is specified.
According to MP (Connection Management Procedure), one or more Pos can be placed between the digital TV 1 and the HDD 8.
An int to Point connection is established, the reproduction stream from the HDD 4 is converted into an isochronous stream via the stream interface unit 2 for each connection, and the same stream is output. Also, the serial bus control unit 5 is an AV / C Gener
Control of recording start in the HDD 8 is performed using al Command and AV / C Disc Subunit Command. The stream interface unit 2 outputs the reproduction stream from the HDD 4 to the serial bus control unit 5 and the monitor 3.

When the HDD 4 receives the playback instruction for the MOVE, it outputs the playback stream to the stream interface unit 2 and erases the played portion of the content, or controls it so that it cannot be played back. On the other hand, the stream input switching unit 10
A plurality of streams input to the stream interface unit 2 are decoded to the interface unit 2, and the decoded streams are output to the monitor 3 based on the start time information of the characteristic scene extracted by the scene extraction unit 11. To switch the output.

Next, the content dividing operation described above will be described in detail with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 5 is a part (first half) of a flowchart of the content division processing in the content division unit 12. The processing shown in the first half of this flowchart is to determine the division position so that the characteristic scenes extracted earlier when the content is divided do not overlap.

In the content division, first, a variable array Cs for storing the time for dividing the content is initialized (step S41 in FIG. 5). Note that, hereinafter, “time” represents a relative time when the beginning of the content is 0. Next, in step S42, 0, which is the start time of the content, is assigned to the start element (Cs [0]) of Cs, and the characteristic scene S is added to Cs [1].
The start time S start [1] of 1 (see FIG. 4A) is substituted. Further, it is determined whether or not the total number Sn of characteristic scenes is larger than 1 (step S43), and if the determination result is false, 1 is set to the variable Cn representing the number (order) of the divided contents.
Is assigned (step S44), and if the result of the determination is true, 2 is assigned to Cn (step S45). continue,
In the temporary variable Ct end, the end time S end [C of the characteristic scene SCn-1
[n-1] is substituted (step S46), and a temporary variable Ct start
From the start time S start [Cn] of the characteristic scene Cn to the characteristic scene S1 to the characteristic scene SCn (for example, for the characteristic scene S1, S end
The value obtained by subtracting the sum of [1] -S start [1]) is substituted (step S47).

Next, step S46 and step S47.
For Ct end and Ct start calculated in, Ct start is Ct e
It is judged whether or not it is larger than nd (step S48), if the judgment result is true, Ct start is substituted for Cs [Cn] (step S49), and if the judgment result is false, Cs [Cn] is Ct. end
Is substituted (step S50). Subsequent to steps S49 and S50, it is determined whether Cn is smaller than the number Sn of characteristic scenes (step S51), and if the determination result is true, 1 is added to Cn (step S52),
It returns to step S46. On the other hand, if the determination result in step S51 is false, the end time of the stream is substituted into Cs [Cn + 1] (step S53).

FIG. 4B is a conceptual diagram showing the position of the content division time Cs created in the steps S41 to S53. In the example of FIG. 4B, the value of Cn is 4. That is, in the content division process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, when the time interval of the section 21 before the characteristic scene S2 (see FIG. 4B) is less than or equal to the duration of the characteristic scene S1, the section 2 before the characteristic scene S3 is generated.
The content is divided so that the time interval of 2 is less than or equal to the sum of the durations of the characteristic scenes S1 and S2, and the time interval of the section 23 before the characteristic scene S4 is less than or equal to the sum of the durations of the characteristic scenes S1 to S3. You have done it.

Next, the content dividing operation will be described. FIG. 6 is a part (second half) of the flowchart of the content division processing in the content division unit 12.
The process of the latter half of this flowchart is such that when the divided contents are reproduced in parallel, reproduction of all the divided contents ends before the reproduction end time of the characteristic scene (S4 in the embodiment) that is reproduced last among the characteristic scenes. To set the division position so that

First, the characteristic scene S1 is set to the temporary variable D length.
Substituting the sum of the durations of the respective scenes (see FIG. 4A) to the characteristic scene SSn (step S54),
The temporary variable m is initialized to 0 (step S55). Cs [m + 1] is used by using the array Cs storing the content division time calculated in steps S41 to S53 of FIG.
And Cs [m] is larger than D length (step S56). If this decision is true, then Cs [Cn
The value obtained by adding Cs [m] and D length is substituted into +2] (step S57), and 1 is added to Cn (step S5).
8), rearrange Cs [1] to Cs [Cn + 1] in time order, and
The array from [1] to Cs [Cn + 1] is recreated (step S59), and the process returns to step S55. On the other hand, step S5
If the determination in 6 is false, it is determined whether or not m is smaller than Cn-1 (step S60). If the result of this step S60 is true, 1 is added to m (step S6).
1) and returns to step S56. On the other hand, if the determination result in step S60 is false, Cs [1] to Cs [Cn + 1] are rearranged in time order, and the array from Cs [1] to Cs [Cn + 1] is recreated (step S62). The process ends.

FIG. 4C shows an example of content division as a result of applying step S54 to step S61 in FIG. 6 to the divided content shown in FIG. 4B. In FIG. 4C, an example is shown in which the content is divided into six parts C1 to C6. That is, in the content division processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, the time interval of the section 24 of the divided content C1 not including the characteristic scene (see FIG. 4C) is equal to or less than the sum of the durations of the characteristic scenes S1 to S4. The time interval of the section 25 after the scene S1 is less than or equal to the sum of the durations of the characteristic scenes S2 to S4,
The time interval of the section 26 after the characteristic scene S2 is equal to or less than the sum of the durations of the characteristic scenes S3 and S4, and the time interval of the section 27 of the divided content C4 not including the characteristic scene is the sum of the durations of the characteristic scenes S1 to S4. The content has been divided as follows.

Next, the operation of the device control section 13 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the variable array DC start that stores the relative playback time of each divided content is initialized to 0 (step S71). Further, it is determined whether or not the number Sn of characteristic scenes is larger than 1 (step S72). If the determination result is false, the process branches to step S81, and if the determination result is true, 2 is assigned to the temporary variable o (step). S73). Next, search for the divided content that includes the start time of the characteristic scene So and set its number to p.
To (step S74). Furthermore, the characteristic scene S
Each duration time from 1 to the characteristic scene So-1 (for example, in the characteristic scene S1, S end [1] to S start
The value obtained by subtracting [1] is the duration) is DD l
ength is substituted (step S75), the difference of the characteristic scene o is calculated from the start time of the divided content p, and the temporary variable is calculated.
Substitute for DS time (step S76). Step S7
5 and DD length and DS time calculated in step S76
Is used to determine whether DD length is greater than DS time (step S77). If the determination result is true, the p-th element D of the variable array DC start that stores the relative playback time is determined.
A value obtained by subtracting DS time from DD length is substituted for C start [p] (step S78), and if the determination result is false, the process branches to step S79. In step S79, 1 is added to the temporary variable o.

Next, it is determined whether Sn is larger than o (step S80). If the determination result is false, the process returns to step S74, and if the determination result is true, the process proceeds to step S81. In this step S81, a playback stream of Cn divided contents is output to the HDD 8,
The serial bus control unit 5 is instructed to record all of them. Next, set each divided content to DC sta
When the relative time designated by rt comes, the HDD 4 is controlled so as to reproduce from the position of Cs (step S82), and the process is ended.

FIG. 8A shows a conceptual diagram of a stream that is reproduced when the device control unit 13 performing the operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7 moves the divided contents. Figure 8
In (A), the horizontal axis is the time axis. Here, the case where the characteristic scenes are four from S1 to S4 and the number of divided contents is six from C1 to C6 is shown. From this FIG. 8, it can be seen that the characteristic scenes S1 to S4 do not overlap along the time axis during reproduction.

Next, the detailed operation of the stream input switching unit 10 for performing the reproduction switching necessary for continuously confirming the characteristic scenes will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. 9 shows the switching unit 10
FIG. 10 shows the first half of the operation of FIG.

First, a variable P time for measuring the reproduction time during which the divided contents are reproduced in parallel is initialized and the time measurement is started (step S91). Next, for each of the divided contents, a variable array that stores the time at which the input switching instruction is output to the stream interface unit 2.
DP time is initialized (step S92), and the temporary variable q is set to 1
Is substituted (step S93). It is determined which of the characteristic scenes S1 to Sn exists inside the divided content q (step S94). If this determination result is false, the process branches to step S97. On the other hand, if the determination result in step S94 is true, the number of the characteristic scene existing in the divided content q is substituted for r (step S95). Then, in the q-th element of the variable array DP time storing the time at which the input switching instruction is output, (start time S start [r] -divided content q of the characteristic scene r
Start time Cs [q] + playback start time DC of divided content q
time [q]) is substituted, the input switching time is set (step S96), and 1 is added to the temporary variable q (step S9).
7). Next, it is determined whether q is larger than the number Cn of divided contents (step S98), and if the determination result here is false, the process branches to step S94. On the other hand, if the determination result is true, 1 is assigned to the temporary variable t to initialize it as shown in step S99 of FIG. Furthermore, t of DP time
It is judged whether the second element is still the initial value (Fig. 1
0 in step S100), the process branches to step S103 if the determination result here is true. On the other hand, when the determination result is false, it is determined whether DP time [t] and P time are equal (step S101), and when the determination result is false, this step S101 is repeated. On the other hand, when the determination result is true, the stream interface unit 2
An instruction is issued to switch the divided contents output to the monitor 3 to the t-th one (step S102), and 1 is set to t.
Is added (step S103). Next, it is determined whether t is larger than the number Cn of divided contents (step S10).
4) If the determination result is false, the process branches to step S101, and if the determination result is true, the process ends.

FIG. 8 (B) shows a selective reproduction image reproduced on the monitor 3 by the stream input switching section 10 in which the operation of the flowchart shown in FIG. 10 is performed. That is,
On the monitor 3, as shown by 31 in FIG. 8B, the characteristic scenes S1 to S4 are continuously reproduced.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
Since one content recorded in the HDD 4 can be divided into a plurality of contents and the MOVE work can be performed at substantially the same time, the time required for the MOVE work can be shorter than the time required to reproduce the entire content. Further, the user who has instructed the MOVE operation can see the digest of the characteristic scene of the content, so that the MOVE operation can be confirmed and mistakes accompanying the MOVE operation can be eliminated.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, when moving the content recorded in one device to another device, it is possible to confirm the video / audio stream during the moving work, Moreover, it is possible to provide a recording / reproducing apparatus and a recording / reproducing method capable of completing the moving operation in a short time, which is useful.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the scene extraction unit 11 of the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a detailed flowchart of scene extraction in the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining characteristic scene extraction from content and content division.

FIG. 5 is a part of a flowchart of content division processing in the content division unit 12 of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a part of a flowchart of content division processing in the content division unit 12 of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the device control unit 13 of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram of a stream that is played back when moving divided content.

9 is a part of a flowchart for explaining the operation of the stream input switching unit 10 in FIG.

10 is a part of a flowchart for explaining the operation of the stream input switching unit 10 in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

2: Stream interface section 3: Monitor 4: AV-HDD 5: Serial bus controller 8: External AV-HDD 10: Stream input switching unit 11: Scene extraction unit 12: Content division unit 13: Equipment control section

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 5/76 H04N 5/91 Z G11B 27/02 K F term (reference) 5C052 AA01 AB02 AB09 AC08 CC01 DD04 5C053 FA15 FA20 FA23 GB09 GB37 HA29 JA03 JA22 KA26 LA07 LA14 5D044 AB05 AB07 BC01 CC05 DE25 DE39 EF02 EF05 FG09 FG18 HL06 5D077 AA22 BA08 CA02 DC03 EA40 5D110 AA13 AA27 AA29 CA32 DA17

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A method comprising: means for time-division of a video / audio stream recorded on a recording medium to reproduce in parallel, and means for selecting and outputting the stream to be reproduced in parallel. Characteristic recording / reproducing device. 2. A scene extracting means for extracting a characteristic scene from a video / audio stream recorded on a recording medium,
Means for time-division and parallel reproduction of the video / audio stream based on the time information of the scene extracted by the scene extraction means, and stream containing the scene from the streams reproduced in parallel And a means for selecting and outputting the recording / reproducing apparatus. 3. A scene extracting means for extracting a plurality of characteristic scenes from a video / audio stream recorded on a recording medium, and the video / audio based on time information of the scene extracted by the scene extracting means. It is provided with means for time-division of streams and reproducing them in parallel, and means for appropriately selecting the streams to be reproduced in parallel and outputting the plurality of scenes without overlapping in time. Recording and reproducing device. 4. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for outputting the output of the reproducing means to the outside of the apparatus and erasing the video / audio stream recorded on the recording medium. A recording / reproducing apparatus characterized by the above. 5. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the scene extracting means extracts a scene based on an image feature or an acoustic feature in a video / audio stream, and the image feature or the sound. Recording / reproducing apparatus, which is configured to measure a duration of a physical characteristic and use it as time information for the scene. 6. A step of extracting a characteristic scene from a video / audio stream recorded on a recording medium, and a time of the video / audio stream based on time information of the scene extracted in the scene extracting step. A recording / reproducing method comprising: a step of dividing and reproducing in parallel; and a step of selecting and outputting a stream including the scene from the streams reproduced in parallel in the reproducing step. 7. A step of extracting a plurality of characteristic scenes from a video / audio stream recorded on a recording medium, and the video / audio stream based on time information of the scenes extracted in the scene extracting step. And a step of time-divisionally reproducing in parallel, and a step of appropriately selecting the streams to be reproduced in parallel in this reproducing step and outputting the plurality of scenes without overlapping in time. Characteristic recording / playback method.