JP2007280469A - Recording/reproducing device and recording/reproducing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow criterion of the time required for replacing a recording medium to be presented to the user. <P>SOLUTION: This device includes: a recording/reproducing means for recording/reproducing an information signal with respect to the mounted recording medium; a prediction means for predicting the time for replacing the recording medium, which is required until the newly mounted recording medium becomes in a recordable state after the recording medium is ejected in accordance with an ejection instruction for the recording medium; and a display means for displaying the information related to the time required for replacement predicted by the prediction means, wherein a timing for replacing the recording medium being photographed is made measurable by the user, so that occurrence of the state missing the time for replacement of the recording medium is prevented when a most desirable photographic scene is picked up. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording / reproducing apparatus and a recording / reproducing method, and more particularly to a technique suitable for use in an apparatus in which a mounted recording medium can be replaced.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a digital video camera that captures a subject and records and reproduces it on a magnetic tape is known. In recent years, a disk video camera that records and reproduces image data and audio data on an optical disk such as a DVD has appeared instead of a magnetic tape (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-163867 A

  Currently, a disc video camera that records images and sounds on a disc medium such as a DVD is known. This type of disc video camera can record tens of minutes of images and sounds on a single disc. Therefore, in situations where a long-time event such as an athletic meet, a theatre, a wedding ceremony, or a lecture is taken with a DVD video camera, the disk is frequently replaced. You need to do it.

  However, when replacing a disk, in addition to requiring a disk replacement time, it may be necessary to write management information, recognize and format a new disk, etc. It may take time.

  Further, when it is desired to reproduce the recorded disc with another DVD player, finalization work is also required. Therefore, it is difficult for a novice user who has little experience in using a DVD video camera to estimate the time required for disk replacement. For this reason, there is a problem that even if it is desired to take a picture of a certain scene, it is not possible to take a picture because the disk replacement work is not in time.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a user with an indication of the time required for replacing a recording medium.

  The recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention includes a recording / reproducing means for recording / reproducing an information signal with respect to an installed recording medium, and the recording medium is newly installed after ejecting the recording medium in response to an instruction to eject the recording medium A prediction unit that predicts a replacement time required for the recording medium to be in a recordable state, and a display unit that displays information on the replacement time predicted by the prediction unit on a display device. To do.

  The recording / reproducing method of the present invention includes a recording / reproducing process for recording / reproducing an information signal with respect to an installed recording medium, and the recording medium is ejected in response to an instruction to eject the recording medium, and then newly installed. A prediction process for predicting a replacement time required for the recording medium to be in a recordable state, and a display process for displaying information on the replacement time predicted in the prediction process on a display device. To do.

  The program according to the present invention includes a recording / reproducing process for recording / reproducing an information signal with respect to an installed recording medium, and a newly installed recording medium after ejecting the recording medium in accordance with an instruction to eject the recording medium. A computer-readable recording / reproducing method comprising: a prediction step for predicting a replacement time required until the recording state becomes recordable; and a display step for displaying information on the replacement time predicted in the prediction step on a display device. It is made to perform.

  According to the present invention, since the time required for replacing the recording medium is predicted and displayed in advance on the display device, the user can measure the timing for replacing the recording medium being shot. Since the replacement work is not in time, it is possible to prevent in advance that a situation in which the user misses the scene most desired to be photographed will occur.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail by way of example. However, the components described in the present embodiment are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them.

  An embodiment of a DVD digital video camera to which the present invention is applied will be described below. Note that the DVD digital video camera mentioned here is capable of recording / reproducing data on a “DVD-R” disc and a “DVD-RW” disc. In the video camera of this embodiment, recording is performed in the video mode for “DVD-R”, and in the video mode or VR mode for “DVD-RW”.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a digital video camera according to the present embodiment.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes an image pickup unit, 102 denotes a microphone, and 103 denotes a recording system circuit. The image data and audio data obtained from the image pickup unit 101 and the microphone 102 are compressed and encoded.

  A recording / reproducing unit 104 formats the data output from the recording system circuit 103 in a predetermined format according to a predetermined file system, and records / reproduces the data as file data on the disc 105. A reproduction system circuit 106 reproduces a data file from the recording / reproduction unit 104.

  Reference numerals 107 and 108 denote output terminals for image data and audio data, respectively, and 109 denotes an LCD for displaying an image related to image data output from the imaging unit 101 and the reproduction system circuit 106. Reference numeral 110 denotes a system control unit (hereinafter referred to as “syscon”) for controlling the operation of the digital video camera, and reference numeral 111 denotes an operation unit including a power switch, a recording trigger, a playback switch, a stop switch, or a playlist editing switch. Reference numeral 112 denotes a display setting unit relating to the expected replacement time of the recording medium.

Next, the operation in the normal recording mode will be described.
First, prior to recording, when processing such as when a disc is mounted or when power is turned on, the system controller 110 controls the recording / reproducing unit 104 to read management information from the disc and store it in an internal memory. This management information is data necessary for recording and reproduction, such as the recording position of data on the disc. The syscon 110 updates this management information with the recording operation. The updated management information is recorded on the disc at a predetermined timing such as when the power is turned off or when the disc is ejected.

  Next, it is monitored that a recording start operation is performed. When the moving image shooting mode is set by the operation unit 111 and recording start is instructed by the recording trigger, the syscon 110 controls the recording system circuit 103 to start recording.

  The recording system circuit 103 encodes image data and audio data obtained from the imaging unit 101 and the microphone 102 during a period during which moving image recording is performed, and outputs the encoded data to the recording / reproducing unit 104 in a predetermined format. The recording / reproducing unit 104 adds additional information such as a header according to a predetermined file format to format the data string output from the recording circuit 103 and records it on the disc 105.

  While shooting a moving image, the operation unit 111 monitors whether the still image shooting mode is set. When the still image shooting is instructed by the recording trigger, the syscon 110 controls the recording system circuit 103 to start the still image recording. The recording system circuit 103 encodes the image data obtained from the imaging unit 101 and outputs it to the recording / reproducing unit 104 in a predetermined format. The recording / reproducing unit 104 adds additional information such as a header according to a predetermined file format to format the data string output from the recording circuit 103 and records it on the disc 105.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a main part of the recording system circuit 103 and its peripheral circuits.
In FIG. 2, the image data from the imaging unit 101 is output to the image signal processing unit 201. The image signal processing unit 201 performs processing such as sub-sampling according to the encoding format on the image data from the imaging unit 101 and outputs the processed image data to the image data encoding unit 202.

  The image data encoding unit 202 encodes the image data from the image signal processing unit 201 according to the MPEG2 or JPEG standard, and outputs the encoded image data to the data encoding processing unit 206. Further, the image data encoding unit 202 generates thumbnail image data indicating a representative image of one data file and outputs the thumbnail image data to the data encoding processing unit 206.

  Also, audio data from the microphone 102 is output to the audio signal processing unit 203. The audio signal processing unit 203 converts the audio data from the microphone 102 into digital data, further performs processing such as noise suppression and amplification, and outputs the processed data to the audio data encoding unit 204. The data is output to the audio data encoding unit 204. The audio data encoding unit 204 encodes the audio data from the audio signal processing unit 203 in accordance with the MPEG2 standard, and outputs it to the data encoding processing unit 206.

  The data encoding processing unit 206 converts the encoded image data and audio data into the MPEG2 transport stream format and outputs the converted data to the recording / reproducing unit 104. Further, the metadata generation unit 205 generates metadata indicating shooting information such as shooting date and time and F value, and outputs the metadata to the data encoding processing unit 206. The data encoding processing unit 206 arranges the metadata so as to be recorded in the header or footer of the image or audio data file, and outputs it to the recording / reproducing unit 104.

  In the digital video camera according to the present embodiment, image data and audio data captured and input between a recording start trigger and a recording stop trigger are recorded as one file. The data encoding processing unit 206 stores the metadata from the metadata generation unit 205 and the thumbnail image data from the image data encoding unit 202 in the header or footer of each file. In addition to this, the file name is also recorded in the header.

Next, the operation in the normal playback mode will be described.
When the playback mode is set by the operation unit 111, the syscon 110 controls the playback system circuit 106 to display a thumbnail image of the data file recorded on the disc 105 on the LCD 109. The user confirms the thumbnail displayed on the LCD 109 and operates the operation unit 111 to select a file to be reproduced. When the file to be reproduced is designated, the syscon 110 controls the reproduction system circuit 106 to display the metadata information relating to the file being reproduced on the LCD 109.

  The reproduction system circuit 106 reproduces the file designated by the recording / reproduction unit 104, decodes the image data and audio data in the file, outputs them from the output terminals 107 and 108, and displays the reproduced image on the LCD 109. .

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the reproduction system circuit 106 and its peripheral circuits.
In FIG. 3, when a playback command is transmitted from the syscon 110 to the playback analysis unit 301, the playback analysis unit 301 analyzes optical disc information such as a playback list and playback type. The analyzed optical disc information is output to the LCD 109. Data reproduced by the recording / reproducing unit 104 is output to the data decoding processing unit 302. The data decoding processing unit 302 detects image data and audio data from the reproduced data sequence, and further detects metadata from the file header and footer. Then, the image data is output to the image data decoding unit 303.

  The image data decoding unit 303 decodes the image data output from the data decoding processing unit 302 and outputs the decoded image data to the image output unit 305. The image output unit 305 converts the decoded image data into a format suitable for processing by an external monitor or other external device, and outputs the converted data to the output terminal 107 and the LCD 109.

  The audio data encoding unit 304 decodes the audio data output from the data decoding processing unit 302 and outputs the decoded audio data to the audio output unit 306. The audio output unit 306 converts the decoded audio signal into a format suitable for processing by an external device, and outputs it to the output terminal 108.

Next, the display medium replacement time display procedure according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
As described above, when processing such as when a disc is mounted or when power is turned on, the system controller 110 controls the recording / playback unit 104 to read management information from the disc and store it in the internal memory (step S701). ).

  Next, proceeding to step S702, when the DVD digital video camera is in shooting or standby for shooting, the syscon 110 takes the time required for disk replacement based on information indicating the recording state of the mounted disk 105 (expected replacement). Time).

  Next, the process proceeds to step S703, and the replacement time predicted in step S702 is displayed on the LCD 109. In this embodiment, the disk replacement time refers to the time required from when the user starts the disk ejection process to when a new disk is loaded and ready for shooting. The user can operate the display setting unit 112 to arbitrarily set conditions relating to the disk replacement time calculation.

  In step S704, it is determined whether each item on the display screen has been set by the user. If the result of this determination is that it has not been set, it enters a standby state for setting. As a result of the determination in step S704, if each item is set, the process proceeds to step S705, and processing related to the set content is performed.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S706, and it is determined whether or not the photographing is finished. If the result of this determination is that shooting is not terminated, processing returns to step S702, and the time required for disk replacement is predicted and calculated. After the processing in step S702, the above-described processing is repeated. If the result of determination in step S706 is that there is a power-off or disk ejection instruction, end processing is performed.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a breakdown of the expected disk replacement time T. The expected disk replacement time T is represented by a disk finalization time T1, a disk management information writing time T2, a disk ejection time T3, a new disk mounting time T4, a new disk recognition time T5, and a new disk initialization time T6. . However, FIG. 4 shows an example of the breakdown of the expected disk replacement time T, and is not limited to the time listed here.

  Although not shown, the imaging / recording apparatus according to the present embodiment includes an initialization process determination unit and an initialization process unit. The initialization processing unit is configured to perform the initialization process when the initialization processing determination unit determines that the loaded recording medium needs to be initialized. Although detailed configuration is omitted, there is a finalization processing means for performing finalization processing for recording predetermined information necessary for enabling reproduction of information data recorded on the disc by other playback devices. ing.

  The disc finalization time T1 can be calculated based on the recording state (remaining capacity) of the disc and the drive performance. Generally, in finalization, the larger the remaining capacity of the disc, the more dummy data needs to be written, so the finalization time becomes longer. That is, since the finalizing time T1 changes every moment during shooting, it is necessary to update the expected disk replacement time every few seconds.

  The disk management information write time T2 is the time required to write management information to the disk. In this embodiment, as described above, the management information held in the memory when the disk is taken out is written to the disk.

  The disc ejection time T3 and the new disc installation time T4 are times required for disc replacement work by the user, and the user can set an appropriate time using the display setting unit 112.

  The new disc recognition time T5 is a time required for disc type and mode recognition, laser power adjustment, and the like. Since the new disk recognition time T5 varies depending on the type and quality of the disk, it is preferable to store the time required for the previous blank disk recognition in the memory and use this time as the new disk recognition time T5. . When past data does not exist in the memory, the time preset by the developer is used.

  The initialization time T6 of the new disk is the time required for the initialization (format) processing that is executed when the newly inserted disk is a blank disk, and is initialized in the Video mode and the VR mode. The time required for is different. At this time, depending on the type of the disk (for example, “-RW disk”), it is necessary for the user to select whether the initialization is performed in the Video mode or the VR mode. It shall be included in T6. In the present embodiment, there is a recording medium recognition means (not shown) for recognizing the type of a new disc loaded.

  The initialization time T6 of the new disk also depends on the type and quality of the disk, the drive performance, etc., like the recognition time T5 of the new disk. Therefore, the initialization time T6 of the new disk is also determined by past data or setting values.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when a disk is replaced, the expected disk replacement time varies greatly depending on whether or not finalization is performed at the same time. When performing finalization, it is necessary to consider the finalization time in the expected disk replacement time.

  On the other hand, when finalizing is not performed, it is necessary to record the disc management information held in the memory when the disc is ejected, and thus the writing time is required. The display setting unit 112 can be used to select whether to display the estimated disk replacement time when finalization is performed or to display the estimated disk replacement time when the finalization is not performed.

  By displaying the expected disc replacement time including the finalization time, it is possible to use it as a criterion for determining whether or not to perform finalization before disc replacement when there is time before starting the next shooting. Become.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on the LCD 109 in step S703, and a display example of a setting screen relating to the display of the expected disk replacement time. By setting ON / OFF of the expected replacement time display shown in FIG. 5, the user can select whether or not to use this function. When ON is selected, various detailed settings are possible, which will be described below.

  As described above, the finalization time can be selected as to whether or not the finalization time is included in the expected disk replacement time, and is set by ON / OFF. Next, the disk replacement time allows the user to set the time required for disk replacement in seconds.

  This time is the total value of the disk ejection time T3 and the new disk mounting time T4 in FIG. In the new disc type, the type (“−R” or “−RW”) of the disc used as the new disc and the recording mode (Video mode or VR mode) are selected.

  The estimated disk replacement time is calculated on the assumption that the disk set here is used as a new disk. When “−R” is selected as the new disc type, only the video mode can be selected as the recording mode. When “−RW” is selected, the Video mode and the VR mode can be selected.

  In addition to the selection of “-R” and “-RW”, the disc type includes ALL (all the disc type and recording mode expected exchange times are all displayed) and Continue (the same as the disc currently used). (Displayed on the assumption that it is used in the type / recording mode) can also be selected. Needless to say, settings relating to replacement time display other than those described above are also possible.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display setting screen for an estimated disk setting time and an actual display screen.
In FIG. 6, reference numeral 601 indicates a shooting time, 602 indicates a remaining shootable time, 603 indicates an expected disk replacement time, and 604 indicates the type of disk being used and the recording mode. The estimated disk replacement time 603 indicates the type and mode of a disk used as a new disk, and is the estimated time when the disk is replaced.

It is not necessary to always display these expected replacement time displays. For example, “change the display cycle according to the remaining disk capacity”, “change the blinking speed”, and “superimpose every few minutes”. It is possible to arbitrarily set the display method. In the above-described embodiment, the apparatus for recording and reproducing the image and audio data on the DVD has been described. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to the case of using other recording media.
Further, as a condition for the expected replacement time shown in FIG. 6, it may be configured to set whether or not the process related to initialization is included in the predicted time.

(Other embodiments according to the present invention)
Each means constituting the recording / reproducing apparatus and each step of the recording / reproducing method in the embodiment of the present invention described above can be realized by operating a program stored in a RAM or ROM of a computer. This program and a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is recorded are included in the present invention.

  Further, the present invention can be embodied as a system, apparatus, method, program, storage medium, or the like. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices, or may be applied to an apparatus composed of a single device.

  In the present invention, a software program (in the embodiment, a program corresponding to the flowchart shown in FIG. 7) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments may be directly applied to the system or apparatus. Alternatively, it may be achieved by supplying from a remote location and the computer of the system or apparatus reads and executes the supplied program code.

  Accordingly, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by computer, the program code installed in the computer also implements the present invention. In other words, the present invention includes a computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention.

  In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, it may be in the form of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, and the like.

  Examples of the recording medium for supplying the program include a floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, and CD-RW. Moreover, a magnetic tape, a non-volatile memory card, ROM, DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-R), etc. are also included.

  As another program supply method, the program can be supplied by connecting to a homepage on the Internet using a browser of a client computer and downloading the computer program of the present invention from the homepage. Alternatively, it can be supplied by downloading a compressed file including an automatic installation function to a recording medium such as a hard disk.

  It can also be realized by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer is also included in the present invention.

  In addition, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to users, and key information for decryption is downloaded from a homepage via the Internet to users who have cleared predetermined conditions. Let It is also possible to execute the encrypted program by using the key information and install the program on a computer.

  Further, the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the computer executing the read program. In addition, based on the instructions of the program, an OS or the like running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments can also be realized by the processing.

  Further, the program read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Thereafter, the CPU of the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the imaging recording device with which this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a recording system circuit. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the reproduction | regeneration system circuit. It is a figure which shows the breakdown of disk replacement | exchange estimated time. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a display setting screen of estimated disk exchange time. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the setting of a disk replacement | exchange estimated time, and a display. It is a flowchart explaining the display medium replacement | exchange time display procedure of embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Image pick-up part 102 Microphone 103 Recording system circuit 104 Recording / reproducing part 105 Disc 106 Playback system circuit 107 Image data output terminal 108 Audio data output terminal 109 LCD
110 System control unit 111 Operation unit 112 Display setting unit

Claims (14)

Recording / reproducing means for recording / reproducing information signals with respect to the mounted recording medium;
Predicting means for predicting the time required for replacement after the recording medium is ejected in accordance with the ejection instruction of the recording medium until the newly mounted recording medium becomes recordable;
A recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: display means for displaying on the display device information relating to the required replacement time predicted by the prediction means. Management information generating means for generating management information for recording and reproducing the information signal to and from the recording medium,
The prediction unit predicts the management information generated by the management information generation unit with respect to the recording medium when the replacement time of the recording medium is predicted in accordance with an instruction to eject the recording medium. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a time required for recording. In addition to having a recording medium recognizing unit for recognizing the type of the mounted recording medium, the recording / reproducing unit is configured to record and reproduce the information signal with respect to a plurality of types of recording media,
2. The time required for the recording medium recognizing unit to recognize the type of the recording medium when the recording medium is newly installed includes the time required for the replacement in the time required for replacement. 2. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to 2.   The predicting unit predicts the required replacement time for each type of the recording medium, and the display unit displays the predicted required replacement time for each type of the recording medium on a display device. 4. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to 3. Initialization processing determining means for determining whether or not initialization processing is necessary when the recording medium is mounted; and initialization processing means for performing initialization processing of the recording medium,
When the initialization process determining means determines that it is necessary to perform the initialization process of the mounted recording medium, the prediction means performs the initial process of the recording medium performed by the initialization process means. 5. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a time required for performing the conversion process is included in the time required for the replacement. Finalization processing means for performing finalization processing for recording predetermined information necessary for enabling reproduction of information data recorded on the recording medium by another reproduction device;
The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predicting unit includes a time required for a finalizing process performed by the finalizing processing unit in the time required for the replacement. A recording / reproducing step of recording / reproducing an information signal with respect to the mounted recording medium;
A predicting step of predicting a replacement time required for the newly mounted recording medium to be in a recordable state after discharging the recording medium in accordance with the discharge instruction of the recording medium;
And a display step of displaying on the display device information related to the replacement required time predicted in the prediction step. A management information generating step for generating management information for recording and reproducing the information signal with respect to the recording medium;
In the predicting step, the management information generated in the management information generating step is stored in the recording medium in the recording / reproducing step when the replacement time of the recording medium is predicted in accordance with the discharge instruction of the recording medium. The recording / reproducing method according to claim 7, further comprising a time required for recording. While having a recording medium recognition step for recognizing the type of the mounted recording medium, the recording / reproducing step can record and reproduce the information signal for a plurality of types of recording media,
8. The time required for the recording medium recognition step to recognize the type of the recording medium when the recording medium is newly loaded is included in the time required for replacement in the prediction step. Or the recording / reproducing method according to 8.   In the prediction step, the required replacement time is predicted for each type of the recording medium, and in the display step, the required replacement time predicted for each type of the recording medium is displayed on a display device. The recording / reproducing method according to claim 9. An initialization process determination step for determining whether or not an initialization process is necessary when the recording medium is mounted; and an initialization process step for performing an initialization process of the recording medium,
In the initialization process determining step, when it is determined that it is necessary to perform the initialization process of the mounted recording medium, the prediction process includes the recording medium to be performed in the initialization process process. The recording / reproducing method according to claim 7, wherein a time necessary for performing the initialization process is included in the time required for the replacement. A finalizing process step of performing a finalizing process for recording predetermined information necessary for enabling reproduction of the information data recorded on the recording medium by another reproducing apparatus;
12. The recording / reproducing method according to claim 7, wherein in the predicting step, a time required for a finalizing process performed in the finalizing process step is included in the required time for replacement. A recording / reproducing step of recording / reproducing an information signal with respect to the mounted recording medium;
A predicting step of predicting a replacement time required for the newly mounted recording medium to be in a recordable state after discharging the recording medium in accordance with the discharge instruction of the recording medium;
A program for causing a computer to execute a recording / reproducing method including a display step of displaying on a display device information related to a replacement required time predicted in the prediction step. A computer-readable recording medium having the program according to claim 13 recorded thereon.

Images