JP2006065905A - Recording and reproducing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording and reproducing apparatus in which initialization processing of a recording medium can be performed only when it is desirable that fragmentation of a data recording region of the recording medium is dissolved. <P>SOLUTION: When a main menu key of a remote controller of a hard disk recorder being one of the recording and reproducing apparatus is pressed, a control part displays main menus 50, 51 on a monitor 32a of a television set. Then, when the prescribed conditions about fragmentation of the data recording region of the hard disk are established, the main menu 50 includes "HDD all programs erasure" and "HDD all data erasure" (fig.(a)). On the other hand, when the prescribed conditions are not established, the main menu 50 does not include "HDD all programs erasure" and "HDD all data erasure" (fig.(b)). When "HDD all programs erasure" is selected in a state of the figure (a), the control part starts processing of "HDD all programs erasure". <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording / reproducing apparatus for recording broadcast video and audio data on a recording medium and reproducing the recorded data.

  The hard disk recorder is equipped with a hard disk drive (hereinafter referred to as HDD) having a large recording capacity of 100 GB or more, and can record video and audio for a long time without having to replace a recording medium such as a DVD-RW or DVD-RAM. Since it can record data, it is used by many users. In the hard disk recorder, TV broadcast data is recorded as a program file in the data recording area of the hard disk of the HDD, and program file management information is recorded in the management area of the hard disk. When there is a large continuous free area in the data recording area of the hard disk, the data of the program file is sequentially written in the free area.

  On the other hand, when the reproduction of the TV broadcast program file is completed, the user normally deletes (deletes) the program file, so that recording and deletion of the program file is repeated for a long period of time. For this reason, the continuous large free areas are eliminated, and a large number of discontinuous small free areas are formed in the data recording area. This is called fragmentation of the data recording area. When the data recording area is fragmented, a television broadcast program file is written in a state of being finely divided into discontinuous small empty areas. When a program file that is divided and arranged in such a small discontinuous space is read out, the access speed to the program file decreases, and in some cases, the motion of the reproduced video lacks smoothness. appear.

  Therefore, in order to eliminate the fragmentation of the data recording area, the management information of all program files is deleted, or all the data recorded in the management area including the management information of program files is deleted. By performing the initialization process, a continuous large free area is generated in the data recording area of the hard disk. The initialization process is executed by the user displaying a menu screen on the television using a remote controller and performing a predetermined operation. On the other hand, in a navigation system equipped with an HDD, in order to eliminate the fragmentation of the data recording area, when a user presses a predetermined key or when a predetermined condition is satisfied (for example, the previous time) It has been proposed to perform the defragmentation process (for example, Patent Document 1) when a predetermined time has elapsed since the execution of the defragmentation process.

Although not intended to eliminate the fragmentation of the data recording area described above, in a hard disk recorder equipped with a plurality of HDDs, a delay in rotation waiting time at the time of access due to aging of the mechanism portion or the like does not occur. In addition, it is proposed to periodically measure the access performance of each HDD and perform hard disk format processing so as to optimize the rotation waiting time during access based on the measurement result (for example, Patent Document 2). . Also, in a hard disk recorder provided with a slot for detachably attaching a replaceable HDD, a warning is displayed on the display means when the free space of the replaceable HDD's recording capacity is reduced, or the hard disk of the replaceable HDD is formatted. It has been proposed to automatically perform format processing when it is detected that there is no data (for example, Patent Document 3).
JP 2001-280976 A (paragraphs 0061, 0102) JP 2000-260104 A (paragraphs 0001 to 0021) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-23588 (paragraphs 0009 to 0017)

  However, in the above-mentioned conventional one, there is no problem caused by fragmentation of the data recording area of the hard disk, and even when the initialization process is not necessary, the user mistakenly uses the remote control. When the execution of the initialization process is instructed, there arises a problem that all program files are lost. Note that the defragmentation process disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a more complicated process than the initialization process described above. Therefore, when the HDD has a large recording capacity (for example, 100 GB or more), the process is completed. It takes a very long time and cannot be used to eliminate fragmentation of the data recording area in terms of practicality.

  The present invention solves the above problems, and the problem is that the recording medium initialization process is performed only when it is desirable to eliminate fragmentation of the data recording area of the recording medium. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording / reproducing apparatus that can perform recording.

  In the first invention, video and audio data of a television broadcast is recorded as a program file in a data recording area of the hard disk, management information of the program file is recorded in the management area of the hard disk, and data of the program file is recorded. In a recording / reproducing apparatus to be reproduced, a determination means for determining whether or not a predetermined condition regarding fragmentation of the data recording area is satisfied, an instruction means for giving an instruction to the apparatus, and an initialization process for initializing the hard disk And display control means for displaying the names of executable processes on the display means. The display control means causes the display means to display the name of the initialization process only when the determination means determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied, and the name of the initialization process is displayed on the display means. When the instruction means instructs the execution of the initialization process, the execution means erases the management information of all program files or erases the management information and other data recorded in the management area. By doing so, the initialization process is executed.

  Here, the instruction unit corresponds to the remote controller shown in the embodiment, the determination unit and the execution unit mainly correspond to the control unit shown in the embodiment, and the display control unit includes the control unit and the OSD processing circuit shown in the embodiment. Etc.

  As described above, only when a predetermined condition regarding fragmentation of the data recording area is satisfied, that is, when it is desirable to eliminate fragmentation of the data recording area of the hard disk, the name of the initialization process is Since it is displayed on the display means and the initialization process can be executed, it is possible to notify the user of the necessity of the initialization process, and at the time when the initialization process is not necessary as in the prior art. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of a situation in which all program files are erased against the user's will by executing the conversion process.

  In the second invention, the broadcast data is recorded as a program file in the data recording area of the recording medium, the management information of the program file is recorded in the management area of the recording medium, and the program file data is reproduced. In the playback apparatus, determination means for determining whether or not a predetermined condition regarding fragmentation of the data recording area is satisfied, instruction means for giving an instruction to the apparatus, and initialization processing for initializing the recording medium are executed And an execution control unit that displays a name of an executable process on the display unit. The display control means causes the display means to display the name of the initialization process only when the determination means determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied, and the name of the initialization process is displayed on the display means. When the instruction unit instructs the execution of the initialization process, the execution unit executes the initialization process.

  Here, the initialization process is a process for eliminating fragmentation of the data recording area of the recording medium, that is, a process for generating a large free area that is continuous with the data recording area, and is included in the management area of the recording medium shown in the embodiment. A process for deleting the management information of all recorded program files or a process for deleting the management information and other data recorded in the management area corresponds to the initialization process. However, the defragmentation process for moving each data of the program file on the recording medium does not correspond to the initialization process of the present invention. The instruction means corresponds to the remote controller shown in the embodiment, the determination means and execution means mainly correspond to the control section shown in the embodiment, and the display control means includes the control section and OSD processing circuit shown in the embodiment. Corresponds.

  As described above, the name of the initialization process is only when a predetermined condition regarding fragmentation of the data recording area is satisfied, that is, only when it is desirable to eliminate fragmentation of the data recording area of the recording medium. Is displayed on the display means and the initialization process can be executed, so that it is possible to notify the user of the necessity of the initialization process and when the initialization process is not required as in the prior art. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of a situation where the initialization process is executed and all program files are erased against the user's will.

  In the embodiment of the second invention, the execution means does not execute the initialization process when the recording medium does not have information indicating that the recording medium is compatible with the apparatus. By doing so, initialization processing is not executed for a commercially available recording medium that does not have the information, and the user removes the recording medium originally attached and attaches the commercially available recording medium. No more. As a result, troubles associated with the replacement of the recording medium, for example, troubles such as the device not operating normally after the replacement of the recording medium can be prevented.

  In the embodiment of the second invention, the display control means displays a message on the display means that the initialization process can be executed when the determination means determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied. Let As described above, if the name of the initialization process is simply displayed on the display means, the name of the initialization process that is not familiar to the user is easily overlooked, but the above message is displayed on the display means. It is possible to call the user's attention to the conversion process.

  According to the present invention, the initialization process can be performed only when it is desirable to eliminate the fragmentation of the data recording area. Therefore, the initialization process is executed when there is no need to perform the initialization process. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of a situation where all program files are erased against the intention.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a hard disk recorder (hereinafter referred to as an apparatus) which is one of recording / reproducing apparatuses according to the present invention. Hereinafter, the configuration of the apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. This apparatus records and reproduces a television broadcast video signal and an audio signal (hereinafter collectively referred to as a broadcast signal) on the hard disk 11a. In other words, the television broadcast video and audio data are recorded and reproduced on the hard disk 11a. Inside the housing 10 of the apparatus, a printed circuit board (not shown) on which a tuner 15 and the like are mounted, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 11 and the like are stored. The HDD 11 records (writes) a broadcast signal on the hard disk 11a, the hard disk 11a, reproduces (reads) the broadcast signal recorded on the hard disk 11a, and a recording / reproduction unit 11b and a recording / reproduction head drive (not shown). And an HDD control unit 11c for controlling the rotation unit and the rotation drive unit, and is connected to other parts of the apparatus through an ATA-compliant interface.

  First, a broadcast signal recording system will be described. The broadcast signal received by the antenna 31 is selected by the tuner 15, further converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 14, and then compressed and encoded by the encoding circuit 13 by the MPEG-2 method, for example. . The compressed and encoded broadcast signal is temporarily stored in the recording buffer 12, and then sequentially recorded as a program file in a sector of the data recording area of the hard disk 11a by the recording / reproducing unit 11b. When the recording of the broadcast signal is completed, the HDD control unit 11c instructs the recording / reproducing unit 11b to record the management information of the recorded program file in the management area of the hard disk 11a in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 20 described later. . In the management area, data relating to recording reservations for broadcast programs is also recorded.

  Next, a broadcast signal reproduction system will be described. The data of the program file recorded on the hard disk 11a, that is, the broadcast signal is read by the recording / reproducing unit 11b, temporarily stored in the reproducing buffer 16, and then decoded by the decoding circuit 17. The OSD processing circuit 18 superimposes OSD (on-screen display) data output from the control unit 20 on the decoded broadcast signal. The output signal of the OSD processing circuit 18 is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 19 and sent to the television 32 through the connection cable 33, and television broadcast video and audio are output from the television 32. The A / D conversion and compression encoding described above are actually performed separately on the broadcast video signal and audio signal, but are not a direct matter of the present invention, and thus the A / D conversion described above. And compression encoding are described in a simplified manner.

  The control unit 20 includes a CPU 20a, a memory 20b (for example, ROM, RAM, and flash memory) and the like, and controls each unit of the device such as the tuner 15 by the CPU 20a executing a program stored in the memory 20b. The memory 20b stores the above OSD data, various control data, and the like. The OSD data read from the memory 20b is sent to the OSD processing circuit 18 by the control unit 20. The remote controller 21 includes a large number of operation keys. When the operation key is pressed, a signal of the operation key is transmitted to the control unit 20. And the control part 20 performs the process according to the pressed operation key, for example, the process which records a broadcast signal on the hard disk 11a as a program file by controlling each part of an apparatus.

  2 and 3 are flowcharts showing the operation of the present invention. First, when a main menu key that is one of the operation keys of the remote controller 21 is pressed, the control unit 20 reads out the OSD data of the main menu from the memory 20b and sends it to the OSD processing circuit 18, whereby the main menu 50 or 51 (FIGS. 4A and 4B) is displayed on the monitor 32a of the television 32. FIG. Which is displayed depends on the conditions described later. In the main menus 50 and 51, a process menu (name of process) that can be executed is displayed. In the figure, 50a and 51a are cursors. When the main menus 50 and 51 are displayed on the monitor 32a (that is, in the default state), the cursors 50a and 51a are at “return”, and when the cursor key of the remote controller 21 is operated, the cursors 50a and 51a Moving. This also applies to the following drawings.

  Here, when a predetermined condition regarding fragmentation of the data recording area of the hard disk 11a is satisfied (S1: YES), the control unit 20 includes “HDD All Program Erase” and “HDD All Data Erase”. The main menu 50 (FIG. 4A) is displayed on the monitor 32a (S2). On the other hand, when the predetermined condition is not satisfied (S1: NO), the control unit 20 displays the main menu 51 (FIG. 4B) that does not include “HDD all program deletion” and “HDD all data deletion”. )) Is displayed on the monitor 32a (S3). The above “delete all programs on HDD” is to delete management information of all program files recorded in the management area of the hard disk 11a, and all program files (also called recording files) are viewed from the user. It is erased. Further, “deleting all HDD data” means deleting other data recorded in the management area, for example, data related to recording reservation, in addition to deleting management information of all program files. That is, “Erase all programs on HDD” and “Erase all data on HDD” are initialization processes for eliminating fragmentation of the data recording area of the hard disk 11a.

  Here, a predetermined condition relating to fragmentation of the data recording area will be described. The predetermined condition is a condition such as whether or not the processing time or number of times causing the fragmentation of the data recording area exceeds a predetermined reference value. For example, the number of times the program file is recorded on the hard disk 11a The predetermined condition can be whether or not the number of times of erasure from the hard disk 11a exceeds a predetermined reference value and whether or not the total recording time of the program file on the hard disk 11a exceeds a predetermined reference value. In addition, once a day, the fragmentation of the data recording area was quantified by analyzing the sector allocation status of each program file recorded in the management area of the hard disk 11a when the apparatus is in an idle state. The predetermined condition may be whether or not the value exceeds a predetermined reference value.

  Here, a predetermined condition is whether or not the number of program file recordings exceeds a predetermined reference value. That is, in step S1, the control unit 20 determines that a predetermined condition is satisfied when the number of times the program file is recorded exceeds a predetermined reference value. In order to make the above determination, a recording frequency variable area is secured in the memory 20b, the recording frequency variable is set to 0 before the device is shipped from the factory, and each time a program file is recorded, the recording frequency is recorded. When 1 is added to the content of the variable and “Erase HDD All Programs” or “Erase HDD All Data” is executed, 0 is set in the recording count variable.

  In a state where the main menu 50 or 51 is displayed (FIGS. 4A and 4B), the cursors 50a and 51a are moved to the position of one of the processing menus, and the determination key of the remote controller 21 is pressed in that state. Then, the processing menu is selected. Here, when “Erase all programs on HDD” is selected (S4: YES), the control unit 20 displays the HDD all program deletion box 51 shown in FIG. 4C on the monitor 32a by the OSD (S5). . At this time, the cursor is at the position of the cancel button 51b.

  In this state, when the cancel button 51b is pressed by pressing the enter key of the remote controller 21 (S6: NO), the control unit 20 deletes the displayed box, that is, the HDD all program deletion box 51 ( S17), the process returns to S4. In S4, the main menu 50 (FIG. 4A) is displayed on the monitor 32a. On the other hand, when the execution button 51a is pressed by moving the cursor to the position of the execution button 51a and operating the enter key of the remote controller 21 (S6: YES), the control unit 20 changes to FIG. The execution confirmation box 52 shown is displayed on the monitor 32a (S7). In this state, when the cancel button 52b is pressed (S8: NO), the control unit 20 deletes the displayed box, that is, the HDD all program deletion box 51 and the execution confirmation box 52 (S17), and proceeds to S4. Return.

  On the other hand, when the cursor is moved and the execution button 52a is pressed (S8: YES), the control unit 20 determines whether or not the HDD 11 is a compatible product suitable for the apparatus (S9). Here, the determination of conforming products will be described. First, in a non-volatile memory, for example, a flash memory, conforming information for specifying that the HDD is a conforming product suitable for the apparatus is stored in advance. This conforming information is information including the name of the manufacturer of the apparatus, the model of the apparatus, and the like, and is information not recorded on a commercially available HDD. The same information as the matching information in the flash memory is also recorded at a predetermined position in the management area of the hard disk 11a when the apparatus is manufactured. When the control unit 20 transmits a predetermined ATA-compliant command to the HDD control unit 11c, the HDD control unit 11c reads the above information from a predetermined position in the management area of the hard disk 11a by controlling the recording / reproducing unit 11b and the like. To the control unit 20. And the control part 20 performs said determination by investigating whether the relevant information in flash memory and the information read from the hard disk 11a are the same.

  When the HDD 11 is not a compatible product of the apparatus (S9: NO), for example, when the HDD 11 is a commercially available HDD replaced by a user, the control unit 20 monitors the HDD non-conforming box 53 shown in FIG. It is displayed on 32a (S16). When the confirmation button 53a is pressed, the control unit 20 deletes the displayed box, that is, the HDD all program deletion box 51, the execution confirmation box 52, and the HDD incompatibility box 53 (S17), and returns to S4. On the other hand, if the HDD 11 is compatible with the apparatus (S9: YES), the control unit 20 deletes the main menu 50 and the displayed box, that is, the HDD all program deletion box 51 and the execution confirmation box 52. (S10), the HDD all program deleting box 54 shown in FIG. 5C is displayed on the monitor 32a (S11). In this state, television broadcast video is displayed in the area of the monitor 32a other than the area in which the HDD all program erasing box 54 is displayed.

  Next, the control unit 20 starts erasing management information of all program files recorded in the management area of the hard disk 11a (S12). When the deletion of the management information of all program files is completed (S13: YES), the control unit 20 deletes the HDD all program deleting box 54 (S14), and further resets the data related to fragmentation (S15) ( Specifically, 0 is set to the above-mentioned recording number variable), and the “HDD all program deletion” process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when a processing menu other than “Erase all programs on HDD” or “Erase all data on HDD” is selected (S4: NO and S18: NO) in the state of FIG. Processing unrelated to the invention is performed. For example, when “return” is selected, the control unit 20 deletes the main menus 50 and 51. As a result, television broadcast video is displayed on the monitor 32a. Further, in the state of FIG. 4A, when “Erase HDD All Data” is selected (S4: NO and S18: YES), the control unit 20 executes the process of “Erasing all HDD data”. (S19). If the cancel button is pressed while a box similar to the execution confirmation box 52 (FIG. 5A) is displayed on the monitor 32a during the “Erase HDD All Data” process, The control unit 20 returns the execution step to S4.

  The “HDD all data erasure” process is similar to the “HDD all program erase” process described above, but the difference between the two will be described below. First, the first difference will be described. In the process of “Erasing all programs in HDD”, a message indicating the processing contents of “Erase all programs in HDD” is displayed in the HDD all programs deletion box 51 or the like. In a box (for example, a box corresponding to the HDD all program deletion box 51), a message (for example, “all data (all recording files, recording reservation data, etc.)” indicating the processing content of “Erase all HDD data” is deleted. Message ”is displayed.

  Next, the second difference will be described. In “Erase all programs on HDD”, the management information of all program files (recorded files) recorded in the management area of the hard disk 11a is deleted in S12 of FIG. In addition to deleting the management information of all the program files described above, other data recorded in the management area (such as data related to recording reservation) is also deleted. For this reason, the same information as the above-described conforming information stored in the management area is also deleted. Therefore, after the completion of the “HDD all data deletion” process, the control unit 20 sends a predetermined ATA-compliant command to the HDD control. By transmitting to the unit 11c, the matching information in the flash memory is written to a predetermined position in the management area of the hard disk 11a.

  In the embodiment described above, only when a predetermined condition relating to fragmentation of the data recording area is satisfied, the control unit 20 displays “Delete All Programs on HDD” and “Delete All Data on HDD” in the main menu 50. In addition to this (FIG. 4A), in addition to this, when the predetermined condition is satisfied, the guidance box 55 shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the monitor 32a of the television 32 by the OSD. It may be. In this guide box 55, a message indicating that “Erase all programs on HDD” or “Erase all data on HDD” can be executed, that is, a message prompting the execution thereof is displayed. When the confirmation button 55a is pressed here, the guide box 55 disappears. If the guide box 55 is repeatedly displayed when the above conditions are satisfied, it is annoying to the user. Therefore, it is desirable to display the guide box 55 at the start or end of program file playback. .

  In the above embodiment, broadcast video and audio data is recorded only on the hard disk 11a. However, the present invention is also implemented in a recording / reproducing apparatus having a function capable of recording on an optical disk such as a DVD-RW or DVD-RAM. be able to. Furthermore, although the case where the recording medium is the hard disk 11a has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention can also be applied to a recording medium other than the hard disk 11a, such as a DVD-RAM. Note that the DVD-RAM is not determined whether or not it is a compatible product (S9 in FIG. 2). Furthermore, although the case where the broadcast is a television broadcast has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention can be implemented even when the broadcast is a radio broadcast.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a hard disk recorder. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display screen of the television in the process of HDD whole program deletion. It is a figure which shows the display screen of the television in the process of HDD whole program deletion. It is a figure which shows a guidance box.

Explanation of symbols

11 HDD (Hard Disk Drive)
11a Hard disk 11b Recording / reproducing unit 11c HDD control unit 18 OSD processing circuit 20 Control unit 20a CPU
20b Memory 21 Remote control 50, 51 Main menu 55 Information box

Claims (4)

In a recording / reproducing apparatus for recording video and audio data of a television broadcast as a program file in a data recording area of a hard disk, recording management information of the program file in the management area of the hard disk, and reproducing the data of the program file ,
Determining means for determining whether or not a predetermined condition regarding fragmentation of the data recording area is satisfied;
Instruction means for giving instructions to the device;
Execution means for executing initialization processing for initializing the hard disk;
Display control means for displaying the names of executable processes on the display means,
The display control means causes the display means to display the name of the initialization process only when the determination means determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied,
When the instruction means instructs execution of the initialization process when the name of the initialization process is displayed on the display means, the execution means deletes the management information of all the program files. In this case, the initialization process is executed by deleting the management information and other data recorded in the management area. In a recording / reproducing apparatus for recording broadcast data as a program file in a data recording area of a recording medium, recording management information of the program file in a management area of the recording medium, and reproducing the data of the program file,
Determining means for determining whether or not a predetermined condition regarding fragmentation of the data recording area is satisfied;
Instruction means for giving instructions to the device;
Execution means for executing initialization processing for initializing the recording medium;
Display control means for displaying the names of executable processes on the display means,
The display control means causes the display means to display the name of the initialization process only when the determination means determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied,
When the name of the initialization process is displayed on the display unit and the execution of the initialization process is instructed by the instruction unit, the execution unit executes the initialization process. Recording / playback device. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 2.
The execution unit does not execute the initialization process when the recording medium does not have information indicating that the recording medium is compatible with the apparatus. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3,
The display control unit displays a message on the display unit indicating that the initialization process can be executed when the determination unit determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied. Playback device.

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