JP2005135554A - Reproducing device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reproducing device and a method for drastically shortening a processing time required for suitably retrieving and reproducing picture data because all picture data does not need to be retrieved when picture data recorded in a recording medium is retrieved and reproduced. <P>SOLUTION: A control file including a data stream constituted of reference information indicating reference destination of the picture data recorded in a recording medium 1006 is generated by a file processing device 1005, picture data indicated by the reference information included in the prescribed control file are reproduced separately or successively. The file processing device 1005 makes the picture data groups based on attribute information, generates the data stream constituted of the reference information indicating reference destination of all picture data included in each group, and generates the control file including the data stream generated for each group of one or more. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a playback apparatus and method for searching for and playing back one or more image data recorded on a recording medium.

  In recent years, there have been proposed image processing apparatuses and methods for recording image data and audio data captured by an imaging apparatus such as a digital video camera as digital data on a recording medium such as an optical disk or a magnetic disk.

  Unlike conventional recording media such as magnetic tape, these disk-shaped recording media can randomly access recorded data, and can reproduce desired data without waiting time.

  And by taking advantage of these features, you can create a playlist file by specifying the order of the image data you want to play back continuously from the image data recorded on the recording medium, and realize easy access to the image data. A mechanism to do this has been proposed. As one of such mechanisms, a method of efficiently reproducing only image data desired by a user from a large amount of recorded image data is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  Patent Document 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the outline of reproduction file selection in an image processing apparatus that performs conventional image data recording / reproduction processing. In FIG. 12, reference numeral 12000 denotes N pieces of image data recorded on a randomly accessible recording medium such as an optical disk. Each piece of image data 1 to N is 1 to “shooting to stop” taken by an imaging device, for example. Data corresponding to the cut is shown. Reference numeral 12001 denotes a search keyword input by the user when searching for image data, 12002 denotes a play list file that defines the order in which the searched image data is played back, and 12003 denotes image data included in the play list. Yes.

  In the conventional apparatus shown in FIG. 12, when a user inputs a keyword 12001 with respect to image data 12000 recorded on a recording medium, image data corresponding to the keyword 12001 is retrieved, and a playlist file including all the retrieved data 12002 is generated. In the example shown in FIG. 12, image data 2, 5, 6, and 8 are searched, and a reproduction list file 12002 for reproducing them in order is generated. Thus, in a conventional image processing apparatus that performs image recording / playback processing, related image data is searched using keywords included in image data recorded on a recording medium, and the searched image data is played back in order. A playlist is being generated. With such a configuration, it is possible to retrieve only the data desired by the user and reproduce it in order.

Further, as a method other than the above, a method has been proposed in which shooting data is grouped according to a category designated in advance and a reproduction list is generated.
JP 2002-313070 A

  However, in the conventional example described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to search all image data recorded on a recording medium and select data to be reproduced in order to generate a reproduction list. For this reason, there has been a problem that it takes a long time to perform processing by a CPU or the like built in the imaging apparatus or the like. Even in the method of generating a play list at the time of recording, a dedicated play list analyzer for analyzing the play list is required to play the play list.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is not necessary to search all image data when searching and reproducing image data recorded on a recording medium. It is an object of the present invention to provide a playback apparatus and method that can significantly reduce processing time and that can preferably play back image data.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a playback device for playing back image data recorded on a recording medium,
Reproduction means for reproducing the image data according to an image management file including a data stream composed of reference information for referring to image data recorded on the recording medium;
Grouping means for dividing the image data into a plurality of groups;
A management file generating means for generating, for each group, a data stream including the reference information for referring to a plurality of image data included in each of the plurality of groups, and generating a group management file composed of the data streams;
Control means for controlling the reproduction operation of the reproduction means based on the group management file.

The present invention is also a reproduction method including a reproduction step of reproducing the image data in accordance with an image management file including a data stream including reference information for referring to image data recorded on a recording medium. And
A grouping step of dividing the image data into a plurality of groups;
A management file generation step of generating a data stream including the reference information for referring to a plurality of image data included in each of the plurality of groups for each group, and generating a group management file composed of the data streams;
And a control step of controlling the reproduction operation of the reproduction step based on the group management file.

  According to the present invention, it is not necessary to search all the image data when searching and reproducing the image data recorded on the recording medium, so that the processing time required for the search can be greatly shortened. The image data can be reproduced.

  Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of an imaging apparatus equipped with a playback apparatus that has a function of capturing an image of a subject to acquire image data and that plays back image data recorded on a recording medium according to an embodiment of the present invention. Will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
First, in the first embodiment, a basic configuration of an imaging apparatus equipped with a reproduction apparatus that performs image data reproduction processing will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an imaging apparatus having an image recording / reproducing function according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1000 denotes a lens on which a light beam from a subject is incident, 1001 an image sensor such as a CCD that converts light into electricity, 1002 an image signal processing circuit that processes an image signal obtained from the image sensor 1001, and 1003. Is a compression / decompression circuit that compresses and encodes / decompresses an image signal, 1004 is a display device such as a liquid crystal monitor that outputs / displays the image, and 1005 is a file processing device that converts the image data into a predetermined file format and outputs it to a recording medium , 1006 is a recording medium such as an optical disc that can store image data and can randomly access the stored data, 1007 is a positioning device such as a GPS that detects the location (position) of the imaging device, and 1008 is a date / time detection device. It is a timing device such as a possible timer.

≪Recording action≫
First, a processing procedure until captured image data is recorded on the recording medium 1006 will be described with reference to FIG. When a light beam from a subject enters the image sensor 1001 via the lens 1000, an image signal is output from the image sensor 1001. This image pickup signal is input to an image signal processing circuit 1002 and subjected to various signal processing such as color separation and gamma correction to form subject image data. The subject image data is compression-encoded by the compression / decompression circuit 1003 and sent to the file processing apparatus 1005. The file processing device 1005 generates a file in a format described later from the positioning device 1007 and the timing device 1008 based on attribute information such as the position at the time of shooting and date / time data, and records the file on the recording medium 1006.

  Next, the processing of the file processing apparatus 1005 will be described by taking as an example a case in which a quick time (QuickTime) file format is used as a file format when the generated file is stored in the recording medium 1006.

  FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the video / audio data structure in the QuickTime format. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 2000 denotes the entire time-based video / audio data (hereinafter referred to as “movie”). Reference numerals 2001 to 2003 denote data streams (hereinafter referred to as “tracks”) included in the movie 2000, and reference numeral 2004 denotes media that refers to the media data 2006 on the recording medium 2005.

  A movie can include one or more tracks. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the movie 2000 includes three tracks 2001, 2002, and 2003. An arrow “→” indicates a time direction, and in the case shown in FIG. 2, the data moves to the right, indicating that the data is later in time. That is, the reference information is arranged in each track in the order in which data is reproduced during reproduction. Each of the tracks 2001 to 2003 is associated with one medium.

  FIG. 2 shows a state in which the track 2003 is associated with the medium 2004. This media 2004 stores control information for referring to data constituting a track. That is, the media 2004 refers to the media data 2006 of the recording medium 2005. When the user wants the data to be reproduced in an arbitrary order, the tracks can be reproduced in the arbitrary order designated by the user by arranging the tracks in the order of reproduction.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the file structure of the QuickTime format movie shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, 3000, 3010, 3020, and 3040 are movie files, 3001, 3011, 3021, and 3041 are movie resources that are information storage units, and 3002, 3012, 3022, and 3032 are movies that are actual data storage units. Data (Movie Data) is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the movie file 3000 in the QuickTime format is roughly divided into two parts: Movie Resource 3001 and Movie Data 3002. The Movie Resource 3001 stores time necessary for reproducing movie data and reference information for referring to actual data. Specific examples of the reference information include a URL indicating the storage location of each image data, path information, and the like. On the other hand, the movie data 3002 stores actual data such as image data and audio data.

  Thus, in the movie file 3000, the Movie Resource 3001 and the Movie Data 3002 exist in one file, and the Movie Resource 3001 refers to the Movie Data 3002. Such a file structure is referred to as a “single fork file”. With a single fork file, by accessing each movie file (for example, movie file 3000), it is possible to reproduce Movie Data (for example, Movie Data 3002) included in each file.

  A file having only a Movie Resource with respect to a single fork file is referred to as a “reference type file”. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 3040 denotes a reference type file. Here, reference numerals 3010 and 3020 denote the same single fork file as the movie file 3000, which includes Movie Resources 3011 and 3021 and Movie Data 3012 and 3022, respectively. Reference numeral 3032 indicates only actual data (Movie Data) on the recording medium.

  In FIG. 3, the movie resource 3041 of the reference type file 3040 refers to movie data 3012, 3022, and 3032 of other files. In other words, even if the reference file does not have actual data in its own file, it is possible to reproduce the actual data by referring to the actual data at another location. This is equivalent to referring to a plurality of actual data stored in the recording medium 2005 in the track 2003 in FIG. Therefore, by creating in advance reference type files corresponding to various categories and the like, it is possible to facilitate the search for related image data and the time required for the search.

  The image recording management method in the present embodiment when recording image data in the file format as described above will be described in detail.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a storage format of image data when a subject is photographed by the imaging apparatus shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, 4000 is a recording medium, 4001 is N image files recorded on the recording medium 4000, and 4002 is one image file of the N image files 4001. In FIG. 4, the internal structure of the image file 4002 is shown. Reference numeral 4003 denotes actual data included in the image file 4002.

  The recording medium 4000 corresponds to the recording medium 1006 in FIG. 1, and image data that has been captured and compressed is stored in the recording medium 4000 as a single fork file 4001 by the file processing device 1005. As shown in FIG. 4, a large number of single fork files 4002 are generated and stored in the recording medium 4000 as shooting is repeated. Since the actual image data 4003 is included in the single fork file 4002, as described above, one image file 4002 is extracted from the files recorded on the recording medium 4000 and reproduced as a single file. Is possible.

  Next, a method for managing image data shot by the above-described processing and recorded on a recording medium for each group will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the management movie file according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, 5000 is a group of image data, 5001 and 5002 are image files in the group 5000, 5011 and 5012 are actual image data in the image files 5001 and 5001, 5100 is a reference type movie file, and 5101 is a track. ing.

  Here, a method of grouping and managing photographed image data as attribute information based on photographing location information will be described. FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure for creating and updating a management movie file in the present embodiment. Therefore, in the imaging apparatus shown in FIG. 1, shooting location information acquired by a positioning device 1007 such as GPS at the time of image shooting is sent to the file processing apparatus 1005 as attribute information of the image data (step S1). In the file processing apparatus 1005, the acquired shooting location information is added as metadata to the compressed image data and recorded in the recording medium 1006.

  Here, in the present embodiment, the recorded image data is grouped based on attribute information (here, shooting location information) based on the situation at the time of shooting. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 5, assuming that the image file 1 and the image file 2 are shot at the same place / range “Tokyo”, a shooting group “Tokyo” 5000 is created from the shooting data (step S2). Then, a management movie file 5100 that refers to the image data 5011 and 1012 of the file belonging to the shooting group “Tokyo” is created (step S3). The management movie file 5100 has a track 5101, and the track 5101 refers to image data 5011 and 5012 which are reference information.

  In the photographing apparatus, a reference management movie file having the above-described format is generated and stored in the recording medium 1006 (step S4). Then, by playing back the track of this management movie file, the image data grouped based on a predetermined condition (for example, grouped by the location information “Tokyo” in the present embodiment) is continuously obtained. It can be played back. Further, by reproducing each image data in the track, it becomes possible to easily access the data in the same group.

  Next, processing when new data is added to a group will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a configuration when data is newly added to the management movie file according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, 6000 is a group of image data, 6001, 6002, and 6003 are image files included in the group 6000, 6011, 6012, and 6013 are image data in the image files 6001, 6002, and 6003, and 6100 is a reference movie file. , 6101 indicate tracks, and 6111, 6112, and 6113 indicate reference information in the track 6101.

  When image data is newly photographed in the state of the management movie file shown in FIG. 5, the file processing device 1005 assigns the photographing data to which group based on the position information sent from the positioning device 1007 at the end of image photographing. Whether it belongs is detected (step S5). As a result, when the shooting data is shot at a place / range of “Tokyo”, the data is added to the “Tokyo” group 6000, and the data belongs to the “Tokyo” group 6000 (step S6). Therefore, the reference data 6113 is added to a predetermined position (for example, the last part) of the track 6101 of the management movie file 6100 and updated so as to refer to the image data 6013 of the newly photographed captured image file 6003 (step). S7).

  In this way, by determining which group the shooting data belongs to immediately after shooting and updating the management movie file, each group can be searched without performing search or grouping processing during file playback. This data can be reproduced continuously or individually.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which a plurality of management movie files are generated using the photographing apparatus shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, 7000 and 7100 indicate categories for grouping image data, and 7010, 7020, 7030, 7040, and 7050 indicate management movie files, respectively. Reference numerals 7011, 7012, and 7013 denote reference image data referenced in the track of the management movie file 7010, and reference numeral 7041 denotes reference image data referenced in the track of the management movie file 7040.

  Here, the grouping category refers to the type of information to be determined when grouping image data. Specifically, when information such as “location”, “date”, and “photographer” is used as a grouping standard, these “location”, “date”, and “photographer” are grouped. Become a category. That is, these correspond to the types of attribute information of image data.

  In the example shown in FIG. 6 described above, the management movie file that refers only to the image data based on the location information “Tokyo” has been created. However, a location other than “Tokyo” is created based on the grouping category “location”. Data taken in “Osaka”, “Nagoya”, etc. can be similarly grouped, and management movie files 7020 and 7030 can be created and recorded on a recording medium as shown in FIG.

  In addition to “location” as a grouping category, “date” can be grouped as a category. That is, in the imaging apparatus of FIG. 1, date information generated by a timer device 1008 such as a timer is sent to the file processing device 1005. The file processing apparatus 1005 can group the captured data based on the date information and generate a management movie file by the same method as the grouping by location described above. For example, in FIG. 7, a “January 2” management movie file 7040 and a “April 3” management movie file 7050 grouped based on the date are generated.

  At this time, the image data 7011 of the management movie file 7010 grouped with the location information as the category refers to the same image data as the image data 7041 of the management movie file 7040 grouped with the “date” information as the category. Yes.

  The grouping category can be managed by, for example, a file name. For example, a management movie file grouped by "Date" should be given a file name such as "Date_2003_0102.mov", and a management movie file grouped by "Location" should be given a file name such as "Pos_Tokyo.mov" To. This makes it easier to search for the target file from the grouping category during file search.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the location / position and date / time information based on GPS information or the like is used as the grouping category, but the condition of the grouping category is not limited to this. For example, other information such as photographer information or object information is used, video cuts taken without interruption of power during photographing are set as one group, or a group is designated by a photographer during recording. Any condition / information may be used.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the units to be grouped are grouped by “prefecture” at the place and “one day” at the date, but the unit to be grouped is not limited to this. In other words, a unit of time may be used if it is a date, and a unit such as “country” or “city” may be used if it is a place. Further, these units may be arbitrarily designated by the user.

  In this embodiment, the image data and the reference type movie file including the reference information for referring to the image data are stored on the same recording medium. However, these are stored on separate media. Also good.

≪Playback action≫
Next, the flow of processing when reproducing image data will be described. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a display example when a list of image data stored in the recording medium 1006 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is displayed on the display device 1004 such as a monitor of the imaging device. 8, reference numerals 8000 and 8100 denote monitor screens displayed on the display device 1004 of the imaging apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and reference numerals 8010 and 8020 denote reduced images displayed on the monitor screen. Each reduced image shown in FIG. 8 is a list of image data (movie data) recorded on the recording medium 1006 in a predetermined order such as a recording order. In the present embodiment, one screen is used as an example. Nine reduced images are displayed.

  Further, when there are 10 or more image data in the recording medium 1006, the screen may be switched from 8000 to 8100, and the following nine reduced images may be displayed. Further, for these reduced images, the first image data included in the track of the image data may be displayed as a still image instead of moving image display, or the image in the track may be reproduced at a predetermined speed. For such reduced image display, a conventionally known technique may be used.

  Next, a method for browsing and reproducing image data for each group will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for browsing / reproducing image data managed for each group recorded on the recording medium 1006. In FIG. 9, reference numerals 9000, 9100, 9200, and 9300 denote display examples of a monitor display screen displayed on the display device 1004 of the imaging apparatus. Reference numerals 9010, 9020, 9030, and 9040 denote grouping categories. Furthermore, 9011, 9012, 9013, 9014, 9015 and 9050, 9060 indicate groups. Furthermore, reference numerals 9051, 9052, and 9053 denote image data included in the group.

  First, on the screen 9000, tabs 9010, 9020, and 9030 indicating grouping categories are displayed. That is, the screen 9000 shows a state where the location category 9010 is selected. In addition, groups 9011, 9012, 9013, and 9014 grouped using places as keys are displayed. As the display of the group, the name of the group or the representative image of the group is displayed. The group shown in FIG. 9 corresponds to the management movie file in FIG. Therefore, the head image data of each track of the management movie file is reduced and displayed as a representative image. Further, not only the head image data but also the head image of each image data included in each track may be reproduced in order at a predetermined interval as a representative image.

  Here, the user of the imaging apparatus can select these groups 9011 to 9015 and decide whether to continuously reproduce the data in the group or to develop the image data. For example, when sequentially reproducing image data within a group, the user can select an arbitrary group and then sequentially reproduce the images included in the group by pressing a reproduction button or the like provided in the imaging apparatus. .

  For example, when image data included in the group 9011 “Tokyo” is sequentially reproduced, the file processing apparatus 1005 reads the management movie file of the “Tokyo” group 9011 recorded on the recording medium 1006. Next, the file processing apparatus 1005 sends the image data to the compression / decompression circuit 1003 so that the tracks of the management movie file in the “Tokyo” group 9011 are sequentially reproduced from the top. The decompressed image data is sequentially sent to the display device 1004 to display an image.

  On the other hand, when developing image data in a group, the user selects an arbitrary group and presses a determination button or the like provided in the photographing apparatus to display a list of image data in the group.

  For example, when the “Tokyo” group 9011 is selected, the screen changes from the screen 9000 to the screen 9200. On the screen 9200, the selected group name is displayed as a tag 9050. In addition, reduced images 9051 to 9053 of image data belonging to the “Tokyo” group are displayed. In this process, the file processing apparatus 1005 reads the management movie file of the “Tokyo” group 9011 recorded on the recording medium 1006. The file processing apparatus 1005 analyzes the management movie file of the “Tokyo” group 9011 and obtains information on the image data referred to by the image track of the management movie file.

  That is, the file processing apparatus 1005 can obtain the image data information of the image data 7011, 7012, and 7013 in FIG. Then, the head image of each image data is sent to the compression / decompression circuit, and a reduced image is generated and displayed as a screen 9200. Also, when image data is selected by the user and a playback button or the like is pressed, only the image data selected from the image data in the track of the corresponding management movie file is played back.

  Next, an example where the user switches the grouping category will be described. When the tag 9020 is selected on the screen 9000 in FIG. 9 and the grouping category is changed to “date”, the displayed screen transitions to 9100. On the screen 9100, data grouped by date is displayed.

  Here, when the user selects a desired group and presses a reproduction button or the like provided in the photographing apparatus, the image data in the group is sequentially reproduced. The point that the user can select an arbitrary group and display the image data in the group by pressing a determination button or the like provided in the photographing apparatus is that the place is a key as described above. The same as in the case of grouped data.

  In FIG. 9, when the “April 4” group 9101 is selected, the screen transitions to a screen 9300. On the screen 9300, a tag 9060 indicating that the group is April 4 is displayed as in the case of grouping by “location”, and a list of image data in the group is displayed. The operation of the file processing apparatus 1005 in this case is the same as the above example, except that the group management movie file to be processed is different.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the management of movie files is created using the structure of the recorded image file format, thereby making it easier to manage data for each category or group. Further, even when image data is newly captured, the attribute information can be added to the existing related management movie file and updated based on the attribute information of the image. Further, unlike the conventional playlist system, it is possible to manage groups without preparing another management file and separately providing an analysis system for analyzing the file.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, as a modification of the above-described first embodiment, a case where one management movie file manages a plurality of groups will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which a plurality of management movie files are generated using the photographing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 10, 10000 and 10100 are management movie files for managing image data, 10010, 10020 and 10030 are tracks included in the management movie file 10000, and 10040, 10050 and 10060 are tracks included in the management movie file 10100. .

  Note that the configuration of the photographing apparatus that performs the recording / reproducing process is assumed to have a photographing function, an image processing function, a reproducing function, and the like, similar to the photographing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 used in the first embodiment.

≪Recording action≫
First, the operation during recording will be described. Image data captured in the same manner as in the first embodiment is stored in the recording medium 1006 as an image file including one piece of each image data.

  Here, an example of grouping the captured image data based on the shooting location information will be described. In the present embodiment, data grouped based on shooting location information is managed by one management movie file 10000. FIG. 10 shows an example in which the image files 1, 2, and 3 are captured in the same location range “Tokyo”. In FIG. 10, a shooting group is created by collecting data shot in “Tokyo” from the shooting data. A track 10010 that refers to all image data of files belonging to the “Tokyo” shooting group is created in the management movie file Pos.mov in the “location” category.

  Similarly, a track 10020 that refers to all image data shot in “Osaka” and a track 10030 that refers to all image data shot in “Nagoya” are generated in the management movie file 10000 of “location”. If there are groups grouped at other locations, they are all referred to by the track of one “location” management movie file. Each track is given a track ID that can uniquely specify the track, and the track to be reproduced can be specified by this track ID.

  The file processing apparatus 1005 generates a reference management movie file in such a format and stores it in the recording medium 1006. Then, by sequentially playing from the beginning of the specified track of the management movie file, the image data grouped based on a predetermined condition (in this example, grouped by the location information “Tokyo”) is continuously displayed. Can be played. When image data is newly recorded, new reference data is added to a predetermined position (for example, last) of the corresponding group of tracks as in the first embodiment described above.

  In addition, when grouping based on “photographed date” data in addition to the “location” category, a management movie file 10100 that refers to data grouped based on “date” is generated. In this case, 10040, 10050, and 10060 tracks that refer to the image data taken for each date are generated, as in the case of grouping by the “location” category. In this way, management movie files are generated for the number of categories to be grouped.

  If a group to which the added new image data should belong cannot be searched, the file processing apparatus 1005 generates the new image data as a new group. Then, a new data stream including reference information indicating a reference destination of new image data included in the new group is generated, and one reference type management movie file is generated.

≪Playback action≫
Next, an example of reproducing and searching for an image using the management movie files 10000 and 10100 recorded as described above will be described. Here, the screen of the imaging apparatus as the user interface is the same as that shown in FIG. The screen transition and the output display are the same, but the internal file processing is partially different as will be described later.

  First, when an arbitrary grouping category is selected by the user, the file processing apparatus 1005 reads a management movie file corresponding to the category from the recording medium 1006 and analyzes the read management movie file. For example, when the “location” category 9010 is selected, the management movie file 10000 of “location” is read from the recording medium 1006. Then, the head image data of each track included in the read management movie file 10000 is read and displayed on the screen as 9011 to 9015.

  When the “Tokyo” group 9011 is selected from these and the play button is pressed, only the track 10010 of the “Tokyo” group is set as a playable track, and the other image tracks are set as non-playable tracks. Then, only the reproducible track (in this case, the track corresponding to the “Tokyo” group) is reproduced from the top.

  On the other hand, when the “Tokyo” group 9011 is selected and the determination button or the like provided in the photographing apparatus is pressed, the first image of the image data referred to in the “Tokyo” track 10010 is displayed on the screen 9200 as a reduced image. Is displayed as shown. When the displayed reduced image is selected by the user and a playback button provided in the photographing apparatus is pressed, only the corresponding image data in the “Tokyo” track 10010 is played back.

  By creating a management movie file having such a configuration, it is possible to prevent a large amount of image management files from being generated. For example, when grouping based on three categories of “location”, “date”, and “photographer”, it is only necessary to generate three management movie files. Further, since the hierarchies are made so that the category is a file unit, the group is a track unit, and the image data is a media data unit in the track, there is no need to manage the management movie file itself by hierarchizing with a directory or the like There is.

<Third Embodiment>
Next, as another modification of the first embodiment described above, a case where one management movie file manages all groups will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a state in which all management movie files are generated using the photographing apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. 11, reference numeral 11000 denotes a management movie file for managing image data, and 11010, 11020, 11030, 11040, 11050, and 11060 denote tracks included in the management movie file 11000.

  Note that the configuration of the photographing apparatus that performs the recording / reproducing process is assumed to have a photographing function, an image processing function, and a reproducing function, like the photographing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 used in the first embodiment.

≪Recording action≫
First, the operation during recording will be described. The captured image data is stored in the recording medium 1006 as a single fork file, similar to the first and second embodiments described above. Here, data grouped based on a plurality of keywords is managed by one management movie file 11000.

  First, create a “Tokyo” shooting group that collects only images taken in “Tokyo”. Then, a track 11010 that refers to all image data belonging to the shooting group of “Tokyo” is created in the management movie file 11000. Similarly, tracks 11020 and 11030 referring to image data shot in “Osaka” and “Nagoya” are generated in the management movie file 10000.

  In addition, tracks 11040, 11050, and 11060 grouped with “date” as a keyword are also stored as tracks of the management movie file 11000. Each track is given a track ID that can uniquely designate the track.

  Also, the file processing apparatus 1005 manages which track IDs are grouped based on which category. That is, the file processing apparatus 1005 manages whether the track is grouped by location or the track grouped by date based on the track ID. In such management, the correspondence table of the track ID and the category to which the track belongs is recorded on the recording medium together with the management movie file, and the file processing system reads and analyzes the correspondence table to belong to the target category. Tracks can be searched.

  Further, when the management movie file 11000 is updated when an image is newly taken, as in the first and second embodiments described above, a predetermined position (for example, the last) of the track of the corresponding group. Reference information for newly captured image data is added. In this embodiment, since one management movie file includes tracks grouped in a plurality of categories, when one image data is recorded, the reference data is added to the plurality of tracks.

≪Playback action≫
Next, an example of reproducing and searching for an image using the management movie files 10000 and 10100 recorded as described above will be described. Here, the screen of the imaging apparatus as the user interface is the same as that shown in FIG. The screen transition and the output display are the same, but the internal file processing is partially different as will be described later.

  First, in the file playback mode for each group, the file processing apparatus 1005 reads the management movie file 11000 from the recording medium 1006 and analyzes the read management movie file 11000. Here, when the “location” category 9010 is selected by the user's operation, the track ID corresponding to the track grouped in the “location” category in the management movie file 11000 is searched. Then, the head image data of each track included in the track of the searched track ID is read and displayed on the screen as 9011 to 9015. The subsequent process of reproducing each image data included in the track and the track is the same as in the second embodiment described above.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, even if the number of types of grouping categories is increased, only one management movie file is required, so even if data is moved from the recording medium, There is an advantage that it is not necessary to move and manage many management movie files together with image data.

<Other embodiments>
Note that the present invention can be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), but a device (for example, a copier, a facsimile machine, etc.) composed of a single device. You may apply to.

  Also, an object of the present invention is to supply a recording medium (or storage medium) on which a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is recorded to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or CPU) of the system or apparatus. Needless to say, this can also be achieved when the MPU) reads and executes the program code stored in the recording medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the recording medium on which the program code is recorded constitutes the present invention. Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an operating system (OS) or the like running on the computer based on an instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

  Further, after the program code read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the case where the CPU or the like provided in the card or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  When the present invention is applied to the recording medium, program code corresponding to the flowchart described above is stored in the recording medium.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an imaging apparatus including an image recording / playback function according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the video / audio data structure of a QuickTime format. It is a figure which shows the file structure of the movie of the QuickTime format shown by FIG. It is a figure which shows the preservation | save format of the image data at the time of image | photographing a to-be-photographed object in the imaging device shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the management movie file in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure at the time of newly adding data to the management movie file in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the state which produced | generated several management movie files using the imaging device shown in FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a display example when image data stored in the recording medium 1006 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is displayed as a list on a display device 1004 such as a monitor of the imaging device. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for browsing / reproducing image data managed for each group recorded on a recording medium 1006; It is the figure which showed the state which produced | generated several management movie files using the imaging device in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the state which produced | generated all the management movie files using the imaging device in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the outline | summary of the reproduction | regeneration file selection in the image processing apparatus which performs the recording / reproduction | regeneration processing of the conventional image data. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the procedure of creation and update of the management movie file in 1st Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1000 Lens 1001 Image pick-up element 1002 Image signal processing circuit 1003 Compression / decompression circuit 1004 Display apparatus 1005 File processing apparatus 1006 Recording medium 1007 Positioning apparatus 1008 Time measuring apparatus

Claims (13)

A playback device for playing back image data recorded on a recording medium,
Reproduction means for reproducing the image data according to an image management file including a data stream composed of reference information for referring to image data recorded on the recording medium;
Grouping means for dividing the image data into a plurality of groups;
A management file generating means for generating, for each group, a data stream including the reference information for referring to a plurality of image data included in each of the plurality of groups, and generating a group management file composed of the data streams;
And a control unit that controls a playback operation of the playback unit based on the group management file. A selection means for selecting one of the plurality of groups;
The said control means controls the said reproduction | regeneration means to reproduce | regenerate the image data of the said selected group based on the reference information contained in the data stream of the group selected by the said selection means. The reproducing apparatus according to 1.   2. The reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising recording means for recording the group management file generated by the management file generating means on the recording medium. The recording means records the image data on the recording medium;
The management file generation unit further generates an image management file composed of a data stream including reference information for referring to the newly recorded image data each time the image data is newly recorded by the recording unit. The playback apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: It further comprises imaging means for photographing a subject and generating image data,
The playback apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the grouping unit groups the image data according to a state when the subject is captured by the imaging unit.   2. The reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the grouping unit groups the image data based on attribute information added to the image data.   2. The playback apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the grouping unit classifies the image data into a plurality of categories and groups the image data for each of the plurality of categories.   8. The reproducing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the grouping unit groups the image data with the shooting location, shooting date / time, photographer, or shooting subject of the image data as a category.   9. The playback apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the management file generation unit generates one group management file for each of the plurality of categories.   9. The reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the management file generating unit generates one group management file for each group. A reproduction method including a reproduction step of reproducing the image data according to an image management file including a data stream composed of reference information for referring to image data recorded on a recording medium,
A grouping step of dividing the image data into a plurality of groups;
A management file generation step of generating a data stream including the reference information for referring to a plurality of image data included in each of the plurality of groups for each group, and generating a group management file composed of the data streams;
And a control step of controlling a playback operation of the playback step based on the group management file. A program for causing a computer to reproduce image data recorded on a recording medium,
A reproduction procedure for reproducing the image data according to an image management file including a data stream composed of reference information for referring to the image data recorded on the recording medium;
A grouping procedure for dividing the image data into a plurality of groups;
A management file generation procedure for generating, for each group, a data stream including the reference information for referring to a plurality of image data included in each of the plurality of groups, and generating a group management file composed of the data streams;
And a control procedure for controlling a reproduction operation of the reproduction procedure based on the group management file.   A computer-readable recording medium storing the program according to claim 12.

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