JP2008071386A - Transfer management apparatus, method and program for controlling transfer management apparatus, and recording medium with program recorded thereon - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a transfer management apparatus which transfers content data efficiently. <P>SOLUTION: A recording and reproducing apparatus 1 includes a setting information generation part 15 which sets setting information 31 of the content data according to a program to which series content data belongs. The setting information generation part 15 coordinates the setting information 31 with a management table 30. Thus, the series content data can be managed and transferred by each program, so that the content data is transferred efficiently. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a transfer management apparatus that manages transfer of content data, a control method for the transfer management apparatus, a control program for the transfer management apparatus, and a recording medium that records the control program for the transfer management apparatus. In particular, the present invention relates to a transfer management apparatus capable of recording distributed content data on a recording medium and transferring content data recorded on the recording medium to another recording medium.

  In recent years, as a recording medium for recording content data distributed by CS (Communication Satellite) broadcasting and BS (Broadcasting Satellite) broadcasting, a hard disk (HDD), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), a recording capacity larger than a conventional video tape, Alternatively, optical disks such as BD (Blu-ray Disk) have come to be used. In addition, development of a video recording / playback apparatus for recording content data on such a recording medium is also in progress.

  For example, as the above-described video recording / playback device, a video recording / playback device (DVD single recording / playback device) that records content data on a DVD, or a video recording / playback that can record content data on a plurality of recording media such as an HDD in addition to a DVD. Apparatus (DVD composite recording / playback apparatus). Further, commercialization of a BD single recording / playback apparatus or a video recording / playback apparatus (BD composite recording / playback apparatus) capable of recording content data on a plurality of recording media such as an HDD in addition to the BD is also progressing. In addition, products such as BDHD-100 that can use three recording media of HDD, BD, and DVD have already been commercialized.

  In this way, the distributed content data can be recorded (recorded) on a large-capacity recording medium.

  However, when the distributed content data is recorded on a recording medium while maintaining image quality such as high-definition image quality, the amount of data to be recorded becomes large. For this reason, even when content data is recorded on the above-described large-capacity recording medium, the data amount of content data that can be recorded is limited.

  In view of this, it is configured so that necessary content data can be stored in an appropriate recording medium with a required image quality by using a technology related to data transfer of content data such as copying or moving (moving) between a plurality of recording media. An improved video recording and playback device has also been developed.

  By the way, some content data to be distributed constitutes one program by one content data, while only a predetermined amount of content is distributed in a predetermined period, such as every day or every week, as in a so-called continuous TV drama. Some programs constitute one program with a plurality of content data. Note that each of a plurality of pieces of content data constituting one program is referred to as series content data in this specification.

  By recording such series content by specifying a time, so-called recording reservation, the viewer can view the desired content at the desired time. Then, by sequentially recording the series contents by the recording reservation in this way, the data of the series contents (series content data) is stored in the recording medium for each broadcasting time. For this reason, when the number of programs to be recorded increases or a program with a large number of broadcasts is recorded, the number of content data recorded on the recording medium increases, and management of each content data becomes complicated.

  Thus, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a content recording / playback management apparatus that registers recording status information indicating whether or not content has been recorded for each episode number indicating the number of times of broadcast content. Yes. The content recording / playback management apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 can rearrange the playback order in the order of episode numbers regardless of the recording order, and can easily manage the series content.

In addition, in order to easily perform editing operations on recorded content, Patent Document 2 uses reference editing information created for the first recorded program to edit another recorded program having the same configuration. An editing apparatus capable of performing work is disclosed.
JP 2004-343520 A (published on December 2, 2004) JP 2004-326953 A (published on November 18, 2004)

  However, in the above-described conventional configuration, when data transfer is executed in order to save the recorded content data in an appropriate recording medium with a required image quality, there is a problem that processing related to the data transfer becomes complicated. .

  Specifically, in the conventional configuration, it is necessary to manually determine setting items related to transfer at the time of data transfer, and the operation becomes complicated. For example, in the case of a BDHD-100 that can handle three recording media of HDD, BD, and DVD, data can be transferred bidirectionally for each recording medium, so there are six patterns just by determining the data transfer direction. In addition, if this includes iLINK connections with external devices, for example, the pattern related to the direction of data transfer will increase considerably, and the recording rate, recording time, etc. must be set for each direction of data transfer each time. I must. For this reason, the operation is considerably complicated.

  In particular, when transferring a program composed of the above-described series content data to another recording medium, it is necessary to search each series content data to be transferred in the transfer source recording medium, and to set each transfer. The operation related to is more complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transfer management apparatus, a transfer management apparatus control method, and a transfer management apparatus control program capable of efficiently transferring content data. And a recording medium on which a control program of the transfer management apparatus is recorded.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the transfer management device according to the present invention is a transfer management device that manages the transfer of content data, and in accordance with the specific information that specifies content data belonging to the same content data group, the content data Transfer condition setting means for setting the transfer condition, and the transfer condition setting means associates the transfer condition with table information in which management information for managing each piece of content data is recorded for each content data group. Features.

  The content data is, for example, text, music, images, videos, or information that is a combination thereof expressed in digital data.

  According to the above configuration, since the transfer condition setting means is provided, the same transfer condition can be set for each piece of content data belonging to the same content data group.

  Further, since the transfer condition setting means can associate the transfer condition with the table information, the transfer condition setting means can manage each content data constituting the same content data group, and can manage each managed content data. Transfer can be performed according to the transfer condition set by the transfer condition setting means.

  In other words, the transfer management device according to the present invention can manage and transfer content data for each data constituting the same content data group, and has an effect that content data can be transferred efficiently. .

  In the transfer management device according to the present invention, in the configuration described above, the management information recorded in the table information includes, in the management information recorded in the table data, order information indicating the playback processing order of the content data constituting the content data group, and the order. Each piece of information is associated with transfer information indicating the transfer state of the content data corresponding to the order information, and transfer information updating means for updating the transfer information according to whether or not the content data has been transferred. It is preferable to be further configured.

  According to the above configuration, since the transfer information update unit is provided, it is possible to record the transfer status such as whether or not the transfer is performed for each individual content data constituting the content data group in the management information. For this reason, the transfer management device according to the present invention refers to the table information to grasp whether or not each piece of content data constituting the same content data group has been transferred according to the order of reproduction processing. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently manage the content data constituting the same content data group.

  Further, the transfer management device according to the present invention is a configuration further comprising transfer means for transferring the content data based on transfer conditions according to the table information of the content data group including the content data to be transferred. May be.

  According to the above configuration, since the transfer unit is provided, when transferring the content data, the transfer can be performed based on the transfer condition associated with the table information of the content data group including the content data. For this reason, since it is not necessary to sequentially perform settings related to transfer when transferring content data, the transfer of content data can be performed efficiently.

  In the transfer management device according to the present invention, in the configuration described above, the transfer unit transfers each of the content data constituting the content data group based on transfer conditions according to the table information of the content data group. It may be configured.

  According to the above configuration, since the transfer means is provided, each of the content data constituting the content data group can be transferred based on the transfer condition according to the table information of the content data group. In this way, since it is not necessary to set transfer conditions for each piece of content data constituting the content data group, it is possible to efficiently transfer the content data, particularly each piece of content data constituting the same group. .

  In the transfer device according to the present invention, in the configuration described above, the management information recorded in the table information further includes, for each order information, recording information indicating a recording state of content data corresponding to the order information. It may be configured to further include recording information update means that updates the recording information in accordance with whether or not the content data has been recorded.

  According to the above configuration, since the recording information update means is provided, the recording state such as whether or not recording has been performed for each individual content data constituting the content data group can be recorded in the management information. For this reason, the transfer management apparatus according to the present invention can grasp whether or not each piece of content data constituting the same group has been recorded according to the order in which the reproduction processing is performed by referring to the table information. it can. Therefore, content data constituting the same group can be efficiently managed.

  In the transfer management device according to the present invention, in the configuration described above, when the recording information in the table information is updated to indicate that recording has been performed by the recording information update unit, the transfer unit indicates that recording has been completed. The content data of the order information associated with the recording information may be transferred according to the transfer condition associated with the table information.

  Further, the transfer management device according to the present invention further includes an output means for outputting untransferred information indicating untransferred content data in the content data group based on the transfer information included in the table information in the configuration described above. It is preferable to provide.

  According to the above configuration, since the output unit is provided, it is possible to notify the user of untransferred content data in the content data group. For this reason, the user can grasp the transfer state of the content data.

  The transfer management device according to the present invention includes a content data storage device that stores content data in the configuration described above, and the output unit refers to the management information according to an instruction from a user, and When content data information indicating content data stored in the content data storage device is output and the output means determines that content data belonging to the same content data group exists in the content data storage device, Information indicating the content data group may be output as content data information as information indicating the content data collectively.

  According to the above configuration, the user can be notified of the content data information indicating the content data stored in the content data storage device by the output means. In addition, in the case of content data belonging to the same content data group, the output means is configured to output content data information indicating the content data group to which the content data belongs. Therefore, the type of content data information to be output can be reduced. it can.

  Therefore, the user can be notified of the content data stored in the content data storage device efficiently.

  The transfer management apparatus according to the present invention further includes a receiving unit that receives content data information of content data desired to be transferred from a user in accordance with the content data information output by the output unit in the configuration described above. The output unit may be configured to output a transfer condition according to the content data information received by the receiving unit.

  According to the above configuration, the receiving unit is provided, and the output unit can output transfer conditions corresponding to the stored content information received by the receiving unit. For this reason, it is possible to notify the user of the transfer conditions set in the content data desired to be transferred.

  In the transfer management device according to the present invention, in the configuration described above, when the content data information received by the receiving unit is information indicating a content data group, the transfer unit performs the transfer according to the transfer condition. It is preferable to sequentially transfer each content data belonging to the content data group.

  The transfer management apparatus according to the present invention further includes a transfer condition storage device that stores the transfer conditions in the configuration described above, and the output unit is stored in the transfer condition storage device in response to an instruction from the user. When the receiving unit outputs a transfer condition and the receiving unit receives a desired transfer condition from the user according to the transfer condition output by the output unit, the output unit refers to the table information, The configuration may be such that content data information corresponding to the accepted transfer condition is output.

  In the transfer management device according to the present invention, in the configuration described above, when the receiving unit receives a desired transfer condition from the user according to the transfer condition output by the output unit, the transfer unit includes: It is preferable that the content data corresponding to the received transfer condition is transferred with reference to the table information.

  The transfer management device may be realized by a computer. In this case, the transfer management device control program for causing the computer to operate the transfer management device by operating the computer as each of the above means, and A computer-readable recording medium on which is recorded also falls within the scope of the present invention.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the transfer device control method according to the present invention is a transfer information management method for managing transfer of content data. In the transfer information control method, the content information belonging to the same content data group is specified. In response, it comprises transfer condition setting means for setting transfer conditions for content data, and the transfer condition setting means records information on management information for managing content data for each content data group in table information. The method includes the step of associating the transfer conditions.

  That is, the control method of the transfer management apparatus according to the present invention can manage and transfer content data for each data constituting the same content data group, and can efficiently transfer the content data. There is an effect.

  As described above, the transfer management device according to the present invention, in the transfer management device that manages the transfer of content data, sets the transfer condition of the content data according to the specific information that specifies the content data belonging to the same content data group. Transfer condition setting means for setting is provided, wherein the transfer condition setting means associates the transfer conditions with table information in which management information for managing content data for each content data group is recorded.

  Therefore, the transfer management device according to the present invention can manage and transfer the content data for each data constituting the same content data group, and has the effect that the content data can be transferred efficiently. .

  As described above, the transfer device control method according to the present invention is a transfer management device control method for managing the transfer of content data, in accordance with specific information specifying content data belonging to the same content data group. Transfer condition setting means for setting a data transfer condition, and the transfer condition setting means adds the transfer condition to table information recording management information for managing content data for each content data group. The method includes the step of associating.

  That is, the control method of the transfer management apparatus according to the present invention can manage and transfer content data for each data constituting the same content data group, and can efficiently transfer the content data. There is an effect.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. That is, FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention and is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the recording / reproducing apparatus 1.

  The recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment receives content data distributed from a broadcasting station by BS digital broadcasting, and records (records) the received content data on a recording medium 5 or records the recorded content data. It is managed by transferring it to another recording medium 6. The recording / reproducing apparatus 1 also reads out and outputs (reproduces) the recorded content data from the recording medium 5 or the recording medium 6.

  Note that the data handled by the recording / playback apparatus 1 is not limited to content data distributed by BS digital broadcasting, for example, so-called digital broadcasting such as CS digital broadcasting or terrestrial digital broadcasting broadcast on the ground. It may be content data distributed by.

  In addition to the content data that is actually used for output processing or the like, program supplementary information that is metadata describing the features of the content data in a compact manner is multiplexed in the distributed content data. That is, the distributed content data includes packets of video data, audio data, and program supplementary information, and the packet of the program supplementary information is composed of a header part and program supplementary information. In BS digital broadcasting, SI (Service Information) information is used as the program supplementary information.

(Hardware configuration of recording / playback device)
Here, the hardware configuration of the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a reception unit 2, an operation unit 3, a display unit 4, a recording medium 5, a recording medium 6, a main control unit 7, a management table storage device 8, The setting information storage device 9 is provided.

  The receiving unit 2 receives content data that is video data or audio data of a broadcast program from a selected broadcast station. That is, the receiving unit 2 receives a broadcast signal and selects one or more specific broadcast stations. Then, the receiving unit 2 converts the broadcast signal of the program distributed from the selected broadcast station into a data format that can be used by the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.

  The receiving unit 2 can be realized by an antenna that receives a broadcast signal from a broadcast station, a tuner that selects a broadcast signal to be received, a descrambler that preprocesses the broadcast signal, and the like.

  Further, the program supplementary information is multiplexed in the content data received by the receiving unit 2 as described above. That is, the recording / playback apparatus 1 receives a packet of program supplementary information along with a packet of content data (video data and / or audio data) from a broadcasting station. When receiving the content data in which the program supplementary information is multiplexed as described above from the selected broadcasting station, the receiving unit 2 transmits the content data to the main control unit 7.

  The operation unit 3 is an input unit for receiving an instruction from the user, and is realized by various input units such as a keyboard, a mouse, a tablet (input panel), an input pen, a key (button), or a microphone. Can do.

  The display unit 4 displays the content data or information for prompting an input instruction to the user according to an instruction from the main control unit 7.

  The recording medium 5 and the recording medium 6 are readable / writable recording media, such as HDDs or optical disks such as DVD_R, DVD_RW, and BD. The recording medium 5 and the recording medium 6 may be the same type of recording medium, or one may be a different type of recording medium such as DVD_R and the other is BD.

  In the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the content data received by the receiving unit 2 is recorded on the recording medium 5, the recorded content data is appropriately transferred to the recording medium 6, and the received content data is recorded. The medium 5 and the recording medium 6 can be distributed and recorded. Since content data can be recorded on a plurality of recording media in this way, the recording / playback apparatus 1 can hold more content data.

  The main control unit 7 performs various controls of each unit provided in the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. The main control unit 7 can be realized by a CPU or the like, for example.

  The management table storage device 8 and the setting information storage device 9 are readable / writable recording media, and can be realized by, for example, an HDD or a flash EEPROM. The management table storage device 8 stores a management table 30 that is generated based on the program supplementary information of the received content data, and the setting information storage device 9 is information relating to the transfer of content data from the recording medium 5 to the recording medium 6. The setting information 31 is recorded. Detailed descriptions of the management table 30 stored in the management table storage device 8 and the setting information 31 stored in the setting information storage device 9 will be described later.

  In addition, the management table storage device 8 and the setting information storage device 9 may be physically separate storage devices, and when the storage area for storing the management table 30 and the setting information 31 can be clearly distinguished, The same storage device may be physically used.

(Software configuration of recording / playback device)
Here, with reference to FIG. 1, the software configuration of the recording / playback apparatus 1 relating to recording, management, and output processing of content data (series content data) will be described. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, and is a block diagram showing a main configuration of the recording / playback apparatus 1. In FIG. 1, bold arrows indicate the flow of content data, and thin arrows indicate the flow of instructions or information between the units.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the main control unit 7 includes, as function blocks, a system control unit 11, a program-accompanying information separation unit 12, a user interface unit 13, a management table generation unit 14, a setting information generation unit 15, and a data transfer control unit 16. The recording / reproduction control unit 17 and the output processing unit 18 are provided. In addition, when the main control unit 7 is realized by a CPU, for example, each functional block can be realized by the CPU reading and executing a program recorded in a ROM (not shown) to a RAM (not shown).

  The system control unit 11 controls the entire recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. More specifically, for example, when the system control unit 11 receives content data in which program supplementary information is multiplexed from the reception unit 2, the system control unit 11 transmits the content data to the program supplementary information separation unit 12. When the instruction information from the user is received by the operation unit 3, the system control unit 11 receives the instruction information via the user interface unit 13. Then, in response to the received instruction information, the recording / reproduction control unit 17 is instructed to reproduce the content data, or the content data recorded on the recording medium 5 in the data transfer control unit 16 is recorded on the recording medium 6. Or instructing the transfer to Further, the system control unit 11 instructs the setting information generation unit 15 to generate the setting information 31 based on information input by the user.

  The program supplementary information separation unit 12 separates the program supplementary information from the content data received from the reception unit 2 and multiplexed with the program supplementary information in accordance with an instruction from the system control unit 11. The program supplementary information separating unit 12 transmits the separated program supplementary information to the management table generating unit 14, while transmitting content data such as video and / or audio to the recording / reproducing control unit 17.

  The user interface unit 13 provides an interface with the operation unit 3, and functions as an input unit for receiving an operation instruction from the operation unit 3. The user interface unit 13 transmits instruction information from the user received from the operation unit 3 to the system control unit 11.

  The management table generation unit 14 extracts the content data information (content information) attached with the program supplementary information from the program supplementary information received from the program supplementary information separation unit 12, and a management table that is a table of the content information 30 is generated. The management table generation unit 14 records the generated management table 30 in the management table storage device 8.

  The content information constituting the management table 30 includes a series ID (specific information), an episode number (order information), a total number of episodes, a program name (specific information) of content data, and the like. Corresponding to content data recorded (recorded) on the recording medium 5. Further, the program to which the content data belongs can be specified by the series ID or the program name.

  In the management table 30, content information is recorded for each program name, that is, for each series ID, and the configuration of the management table is as shown in FIG. 3, for example. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a correspondence relationship between the management table 30 and the setting information 31 held by the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.

  That is, in the example illustrated in FIG. 3, the management table 30 records the program name “Drama A”, the series ID “1”, the total number of episodes “6”, and the episode numbers “1” to “6”.

  The series ID is information for specifying a program to which the series content data belongs, and is indicated by, for example, a descriptor of series_id (series ID) in the program supplementary information.

  The episode number is information indicating the number of times the series content data is for the broadcast program, and is indicated as, for example, an episode_number (episode number) descriptor in the program supplementary information.

  The total number of episodes is information indicating the total number of broadcasts of the series content data, and is indicated, for example, as a last_episode_number (total number of episodes) descriptor in the program supplementary information.

  The program name is information indicating the name of a program distributed from a broadcasting station as series content data, and is indicated as a descriptor of series_name_char (program name) in the program supplementary information, for example.

  Further, the management table generation unit 14 receives the table of contents information of the content data from the recording / playback control unit 17 (to be described later) when recording the content data on the recording medium 5, and records it in association with the management table 30. As described above, the management table generation unit 14 records the management table 30 and the table of contents information in association with each other, whereby the correspondence between the management table 30 and the content data recorded on the recording medium 5 can be obtained.

  The table of contents information is information indicating whether or not the content data has been recorded on the recording medium 5, that is, whether or not the content data can be used for output processing or the like. For example, the table of contents information includes a management table 30 that is recorded on the recording medium 5, information indicating the file name of the content data, the playback time of the content data, the attribute of the content data, or the program supplementary information. Specific information (pointer) for specifying the correspondence with the content data is included.

  As described above, the management table generation unit 14 receives the table of contents information from the recording / playback control unit 17 to grasp that the content data specified by the table of contents information is recorded (recorded) on the recording medium 5. Can do. Therefore, when receiving the table of contents information, the management table generating unit 14 updates the recording status (recording information) in the management table 30 of the content data specified by the table of contents information to indicate that it has been recorded.

  The setting information generation unit 15 registers setting information 31 that is information related to data transfer based on information input from the user. The registered setting information 31 is stored in the setting information storage device 9. The setting information 31 includes, for example, a data transfer direction, a data transfer type, a data transfer time, a bit rate, a series program, and series information as shown in FIG.

  The data transfer direction is a direction in which series content data is transferred. For example, when “A => B” as shown in FIG. 3, the series content data is transferred from the recording medium A to the recording medium B. It shows that.

  Further, in the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the data transfer direction in the setting information 31 is shown by indicating both the transfer destination and the transfer source. However, the data transfer source information and the data transfer destination May be shown individually and the two may be associated with each other.

  The data transfer type is information indicating whether the series content data itself is copied and transmitted to the transfer destination, or the series content data once decoded is re-encoded and transferred. That is, the former is information indicating that the series content data is transferred at a transfer speed corresponding to the performance of the recording / writing drive of the recording medium 5 and the recording medium 6 while maintaining the quality at the time of recording. On the other hand, the latter is information indicating that the series content data can be transferred to a quality different from the quality at the time of recording, that is, the image quality of the transferred series content data can be adjusted.

  The data transfer time is information indicating the time to start data transfer in response to the transfer instruction of the series content data, and the transfer of the series content data is immediately started in response to the transfer instruction of the series content data ( Indicates whether to set (immediate) or transfer timing (time) (reservation). Therefore, when “immediate” is indicated as shown in FIG. 3, transfer of the series content data is started immediately in response to the transfer instruction of the series content data.

  Note that the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured such that when the transfer timing is set and reserved in the setting information 31, an item indicating the reservation time is further provided for the reservation time and can be registered as sub-data. Preferably there is.

  The bit rate is information indicating the bit rate of the series content data to be transferred. Specifically, in the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when series content data is transferred at a constant speed, the type of transfer destination recording medium 6 or the data writing mechanism to the recording medium 6 is used. Accordingly, the bit rate can be changed. In the recording / reproducing apparatus 1, the series content data is recorded on the recording medium 5 at a plurality of bit rates at the time of recording, and the series content data having a desired bit rate can be selected to be transferred to the recording medium 6. It is also configured.

  Therefore, in the setting information 31, the bit rate designated as described above is registered as a numerical value or a character string. For example, XP, LP, EP,... Are marked in descending order of the rate as a character string indicating the bit rate.

  The series program is information indicating whether or not the content data associated with the setting information 31 is series content data. Here, when the content data is series content data, it is associated with the corresponding management table 30 by the following series information. For example, in FIG. 2, the content data to be transferred is series content data. For this reason, in the series information, P1 is registered as information for identifying the management table 30 related to the series content data.

  On the other hand, if the content data is not series content data, the following series information is empty.

  Further, the setting information generation unit 15 has transferred the transfer status (transfer information) corresponding to the transferred content data in the management table 30 in accordance with the information indicating the transfer end from the data transfer control unit 16. It is also updated to show.

  The data transfer control unit 16 controls the transfer of content data between recording media. More specifically, the data transfer control unit 16 controls to transfer the content data recorded on the recording medium 5 to the recording medium 6. The data transfer control unit 16 refers to the setting information 31 stored in the setting information storage device 9 and controls data transfer based on the setting information 31.

  Also, the data transfer control unit 16 may instruct the setting information generation unit 15 to update the transfer status in the management table 30 corresponding to the content data to indicate that the transfer has been completed when the transfer of the content data is completed. is there.

  The recording / playback control unit 17 controls the recording (writing) or / playing (reading) of the content data received from the program supplementary information separating unit 12 with respect to the recording medium 5. The recording / playback control unit 17 also controls playback (reading) of content data recorded on the recording medium 6.

  Note that the recording / playback control unit 17 can read out the content data recorded on the recording medium 5 or the recording medium 6 by reading out the content data recorded on the recording medium 5 or the recording medium 6, for example, by encoding and compressing the content data And a decoder for decoding into various formats.

  Further, when recording (recording) content data on the recording medium 5 or the recording medium 6, the recording / playback control unit 17 extracts table of contents information from the content data. Then, the recording / playback control unit 17 transmits the extracted table of contents information to the management table generation unit 14 and instructs to record it in association with the management table 30 generated based on the program supplementary information separated from the content data. Let

  The recording / playback control unit 17 also instructs the output processing unit 18 to transmit content data read from the recording medium 5 or the recording medium 6 and to perform display based on the content data.

  The output processing unit 18 controls the display unit 4 to display the content data received from the recording / playback control unit 17. Further, the output processing unit 18 controls the display unit 4 to display, for example, information prompting entry of items related to the setting information 31 in accordance with an instruction from the data transfer control unit 16.

  Since the recording / reproducing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has the recording medium 5 and the recording medium 6 as described above, the recording medium 5 is “A” and the recording medium 6 is “B”. In this case, there are only two transfer directions of “A → B” or “B → A”. However, the number of recording media included in the recording / playback apparatus 1 is not limited to this, and a configuration including three or more recording media may be used. Furthermore, the structure which can output to the apparatus connected outside the recording / reproducing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, and can transfer content data to this apparatus may be sufficient.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 15, in the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the content data received by the receiving unit 2 or the instruction information from the user input from the operation unit 3 is further transmitted via the system control unit 11. And output to the external recording medium 40. Further, the content data recorded on the recording medium 5 by the data transfer control unit 16 can be transferred not only to the recording medium 6 but also to the external recording medium 40 through the system control unit 11. In FIG. 15, the same members as those in FIG.

  In such a configuration, there are a large number of transfer directions, but since the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment stores the setting information 31 associated with the management table 30, the setting is performed. By referring to the information 31, the content data can be transferred to an appropriate transfer destination.

  The recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which the management table 30 and the setting information 31 are individually stored and associated with each other, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the management table 30 and the setting information 31 are composed of one table, and each of the management table generation unit 14 and the setting information generation unit 15 records information in the corresponding item of the table shown in FIG. It is good also as composition to do. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a correspondence relationship between the management table 30 and the setting information 31 held by the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.

  The items included in the setting information 31 are not limited to the data transfer direction, data transfer type, data transfer time, bit rate, series program, and series information as described above. For example, items that can be set when transferring data, such as chapter setting, title name setting, finalize setting, audio / video setting, etc., may be added as detailed information. When starting data transfer at a predetermined time, the detailed information may include a data transfer start time (reserved time) that needs to be registered at the data transfer time.

  In addition, the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to generate the management table 30 when the received content data is recorded on the recording medium 5, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, after the content data received on the recording medium 5 is once recorded, the program supplementary information may be extracted from the content data to generate the management table 30.

(Transfer process)
Next, content data “transfer processing” executed in the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of transfer processing in the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the operation unit 3 receives a content data transfer instruction from a user. The operation unit 3 transmits the transfer instruction to the system control unit 11 via the user interface unit 13. When receiving the transfer instruction, the system control unit 11 instructs the data transfer control unit 16 to select transferable content data, that is, content data recorded on the transfer source recording medium 5. To do. In response to this instruction, the data transfer control unit 16 reads the content data recorded on the recording medium 5 with reference to the management table storage device 8 and displays the program name on the display unit 4 through the output processing unit 18. Wait for selection from the user.

  As a display for prompting selection of content data to be transferred, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, the program name recorded on the recording medium 5 is displayed, and all the series content data belonging to the same program name are grouped into one item. They are displayed (in FIG. 11, program series 1 to program series 3). On the other hand, content data that is not series content data is displayed as one item for each content data (content 1 to content 5 in FIG. 11). FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a display prompting selection of content data to be transferred in the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.

  When the program name is displayed on the display unit 4 in this way, the user selects content data desired to be transferred in accordance with this display, and operates the operation unit 3 to input the selection result (step S11 and thereafter). S11). When the operation unit 3 receives a program name of content data selected by the user and desired to be transferred, the operation unit 3 transmits the program name to the system control unit 11 through the user interface unit 13. When the system control unit 11 receives the program name of the content data desired to be transferred, the system control unit 11 transmits information related to the program name to the data transfer control unit 16 and instructs transfer of the content data corresponding to the program name.

  In response to an instruction from the system control unit 11, the data transfer control unit 16 refers to the management table 30 and determines whether the content data corresponding to the program name is series content data (S12). That is, the system control unit 11 searches the management table storage device 8 for the management table 30 including the program name. When the management table 30 including the program name is found, the data transfer control unit 16 refers to the series ID recorded in the management table 30 and the content data desired to be transferred is the series content data. It is determined whether or not there is.

  If the determination in step S12 is NO, the data transfer control unit 16 performs data transfer according to the transfer conditions set in the initial state (default) for transfer from the recording medium 5 to the recording medium 6 (S19). .

  On the other hand, if the determination in step S12 is YES, the data transfer control unit 16 searches the setting information 31 associated with the management table 30 including the program name selected by the user (S13). Then, the data transfer control unit 16 determines whether or not the setting information 31 exists as a result of this search (S14). In the case where the setting information 31 does not exist, for example, other series content data classified as a series of the same program as the series content data desired to be transferred has never been transferred, and the setting information 31 For example, 31 is not created.

  If “YES” in the step S14, it is determined whether or not the series content data is transferred from the recording medium 5 to the recording medium 6 according to the retrieved setting information 31 (S15). That is, the data transfer control unit 16 instructs the output processing unit 18 to display a message asking whether to transfer the series content data in accordance with the searched setting information 31. In response to an instruction from the data transfer control unit 16, the output processing unit 18 displays a message inquiring whether to transfer the series content data according to the setting information 31.

  When the operation unit 3 receives information instructing to transfer the series content data based on the setting information 31 in response to this display (“YES” in S15), the information indicating the received instruction is received. Is transmitted to the system control unit 11 through the user interface unit 13. Upon receiving the instruction information from the user, the system control unit 11 instructs the data transfer control unit 16 to transfer the series content data selected by the user based on the setting information 31 searched in step S13. To do.

  In response to the instruction from the system control unit 11, the data transfer control unit 16 reads the setting information 31 retrieved in step S13 from the setting information storage device 9 (S16).

  On the other hand, if “NO” in step S14 or step S15, that is, if there is no setting information 31 related to the series content data that is desired to be transferred by the user, or if the user does not want to use the setting information 31, the data The transfer control unit 16 instructs the output processing unit 18 to display to prompt registration of the setting information 31 related to the transfer processing of the series content data for which transfer is desired.

  In response to this instruction, the output processing unit 18 displays on the display unit 4 that setting information 31 related to the transfer processing of the series content data that is desired to be transferred is input. As the display on the display unit 4, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, each item that needs to be registered is displayed as setting information 31 in order, and the user is prompted to input the setting information 31 to register the setting information 31. (S21).

  That is, as shown in FIG. 6, setting information 31 is displayed such as a display regarding the determination of the transfer source and the transfer destination, followed by a display regarding transfer type and transfer time registration, and a display for prompting the setting of the transfer start time. Are displayed so that each item to be registered can be input. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen for setting information 31 in the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. The arrows in this figure indicate the transition of the screen displayed on the display unit 4.

  The display for prompting the user to input the setting information 31 is not limited to the display shown in FIG. 6 described above. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, the display is made so that each item of the setting information 31 can be selected. The setting for the selected item may be set graphically.

  As described above, when information related to each item of the setting information 31 is input by the user according to the display on the display unit 4, the operation unit 3 receives the information and transmits the information to the system control unit 11 through the user interface unit 13. Then, the system control unit 11 transmits information regarding each item of the setting information 31 to the setting information generation unit 15 and instructs to save the setting information 31 in the setting information storage device 9. In response to the instruction from the system control unit 11, the setting information generation unit 15 creates the setting information 31 of the content data desired to be transferred based on the information input by the user and stores it in the setting information storage device 9. (S22).

  Note that in the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when information related to the setting information 31 is input in step S22, the setting information generation unit 15 outputs the input information as illustrated in FIG. To display on the display unit 4. Then, the setting information 31 is saved after confirmation by the user. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for confirming the input setting information in the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.

  As described above, when the storage of the setting information 31 related to the series content data desired to be transferred is completed, the setting information generation unit 15 transmits information indicating that the storage of the setting information 31 is completed to the data transfer control unit 16. In response to this information, the data transfer control unit 16 reads the stored setting information 31 from the setting information storage device 9 (S16).

  When the setting information 31 is read in step S16, the data transfer control unit 16 transfers the series content data recorded on the recording medium 5 to the recording medium 6 based on the setting information 31 (S17).

  When the transfer of the series content data is completed, the data transfer control unit 16 instructs the setting information generation unit 15 to indicate that the transfer status in the management table 30 corresponding to the transferred series content data has been transferred. To update. In response to an instruction from the data transfer control unit 16, the setting information generation unit 15 rewrites and updates the transfer status of the management table 30 associated with the read setting information 31 as transferred. As described above, the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment ends the content data (series content data) transfer process.

  Note that the above-described display for prompting selection of content to be transferred is not limited to the display shown in FIG. 11. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, a list of setting information 31 related to data transfer is displayed. There may be. Thus, the structure which selects the content data transferred on the basis of the setting information 31 may be used.

  In step S12, the data transfer control unit 16 refers to the series ID recorded in the management table 30, and determines whether or not the content data desired to be transferred is series content data. However, the condition for determining is not limited to this. For example, the configuration may be such that the determination is made with reference to the item of the series program included in the setting information 31 associated with the management table 30 including the program name selected by the user.

  As described above, in the configuration in which it is determined whether or not the content data that is desired to be transferred is series content data with reference to the items included in the setting information 31, the process of step S12 is performed after step S16 shown in FIG. Will be done.

  In the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the setting information 31 is stored in the setting information storage device 9 only for the series content data. However, the setting information 31 also exists for content data that is not series content data. The configuration may be stored in the setting information storage device 9. When configured in this way, in step S19, the same processing as in steps S14 to S17 and steps S21 and S22 may be performed.

  In the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when the setting information 31 is registered in the “transfer process” described above, the setting information 31 is registered based on information input by the user. there were. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the setting information generation unit 15 automatically creates the setting information 31 with reference to the transfer setting performed by the user during normal transfer and stores the setting information 31 in the setting information storage device 9. The structure to be made may be sufficient.

  In addition, the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which the user confirms the storage of the setting information 31 once. However, the configuration of the recording / playback apparatus 1 is not limited to this, and the The configuration may be such that the setting information generation unit 15 automatically saves the input information as the setting information 31 without confirmation.

  In this way, when transferring series content data, if series content data that was previously classified as a series of the same program has been transferred, the transfer can be appropriately performed using the setting information created in the previous transfer. Desired series content data can be transferred.

  Further, since the setting information 31 can be generated even when the setting information 31 corresponding to the series content data desired to be transferred does not exist, another series content data classified as a series of the same program Can be transferred with reference to the setting information 31.

  In addition, since the transfer status can be updated so as to indicate that transfer has been completed for the series content data for which transfer processing has been completed, series content data that has already been transferred to the recording medium 6 among the series content data in the recording medium 5 is stored. It can be easily grasped. As described above, the recording / playback apparatus 1 can easily acquire information related to management, such as whether the recorded content data has been transferred to another recording medium by referring to the management table 30. Management of series content data can be facilitated.

  In the above “transfer processing”, the case where one of the series content data received and recorded on the recording medium 5 is transferred to the recording medium 6 has been described. Accordingly, a case where all the series content data classified next as a series of the same program is collectively transferred (hereinafter referred to as “series transfer”) will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing processing when all of the series content data classified as a series of the same program is collectively transferred in the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.

(Series transfer processing)
First, in the same manner as the “transfer process” described above, the program name of the content data recorded in the recording medium 5 is displayed on the display unit 4 in response to the content data transfer instruction from the user received by the operation unit 3. The user waits for selection of a program name. Then, the program name of the content data desired to be transferred selected by the user is received (S31). Similarly to step S12, in the recording / playback apparatus 1, the data transfer control unit 16 determines whether or not the content data of the program name selected by the user is series content data (S32). If “NO” in the determination in step S32, the content data desired to be transferred is transferred by normal data transfer in the same manner as in step S19 (S40), and the transfer process is terminated.

  On the other hand, if “YES” in the determination of step S32, the data transfer control unit 16 instructs the output processing unit 18 to perform a display for inquiring whether to perform series transfer. In response to an instruction from the data transfer control unit 16, the output processing unit 18 displays on the display unit 4 an inquiry as to whether or not to perform series transfer (S33). In this display, when the user does not instruct the series transfer by operating the operation unit 3 (“YES” in S33), the process proceeds to (A), and the processes after step S13 in FIG. 5 are executed.

  On the other hand, in response to this display, when the user operates the operation unit 3 to instruct series transfer (“YES” in S33), the instruction is transmitted from the operation unit 3 to the system control unit 11 through the user interface unit 13. Is done. When receiving the instruction information indicating that the series transfer is to be performed, the system control unit 11 instructs the data transfer control unit 16 to transfer the series content data of the program name selected by the user in series.

  In response to an instruction from the system control unit 11, the data transfer control unit 16 searches the management table 30 corresponding to the program name that the user desires to transfer, and refers to the management table 30 to refer to the series of the same program name. A search is performed to determine whether a plurality of content data exists. That is, the presence / absence of other content data having the same series ID is searched (S34).

  As a result of the search in step S34, if there is other content data that matches the series ID (“YES” in S35), the data transfer control unit 16 searches the total number of episodes in the management table 30 and the management table. With reference to the episode number registered in 30, it is determined whether there is any series content data not recorded in the recording medium 5, that is, whether there is a missing episode number (S36).

  If "NO" in the step S36, the data transfer control unit 16 confirms the presence / absence of the setting information 31 of the series content data that the user desires to transfer (S37). That is, the data transfer control unit 16 determines whether or not the setting information 31 associated with the management table 30 exists.

  On the other hand, if “NO” in step 35 and “YES” in step S36, whether or not only the content data existing in the recording medium 5 is transferred with respect to the series content data of the program name that the user desires to transfer. An inquiry is made (S41). That is, the data transfer control unit 16 inquires of the output processing unit 18 whether or not only the content data existing in the recording medium 5 is transferred with respect to the series content data of the program name that the user desires to transfer. Is displayed on the display unit 4.

  Then, in response to this display, when the user instructs to transfer only the content data existing in the recording medium 5 by operating the operation unit 3 (“YES” in S41), the instruction is sent to the user. The system control unit 11 receives the data through the interface unit 13. Upon receiving this instruction, the system control unit 11 instructs the data transfer control unit 16 to confirm the presence / absence of the setting information 31 corresponding to the series content data of the program name desired to be transferred. In response to the instruction from the system control unit 11, the data transfer control unit 16 confirms the presence / absence of the setting information 31 of the series content data that the user desires to transfer (S37).

  On the other hand, when only the content data existing in the recording medium 5 is not transferred (“NO” in S41), the recording / playback apparatus 1 ends the transfer process.

  In step S37, if the setting information 31 exists (in the case of “YES”), the data transfer control unit 16 reads out the setting information 31 (S38) and transfers the series content data in series based on the setting information 31 ( S39).

  On the other hand, if the setting information 31 does not exist (“NO” in step S37), the user is prompted to input each item of the setting information 31, and the setting information generation unit 15 responds to the input to the setting information storage device 9. The setting information 31 is registered (S42). In the recording / playback apparatus 1, the setting information generation unit 15 stores the setting information 31 generated based on the information input from the user in the setting information storage device 9 (S43).

  Thus, when the registration of the setting information 31 is completed, the data transfer control unit 16 reads out the registered setting information 31 (S38). Then, based on the read setting information 31 and the management table 30 corresponding to the setting information 31, the series content data is transferred in series (S39).

  That is, the data transfer control unit 16 sequentially transfers the program name desired to be transferred, that is, each of the series content data having the same series ID under the condition according to the setting information 31. The data transfer control unit 16 refers to the episode numbers in the management table 30 in the order of transfer of the series content data to be transferred in ascending order of the episode numbers.

  When the series transfer is completed as described above, the transfer status of each of the series content data classified as the same program is updated and updated (S44). That is, every time the series content data having the same series ID is transferred, the data transfer control unit 16 refers to the management table 30 and notifies the setting information generation unit 15 of the episode number of the transferred series content data. In response to this notification, the setting information generation unit 15 updates the transfer status corresponding to the episode number of the series content data that has been transferred as transferred.

  Note that steps S37 to S39 and S44, and steps S42 and S43 are the same as steps S14, S16 to S18, and steps S21 and S22, respectively, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

The search process in step S34 and the determination process in step S36 are configured to be performed by the data transfer control unit 16 with reference to the management table 30, but are not limited thereto. For example, content data recorded on a recording medium or the like may be directly read, series information may be acquired from the content data, and the above search and determination processing may be performed.

  In the above-described series transfer process, in step S37, the presence / absence of the setting information 31 related to the series content data desired to be transferred is determined with reference to the management table 30 related to the series content data. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the data transfer control unit 16 may search the setting information storage device 9 for setting information 31 including the program name of the content data that the user desires to transfer.

  In the series transfer process described above, the setting information is read in step 38 after step S37, but after step S37 and before performing the process in step 38, the same as in step S15 of the above "transfer process". Whether or not the setting information 31 is used may be confirmed.

  Further, in the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when performing the series transfer process, it is configured to transfer the episode numbers in ascending order. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The episode number may be selected at random, and may be transferred in series.

  In addition, when transferring each series content data, it can be explicitly displayed as shown in FIG. 9 whether or not each series content data of the series ID corresponding to the program name desired to be transferred has been transferred. It is preferable that it is comprised. Such a configuration for explicitly displaying whether or not the transfer has been completed can be realized as follows. That is, when the transfer status is updated as having been transferred in step S40, the output processing unit 18 reads the transfer status of each content data of the series ID that is desired to be transferred after the update. Based on the read transfer status, the display unit 4 displays which series content data of the series content data has been transferred.

  Note that the display timing as shown in FIG. 9 may be performed during the transfer of the series content data, or may be performed while the transfer process is not being performed. That is, it is preferably performed at an appropriate timing at which display of information about whether or not each series content data has been transferred.

  Next, the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment may record content data of a program for which the management table 30 has already been generated. The content data of the program for which the management table 30 has already been generated may be content data having the same series ID and different from the content data already recorded on the recording medium 5, or the same content. It may be data.

  A case where content data having the same series ID as the content data generating the management table 30 is recorded will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of registration of the management table 30 and content data recording processing in the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.

  First, when the user inputs an instruction to record content data distributed from a broadcasting station by operating the operation unit 3, the content data desired to be recorded can be received according to the instruction. Settings are made in the receiver 2. In this way, when the receiving unit 2 receives content data desired by the user, the receiving unit 2 transmits the content data to the system control unit 11.

  When receiving the content data desired to be recorded from the receiving unit 2, the system control unit 11 transmits the content data to the program supplementary information separating unit 12. The received content data is multiplexed with the program supplementary information as described above. Therefore, the program supplementary information separation unit 12 instructs the program supplementary information to be separated from the received content data and transmitted to the management table generation unit 14 to generate the management table 30. On the other hand, the program supplementary information separating unit 12 transmits the content data from which the program supplementary information is separated to the recording / reproducing control unit 17.

  In this way, when receiving the content data, the recording / playback control unit 17 starts recording (recording) the received content data on the recording medium 5 (S51). Further, when the content data is recorded on the recording medium 5 in this way, the recording / playback control unit 17 transmits the table of contents information of the content data to the management table generating unit 14.

  On the other hand, when receiving the program supplementary information from the program supplementary information separating unit 12, the management table generating unit 14 checks whether or not the management table exists in the management table storage device 8 (S52).

  If it is determined that the management table 30 does not exist (“NO” in S53), the management table generation unit 14 determines the management table based on the content information included in the program supplementary information separated from the received content data. On the other hand, the recording / playback control unit 17 records (records) the content data on the recording medium 5.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the management table 30 exists (“YES” in S52), the management table generation unit 14 reads the management table 30 (S53), and records the series ID and program recorded in the management table 30. It is determined whether or not the series ID in the content information included in the incidental information matches (S54). That is, whether or not the management table 30 corresponding to the received content data exists is searched using the series ID as a key.

  If the series ID included in the read management table 30 does not match the series ID in the content information included in the program supplementary information (“NO” in S54), another management is stored in the management table storage device 8. It is confirmed whether there is a table 30 (S57).

  When it is determined in step S57 that another management table 30 exists (“YES” in S57), the management table generation unit 14 repeats steps S53 and S54, and the management table storage device 8 performs management with matching series IDs. The table 30 is searched.

  Here, when the management table 30 having the same series ID does not exist in the management table storage device 8 (“NO” in step S57), the management table generation unit 14 is included in the program supplementary information separated from the received content data. While generating the management table 30 based on the content information, the recording / playback control unit 17 records (records) the content data on the recording medium 5 (S56).

  On the other hand, when there is a management table 30 with a matching series ID (“YES” in S54), the management table generating unit 14 generates a management table 30 with a matching series ID from the content information included in the program supplementary information. The management table 30 is updated (S55). Then, the received content data is recorded (recorded) on the recording medium 5 (S56).

  The recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to perform registration and update of the management table 30 at the start of recording of content data, but the registration and update timing of the management table 30 is limited to this. It is not a thing. For example, it may be performed at the end of the recording of the content data, or may be performed at another timing. That is, the registration and update timing of the management table 30 may be from the time when recording of the content data is started to the time when the management table 30 related to the recorded content data is required.

  Note that the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to transfer content data (series content data) based on the setting information 31. If the setting information 31 of the content data desired to be transferred does not exist, the setting information 31 is generated according to the input information from the user.

  Further, the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment may be configured such that setting information 31 set for each program name or content data recorded in the recording medium 5 can be displayed on the display unit 4. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 14, the display unit 4 displays a list showing program names or content data recorded on the recording medium 5, and the user selects, for example, the content data 5 from the list. When selected, the setting information set for the transfer of the content data 5 is displayed.

  In the recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when the content data is recorded on the recording medium 5 by the recording / playback control unit 17, the management table generation unit 14 receives the table of contents information to receive the table of contents information. The configuration is such that it is possible to grasp that the content data specified by the recording is recorded (recorded) on the recording medium 5. Then, when receiving the table of contents information, the table generating unit 14 is configured to update the recording status in the management table 30 of the content data specified by the table of contents information to indicate that it has been recorded.

  Therefore, when the recording status is updated so as to indicate that the recording has been completed, the data transfer control unit 16 reads the content data corresponding to the recording status from the recording medium 5 and automatically transfers it to the recording medium 6. It may be configured as follows.

  Finally, each block of the recording / playback apparatus 1, particularly the main control unit 7, may be configured by hardware logic, or may be realized by software using a CPU as follows.

  That is, the recording / playback apparatus 1 includes a CPU (central processing unit) that executes instructions of a control program that implements each function, a ROM (read only memory) that stores the program, and a RAM (random access memory) that expands the program. And a storage device (recording medium) such as a memory for storing the program and various data. An object of the present invention is a recording medium on which a program code (execution format program, intermediate code program, source program) of a control program of the recording / playback apparatus 1 which is software for realizing the above-described functions is recorded so as to be readable by a computer. This can also be achieved by supplying the recording / playback apparatus 1 and reading and executing the program code recorded on the recording medium by the computer (or CPU or MPU).

  Examples of the recording medium include tapes such as magnetic tapes and cassette tapes, magnetic disks such as floppy (registered trademark) disks / hard disks, and disks including optical disks such as CD-ROM / MO / MD / DVD / CD-R. Card system such as IC card, IC card (including memory card) / optical card, or semiconductor memory system such as mask ROM / EPROM / EEPROM / flash ROM.

  The recording / playback apparatus 1 may be configured to be connectable to a communication network, and the program code may be supplied via the communication network. The communication network is not particularly limited. For example, the Internet, intranet, extranet, LAN, ISDN, VAN, CATV communication network, virtual private network, telephone line network, mobile communication network, satellite communication. A net or the like is available. Also, the transmission medium constituting the communication network is not particularly limited. For example, even in the case of wired such as IEEE 1394, USB, power line carrier, cable TV line, telephone line, ADSL line, etc., infrared rays such as IrDA and remote control, Bluetooth ( (Registered trademark), 802.11 wireless, HDR, mobile phone network, satellite line, terrestrial digital network, and the like can also be used. The present invention can also be realized in the form of a computer data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program code is embodied by electronic transmission.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. That is, embodiments obtained by combining technical means appropriately changed within the scope of the claims are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

  The recording / playback apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a setting information generation unit 15 that sets content data setting information 31 according to a program to which series content data belongs, and manages the series content data for each program. Can be transferred. Therefore, the present invention can be widely applied when it is necessary to transfer content data belonging to the same content data group.

1, showing an embodiment of the present invention, is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of a recording / playback apparatus. FIG. 1, showing an embodiment of the present invention, is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a recording / playback apparatus. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the correspondence of the management table and setting information which the video recording / reproducing apparatus concerning this Embodiment hold | maintains. It is a figure which shows an example of the correspondence of the management table and setting information which the recording / reproducing apparatus concerning this Embodiment hold | maintains. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the transfer process in the video recording / reproducing apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the input screen of setting information in the recording / reproducing apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen for confirming the input setting information in the recording / reproducing apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process in the case of transferring all the series content data classified as a series of the same program collectively in the video recording / reproducing apparatus concerning this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the display which shows whether each series content data of the program name for which transfer is desired in the recording / reproducing apparatus concerning this Embodiment has been transferred. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the registration process of a management table and the recording process of content data in the recording / reproducing apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the display which promotes selection of the content data to transfer in the video recording / reproducing apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of another display which urges | selects the content data to transfer in the video recording / reproducing apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows another example of the input screen of setting information in the recording / reproducing apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen which displays the setting information set about each program name or content data currently recorded on the recording medium in the video recording / reproducing apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. FIG. 29, showing another embodiment of the present invention, is a block diagram illustrating a main configuration of a recording / playback apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 Recording / playback device (transfer management device)
2 Receiving part (receiving part)
3 Operation section 4 Display section (output means)
5. Recording medium (content data storage device)
6 Recording medium 7 Main control unit 8 Management table storage device 9 Setting information storage device (transfer condition storage device)
15 Setting information generation unit (transfer condition setting means / transfer information update means / recording information update means)
16 Data transfer control unit (transfer means)
17 Recording / Reproduction Control Unit 18 Output Processing Unit (Output Unit)
30 Management table (table information)
31 Setting information (transfer conditions)

Claims (15)

In a transfer management device that manages transfer of content data,
Transfer condition setting means for setting transfer conditions for content data according to specific information for specifying content data belonging to the same content data group,
A transfer management apparatus, wherein the transfer condition setting means associates the transfer condition with table information in which management information for managing content data for each content data group is recorded. The management information recorded in the table information includes the order information indicating the playback processing order of the content data constituting the content data group, and the transfer state of the content data corresponding to the order information for each order information. The transfer information shown in FIG.
2. The transfer management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising transfer information update means for updating the transfer information according to whether or not content data has been transferred.   3. The transfer management apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a transfer means for transferring the content data based on transfer conditions corresponding to table information of a content data group including the content data to be transferred.   4. The transfer management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the transfer unit transfers each content data constituting the content data group based on a transfer condition according to table information of the content data group. The management information recorded in the table information is further associated with recording information indicating the recording state of the content data corresponding to the order information for each of the order information,
5. The transfer management apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising recording information update means for updating the recording information according to whether or not the content data has been recorded.   When the recording information in the table information is updated so as to indicate that the recording has been completed by the recording information updating unit, the transfer unit stores the content data of the order information associated with the recording information indicating that the recording has been completed. 6. The transfer management apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the transfer is performed according to the transfer condition associated with the information.   4. The transfer management according to claim 3, further comprising output means for outputting untransferred information indicating untransferred content data in the content data group based on the transfer information included in the table information. apparatus. A content data storage device for storing content data;
The output means outputs content data information indicating content data stored in the content data storage device with reference to the management information in response to an instruction from a user,
If the output means determines that there is content data belonging to the same content data group in the content data storage device, information indicating the content data group is used as content data information as information indicating the content data collectively. The transfer management apparatus according to claim 7, wherein In accordance with the content data information output by the output means, further includes a receiving unit that receives content data information of content data desired to be transferred from the user,
9. The transfer management apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the output unit outputs a transfer condition according to the content data information received by the receiving unit.   When the content data information received by the receiving unit is information indicating a content data group, the transfer unit sequentially transfers each content data belonging to the content data group according to the transfer condition. The transfer management device according to claim 9. A transfer condition storage device for storing the transfer conditions;
The output means outputs the transfer condition stored in the transfer condition storage device in accordance with an instruction from the user,
When the receiving unit receives a desired transfer condition from a user according to the transfer condition output by the output unit, the output unit refers to the table information and corresponds to the received transfer condition. The transfer management apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the transfer management apparatus outputs content data information.   When the receiving unit receives a desired transfer condition from the user according to the transfer condition output by the output unit, the transfer unit refers to the table information and corresponds to the received transfer condition. The transfer management apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the transfer management apparatus transfers content data.   A control program for operating the transfer management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the control program for the transfer management apparatus causes a computer to function as each means.   A computer-readable recording medium on which the control program for the transfer management apparatus according to claim 13 is recorded. In a control method of a transfer management device that manages transfer of content data,
A transfer condition setting means for setting a transfer condition of content data according to specific information specifying content data belonging to the same content data group;
A method for controlling a transfer management apparatus, comprising: a step in which the transfer condition setting means associates the transfer condition with table information in which management information for managing content data for each content data group is recorded.

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