JP2007184668A - Video recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a video recording apparatus capable of reducing a video recording amount by detecting highlight scenes in a received program so as to record only parts including the highlight scenes. <P>SOLUTION: The video recording apparatus 1 uses a DVD drive section 7 to record a moving picture received by a tuner 2 or a moving picture acquired by an external apparatus connection section 3 to a DVD. In the case of recording, when receiving a highlight video recording instruction from a user, the video recording apparatus 1 compares an audio level of a video recording object with a reference audio level, detects a level excess scene whose audio level exceeds the reference audio level and a level excess end scene at the end of a range whose level is consecutively the reference audio level or over from the level excess scene, particularizes a range from the level excess scene until the level excess end scene, a forward range of the level excess scene, and a backward range of the level end scene as a video recording object, and records only the particularized video recording object to the DVD. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention, when recording a received television broadcast program or the like on a recording medium, records only a portion corresponding to a highlight scene in the program, thereby reducing the recording amount necessary for the recording. Relates to the device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a recording apparatus that receives and records a television broadcast program by a manual operation based on a user operation or a recording reservation. Recording media used by the recording device for recording include a magnetic tape, an optical disk (DVD-R, DVD-RW, BD, HD DVD, etc.), a semiconductor memory, and a hard disk device. In addition to the television broadcast program, the recording device is connected to the external device to acquire the moving image so that the moving device has an external device such as a digital video camera and a playback device. A connection terminal is provided.

On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses a recording / reproducing apparatus that can efficiently view a highlight portion of a recorded program when a television broadcast program recorded on a recording medium is reproduced. The recording / reproducing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 detects the position of a swelled portion (highlight scene) in a program based on the image content or audio content of a program to be reproduced, and usually sets the preceding and following sections around the detected position. Playback is performed, and the other sections are fast-forwarded.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-55613

  Conventional recording devices generally record in units of time or programs specified by the user, so the recorded content is not a highlight scene in the program, a scene that lacks interest and a scene that lacks excitement. Highlight scenes are also included. Since this non-highlight scene is not important for the user who seeks fun, there is a problem that the recording area of the recording medium for recording is occupied unnecessarily by the non-highlight scene and the recording area is wasted. This problem is particularly noticeable when a recording medium (DVD-R, DVD-RW, semiconductor memory, etc.) having a smaller recordable capacity than a hard disk device is used.

  Some recording apparatuses have a function of editing contents recorded by a user's manual operation, and a non-highlight scene can be deleted by using this editing function. However, in order to perform editing to delete a non-highlight scene, the user needs to confirm the contents of the recorded television broadcast program sequentially to identify the range of the non-highlight scene, and to delete the specified range. For this reason, a large editing burden is imposed on the user in order to leave only the highlight scene on the recording medium and secure the recording area.

  In addition, the recording / playback apparatus according to Patent Document 1 aims to record all the programs to be played back and to control the playback speed so that the highlight scene can be efficiently viewed during playback. It is impossible to prevent the recording area from being wasted because it is impossible to automatically record only the recording area.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and reduces the recording amount required for recording by leaving only the part corresponding to the highlight scene included in the recording target acquired from the outside in the recording medium. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus that can save the recording area.
In addition, the present invention appropriately includes before and after the highlight scene in the recording target, so that even when the recording amount is reduced, the process of reaching the highlight scene when the recorded content is reproduced and after the highlight scene has elapsed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus that can be enjoyed by the user in the afterglow.
Furthermore, in the present invention, when the recording target is included before and after the highlight scene, and when the recording target continues at a short time interval, the recording can be performed without waste so that an overlapping portion does not occur in the recording content. An object is to provide a recording apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a recording apparatus according to the present invention includes a moving image acquisition unit that acquires a moving image from the outside. The recording apparatus records the acquired moving image on a recording medium according to a highlight included in the acquired moving image. Means for receiving a highlight recording instruction for recording the recorded part, a comparison means for comparing the content of the acquired moving image with a reference level when a highlight recording instruction is received, and a reference based on a comparison result of the comparison means Detection means for detecting an over-level scene in a video that exceeds the level, specifying means for specifying a range including the over-level scene detected by the detection means as a recording target part, and recording for recording the recording target part on a recording medium Means.

  In the present invention, when the highlight recording instruction is received from the user, the level exceeding scene in the moving image exceeding the reference level is detected, and the range including the detected level exceeding scene is recorded as the recording target portion. Can automatically record the part corresponding to the highlight without editing, and can easily create a recording medium that collects highlight scenes. Note that moving images to be recorded by the recording apparatus of the present invention include not only television broadcast programs but also moving images acquired from an external device such as a digital video camera.

  In addition, as a specific example of the process of comparing the content of the moving image with respect to the reference level, a change in an image constituting the moving image (a vector amount related to movement of an object included in the image, a background change) is defined in advance For example, comparison with a reference change level of an image and comparison of a level (sound level, sound peak spectrum, sound signal level, etc.) related to sound included in a moving image with a reference sound level. In particular, when comparing the audio level with the reference audio level, it will depend on the image content of the video when recording various sports programs and comedy programs that are closely related to changes in audio and highlight scenes. It becomes easy to record the highlight scene accurately.

  The recording apparatus according to the present invention includes temporary recording means for temporarily recording the moving image acquired by the moving image acquisition means, and the recording means is specified by the specifying means from among the moving images temporarily recorded by the temporary recording means. The recording target portion is read and recorded.

  In the present invention, since the moving image acquired by the moving image acquisition means is temporarily recorded in a buffer, the temporarily recorded moving image is compared with the reference level, the level-exceeded scene is detected, and the recording target portion is specified. Each processing can be performed, and it is not necessary to perform each processing according to the speed at which the moving image acquisition means acquires the moving image, and the processing load on the recording apparatus can be reduced. In addition, by temporarily recording the acquired video, it becomes possible to specify the recording target part regardless of the time when the video acquisition means actually acquired the video, for example, the range ahead of the time when the video was acquired, It becomes possible to record in the recording target part after acquiring the moving image.

  The recording apparatus according to the present invention includes a moving image acquisition unit that acquires a moving image from the outside, and in the recording apparatus that records the acquired moving image on a recording medium, highlight for recording a portion corresponding to the highlight included in the acquired moving image A means for receiving a recording instruction, a means for recording the acquired moving image on a recording medium when a highlight recording instruction is received, a comparison means for comparing the content of the acquired moving image with a reference level, and a comparison of the comparison means Detection means for detecting an over-level scene in a video that exceeds a reference level based on the result, identification means for specifying a range including a level-exceeded scene detected by the detection means as a recording target portion, and in a recorded video And a means for deleting a part that does not correspond to the recording target part specified by the specifying means.

  In the present invention, when the highlight recording instruction is received from the user, the acquired moving image is temporarily recorded, while the level exceeding scene in the moving image exceeding the reference level is detected, and the range including the detected level exceeding scene is included. Is specified as a recording target portion, and a portion that does not correspond to the recording target portion is deleted from the recorded moving image. As a result, only the recording target portion remains on the recording medium. Therefore, even if the user does not perform troublesome editing work, the portion corresponding to the highlight can be automatically recorded, and the recording area of the recording medium can be prevented from being wasted. Furthermore, once the video is recorded, it is not necessary to perform each process according to the speed at which the video acquisition unit acquires the video, and the processing load on the recording device can be reduced, and the video acquisition unit actually acquires the video. The part to be recorded can be specified regardless of the time.

In the recording apparatus according to the present invention, the specifying means includes a front range temporally forward from the over-level scene and / or a rear range temporally rearward from the level-exceeded scene in the recording target portion. It is characterized by that.
In the present invention, either one or both of the front range and the rear range of the over-level scene are included in the recording target part. Therefore, when the front range is included, the process leading to the over-level scene can also be recorded, and the rear range can be recorded. If included, the content following the over-level scene can be recorded, and an appropriate range including the highlight scene can be recorded reliably.

  In the recording apparatus according to the present invention, the detection means includes means for detecting an end point scene in a range continuously exceeding a reference level from the level excess scene, and the specifying means includes the level excess scene to the end point scene. And a backward range that is temporally forward from the above scene and / or a backward range that is temporally backward from the end point scene are included in the recording target portion.

  In the present invention, since the range from the over-level scene to the end-point scene is included in the recording target part, it is possible to reliably record a highlight scene that continues for a certain period of time, and the front range of the over-level scene and the back range of the end-point scene Since either one or both of these are included in the recording target portion, the peripheral content of the highlight scene can also be recorded. That is, when the forward range is included in the recording target portion, when the recorded content is reproduced, the user can confirm the process leading to the highlight scene and deepen the understanding of the highlight scene. In addition, when the backward range is included in the recording target portion, when the recorded content is reproduced, the user can check the content after the end point range has elapsed, and can enjoy the reverberation of the highlight scene.

  In the recording apparatus according to the present invention, when the specifying unit includes a front range and / or a rear range in the recording target portion and specifies a plurality of recording target portions, whether or not the recording target portions that are temporally overlapped overlap each other. When the duplication detection unit detects that the duplication detection unit detects duplication, the specifying unit detects the end of the recording target portion on the back side in time from the start point of the recording target portion on the front side in terms of time. This is characterized in that up to a point is re-specified as one recording target part.

  In the present invention, when the recording target parts before and after the time overlap, the recording is continuously performed from the start point of the front recording target part to the end point of the rear recording target part. Recording of a total of two recordings can be eliminated, the recording area of the recording medium can be prevented from being wasted, and the recording target parts that move back and forth at short intervals can be combined into one to improve the efficiency of the recording process.

The recording apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by comprising time receiving means for receiving the time in the front range and / or the rear range.
In the present invention, since either one or both of the front range and the rear range is received, the user can freely adjust the length of the range receiving the time. Therefore, it is possible to adjust the time before and after according to the user's preference, for example, adjusting the highlight scene such as adjusting the recording amount not to be excessive, adjusting the range before and after the highlight scene long, etc. Various recording target parts can be adjusted.

  In the present invention, since the recording target portion including the over-level scene is recorded in response to the reception of the highlight recording instruction, the portion corresponding to the highlight can be automatically recorded without any special editing work, and the recording medium The recording area can be saved, and a recording medium in which highlight scenes are collected can be easily created.

In the present invention, since the acquired moving image is temporarily recorded, each process such as comparison with a reference level, detection of an over-level scene, and identification of a recording target portion can be performed on the temporarily recorded moving image. In addition, the processing load on the recording device can be reduced, and the recording target portion can be freely specified without being bound by the time when the moving image acquisition means actually acquires the moving image.
In the present invention, once the moving image is recorded, it is not necessary to perform each processing in accordance with the speed at which the moving image acquiring unit acquires the moving image, the processing load of the recording apparatus can be reduced, and the moving image acquiring unit is actually used. The part to be recorded can be specified regardless of the time when the video is acquired.

In the present invention, since either or both of the front range and the rear range of the over-level scene are included in the recording target portion, it is possible to reliably record the range including the highlight scene.
In the present invention, the range from the over-level scene to the end-point scene is included in the recording target part, so that even when the highlight scene continues for a certain period of time, it can be recorded reliably. Since either or both of the rear range of the recording area is included in the recording target portion, the user can check at least one of the process leading to the highlight scene or the situation after the highlight scene has elapsed, and further enjoy the highlight scene during playback. be able to.

In the present invention, when the recording target parts that are temporally overlapped, the recording is continuously performed from the start point of the front recording target part to the end point of the rear recording target part. It is possible to improve the efficiency of the recording process as a whole.
In the present invention, since either one or both of the front range and the rear range is received, the user can freely adjust the time length of the range in which the time is received.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main internal configuration of a recording apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The recording device 1 has a built-in DVD drive unit 7 that accepts a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), which is a removable recording medium, and performs recording and playback on the DVD. It has a function of acquiring a moving image or the like of the device and recording a portion corresponding to a highlight scene of the acquired content on a DVD. Hereinafter, each part 2-11 which recording device 1 has inside is explained in full detail.

  The tuner unit 2 is connected to a receiving antenna 2a, receives a broadcast television signal, acquires data (videos including sound) of various television broadcast programs, and stores the acquired video data as data. Processing to be sent to the processing unit 4 is performed. The external device connection unit 3 is a connection interface for connecting an external device such as a digital video camera and a moving image playback device (for example, a DVD player), and acquires data (moving images including sound) output from the external device to obtain data. Processing to be sent to the processing unit 4 is performed.

  The data processing unit 4 mainly performs data output processing and recording processing. Output processing includes display output of data sent from the tuner unit 2 or the external device connection unit 3 and reproduction output of data read from the DVD by the DVD drive unit 7. In the former case, the data processing unit 4 converts the data sent from the tuner unit 2 and the external device connection unit 3 into video signals and audio signals of moving images as needed, and converts the converted video signals and audio signals to the monitor connection unit 5. Output. In the latter case, the data processing unit 4 continuously receives data read from the DVD via the control unit 6 and performs reproduction conversion processing on the received data to generate video signals and audio signals of moving images. Output to the monitor connection unit 5.

  When performing the recording process, the data processing unit 4 processes the data sent from the tuner unit 2 or the external device connection unit 3 to convert it into recording data, and the converted recording data is sent to the control unit 6. Output to. Further, the data processing unit 4 monitors the menu image 21 recorded in the first memory 9a of the CPU 9 in order to appropriately display the menus 30 and 31 as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B on an external television device. Processing to send to the connection unit 5 is also performed.

  The monitor connection unit 5 is a connection interface of an external television apparatus including a monitor screen for displaying a moving image and a speaker for outputting sound, and is connected to a video signal and an audio signal output from the data processing unit 4. It is sent to the television apparatus at a predetermined timing so that the video image display and audio output can be performed on the television apparatus.

  The control unit 6 has a built-in buffer memory 6a capable of temporarily recording a predetermined amount of moving image data. The control unit 6 performs data reproduction output processing and data recording in conjunction with the processing contents of the data processing unit 4. And processing. When performing processing for data reproduction and output, the control unit 6 sequentially sends the moving image data read from the DVD by the DVD drive unit 7 to the data processing unit 4. When performing the recording process, the control unit 6 sends the recording data output from the data processing unit 4 to the DVD drive unit 7. Note that the buffer memory 6a of the control unit 6 has a recording capacity capable of temporarily recording a portion corresponding to the highlight scene and a portion before and after the portion.

  The DVD drive unit 7 accepts a DVD and reads / writes (records) data, deletes the written data, etc., and receives a tray on which the received DVD is placed, a pickup for reading and writing data, and driving of the pickup. Part, DVD rotation drive part, and the like. Note that the DVD drive unit 7 of this embodiment corresponds to DVD-RW and DVD-R as data-writable discs, and applies the VR format to DVD-RW as a format for recording data. A video format is applied to the DVD-R.

  The highlight detection unit 8 operates when recording according to the highlight scene, and is included in the data of the moving image transmitted from the tuner unit 2 or the external device connection unit 3 to the data processing unit 4. A process for detecting a scene corresponding to the highlighted highlight is performed. The highlight detection unit 8 of the present embodiment detects the position of the highlight based on the sound included in the moving image.

  FIG. 2 is a graph showing the change in the audio level of the moving image acquired by the tuner unit 2 or the external device connection unit 3 corresponding to the acquired time, and the set reference audio level is indicated by a broken line of a horizontal line. Yes. The highlight detection unit 8 compares the audio level of the acquired moving image with the reference audio level as needed, and based on the result of the comparison, the time from the state below the reference audio level to the reference audio level or higher (in FIG. 2) Time t1, t3, t5) is detected as an over-level scene, and the time corresponding to the end-point scene in a range continuously exceeding the reference level from the over-level scene (time t2, t4, t6 in FIG. 2) And the detected result is notified to the CPU 9.

  1 is provided in the main body of the recording apparatus 1, and includes a plurality of keys such as a recording key, a stop key, a pause key, an up / down / left / right key, and an enter key. The operation instruction is received and transmitted to the CPU 9. The remote control light receiving unit 11 connected to the CPU 9 receives signal light for remote operation from a remote control device 15 separate from the apparatus main body, and transmits the received content to the CPU 9. The remote control device 15 also includes a plurality of keys like the operation unit 10 and can accept operation instructions from the user.

  The CPU 9 controls the operation status of each unit 2 to 8 based on the user's operation instruction received by the operation unit 10 or the remote control device 15, and incorporates the first memory 9a and the second memory 9b. In the first memory 9a, a program 20 defining the control processing contents of the CPU 9a and a menu image 21 for OSD (On Screen Display) corresponding to various menus shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B are recorded and set in advance. The reference audio level value to be recorded is also recorded. In addition, data and files associated with the processing are temporarily recorded in the second memory 9b.

  Of course, the program 20 recorded in the first memory 9a prescribes the process at the time of recording among the many processes performed by the CPU 9a, and the contents of the process performed by the CPU 9 in the recording of the highlight scene will be described below.

  When the operation of the recording key is received from the user by the operation unit 10 or the remote control device 15, the recording device 1 causes the CPU 9 to select a video to be recorded (when a television broadcast or an external device is selected or a television broadcast is selected). (Broadcast channel selection), a recording menu for selecting a recording mode, and the like are displayed on the television device, and the selection from the user is accepted. When a predetermined selection is received from the recording menu described above, the CPU 10 performs a control process for displaying the recording menu 30 shown in FIG.

  The recording menu 30 includes a normal recording button 30a and a highlight recording button 30b. When the normal recording button 30a is selected by a user operation, the recording apparatus 1 performs a general recording process and acquires the obtained moving image. Is recorded on a DVD at any time. On the other hand, when the highlight recording button 30b is selected in the recording menu 30, the CPU 9 accepts the highlight recording instruction, and the highlight recording setting menu 31 shown in FIG. 3B is displayed on the television device. Perform the process.

  The highlight recording setting menu 31 includes a reference audio level adjustment field 31a, a front range adjustment field 31b, a rear range adjustment field 31c, an OK button 31d, and a cancel button 31e. The forward range to be adjusted in the forward range adjustment column 31b means a range corresponding to the time X1 ahead in the time advance direction from the times t1, t3, and t5 corresponding to the level excess scene in the graph shown in FIG. The time range X1 desired by the user can be received in the front range adjustment field 31b. Further, the rear range to be adjusted in the rear range adjustment field 31c means a range corresponding to the time X2 in the direction of time from the time t2, t4, t6 corresponding to the end point scene in the graph of FIG. The value of the time X2 desired by the user is received in the rear range adjustment column 31c.

  The values received in the front range adjustment field 31b and the rear range adjustment field 31c are set as values for time X1 and time X2, respectively. The time X1 and the time X2 are set to 30 seconds by default, but can be set to 0 seconds. When the time X1 is set to 0 seconds, the front range or the rear range itself exists. Disappear. The reference audio level adjustment field 31a is used to set a reference audio level value indicated by a wavy line in the graph of FIG. 2, and the reference audio level set as the standard in the default state is set by a user operation. It can be increased or decreased for each level.

  When the user selects the OK button 31d after setting the adjustment fields 31a to 31c, the set contents are written in the first memory 9a of the CPU 9, and the highlight scene recording process is started. On the other hand, when the cancel button 31e is selected by the user, the contents set in the respective adjustment fields 31a to 31c are returned to the recording menu 30 in FIG. 3A without being written in the first memory 9a.

  When the OK button 31d is selected in the highlight recording setting menu 31 of FIG. 3B and the highlight scene recording process is started, the CPU 9 performs data processing on the data acquired by the tuner unit 2 or the external device connection unit 3. When processing by the unit 4, the highlight detection unit 8 is operated to perform comparison detection, and the recording data processed by the data processing unit 4 is sequentially and temporarily stored in the buffer memory 6a of the control unit 6. Record (temporary recording). Further, the CPU 9 specifies a recording target portion (a portion corresponding to a highlight scene including an over-level scene) based on the detection result of the highlight detection unit 8, and uses the DVD drive unit 7 for the specified recording target portion. Control to record on DVD.

  The processing relating to the specific recording target portion specification is performed by the CPU 9 based on the comparison detection result by the highlight detection unit 8 and the contents set in the highlight recording setting menu 31 described above. For example, in the case shown in FIG. 2, the highlight detection unit 8 notifies the CPU 9 of the time t1 of the detected over-level scene and the time t2 of the end-point scene with respect to the audio level of the acquired moving image. A range sandwiched between a time T10 (starting point of the recording target portion) returned by time X1 forward and a time T11 (end point of the recording target portion) advanced backward by time X2 from time t2 is recorded in the buffer memory 6a. The recording target portion is specified from the recorded data, and the specified recording target portion is read from the buffer memory 6a and recorded on the DVD. Thereafter, the CPU 9 continues the control relating to the above-described recording target portion identification and recording until the user operates the stop key on the operation unit 10 or the remote control device 15 and receives an instruction to stop recording.

  In addition, when a plurality of recording target parts are specified, the CPU 9 detects whether or not the recording target parts that are temporally before and after are overlapped. A process of re-specifying one recording target part is performed. Specifically, the CPU 9 determines whether or not the interval from the time of the end point scene of the front recording target part to the time of the level-exceeding scene of the rear recording target part is equal to or less than the total time of the time X1 and the time X2, If it is less than or equal to the total time, it is determined that the recording target parts before and after are overlapped, and a process of combining them is performed.

  For example, in FIG. 2, when the recording target part at time T14 to T15 is specified after the recording target part at time T12 to T13 is specified, the CPU 9 detects whether or not the preceding and subsequent recording target parts overlap. In this case, the time interval (t5-t4) between the time t4 of the end point scene in the front recording target portion and the time t5 of the over-level scene in the rear recording target portion, and the total time (X2 + X1) of the time X2 and the time X1 ) And CPU 9 compare.

  In the case of FIG. 2, the CPU 9 determines that the time interval (t5-t4) is equal to or less than the total time (X2 + X1), and accordingly, the recording target portion at time T12 to T13 and the recording target portion at time T14 to T15 are It is re-specified as one continuous recording target part from time T12 (start point of the previous recording target part) to T15 (end point of the subsequent recording target part). As described above, when the interval between the detection scenes before and after is short, the recording apparatus 1 prevents the overlapping range (for example, T14 to T13) from being recorded twice, and closes the recording area by combining them into one recording target portion. The recording target portion to be recorded is also prevented from being cut into pieces, and the number of recording target portions is reduced to improve the efficiency of the recording process. The buffer memory 6a of the control unit 6 has a recording capacity necessary for the CPU 9 to perform the recording target portion specifying process as described above, and the data in the range that has been processed by the CPU 9 and the tuner unit. 2 or the unprocessed data acquired by the external device connection unit 3 is dealt with in a first-in first-out manner, and the data is paid out and temporarily recorded.

  The first flowchart shown in FIG. 4 is an arrangement of the recording processing procedure of the recording apparatus 1 based on the control of the CPU 9 described above. Hereinafter, the flow of the recording process will be described according to the first flowchart. The following description corresponds to the case where a television broadcast program acquired (received) by the tuner unit 2 is recorded on a DVD.

  First, the recording apparatus 1 displays the recording menu 30 shown in FIG. 3A in accordance with the operation of the recording key, and determines whether the highlight recording button 30b is selected and a highlight recording instruction is received from the user. (S1). When the highlight recording instruction is not received (S1: NO), the recording apparatus 1 determines whether or not the normal recording instruction is received (S2). When the normal recording instruction is received (S2: YES), the normal recording instruction is received. The video recording process is performed (S3). Then, it is determined whether or not an instruction to stop recording is accepted (S4). If an instruction to stop recording is not accepted (S4: NO), the process returns to the normal recording process stage (S3) to accept an instruction to stop recording. If it is found (S4: YES), the recording apparatus 1 ends the recording process.

  On the other hand, when the highlight recording instruction is accepted in the first stage (S1) (S1: YES), the highlight recording setting menu 31 of FIG. 3B is displayed, various settings are accepted, and the OK button 31d is selected. (S5). If the OK button 31d is not selected (S5: NO), the selection is awaited, and if the OK button 31d is selected (S5: YES), the recording apparatus 1 starts the highlight scene recording process. That is, the recording apparatus 1 temporarily records the moving image data received by the tuner unit 2 in the buffer memory 6a (S6), performs the process of specifying the recording target part (S7), and reads the specified recording target part from the buffer memory 6a. Then, highlight recording processing (S8) for recording on the DVD is performed. Then, the recording apparatus 1 determines whether or not an instruction to stop recording has been received (S9). If no instruction to stop recording has been received (S9: NO), the recording apparatus 1 returns to the temporary recording stage (S6) to perform highlight recording. If the process is continued and an instruction to stop recording is received (S9: YES), the highlight recording process is terminated.

  The second flowchart shown in FIG. 5 shows the detailed processing flow of the recording target portion identification (S7) in the first flowchart of FIG. Specifically, when the recording apparatus 1 starts the recording target part specifying process, the recording apparatus 1 compares and determines whether or not the audio level of the moving image scene received by the tuner unit 2 is equal to or higher than the reference audio level (S10). When it is determined that the received moving image scene is not equal to or higher than the reference audio level (S10: NO), the recording apparatus 1 waits for the audio level to become equal to or higher than the reference audio level. If it is determined that the received video scene is above the reference audio level (S10: YES), the recording apparatus 1 detects a scene that exceeds the reference audio level as an over-level screen, and the time from the over-level scene. The time when the front range of X1 starts (for example, time T14 in FIG. 2) is specified as the start point of the recording target portion (S11).

  Then, the recording apparatus 1 determines whether or not the sound level of the moving image scene received by the tuner unit 2 is continuously lower than the reference sound level from the state where the sound level is equal to or higher than the reference sound level (S12). When it is determined that the received moving image scene is not less than the reference audio level (S12: NO), the recording apparatus 1 waits for the audio level to become less than the reference audio level. If it is determined that the received video scene is lower than the reference audio level (S12: YES), the recording apparatus 1 detects a scene that is lower than the reference audio level as an end point scene, and at the time X2 from the end point scene. The time at which the rear range ends (for example, time T15 in FIG. 2) is specified as the end point of the recording target portion (S13).

  Further, the recording apparatus 1 determines whether or not the recording target portion in the range defined by the specified start point and end point becomes the second and subsequent recording target portions after starting the recording (S14). When it is determined that it is not the second or later (S14: NO), that is, when the recording target part is the first, since there is no preceding and following recording target part, the process is performed without performing overlapping determination of the preceding and subsequent recording target parts. Exit. If the recording target part specifying the start point and the end point is the second or later part (S14: YES), it is determined whether or not the recording target part specified this time overlaps with the recording target part specified last time ( S15).

  The total time of the time X1 in the front range in the recording target portion specified this time and the time X2 in the rear range in the recording target portion specified last time is the end point scene of the recording target portion specified last time (for example, time t4 in FIG. 2). If it is equal to or longer than the time interval from the level of the recording target part specified this time to the scene exceeding the level (for example, time t5 in FIG. 2), it is determined that the preceding and subsequent recording target parts overlap (S15: YES). In this case, the recording apparatus 1 performs one recording from the start point (for example, time T12 in FIG. 2) of the recording target portion specified last time to the end point (for example, time T15 in FIG. 2) of the recording target portion specified this time. The target portion is re-specified (S16). If it is determined that the preceding and following recording target portions do not overlap (S15: NO), the recording apparatus 1 ends the recording target portion specifying process. It should be noted that in the highlight recording process (S7) in the first flowchart of FIG. 4 in the cycle in which the recording target part is re-specified in the recording target part specifying process, the unspecified recording target part in the re-specified recording target part A recording portion (for example, a range of T13 to T15 in FIG. 2) is recorded on a DVD.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the recording apparatus 1 performs the process for specifying the recording target portion as described above, so that only the recording target portion including the highlight scene of the original received data (0 to Ta) is displayed by the user. Since the recording is performed on the DVD without performing any special editing work, the amount of data recorded on the DVD is much smaller than the amount of data of the original moving image, and the amount of recording on the DVD can be reduced. Further, by performing such highlight recording processing, a DVD in which scenes including a highlight scene are collected can be naturally created. Moreover, since the created DVD includes the range before and after the highlight scene, when this DVD is played, in addition to the process of reaching the highlight scene, you can also check the afterglow after the highlight scene. Compared to the case where only light scenes are collected, the user can enjoy highlight scenes more.

  In addition, since the range before and after the highlight scene can be adjusted with the highlight recording setting menu 31 shown in FIG. 3B, the length of the scene can be adjusted according to the user's preference. You can easily create a DVD with the same contents. Although the above-described processing has been described in the case of manual recording by operating the recording key on the operation unit 10 or the remote control device 15, the recording menu 30 shown in FIG. Thus, either normal recording or highlight recording can be selected. When highlight recording is selected, only the portion including the highlight scene is recorded on the recording medium (DVD) as described above.

  Further, the recording apparatus 1 according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described form, and various modifications can be applied. For example, as a recording medium for recording, in addition to DVD, an optical disk such as BD or HD DVD, or a semiconductor memory can be applied. In this case, a drive unit (read / write unit) corresponding to each recording medium is recorded. The device 1 is provided. Further, it is of course possible to use a built-in or detachable hard disk device as a recording medium other than those described above. When a hard disk device is used, an unrecorded area of the hard disk device may be used instead of the buffer memory 6a. . In this way, when the unrecorded area of the hard disk device is used for temporary recording of data, it becomes easy to temporarily record more data during the process of specifying the recording target part. When it becomes a long time, even when it is necessary to process a plurality of recording target portions, temporary recording can be surely performed.

  In addition, when a recording medium capable of random access such as a hard disk device and capable of easily deleting data once recorded is used as a recording medium for recording, the highlight scene is changed by a method different from the recording process described above. It is also possible to leave the corresponding part on the recording medium. In the case of this modification, the hardware configuration of the recording device 1 is almost the same as that shown in FIG. 1, but the DVD drive 7 is replaced with a hard disk device as a recording medium for recording. Also, during highlight recording, the data to be recorded (video) acquired by the tuner unit 2 or the external device connection unit 3 is sequentially recorded on the hard disk device, and then the portions that do not correspond to the recording target portion are deleted. Thus, only the recording target part is left in the hard disk device.

  The third flowchart in FIG. 7 shows the processing procedure of the above-described modification. In the third flowchart, the processes of S21 to S25 and S29 are the same as S1 to S5 and S9 of the first flowchart of FIG. When the OK button 31d shown in FIG. 3B is selected in the processing of S25 (S25: YES), the recording device of the modified example sequentially records the received moving image data on the hard disk device (S26). Then, the recording target part specifying process is performed (S27). The recording target part specifying process is basically the same as the procedure shown in the second flowchart shown in FIG. 5, but the start point and end point of the recording target part are specified as shown in FIG. And the specified start point (time T20, T22, T24, T26... In FIG. 8) and end point (time T21, T23, T25, T27. ) Is recorded on the hard disk drive.

  Finally, the recording apparatus of the modified example is a part that does not correspond to the recording target part that can be identified based on the recorded start point and end point (the part at time 0 to T20, the part at time T21 to T22 in FIG. The T24 part, the time T25 to T26 part, the T27 to T28 part, the T29 to T30 part, and the T31 to T32 part) are deleted from the hard disk device (S28). By performing such processing, only the recording target portion remains in the hard disk device of the recording device of the modified example, and the recording amount required for recording can be reduced. Note that the recording target portion remaining in the hard disk device may be defragmented so as to fit in a continuous recording location. In addition, in this modification, each time a recording target part is specified, a part that does not correspond to the recording target part may be deleted, and the recording target part is specified before the end of the video obtained as a further processing procedure. Then, the portions not corresponding to the recording target portion may be deleted collectively.

  Further, as a modification of the recording target part specifying process, in order to simplify the specifying process, the end point scene (scene corresponding to times t2, t4, and t6 in the graph of FIG. 2) may be omitted. Is possible. In this case, as shown in the graph of FIG. 9, when the recording device 1 detects an over-level scene (a scene corresponding to times t40, t41, t42, and t43 in the figure), the detected over-level scene is set in advance. It is detected by a timer function provided in the CPU 9 whether or not it continues for a given time A (for example, 10 seconds) or longer. If the over-level scene is equal to or greater than time A, the front range in time (range of time X10) from the start time (t40, t41, t42, t43) of the over-level scene, and the rear range in time behind A portion including (time X20 range) is specified as a recording target portion.

  As described above, even when the recording target portion is specified, when the recording target portions that move back and forth in time overlap, a process of grouping the preceding and following recording target portions into one continuous recording target portion is performed. For example, in the graph of FIG. 9, when the recording target portion from time T54 to time T55 and the recording target portion from time T56 to time T57 overlap (the time interval from time t42 to time t43 is between time X20 and time X10). When the time is equal to or less than the total time), recording processing is performed from time T54 to time T57 as one recording target portion. As described above, when the highlight recording process is performed with the pattern shown in the graph of FIG. 9, the recording can be efficiently performed when the received moving image includes a highlight scene in a divided manner. Note that the recording target part specifying process shown in FIG. 9 can also be applied to the process of the modification shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 (pattern for deleting a part not corresponding to the recording target part) (the same applies to the following modifications). ).

  Furthermore, in order to simplify the process related to the setting of the recording target portion, either the front range adjustment field 31b or the rear range adjustment field 31c is omitted in the highlight recording setting menu 31 in FIG. Thus, only the front range or the rear range may be included in the recording target portion. In addition to detecting the portion (scene) corresponding to the highlight scene by comparing the audio level of the video with the reference audio level, the video content of the video (for example, the motion vector amount of the object in the video, the background It is also possible to perform this based on a comparison result between a motion vector amount or the like and a reference video level (for example, a reference motion vector amount).

It is a block diagram which shows the main internal structures of the video recording apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a graph which shows the recording object part containing the highlight scene detected by the comparison with an audio | voice level and a reference | standard audio | voice level. (A) is a schematic diagram showing a recording menu, (b) is a schematic diagram showing a highlight recording setting menu. It is a 1st flowchart which shows the basic flow of a video recording process. It is a 2nd flowchart which shows the flow of a specific process of a video recording target part. It is the graph which compared the original moving image data and the recorded data. It is a 3rd flowchart which shows the basic flow of the video recording process of a modification. It is the graph which compared the state which recorded and the state which deleted the part which does not correspond to a recording object part. It is a graph which shows the recording target part which concerns on a modification.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording device 4 Data processing part 6 Control part 7 DVD drive part 8 Highlight detection part 9 CPU
15 Remote control device 20 Program 30 Recording menu 31 Highlight recording setting menu X1, X10 Front range time X2, X20 Back range time

Claims (7)

In a recording apparatus comprising a moving image acquisition means for acquiring a moving image from the outside, and recording the acquired moving image on a recording medium,
Means for receiving a highlight recording instruction for recording a portion corresponding to the highlight included in the acquired video;
When receiving a highlight recording instruction, a comparison means for comparing the content of the acquired video with a reference level;
Detecting means for detecting a level-exceeded scene in a moving image exceeding a reference level based on a comparison result of the comparing means;
A specifying means for specifying a range including a scene exceeding the level detected by the detecting means as a recording target part;
A recording apparatus comprising: recording means for recording the recording target portion on a recording medium. Provisional recording means for temporarily recording the moving image acquired by the moving image acquisition means;
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit reads and records the recording target portion specified by the specifying unit from the moving image temporarily recorded by the temporary recording unit. In a recording apparatus comprising a moving image acquisition means for acquiring a moving image from the outside, and recording the acquired moving image on a recording medium,
Means for receiving a highlight recording instruction for recording a portion corresponding to the highlight included in the acquired video;
Means for recording the acquired video on a recording medium when receiving a highlight recording instruction;
A comparison means for comparing the content of the acquired video against a reference level;
Detecting means for detecting a level-exceeded scene in a moving image exceeding a reference level based on a comparison result of the comparing means;
A specifying means for specifying a range including a scene exceeding the level detected by the detecting means as a recording target part;
A recording apparatus comprising: means for deleting a portion that does not correspond to the recording target portion specified by the specifying means in the recorded moving image.   4. The recording unit according to claim 2, wherein the specifying unit includes a front range temporally forward from the over-level scene and / or a rear range temporally rearward from the level-exceeded scene in the recording target portion. The recording device described. The detection means comprises means for detecting an end point scene in a range continuously exceeding a reference level from the level-exceeding scene,
The specifying means includes a range from the over-level scene to the end scene, and a front range temporally forward from the over-level scene and / or a rear range temporally rearward from the end scene in the recording target portion. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the recording apparatus is configured as described above. A duplication detection unit configured to detect whether or not recording target parts that overlap in time overlap when specifying a plurality of recording target parts when the specifying unit includes a front range and / or a rear range in the recording target part; Prepared,
When the duplication detection unit detects that the duplication detection unit overlaps, the specifying unit re-records from the start point of the preceding recording target portion in time to the end point of the later recording target portion as one recording target portion. 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the recording apparatus is specified.   The recording apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a time receiving unit that receives time in the front range and / or the rear range.

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