JP2006228339A - Information recording medium considering resource management of reproduction control environment described in declaration language, and device and method for reproducing - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the mechanism of resource management capable of easily managing an application operated within a management unit such as a title and giving no influence other than the management unit when a new reproduction control environment using XML and a script is introduced by a video data BD-ROM. <P>SOLUTION: A resource management method capable of easily managing data reading or releasing timing by using a title as a resource management unit is provided. By using this, authoring or verifying is facilitated, and content creation is made efficient. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an information recording medium on which video data is recorded, such as a BD-ROM, and a playback apparatus and playback method thereof, and more particularly to an improvement in the case of introducing a programming environment to the development of content including video data and a program.

  A typical information recording medium on which video data is recorded is a DVD (hereinafter referred to as SD-DVD or simply DVD). Hereinafter, a conventional DVD will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the structure of an SD-DVD. As shown in the lower part of FIG. 1, a logical address space is provided on the DVD disc from lead-in to lead-out, and the volume information of the file system is recorded from the head of the logical address space, followed by video / audio, etc. Application data is recorded.

  A file system is ISO9660 or UDF (Universal Disc Format), and is a mechanism for expressing data on a disk in units called directories or files. Even in the case of a personal computer (PC) that is used daily, data recorded on a hard disk in a directory or file structure is expressed on the computer by passing through a file system called FAT or NTFS, thereby improving usability. In the case of SD-DVD, both UDF and ISO9660 are used (sometimes referred to as “UDF bridge” together), and data is read by either UDF or ISO9660 file system drivers (DVDs handled here are This is a ROM disk for package media, and is physically unwritable).

  Data recorded on the DVD can be viewed as a directory or file as shown in the upper left of FIG. 1 through the UDF bridge. A directory called “VIDEO_TS” is placed directly under the root directory (“ROOT” in the figure), and DVD application data is recorded therein. Application data is recorded as a plurality of files, and the main files are as follows.

VIDEO_TS. IFO disc playback control information file VTS_01_0. IFO video title set # 1 playback control information file VTS_01_0. VOB video title set # 1 stream file. . . . .
There are two types of extensions. “IFO” is a file in which reproduction control information is recorded, and “VOB” is a file in which an MPEG stream that is AV data is recorded. The playback control information is information for realizing interactivity (technology for dynamically changing playback in accordance with user operations) adopted by DVD, information attached to titles and AV streams such as metadata. And so on. In DVD, generally, reproduction control information is sometimes referred to as navigation information.

  The playback control information file includes “VIDEO_TS.IFO” for managing the entire disc and individual video title sets (multiple titles for DVD, in other words, different movies and different versions of movies can be recorded on one disc. There is “VTS — 01 — 0.IFO” which is reproduction control information for each. Here, “01” in the file name body indicates the number of the video title set. For example, in the case of the video title set # 2, “VTS — 02 — 0.IFO”.

  The upper right part of FIG. 1 is a DVD navigation space in the DVD application layer, which is a logical structure space in which the above-described reproduction control information is expanded. Information in “VIDEO_TS.IFO” is stored in the DVD navigation space as VMGI (VIDEO Manager Information), “VTS — 01 — 0.IFO”, or playback control information existing for each other video title set is stored in the DVD navigation space as VTSI (Video Title Set Information). Be expanded.

  In VTSI, PGCI (Program Chain Information), which is information of a reproduction sequence called PGC (Program Chain), is described. The PGCI is composed of a set of cells and a kind of programming information called a command. Cell itself is a set of a part or all of a VOB (which is an abbreviation of Video Object and indicates an MPEG stream), and playback of a cell means that a section specified by the cell of the VOB is played back. ing.

  The command is processed by a DVD virtual machine and is similar to a Java (registered trademark) script executed on a browser. However, while Java (registered trademark) scripts control windows and browsers in addition to logical operations (for example, opening a new browser window), DVD commands play AV titles in addition to logical operations. It is different in that it only performs control, for example, specifying a chapter to be played back.

  The Cell has VOB start and end addresses (logical addresses) recorded on the disc as its internal information, and the player reads data using the VOB start and end address information described in the Cell. Execute playback.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining navigation information embedded in an AV stream. The interactivity, which is the feature of SD-DVD, is not realized only by the navigation information recorded in the aforementioned “VIDEO_TS.IFO”, “VTS — 01 — 0.IFO”, etc. It is multiplexed together with video and audio data in a VOB using a dedicated carrier called a pack (called Navi pack or NV_PCK).

  Here, a menu is described as an example of simple interactivity. Several buttons appear on the menu screen, and each button defines processing when the button is selected and executed. In addition, one button is selected on the menu (the highlight button has a translucent color overlaid on the selection button), and the user can use the up / down / left / right keys on the remote control to move the selected button up / down / left / right. It can be moved to any of the buttons. Using the up / down / left / right keys on the remote control, move the highlight to the button you want to select and execute, and press the enter key to execute the corresponding command program. In general, reproduction of a corresponding title or chapter is executed by a command.

  The upper left part of FIG. 2 shows an outline in NV_PCK.

  NV_PCK includes highlight color information and individual button information. In the highlight color information, color palette information is described, and a semi-transparent color of the highlight displayed on the overlay is designated. The button information includes rectangular area information that is position information of each button, movement information from the button to another button (designation of a destination button corresponding to each of the user's up / down / left / right key operations), and button command information. (Command executed when the button is determined) is described.

  The highlight on the menu is created as an overlay image as shown in the upper right part of the center of FIG. The overlay image is obtained by adding the color palette information color to the rectangular area information of the button information. This overlay image is combined with the background image shown on the right and displayed on the screen.

  As described above, the menu is realized in the DVD. The reason why a part of the navigation data is embedded in the stream using NV_PCK is that the menu information is dynamically updated in synchronization with the stream, for example, during 5 to 10 minutes during movie playback. This is because, even in the case of an application in which synchronization timing is likely to be a problem, such as a menu being displayed only on the screen, it can be realized without any problem.

  FIG. 3 is an image of a DVD VOB. As shown in the figure, data (A stage) such as video, audio, subtitles, etc. is packetized and packed (B stage) based on the MPEG system (ISO / IEC13818-1) standard, and each is multiplexed into one. MPEG program stream (stage C). Further, as described above, NV_PCK including a button command for realizing interactive is also multiplexed together.

  The multiplexing feature of the MPEG system is that each data to be multiplexed is a bit string based on the decoding order, but between the multiplexed data, that is, between video, audio and subtitles, it is not necessarily the playback order, in other words For example, the bit string is not formed based on the decoding order. This is because an MPEG system stream decoder model (generally called System Target Decoder or STD (D stage in FIG. 3)) has a decoder buffer corresponding to each elementary stream after demultiplexing, and by the decoding timing It comes from temporarily accumulating data. This decoder buffer has a different size for each elementary stream, and has 232 kB for video, 4 kB for audio, and 52 kB for subtitles. For this reason, since the data input timing to each decoder buffer is different for each elementary stream, there is a difference between the order in which the bit string is formed as the MPEG system stream and the display (decoding) timing.

  That is, subtitle data multiplexed side by side with video data is not necessarily decoded at the same timing.

The configuration of such a DVD is described in Patent Document 1 below.
Japanese Patent No. 2813245

  By the way, if content including video data and a program is to be distributed on an information recording medium, there is a possibility that the operation of the player itself or AV playback may be broken due to an abnormal program state. The BD-ROM, which is a next-generation information recording medium, is scheduled to record content including programs using XML and scripts instead of the navigation commands as described above, and the player's operation security is serious for such content. It becomes a problem.

  In order to strictly manage resources such as memory, in the conventional DVD player standard, the size of memory resources is fixed when managing resources. However, fixing the memory size loses the degree of freedom in designing the player, and there is a problem that even if the application develops, the player is left behind from the development.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an information recording medium capable of enhancing the degree of freedom in designing a player while ensuring the player's operation.

  In order to solve the above problems, an information recording medium according to the present invention records video data, XML, and a script, and manages resources for each title as a management section.

  In the configuration described above, it is possible to manage the timing of starting and ending an application and reading and releasing data using a title as a management unit, so that an application operating within the management unit can be easily managed and the outside of the management unit is affected. It is possible to provide a mechanism that does not extend.

  Here, the management information may include priority information for reading data into the memory. By using data reading priority as management information, it is possible to adjust the data size to be read according to the memory size installed in the player. Even if the memory size is small, the operation of the application is guaranteed and the memory size is large. In this case, it is possible to provide the convenience that the operation and switching of the application are accelerated.

Example 1
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
(Logical data structure on disk)
FIG. 4 shows the structure of a BD-ROM (hereinafter also referred to as “BD”), in particular, the structure of a BD disk (104) as a disk medium and data (101, 102, 103) recorded on the disk. FIG. Data recorded on the BD disc (104) is AV data (103), BD management information (102) such as management information related to AV data and an AV playback sequence, and a BD playback program (101) that realizes interactive processing. . In the present embodiment, a BD disc will be described with a focus on AV applications for reproducing AV contents such as movies. The BD disc will be used as a recording medium for computers such as a CD-ROM and a DVD-ROM. Of course, it is also possible. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing logical data recorded on the BD disc described above. A BD disc has a spiral recording area from its inner periphery to its outer periphery, like other optical discs such as DVDs and CDs, and stores logical data between the inner lead-in and outer lead-out. It has a logical address space that can be recorded. Further, inside the lead-in, there is a special area that can be read only by a drive called BCA (Burst Cutting Area). Since this area cannot be read from an application, it is often used for copyright protection technology, for example.

  Application data such as video data is recorded in the logical address space with file system information (volume) at the head. As described in the prior art, the file system is UDF, ISO9660 or the like, and logical data recorded in the same way as a normal PC can be read using a directory and file structure. .

  In the case of this embodiment, the directory and file structure on the BD disc is a BDVIDEO directory placed directly under the root directory (ROOT). This directory is a directory in which data (101, 102, 103 described in FIG. 4) such as AV contents and management information handled by the BD-ROM is recorded.

  The following seven types of files are recorded under the BDVIDEO directory.

BD. INFO (fixed file name)
This is one of “BD management information” and is a file in which information related to the entire BD disc is recorded. The BD player first reads this file.

BD. PROG (fixed file name)
It is one of “BD playback programs” and is a file in which programs related to the entire BD disc are recorded.

XXX. PL ("XXX" is variable, extension "PL" is fixed)
It is one of “BD management information”, and is a file in which play list information for recording a scenario is recorded. I have one file per playlist.

XXX. PROG ("XXX" is variable, extension "PL" is fixed)
It is one of “BD playback programs” and is a file in which a program for each playlist described above is recorded. Correspondence with a playlist is identified by a file body name (“XXX” matches).

YYY. VOB ("YYY" is variable, extension "VOB" is fixed)
It is one of “AV data” and is a file in which VOB (same as VOB described in the conventional example) is recorded. There is one file for each VOB.

YYY. VOBI ("YYY" is variable, extension "VOBI" is fixed)
This is one of “BD management information” and is a file in which management information related to VOB as AV data is recorded. The correspondence with the VOB is identified by the file body name (“YYY” matches).

ZZZ. PNG ("ZZZ" is variable, extension "PNG" is fixed)
It is one of “AV data” and is a file in which image data PNG (an image format standardized by W3C and read as “ping”) for composing subtitles and menus is recorded. There is one file for each PNG image.
(Player configuration)
Next, the configuration of the player that plays the above-described BD disc will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a rough functional configuration of the player.

  Data on the BD disc (201) is read through the optical pickup (202). The read data is recorded in a dedicated memory according to the type of each data. The BD playback program (the contents of the “BD.PROG” or “XXX.PROG” file) is stored in the program recording memory (203) in the BD management information (“BD.INFO”, “XXX.PL” or “YYY.VOBI”). Are recorded in the management information recording memory (204), and AV data ("YYY.VOB" or "ZZZ.PNG") is recorded in the AV recording memory (205).

  The BD playback program recorded in the program recording memory (203) is recorded by the program processing unit (206), and the BD management information recorded in the management information recording memory (204) is recorded by the management information processing unit (207). The AV data recorded in the memory (205) is processed by the presentation processing unit (208).

  The program processing unit (206) receives event information such as playlist information to be played back and program execution timing from the management information processing unit (207), and processes the program. Also, the program can dynamically change the play list to be played back. In this case, the play list play command is sent to the management information processing unit (207). The program processing unit (206) receives an event from the user, that is, a request from the remote control key, and executes an execution process when there is a program corresponding to the user event.

  The management information processing unit (207) receives an instruction from the program processing unit (206), analyzes the management information of the VOB corresponding to the corresponding playlist and the playlist, and the AV data to be processed by the presentation processing unit (208). Instruct to play. Also, the management information processing unit (207) receives the reference time information from the presentation processing unit (208), instructs the presentation processing unit (208) to stop AV data reproduction based on the time information, and the program processing unit An event indicating the program execution timing is generated for (206).

  The presentation processing unit (208) has a decoder corresponding to each of video, audio, and caption / image, and decodes and outputs AV data in accordance with an instruction from the management information processing unit (207). In the case of video data and subtitles / images, after decoding, the video data and subtitles / images are drawn on the respective dedicated planes, the video plane (210) and the image plane (209), and the video synthesis process is performed by the synthesis processing unit (211). Output to the device.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the BD player has a configuration based on the data configuration recorded on the BD disc shown in FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a detailed block diagram of the player configuration described above. In FIG. 7, the AV recording memory (205) is in the image memory (308) and the track buffer (309), the program processing unit (206) is in the program processor (302) and the UOP manager (303), and the management information processing unit (207). ) Is a scenario processor (305) and a presentation controller (306), and a presentation processing unit (208) is a clock (307), a demultiplexer (310), an image processor (311), a video processor (312) and a sound processor (313). Are corresponding to each.

  The VOB data (MPEG stream) read from the BD disc (201) is recorded in the track buffer (309), and the image data (PNG) is recorded in the image memory (308). The demultiplexer (310) extracts the VOB data recorded in the track buffer (309) based on the time of the clock (307), and sends the video data to the video processor (312) and the audio data to the sound processor (313). The video processor (312) and the sound processor (313) are each composed of a decoder buffer and a decoder as defined by the MPEG system standard. That is, the video and audio data sent from the demultiplexer (310) are temporarily recorded in the respective decoder buffers and decoded by the individual decoders according to the clock (307).

  The PNG recorded in the image memory (308) has the following two processing methods. If the image data is for subtitles, the presentation controller (306) instructs the decoding timing. In order for the scenario processor (305) to receive the time information from the clock (307) once and display the appropriate subtitles, the subtitles are displayed to the presentation controller (306) at the subtitle display time (start and end). Give hidden instructions. The image processor (311) that has received the decode / display instruction from the presentation controller (306) extracts the corresponding PNG data from the image memory (308), decodes it, and draws it on the image plane (314).

  Next, when the image data is for a menu, the program processor (302) instructs the decoding timing. The time when the program processor (302) instructs to decode the image depends on the BD program being processed by the program processor (302), and is not generally determined.

  As described with reference to FIG. 6, the image data and the video data are recorded on the image plane (314) and the video plane (315) after being decoded, and are synthesized and output by the synthesis processing unit (316).

  The management information (scenario, AV management information) read from the BD disc (201) is recorded in the management information recording memory (304), but the scenario information (“BD.INFO” and “XXX.PL”) is stored in the management information recording memory (304). It is read and processed by the scenario processor (305). The AV management information (“YYY.VOBI”) is read and processed by the presentation controller (306).

  The scenario processor (305) analyzes the information of the playlist, and instructs the presentation controller (306) the VOB referenced by the playlist and the playback position thereof. The presentation controller (306) manages the management information of the target VOB. ("YYY.VOBI") is analyzed, and an instruction is issued to the drive controller (317) to read out the target VOB.

  The drive controller (317) moves the optical pickup according to the instruction of the presentation controller (306), and reads the target AV data. The read AV data is recorded in the image memory (308) or the track buffer (309) as described above.

  The scenario processor (305) monitors the time of the clock (307) and throws an event to the program processor (302) at the timing set in the management information.

The BD program (“BD.PROG” or “XXX.PROG”) recorded in the program recording memory (301) is executed by the program processor 302. The program processor (302) processes the BD program when an event is sent from the scenario processor (305) or when an event is sent from the UOP manager (303). The UOP manager (303) generates an event in the program processor (302) when a request is sent from the user by a remote control key.
(Application space)
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an application space of the BD-ROM.

  In the application space of the BD-ROM, a play list (PlayList) is one reproduction unit. The playlist has a static scenario composed of a playback sequence of a cell (Cell) and a dynamic scenario described by a program. Unless there is a dynamic scenario by the program, the playlist only reproduces the individual cells in order, and the reproduction of the playlist ends when the reproduction of all the cells is completed. On the other hand, the program can dynamically change the playback target depending on the playback description beyond the playlist, the user selection, or the player status. A typical example is a menu. In the case of a BD-ROM, the menu is to dynamically select a scenario to be played by the user's selection, that is, a playlist.

  The program here is an event handler executed by a time event or a user event.

  The time event is an event generated based on time information embedded in the playlist. The event sent from the scenario processor (305) described in FIG. 7 to the program processor (302) corresponds to this. When a time event is issued, the program processor (302) executes an event handler associated with the ID. As described above, the program to be executed can instruct playback of another playlist. In this case, playback of the currently played playlist is stopped and playback of the designated playlist is started. And transition.

  A user event is an event generated by a user's remote control key operation. User events are roughly divided into two types. The first is a menu selection event generated by operating a cursor key ("Up", "Down", "Left", "Right" key) or a "Determination" key. The event handler corresponding to the event selected from the menu is valid only for a limited period in the playlist (the validity period of each event handler is set as playlist information). A valid event handler is searched when the “down”, “left”, “right” key, or “decision” key is pressed. If there is a valid event handler, the event handler is executed. In other cases, menu selection events will be ignored.

  The second user event is a menu call event generated by operating the “menu” key. When a menu call event is generated, a global event handler is called. A global event handler does not depend on a playlist and is always an effective event handler. By using this function, it is possible to implement a DVD menu call (calling a voice, subtitle menu, etc. during title playback, and executing title playback from the point where it was interrupted after changing the voice or subtitle).

A cell (Cell), which is a unit constituting a static scenario in a playlist, refers to all or part of a playback section of a VOB (MPEG stream). The cell has a playback section in the VOB as start and end time information. The VOB management information (VOBI) paired with each VOB has a time map (Time Map or TM) inside, and the playback and end times of the VOB described above are indicated in the VOB ( That is, it is possible to derive the read start address and end address in the target file “YYY.VOB”). Details of the time map will be described later.
(Details of VOB)
FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of an MPEG stream (VOB) used in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, a VOB is composed of a plurality of VOBUs (Video Object Units). The VOBU is one playback unit as a multiplexed stream including audio data on the basis of GOP (Group Of Pictures) referred to as an MPEG video stream. A VOBU has a duration of 0.4 to 1.0 seconds, and usually has a playback time of 0.5 seconds. This is because the structure of MPEG GOP is usually derived by 15 frames / second (in the case of NTSC).

  The VOBU has a video pack (V_PCK) and an audio pack (A_PCK) therein. Each pack is composed of one sector, in the case of this embodiment, in units of 2 kB.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of the pack.

  As shown in FIG. 10, elementary data such as video data and audio data are sequentially entered from the head into a data storage area of a packet called a payload. A packet header is attached to the payload to form one packet. In the packet header, an ID for identifying which stream, video, or audio the data stored in the payload is, and if there are multiple streams of video or audio, which stream is the data (Stream_id) and time stamps DTS and PTS which are decoding time and display time information of the payload are recorded. PTS / DTS is not necessarily recorded in all packet headers, but rules for recording in MPEG are defined. Details of the rules are described in the MPEG system (ISO / IEC13818-1) standard, and therefore will be omitted.

The packet is further provided with a header (pack header) to form a pack. A time stamp SCR (System Clock Reference) indicating when the pack passes through the demultiplexer and is input to the decoder buffer of each elementary stream is recorded in the pack header.
(VOB interleaved recording)
Next, interleaved recording of a VOB file will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The upper part of FIG. 11 is a part of the player configuration diagram described above. As shown in the figure, the data on the BD disc is input to the track buffer if it is a VOB or MPEG stream through the optical pickup, and is input to the image memory if it is PNG or image data.

  The track buffer is a FIFO, and the input VOB data is sent to the demultiplexer in the input order. At this time, each pack is extracted from the track buffer in accordance with the SCR described above, and the data is sent to the video processor or sound processor via the demultiplexer. On the other hand, in the case of image data, the presentation controller instructs which image to draw. The image data used for drawing is deleted from the image memory at the same time in the case of image data for subtitles, but remains in the image memory in the case of image data for menus. This is because menu drawing may depend on user operations, and the same image may be drawn multiple times.

  The lower part of FIG. 11 is a diagram showing interleaved recording of a VOB file and a PNG file on a BD disc. In general, in the case of a ROM such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM, AV data serving as a series of continuous reproduction units is continuously recorded. As long as continuous recording is performed, the drive only needs to read the data sequentially and send it to the player side. However, if the continuous data is divided and discretely arranged on the disc, seek is performed between individual continuous sections. This is because an operation is entered, and during this time, reading of data is stopped, and supply of data may be stopped. Similarly, in the case of a BD-ROM, it is desirable that the VOB file can be recorded in a continuous area. However, there is data that is reproduced in synchronization with video data recorded in the VOB, such as subtitle data. Similar to the VOB file, it is necessary to read the caption data from the BD disc by some method.

  As one method of reading subtitle data, there is a method of reading subtitle image data (PNG file) all at once before the start of VOB reproduction. However, in this case, a large amount of memory used for temporary recording is required, which is unrealistic.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, a method is used in which the VOB file is divided into several blocks and interleaved with image data. The lower part of FIG. 11 illustrates the interleave recording. By appropriately interleaving the VOB file and the image data, it becomes possible to store the image data in the image memory at a necessary timing without the large amount of temporary recording memory as described above. However, when reading the image data, the reading of the VOB data is naturally stopped.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a VOB data continuous supply model using a track buffer that solves this problem.

  As described above, VOB data is temporarily stored in the track buffer. If a difference is provided between the data input rate to the track buffer and the data output rate from the track buffer, as long as data is continuously read from the BD disc, the data storage amount of the track buffer increases. Here, the input rate to the track buffer is Va, and the output rate from the track buffer is Vb. As shown in the upper part of FIG. 12, it is assumed that a continuous recording area of VOB continues from “a1” to “a2” of logical addresses. It is assumed that between “a2” and “a3” is an interval in which image data is recorded and VOB data cannot be read.

  The lower part of FIG. 12 shows the inside of the track buffer. The horizontal axis indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates the amount of data stored in the track buffer. Time “t1” indicates the time when reading of “a1”, which is the starting point of one continuous recording area of the VOB, is started. After this time, data is accumulated in the track buffer at the rate Va-Vb. Needless to say, this rate is the difference between the input and output rates of the track buffer. The time “t2” is the time when the data “a2”, which is the end point of one continuous recording area, is read. That is, the amount of data in the track buffer increases from time “t1” to “t2” at the rate Va−Vb, and the data accumulation amount at time “t2” can be obtained by the following equation. .

B (t2) = (Va−Vb) × (t2−t1) (Formula 1)
After this, since the image data continues until the address “a3” on the BD disc, the input to the track buffer becomes 0, and the data amount in the track buffer decreases at the output rate “−Vb”. Become. This is up to the read position “a3” and “t3” in time.

  What is important here is that if the amount of data stored in the track buffer before time “t3” becomes zero, there is no VOB data to be supplied to the decoder, and there is a possibility that VOB reproduction stops. There is. However, if data remains in the track buffer at time “t3”, this means that VOB playback can be continued without stopping.

  This condition can be expressed by the following equation.

B (t2) ≧ −Vb × (t3−t2) (Formula 2)
That is, it is only necessary to determine the arrangement of the image data so as to satisfy Expression 2.
(Navigation data structure)
The structure of navigation data (BD management information) in the BD-ROM will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 13 shows the internal structure of the VOB management information file (“YYY.VOBI”).

  The VOB management information includes stream attribute information (Attribute) and time map (TMAP) of the VOB. Each stream attribute has a video attribute (Video) and an audio attribute (Audio # 0 to Audio # m). Particularly in the case of an audio stream, since a VOB can have a plurality of audio streams at the same time, the presence or absence of a data field is indicated by the number of audio streams (Number).

  The following are the fields that the video attribute (Video) has and the values that each can have.

Compression method (Coding):
MPEG1
MPEG2
MPEG4
Resolution:
1920x1080
1280x720
720x480
720x565
Aspect ratio (Aspect)
4: 3
16: 9
Frame rate
60
59.94
50
30
29.97
25
24
The following are the fields that the audio attribute (Audio) has and the values that each can have.

Compression method (Coding):
AC3
MPEG1
MPEG2
LPCM
Number of channels (Ch):
1-8
Language attribute:
The time map (TMAP) is a table having information for each VOBU, and has the number of VOBUs (Number) possessed by the VOB and each VOBU information (VOBU # 1 to VOBU # n). Each VOBU information has a playback time length (Duration) of the VOBU and a data size (Size) of the VOBU.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the details of the VOBU information.

  As is widely known, an MPEG stream has two aspects, a temporal aspect and a data size aspect. For example, since AC3, which is a voice compression standard, performs compression at a fixed bit rate, the relationship between time and address can be obtained by a linear expression. However, in the case of MPEG video data, each frame has a fixed display time, for example, in the case of NTSC, one frame has a display time of 1 / 29.97 seconds, but the data size after compression of each frame is picture size. The data size varies greatly depending on the characteristics and the picture type used for compression, so-called I / P / B picture. Therefore, in the case of MPEG video, the relationship between time and address cannot be expressed in a general form.

  As a matter of course, an MPEG system stream in which MPEG video data is multiplexed, that is, VOB, cannot express time and data in a general form. Instead, the time map (TMAP) links the relationship between time and address in the VOB. As shown in FIG. 14, a table having a number of frames in a VOBU and the number of packs in a VOBU as entries for each VOBU is a time map (TMAP).

  The usage of the time map (TMAP) will be described with reference to FIG.

  When time information is given as shown in FIG. 15, first, a search is performed as to which VOBU the time belongs to. This is done by adding the number of frames for each VOBU of the time submap, and the VOBU whose sum of frames exceeds or coincides with the time (converted to the number of frames) becomes the VOBU. Next, the size for each VOBU of the time map is added to the VOBU immediately before the VOBU, and the value is the leading address of the pack to be read in order to reproduce the frame including the given time.

  Next, the internal structure of the playlist information (“XXX.PL”) will be described with reference to FIG.

  The playlist information includes a cell list (CellList) and an event list (EventList).

  The cell list (CellList) is a reproduction cell sequence in the playlist, and the cells are reproduced in the description order of the list. The contents of the cell list (CellList) are the number of cells (Number) and cell information (Cell # 1 to Cell # n).

  The cell information (Cell #) has a VOB file name (VOBName), a valid section start time (In) and a valid section end time (Out) in the VOB, and a caption table (SubtitleTable). The valid section start time (In) and valid section end time (Out) are each expressed by a frame number in the VOB, and the address of VOB data necessary for reproduction is obtained by using the time map (TMAP) described above. I can do things.

  The caption table (SubtitleTable) is a table having caption information that is reproduced in synchronization with the VOB. Subtitles can have multiple languages as well as audio, and the first information of the subtitle table (SubtitleTable) consists of the number of languages (Number) followed by tables for each language (Language # 1 to Language # k). Yes.

  A table (Language #) for each language includes language information (Language), the number of subtitle information (Number) of subtitles displayed individually, and subtitle information of subtitles (Speech # 1 to Speech # j) displayed individually. The caption information (Speech #) is composed of the corresponding image data file name (Name), caption display start time (In) and caption display end time (Out), and caption display position (Position). .

  The event list (EventList) is a table that defines the events listed in the play list. The event list is made up of individual events (Event # 1 to Event # m) following the number of events (Number), and each event (Event #) includes an event type (Type) and an event ID (ID). The event generation time (Time) and the validity period (Duration) are included.

  FIG. 17 is an event handler table (“XXX.PROG”) having event handlers (time events and user events for menu selection) for each playlist.

  The event handler table has a defined number of event handlers / programs (Number) and individual event handlers / programs (Program # 1 to Program # n). The description in each event handler / program (Program #) has the event handler ID (ID) paired with the event handler start definition (<event_handler> tag) and the above-mentioned event ID. It is described between parentheses “{” and “}” following the Function.

  Next, the internal structure of information relating to the entire BD disc (“BD. INFO”) will be described with reference to FIG.

  The entire BD disc information includes a title list (TitleList) and an event table for global events (EventTable).

  The title list (TitleList) is composed of the number of titles (Number) in the disc and the following pieces of title information (Title # 1 to Title # n). Each piece of title information (Title) includes a playlist table (PLTable) included in the title and a chapter list (ChapterList) in the title. The playlist table (PLTable) has the number of playlists in the title (Number) and the playlist name (Name), that is, the playlist file name.

  The chapter list (ChapterList) is composed of the number of chapters (Number) included in the title and individual chapter information (Chapter # 1 to Chapter # n), and the chapter information (Chapter #) is a table of cells included in the chapter (Chapter #). The cell table (CellTable) includes the number of cells (Number) and individual cell entry information (CellEntry # 1 to CellEntry # k). Cell entry information (CellEntry #) is described by the name of the playlist including the cell and the cell number in the playlist.

  The event list (EventList) includes the number of global events (Number) and information on individual global events. It should be noted that the global event defined first is called a first event (FirstEvent), and is the first event called when a BD disc is inserted into a player. The event information for global events has only an event type (Type) and an event ID (ID).

FIG. 19 is a global event handler program table (“BD.PROG”). This table has the same contents as the event handler table described in FIG.
(Event generation mechanism)
The event generation mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 20 is an example of a time event.

  As described above, a time event is defined by an event list (EventList) of playlist information (“XXX.PL”). When an event defined as a time event, that is, when the event type (Type) is “TimeEvent”, the time event having ID “Ex1” is transferred from the scenario processor to the program processor when the event generation time (“t1”) is reached. Against. The program processor searches for an event handler having the event ID “Ex1” and executes the target event handler. For example, in this embodiment, two button images can be drawn.

  FIG. 21 shows an example of a user event for performing a menu operation.

  As described above, the user event for performing the menu operation is also defined in the event list (EventList) of the playlist information (“XXX.PL”). When an event defined as a user event, that is, an event type (Type) is “UserEvent”, the user event becomes ready when the event generation time (“t1”) is reached. At this time, the event itself has not yet been generated. The event is in a ready state for the period described by the valid standard information (Duration).

  As shown in FIG. 21, when the user presses the “up”, “down”, “left”, “right” key or “decision” key of the remote control key, a UOP event is first generated by the UOP manager and raised to the program processor. The program processor sends a UOP event to the scenario processor. The scenario processor searches for a valid user event at the time when the UOP event is received. If there is a target user event, the user event is Generate and lift to the program processor. The program processor searches for an event handler having the event ID “Ev1” and executes the target event handler. For example, in the case of the present embodiment, reproduction of playlist # 2 is started.

  The generated user event does not include information on which remote control key is pressed by the user. Information on the selected remote control key is transmitted to the program processor by a UOP event, and is recorded and held in the register SPRM (8) of the virtual player. The event handler program can check the value of this register and execute branch processing.

  FIG. 22 shows an example of a global event.

  As described above, a global event is defined by an event list (EventList) of information (“BD. INFO”) relating to the entire BD disc. When an event defined as a global event, that is, an event type (Type) is “GlobalEvent”, an event is generated only when a user operates a remote control key.

  When the user presses “Menu”, a UOP event is first generated by the UOP manager and raised to the program processor. The program processor sends a UOP event to the scenario processor, and the scenario processor generates a corresponding global event and sends it to the program processor. The program processor searches for an event handler having the event ID “menu” and executes the target event handler. For example, in the case of the present embodiment, reproduction of playlist # 3 is started.

In this embodiment, it is simply called a “menu” key, but there may be a plurality of menu keys as in a DVD. It is possible to cope by defining IDs corresponding to the respective menu keys.
(Virtual player machine)
The functional configuration of the program processor will be described with reference to FIG.

  The program processor is a processing module having a virtual player machine inside. The virtual player machine is a functional model defined as a BD-ROM and does not depend on the implementation of each BD-ROM player. That is, it is guaranteed that the same function can be executed in any BD-ROM player.

  The virtual player machine has two functions. Programming functions and player variables (registers). The programming function defines two functions described below as BD-ROM specific functions based on Java (registered trademark) Script.

Link function: Stops the current playback and starts playback from the specified playlist, cell, and time Link (PL #, Cell #, time)
PL #: Playlist name Cell #: Cell number time: Playback start time in the cell PNG drawing function: Draws specified PNG data on the image plane Draw (File, X, Y)
File: PNG file name X: X coordinate position Y: Y coordinate position Image plane clear function: Clear specified area of image plane Clear (X, Y, W, H)
X: X-coordinate position Y: Y-coordinate position W: X-direction width H: Y-direction width Player variables include a system parameter (SPRM) indicating the state of the player and a general parameter (GPRM) that can be used for general purposes.

  FIG. 24 is a list of system parameters (SPRM).

SPRM (0): Language code SPRM (1): Audio stream number SPRM (2): Subtitle stream number SPRM (3): Angle number SPRM (4): Title number SPRM (5): Chapter number SPRM (6): Program Number SPRM (7): Cell number SPRM (8): Selection key information SPRM (9): Navigation timer SPRM (10): Playback time information SPRM (11): Karaoke mixing mode SPRM (12): Parental country information SPRM (13): Parental level SPRM (14): Player set value (video)
SPRM (15): Player setting value (audio)
SPRM (16): Audio stream language code SPRM (17): Audio stream language code (extended)
SPRM (18): Language code for subtitle stream SPRM (19): Language code for subtitle stream (extended)
SPRM (20): Player region code SPRM (21): Reserve SPRM (22): Reserve SPRM (23): Playback state SPRM (24): Reserve SPRM (25): Reserve SPRM (26): Reserve SPRM (27): Spare SPRM (28): Spare SPRM (29): Spare SPRM (30): Spare SPRM (31): Spare In this embodiment, the programming function of the virtual player is based on Java (registered trademark) Script. (Registered trademark) Instead of Script, other programming functions such as B-Shell and Perl Script used in UNIX (registered trademark) OS may be used. In other words, the present invention is Java (registered trademark). It is not limited to Script.
(Program example)
25 and 26 are examples of programs in the event handler.

  FIG. 25 shows an example of a menu having two selection buttons.

  The program on the left side of FIG. 25 is executed using the time event at the head of the cell (PlayList # 1. Cell # 1). Here, “1” is first set to GPRM (0), one of the general parameters. GPRM (0) is used to identify the selected button in the program. In the initial state, the initial value is that the button 1 arranged on the left side is selected.

  Next, PNG drawing is performed for each of the buttons 1 and 2 by using a drawing function Draw. The button 1 draws the PNG image “1black.png” with the coordinates (10, 200) as the starting point (left end). The button 2 draws a PNG image “2white.png” with the coordinates (330, 200) as a starting point (left end).

  At the end of this cell, the program on the right side of FIG. 25 is executed using a time event. Here, it is specified to play again from the beginning of the cell using the Link function.

  FIG. 26 is an example of an event handler for a user event for menu selection.

  When the remote control key of “Left” key, “Right” key, or “Determination” key is pressed, a corresponding program is written in the event handler. When the user presses the remote control key, as described in FIG. 21, a user event is generated and the event handler of FIG. 26 is activated. In this event handler, branch processing is performed using the value of GPRM (0) identifying the selection button and SPRM (8) identifying the selected remote control key.

Condition 1) When button 1 is selected and the selection key is the “right” key GPRM (0) is reset to 2, and the button in the selected state is changed to right button 2.

    Rewrite the images of Button 1 and Button 2, respectively.

Condition 2) When the selection key is “OK (OK)” and the button 1 is selected, playback of the playlist # 2 is started. Condition 3) When the selection key is “OK (OK)”, When button 2 is selected, playback of playlist # 3 is started. Execution processing is performed as described above.
(Player processing flow)
Next, the processing flow in the player will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 27 is a basic processing flow up to AV playback.

  When the BD disc is inserted (S101), the BD-ROM player is set to BD. Reading and analysis of INFO file (S102), BD. PROG reading (S103) is executed. BD. INFO and BD. Both PROGs are temporarily stored in the management information recording memory and analyzed by the scenario processor.

  Subsequently, the scenario processor is BD. The first event is generated according to the first event (FirstEvent) information in the INFO file (S104). The generated first event is received by the program processor, and an event handler corresponding to the event is executed (S105).

  It is expected that playlist information to be reproduced first is recorded in the event handler corresponding to the first event. If play list reproduction is not instructed, the player does not reproduce anything and simply waits for acceptance of a user event. In this case, it continues to wait for accepting a user event (S201). When the BD-ROM player receives a remote control operation from the user, the UOP manager raises a UOP event to the program manager (S202).

  The program manager determines whether the UOP event is caused by a menu key (S203). If the UOP event is a menu key, the program manager sends a UOP event to the scenario processor, and the scenario processor generates a user event (S204). The program processor executes an event handler corresponding to the generated user event (S205).

  FIG. 28 is a processing flow from the start of PL playback to the start of VOB playback.

  As described above, play list reproduction is started by the first event handler or the global event handler (S301). The scenario processor reads and analyzes playlist information “XXX.PL” as information necessary for playback of the playlist to be played back (S302), and reads program information “XXX.PROG” corresponding to the playlist (S303). ). Subsequently, the scenario processor starts cell reproduction based on the cell information registered in the playlist (S304). Cell playback means that a request is sent from the scenario processor to the presentation controller, and the presentation controller starts AV playback (S305).

  When the start of AV playback (S401) is started, the presentation controller reads and analyzes the VOB information file (XXX.VOBI) corresponding to the cell to be played back (S402). The presentation controller uses the time map to specify the VOBU to start playback and its address, and instructs the drive controller to specify the read address. The drive controller reads the target VOB data (S403), and the VOB data is sent to the decoder. Playback is started (S404). The VOB playback is continued until the playback section of the VOB ends (S405), and when it ends, the process proceeds to the next cell playback S304. Next, if there is no cell, playback stops (S406).

  FIG. 29 is an event processing flow after the start of AV playback.

  The BD-ROM player is an event-driven player model. When playback of a playlist is started, event processing processes of a time event system, a user event system, and a caption display system are started, and event processing is executed in parallel.

  The S500 system processing is a time event system processing flow.

  After the play list reproduction is started (S501), the scenario processor confirms whether the time event occurrence time has come (S503) through a step (S502) for confirming whether the play list reproduction has been completed. If the time event occurrence time is reached, the scenario processor generates a time event (S504), and the program processor receives the time event and executes the event handler (S505).

  If the time event occurrence time is not reached in step S503, or after the event handler execution process in step S504, the process returns to step S502 again, and the above-described process is repeated. Also, when it is confirmed in step S502 that the play list reproduction has been completed, the time event processing is forcibly terminated.

  The S600 system processing is a user event system processing flow.

  After the play list reproduction is started (S601), the play list reproduction end confirmation step (S602) is performed, and then the process proceeds to the UOP reception confirmation step (S603). When the UOP is accepted, the UOP manager generates a UOP event (S604), and the program processor that receives the UOP event checks whether the UOP event is a menu call (S605). The program processor causes the scenario processor to generate an event (S607), and the program processor executes the event handler (S608).

  If it is determined in step S605 that the UOP event is not a menu call, it indicates that the UOP event is an event by a cursor key or a “decision” key. In this case, the scenario processor determines whether the current time is within the user event valid period (S606), and if it is within the valid period, the scenario processor generates a user event (S607) and the program processor is targeted. The event handler is executed (S608).

  If no UOP is accepted in step S603, if the current time is not in the user event valid period in step S606, or after the event handler execution process in step S608, the process returns to step S602 again to repeat the above-described process. Further, when it is confirmed in step S602 that the play list reproduction has ended, the user event processing is forcibly ended.

  FIG. 30 is a flowchart of caption processing.

  After the play list reproduction is started (S701), the play list reproduction end confirmation step (S702) is followed by the subtitle drawing start time confirmation step (S703). In the case of the caption rendering start time, the scenario processor instructs the presentation controller to render captions, and the presentation controller instructs the image processor to render captions (S704). If it is determined in step S703 that it is not the caption drawing start time, it is confirmed whether it is the caption display end time (S705). If it is determined that the subtitle display end time is reached, the presentation controller instructs the image processor to delete the subtitle and deletes the drawn subtitle from the image plane (S706).

After the caption drawing step S704 ends, after the caption erasure step S706 ends, or when it is determined that the time is not the same at the caption display end time confirmation step S705, the process returns to step S702 and the above-described processing is repeated. Also, when it is confirmed in step S702 that the playlist reproduction has been completed, the caption display processing is forcibly terminated.
(Example 2)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The second embodiment relates to introducing an XML / XHTML-based screen configuration environment and a programming environment using events and scripts in order to realize richer interactivity in the BD-ROM. Basically, the contents are based on the first embodiment, and the description will be focused on the expansion or different portions.
(Content control using XHTML file)
FIG. 31 shows how a module configuration, control flow, event, etc. related to scenario control using XHTML and script are transmitted.

 The user event processing unit is a module that receives a remote control signal and assigns an event to the next module. Events related to playback control, such as playback / stop / fast forward / rewind / skip / angle change / audio switching / subtitle switching, are sent to the AV playback control unit. Events such as button focus movement (up / down / left / right keys) and determination are sent to the XHTML processor. Events for title selection and menu call related to title switching are sent to the title control unit. Note that the Index Table is a file listing the titles on the disc, and is obtained by cutting out the Title List portion of FIG. 18 into one.

  The title control unit is a module that performs title switching according to the Index Table when title switching is requested. When the title is defined in XHTML, control is performed so that the XHTML processing unit reads the XHTML file associated with the title.

  The XHTML processing unit is a module that reads an XHTML file, configures a screen according to style definition information, and executes related scripts according to events. As a result of executing the script, if AV playback is necessary, the AV playback control unit is controlled to start playback, and if title switching is necessary, the title control unit is controlled.

 The AV playback control unit plays the AV stream according to the event or instruction, generates an event when the state of the AV playback control unit changes or when the playback position of the AV stream reaches a specific position, and generates an XHTML processing unit. Notify

  The event notifying that the state of the player has changed is a playback instruction from the user, and when the user event processing unit notifies the playback start request event to the AV playback control unit, the AV playback control unit starts playback. At this time, the event is such that the AV playback control unit notifies the change from the stop state to the playback state.

  The event for notifying the playback position is reached when the end of the AV stream is reached, when the cell boundary is reached, or when there is data indicating a point in time of the AV stream called a mark. It is an event to notify that.

  FIG. 32 shows the behavior when a certain title is selected.

  When a title defined in the Index Table is selected, the XHTML file associated with the title is called. In the XHTML file, a script for performing playback control is also described. In the example in the figure, the script file is indirectly referenced, but it can also be described directly in the XHTML file. In addition, although it is described as XHTML for the sake of explanation, it may be in a format using a unique tag or the like as long as it follows the XML format.

  The “onLoad” attribute described in the XHTML file in the figure defines a script that is executed when the file is read. In this example, when an XHTML file is read, a script “playTitle1” is called, and the script itself is described in the script file.

  In addition, by using an <event> tag, a mechanism for executing a script in response to an event notified from a user event processing unit or an AV playback control unit is also provided. In this example, when the “EndOfStream” event occurs, a script called “jumpTitle2” is called. The “EndOfStream” event is an event generated by the AV playback control unit when AV playback reaches the end of the file, for example.

  FIG. 33 is an example in which screen generation is added to the previous example. For example, XHTML is called from the Index Table as before, and the XHTML is written with information for generating a menu screen or the like. Style sheets such as CSS may be used for the screen configuration style.

  In this example, two buttons are placed on the screen. When each button is pressed, the corresponding script is executed. When a certain button is selected, the script defined in the "onClick" attribute is executed. Selecting the button on the left associated with the PNG image file labeled TitleA executes the “playA” script and jumps to title 1. Similarly, when the Title B button is selected, after a certain AV stream is reproduced, the program jumps to title 2.

  By using the mechanism described so far, it is possible to provide a mechanism in which a menu screen is displayed using an XHTML file and playback of content is started when a certain button is selected.

Further, by adding a script part and an API executed by the script, more complicated functions such as an application such as an Internet connection or a download service can be executed.
(Resource management)
When an XHTML file forms a screen such as a menu screen, a data file such as a PNG image file is referred to. The more sophisticated the menu, the more complicated the graphics to display and the larger the image data size for displaying it.

  XHTML files can also be created to switch screens by user operation. This is the case when selecting an item in the menu screen causes a submenu to appear. In such a case, image data that was not displayed at the first moment when the menu screen is displayed may be required later.

  However, if a video is displayed in the background of the menu screen, that is, if an AV stream is being played back, if you try to read the image data after it is necessary, you will seek to the position where the file is on the disc. Must be read and returned to the original position, and there is a possibility that playback of the AV stream is temporarily interrupted. A sufficient amount of buffer is loaded, and this can be avoided if the AV stream is prefetched to the full buffer in advance, but the image has high resolution and high image quality, and a high bit rate is required. Therefore, a considerably large-capacity buffer must be prepared, which leads to an increase in cost and is not realistic.

  Also, with media that has a short seek time and a high reading speed, such as a hard disk, even with a small amount of buffer, it is possible to read other data without interrupting AV, but optical disk media With this drive, seeking takes time and reading speed is not so fast, so further technical advancement is required for realization.

  Therefore, it is desirable to use a model in which data other than AV is not read once AV playback is started.

  FIG. 34 shows the data life cycle in such a case.

  Before AV playback starts, data files such as XHTML files, script files, and PNG image files referenced from these files, which are necessary for displaying the screen, are preloaded on the buffer. .

  Once AV playback is started, the data is never read to the disc.

  If AV playback may be stopped, there is no need to consider them.

  Also, if it is necessary to distinguish between cases where AV playback does not want to stop depending on the content, and cases where it may be stopped, an identifier for distinguishing these two patterns may be prepared in the management information.

  When the XHTML processing unit needs data, it is read from the buffer into the work memory of the XHTML processing unit and used for displaying the screen. When the screen is not displayed, the unnecessary data is released from the work memory, and the next necessary data is read from the buffer.

  This work memory may be shared with the buffer.

Save the memory in the buffer until you no longer need it, and free it when you no longer need it.
(Data life cycle)
As described above, if the timing for reading data into the buffer and the timing for releasing the data from the buffer can be clearly determined, the management of the data life cycle becomes clear and easy to manage.

  If data management becomes easier, it becomes easier for the content creator to determine a content configuration that can be operated by any player, and content creation becomes easier.

  The data life cycle start timing and end timing are preferably the timing at which the playback of the AV is stopped, or the timing at which the playback is temporarily stopped and does not need to be played back seamlessly even when continuously played back.

  Such timing includes an AV stream switching point, a screen switching point constituted by an XHTML file, a title switching timing, and the like, and may be other points as long as the above-described conditions are satisfied.

  When the structure described so far is used, the timing of title switching can be explicitly referred to as static data in the Index Table and can be easily controlled by the player. Therefore, the data life cycle starts when a certain title starts, and ends when a certain title ends.

  That is, when a title starts, preload all the data needed to play that title into the buffer and release it from the buffer when the title ends, for example when jumping to another title To do.

  FIG. 35 is a timing chart showing the flow of control between each module, the flow of data, and the data life cycle corresponding thereto.

  By defining such a life cycle and buffer size, you can quantitatively determine how much image data can be used when creating a title, and what application can be executed. It becomes very easy to make.

  The buffer may be released forcibly from the title control unit or a higher-level module, or may be performed by the XHTML processing unit.

When the title is switched during the application execution by the user operation, the title control unit stops the currently executing script and instructs the XHTML processing unit to release the buffer. Also, when the title is switched, an instruction is given to read a file related to the next title into the buffer.
(Data reading guarantee)
As described above, it is necessary to preload a file other than the AV stream in the buffer before starting the reproduction of the AV stream. At that time, it takes time to analyze the XHTML file and list the necessary files.

  Therefore, as shown in Fig. 36 (a), a file list listing the files required for each title is created for each title, and when a title is selected, all the files listed in that title list are buffered. Just load it into

  Also, if there are a large number of files, it will take a long time to read each file, so it will cause unnecessary seeks by placing the listed files in one place on the disk. It is also possible to read all necessary files without any problems.

  Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 36 (b), the files may be combined into a single ZIP file for each directory structure, and the files may be expanded in the buffer after being read into the buffer to configure the directory structure, etc. . If it is a format that can consolidate files and maintain the directory structure, it does not have to be a ZIP file. Also, it does not have to be a compressed file.

By using such a mechanism, it is possible to provide a mechanism that makes it easy for players to control by making it easier to make mistakes during authoring by managing resources easily for each title and making data reading more efficient. .
(Expansion of memory size)
In the method described so far, it is necessary to define the size of the buffer in order to read all necessary data into a buffer by a player made by any manufacturer. However, the relationship between memory size and cost will improve in the future, and it may be possible to install it at a relatively low cost in the future even if it seems that it cannot be installed now.

  Therefore, if the buffer size is fixed, even if the performance of the player is improved, the buffer size may become a bottleneck, which may hinder the provision of content with higher image quality and higher resolution.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 37, a method of controlling the size that is guaranteed to be installed in the player and the buffer size that is actually installed separately is shown. If this method is used, if richer content appears in the future, it will be displayed richly by the corresponding player, but even if it is not compatible, a minimum display can be ensured.

  Content creators prepare two types of data. Both are data read with the same title, but only one of them is read. In the figure, data1 is stored below the buffer size guaranteed by any player. Therefore, any player can read and play data1. On the other hand, data2 is data having a size larger than the guaranteed buffer size. If a player has only the minimum necessary size, data cannot be read. However, a player equipped with a larger buffer can read this data, and it is possible to reproduce rich content by taking advantage of the fact that data2 has a larger data size than data1. Richer content means that the image data has a larger size, resolution, number of colors, more scripts, and various additional controls.

  Like this data1, data that is always suppressed to a size smaller than the guaranteed buffer size is indispensable data recorded on the disc. The data that is larger than the guaranteed buffer size but can provide richer content is optional data that may or may not be recorded according to the author's intention.

 By combining essential data and optional data whose operation is not guaranteed in this way, the minimum operation is guaranteed for any player, and if a player with a large buffer size spreads in the future, richer content can be enjoyed. It is possible to provide a mechanism that can do this.

  By using the present invention, it is possible to introduce AV playback control using video data, XML, and script. In particular, it has the potential to be used in the movie industry and consumer equipment industry that are involved in the production of video content.

DVD configuration diagram Highlight configuration diagram Diagram showing an example of multiplexing on a DVD Data hierarchy diagram of BD-ROM Configuration diagram of logical space on BD-ROM Outline block diagram of BD-ROM player Configuration block diagram of BD-ROM player BD-ROM application space explanatory diagram Configuration diagram of MPEG stream (VOB) Pack configuration diagram The figure explaining the relationship between AV stream and a player structure AV data continuous supply model diagram to track buffer VOB information file configuration diagram Illustration of time map How to get address information using time map Playlist file structure diagram Configuration diagram of program files corresponding to playlists BD disk overall management information file configuration diagram Diagram of the file that records global event handlers Diagram explaining examples of time events Diagram explaining examples of user events Diagram explaining an example of a global event handler Virtual machine configuration diagram Diagram of player variable table Figure showing an example of event handler (time event) Diagram showing an example of event handler (user event) Flow chart of basic processing of player Flow chart of playlist playback processing Event processing flowchart Subtitle processing flowchart Diagram explaining module configuration and control flow Diagram explaining the relationship between Index Table and XHTML file Example of an XHTML file that displays buttons Explanatory drawing explaining the life cycle of data Timing chart explaining the data life cycle Diagram explaining how to combine data into one Illustration of how to introduce memory size expansion

Explanation of symbols

201 BD disc 202 optical pickup 203 program recording memory 204 management information recording memory 205 AV recording memory 206 program processing unit 207 management information processing unit 208 presentation processing unit 209 image plane 210 video plane 211 composition processing unit 301 program recording memory 302 program processor 303 UOP manager 304 Management information recording memory 305 Scenario processor 306 Presentation controller 307 Clock 308 Image memory 309 Track buffer 310 Demultiplexer 311 Image processor 312 Video processor 313 Sound processor 314 Image plane 315 Video plane 316 Composition processing unit 317 Drive controller 101 disc insertion step S102 BD. INFO reading step S103 BD. PROG reading step S104 First event generation step S105 Event handler execution step S201 UOP reception step S202 UOP event generation step S203 Menu call determination step S204 Event generation step S205 Event handler execution step S301 Playlist reproduction start step S302 Playlist information (XXX.PL ) Reading step S303 Playlist program (XXX.PROG) reading step S304 Cell playback start step S305 AV playback start step S401 AV playback start step S402 VOB information (YYY.VOBI) reading step S403 VOB (YYY.VOB) reading step S404 VOB Playback start step S405 VOB Playback end step S406 Next cell presence determination step S501 Playlist playback start step S502 Playlist playback end determination step S503 Time event time determination step S504 Event generation step S505 Event handler execution step S601 Playlist playback start step S602 Playlist playback end determination step S603 UOP reception determination step S604 UOP event generation step S605 Menu call determination step S606 User event valid period determination step S607 Event generation step S608 Event handler execution step S701 Playlist reproduction end determination step S702 Playlist reproduction end determination step S703 Subtitle drawing start determination step S704 Subtitle rendering step S7 05 Subtitle display end determination step S706 Subtitle deletion step

Claims (8)

An information recording medium in which a plurality of titles and an application described in a declarative language are recorded, and a period in which the application can survive in a memory is defined in advance. 2. The information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the period is managed for each title. In the recording medium, an archive file storing data and scripts constituting the application is recorded, and an application having each title as a lifetime is a title number uniquely indicating the archive file storing the application and the title. 3. The information recording medium according to claim 2, wherein the information recording medium is expressed by a combination thereof. 4. The information recording medium according to claim 3, wherein the archive file combines data and scripts constituting an application belonging to one title into one file. A playback device that simultaneously performs playback of a title including a digital stream and execution of an application, a title control unit that controls branching between a plurality of titles, a playback control unit that plays back a digital stream belonging to one title, A playback characterized by having an application control unit that controls the start of an application that uses a branch destination title as a life cycle and the end control of an application that does not use a branch destination title as a life cycle every time a title branch occurs apparatus. A playback device that simultaneously performs playback of a title including a digital stream and execution of an application, a title control unit that controls branching between a plurality of titles, a playback control unit that plays back a digital stream belonging to one title, A playback apparatus comprising: a data management unit that reads an application having a branch destination title as a life cycle into a memory each time a title branch occurs and releases an application that does not have a branch destination title as a life cycle from the memory . A program that executes playback of a title including a digital stream and execution of an application at the same time. Whenever a title branch occurs, an application with the branch destination title as the life cycle is read into the memory, and the branch destination title is set as the life cycle. A program for causing a computer to perform control to release an unoccupied application from memory. A playback method that simultaneously executes playback of a title including a digital stream and execution of an application, and whenever a branch of a title occurs, an application with the branch destination title as the live range is read into the memory, and the branch destination title is set as the live range A reproduction method comprising performing control to release an application that is not defined from the memory.

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