JP2011253585A - Write-in control method of multiple data - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a control technique for preventing a fragmentation of data such that the data of two files are alternately recorded by 1.5 MB unit when two programs are simultaneously video-recorded, since an existing retrieval of idle capacity of video-recording area starts from a beginning of a disk.SOLUTION: The problem is solved by making a predetermined unit of recording capacity larger, which is called as an allocation unit. Also, it is solved by making the allocation unit variable in accordance with a capacity of video-recording program. The present invention secures the video-recording area (suppressing the video-recording of other programs) in accordance with data amount of the video-recording program before the video-recording is started.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for controlling writing of a plurality of data. In particular, it relates to a technique for recording television broadcasts.

  In recent years, data processing devices such as digital TVs, recorders, and set-top boxes for recording programs using internal or external hard disks and optical media as recording devices have been used. By configuring a plurality of receivers, the use of data processing apparatuses capable of recording not only one program but also a plurality of programs in parallel is expanding.

JP 2008-27248 A JP 2002-268924 A

In the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when recording a plurality of programs, it is necessary to access the recording apparatus in parallel. Therefore, the recording apparatus is in a state where each program is fragmented without being continuously recorded. To be recorded. Although defragmentation can be considered as a method of controlling after fragmentation occurs, it is well known that when data is read out, the performance of the data processing device is deteriorated because the recorded data is not continuous unless defragmentation is performed. ing.
In the current TV recording method, when a certain amount of stream data is accumulated in the memory, it is recorded in a recording device. As an example, the standard of removable hard disk iVDR (registered trademark, information Versatile Disc for Removal usage) is supposed to record in units of 1.5 MB, so if you record two or more programs in parallel, Program data is alternately recorded in units of 1.5 MB, and in the worst case, the data is fragmented in a minimum unit of 1.5 MB.

  In the present invention, in order to prevent fragmentation, a continuous area is secured in the recording apparatus so that recording is continuously performed, and recording is continuously performed.

  If the recording time can be estimated by the type of program, the problem is solved by securing a predetermined area size in accordance with the type of program on the recording medium and continuously recording it. If the recording time differs for each program, the recording data size is different. Therefore, the problem is solved by calculating the size of the program data to be recorded and making the recording area of the recording medium variable. That is, the so-called allocation unit has a capacity that matches the recorded program.

  Furthermore, the following aspects are also included in the present invention. The amount of continuous area to be secured or the size of an allocation unit is estimated using program information. At this time, it is more preferable to determine the possibility that the broadcast will be extended according to the program type included in the program information, and to specify the area to be secured according to the determination result.

  In the control method for writing a plurality of data according to the present invention, a recording area is secured in advance so that other data is not interrupted and recorded. As a result, fragmentation can be prevented to a minimum, and performance degradation during data reading can be prevented.

It is the figure which showed the structural example of the data processor. It is the figure which showed the program information required for program recording. It is the figure which showed the information required for program recording, when a user makes a recording reservation manually. It is the figure which showed the table information hold | maintained at the data processor side. It is the figure which showed the flow of writing about multiple data. It is the figure which showed the file state in the variable recording area. It is the figure which showed the file state in a fixed video recording area.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention and embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The embodiment described below is an example as means for realizing the present invention, and should be appropriately modified or changed depending on the configuration and various conditions of the apparatus to which the present invention is applied. It is not limited to the embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a data processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.
The data processing apparatus includes a remote control 100, a remote control light receiving unit 110 that receives an operation of a network, a channel, and the like of the remote control 100, an operation unit 120 such as various switches or buttons provided on the casing, and a control that controls the overall operation. Unit 130, display unit 140 such as a display, terrestrial digital broadcast, BS digital broadcast, CS digital broadcast, and terrestrial analog broadcast data receiving unit 150, image / audio signal processing unit 160, recording device 170, and time unit 180. Connected to the bus 190.

  The control unit 130 includes a reception control 131 that controls reception of broadcast data from the reception unit 150, a recording / reproduction control 132 that controls reproduction of broadcast data from the recording device 170, and recording to the recording device 170, and the reception unit 150 and recording. Display control 133 for displaying broadcast data from the apparatus 170 on the display unit 140, terrestrial digital broadcast such as EPG necessary for these controls, BS digital broadcast and CS digital broadcast, and program information 134 as recording information of terrestrial analog broadcast data The recording control data 135 manually input by the user and the parameter management table 136 held on the data processing apparatus side.

  In addition to each broadcast data, the receiving unit 150 can receive electronic program guide data such as an electronic program guide (EPG (Electronic Program Guide) and a code for specifying a TV program (channel and broadcast time)). The data processing apparatus can perform program selection or program reservation using the received electronic program guide data.

  The image / audio signal processing unit 160 is configured so that the display unit 140 can display the image data and the audio data related to the broadcast data received by the receiving unit 150 and the content to be recorded / reproduced obtained from the control unit 130. It can be recorded at 170.

  The recording device 170 records broadcast data on a recording medium such as a hard disk or an optical disk having a recording area 171. The recording device may be either a built-in or an external medium.

The time device 180 becomes a reference value for the recording reservation time and the recording end time when the user manually makes a recording reservation. Further, when recording is started at the time of viewing, since the current time becomes the recording start time, the current time is referred from the time device 180. In FIG. 1, the time device 180 is described independently, but may be combined with other functions.
In FIG. 1, the remote controller 100, the remote controller light receiving unit 110, and the operation unit 120 are described independently, but each function may be combined into one.

FIG. 2 shows the program information 134 described in FIG. 1, which is program information necessary for program recording, and is electronic program guide data such as EPG.
The program information 134 is received by the receiving unit 150 and transferred from the reception control 131 to the recording / playback control 132. The recording / playback control 132 uses the program information 134, the recording control data 135, and the parameter management table 136 to record the recording device 170. To record.

The program information 134 includes a broadcasting station name 200, a reservation designation year 201, a reservation designation month 202, a reservation designation date 203, a reservation designation start time 204, a reservation designation end time 205, a program name 206, and a program type 207.
The elements of the program information 134 may be used as they are in plain text or cipher text, or may be replaced with codes.

  FIG. 3 shows the recording control data 135 described in FIG. 1, which is information necessary for program recording when the user manually makes a recording reservation. The recording / playback control 132 uses the recording control data 135 and the parameter management table 136 to record in the recording device 170.

The recording control data 135 includes a broadcast station name 300, a reservation designation year 301, a reservation designation month 302, a reservation designation date 303, a reservation designation start time 304, a reservation designation end time 305, a program name 306, a program type 307, and a rate 308. Including.
In the case of electronic program guide data such as EPG, program information 134 is applied, and when the user manually sets recording, recording control data 135 is applied. Even when the program information 134 is applied, the rate 308 of the recording control data 135 is used for the rate.

FIG. 4 is a parameter management table 136 described in FIG. 1 and is table information held on the data processing apparatus side necessary for recording control.
The parameter management table 136 is a table for determining branching of processing described in FIG. 5 based on data acquired from the program information 134, the recording control data 135, and the like.

The parameter management table 136 includes a program type 400, an extension possibility program type 401, an extension presence / absence 402, an area 403, and a fixed area 404.
For the program type 400, the parameters acquired in the program types 207 and 307 are 1. 1. Sports News, 3. Drama, 4. Movie, 5. Music, 6. It is a table for determining which is other. The program type 401 that can be extended is a program type that can be extended among the program types 400. 1. Sports News, 3. It is a table for determining which is other. The extension presence / absence 402 is an extension 1. Yes, 2. It is a table for determining which is none. An area 403 includes the recording area 171 of the recording apparatus 170 as follows: Variable, 2. It is a table for determining which is fixed. The fixed area 404 is a table for determining whether the recording time is 1.1 hours or 2.2 hours when the area 403 is fixed. In this table, in addition to the presence / absence of extension, in the case of extension, the maximum extension time may be recorded, and an extension expected time addition (step 511) described later may be executed using this.

  In the present embodiment, the recording area 171 of the recording device 170 is 1. Variable, 2. Although a table for determining which one is fixed is provided, any of the above may be determined as the specification of the data processing apparatus in advance. In this embodiment, the parameter management table is provided on the data processing apparatus side. However, the program information shown in FIG. 2 may include the presence / absence of extension and the maximum extension time. Further, the maximum extension time may be recorded and the presence or absence of extension may be omitted regardless of whether or not the data processing apparatus has the extension. In this case, if there is no extension, the maximum extension time is set to zero.

Next, the recording process in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
In step 500, the recording process is started. It should be noted that the processing shown in this flowchart is preferably executed when it is determined that fragmented recording will occur. In this case, when it is determined that there is a recording reservation data in which part of the broadcast (or recording) time overlaps, this flowchart is executed.
In step 501, the program information 134 and the rate 308 of the recording control data 135 are input to the remote control light receiving unit 110 via the remote controller 100 at the time of recording reservation according to the operation from the user. The program information 134 may be automatically performed based on electronic program guide data at the time of reservation such as EPG, or the user may manually input the recording control information 135. In either case, the rate 308 is manually set on the data processing apparatus side.

  In step 502, the recording / playback control 132 determines whether the recording area size of the data processing apparatus is variable or fixed by checking with the area 403 of the parameter management table 136. In this embodiment, the recording area of the data processing apparatus is 1. Variable, 2. Although a table for determining which is fixed is provided, it may be determined in advance as a specification of the data processing apparatus.

  If the recording area size is variable, it is determined in step 503 whether the program to be recorded is a program type that can be extended by comparing it with the program type 401 that can be extended in the parameter management table 136. The program of this embodiment is a baseball broadcast, and the program type 400 of the parameter management table 136 is 1. The program type 401 of sports and extension possibility is 1. It is a sport.

  In the case of a program type that can be extended, it is determined in step 510 whether or not there is an extension by comparing with the extension presence / absence 402 of the parameter management table 136. The program of this embodiment is a baseball broadcast, and the program type 400 of the parameter management table 136 is 1. The program type 401 of sports and extension possibility is 1. Sports, whether extension 402 or not. Yes. If there is an extension, in step 511, an expected extension time is added. If there is no extension, the process proceeds to step 504. When there is an extension, it is preferable to set the above-described maximum extension time as the expected time.

  If the recording area size is fixed, a predetermined capacity is calculated in step 509. Whether the recording time of the fixed area is 1 hour or 2 hours is checked against the program type 400 and fixed area 404 of the parameter management table 136, and the process proceeds to step 505.

  The supplement of the predetermined capacity calculation in step 509 will be supplemented using FIG. FIG. 7 shows a file state in the fixed recording area 171. When the recording area size is fixed, a capacity assuming the type of broadcast data is calculated in the recording area 171 in advance at the start of recording.

  File 700 is a program type 400 defined in the parameter management table 136. 56 minutes in the drama, File 710 is the program type 400 defined in the parameter management table 136. 1 hour 55 minutes in the movie. Based on step 509 in FIG. 5, the file 700 is written in the fixed area 1, and 4 minutes are left. Similarly, the file 710 is written in the fixed area 2 and the remainder is 5 minutes.

  In step 504, the recording / playback control 132 calculates the required capacity of the recording area 171 by multiplying the time data acquired in step 501 by the rate. The time data is a time obtained by subtracting the reservation designation start time 204 from the reservation designation end time 205 of the program information 134. Alternatively, it is the time obtained by subtracting the reservation designation start time 304 from the reservation designation end time 305 of the recording control data 135. The time calculated here may be the size of the allocation unit. In the subsequent steps, recording processing is performed according to this allocation unit.

  In step 505, the recording / playback control 132 reserves the capacity calculated in steps 504 and 509 in the recording area 171. The recording / playback control 132 is controlled by a management table or the like (not shown) so that other programs are not recorded in the reserved area.

  The capacity calculation in step 504 will be supplemented using FIG. FIG. 6 shows a file state in the variable recording area 171. When the recording area size is variable, the required capacity of the recording area 171 is confirmed at the start of recording, and the capacity is calculated.

  File 600 is a program type 400 defined in the parameter management table 136. 56 minutes in the drama, File 610 is the program type 400 defined in the parameter management table 136. 1 hour and 55 minutes in the movie, File 620 is the program type 400 defined in the parameter management table 136. Otherwise, 1 hour 15 minutes. Since the necessary capacity is secured based on steps 504 and 505 in FIG. 5, each of the files 600, 610, and 620 can maintain a constant stream without being fragmented.

  In this embodiment, the necessary capacity is secured at the start of recording, but may be reserved at the recording reservation.

  In step 506, the reception control 131 receives the program specified in step 501 from the receiving unit 150, and the video / audio signal processing unit 160 performs processing so that the received program can be recorded in the recording device 170. The recording / playback control 132 writes the recording area 171 calculated in step 505.

  In step 507, the recording / reproducing control 132 measures whether or not the capacity that can be recorded in the recording area 171 being recorded remains in the capacity reserved in step 505. That is, it is determined whether there is a remaining capacity greater than the reserved capacity.

  If the recording area 171 secured in step 505 has a remaining capacity, the recording / playback control 132 continues to write in the existing recording area 171 in step 508.

  If there is no remaining capacity in the recording area 171 secured in step 505, an additional area is allocated in step 512 and the process proceeds to step 505.

File 720 is a program type 400 defined in the parameter management table 136 of 6. Otherwise, 1 hour 15 minutes. Based on step 512 of FIG. 5, the File 720 is written to the fixed area 1. The shortage of 15 minutes is written into a new fixed area 1. A portion of File 720 is fragmented, but most can maintain a constant stream.
In step 513, the recording process is terminated.

100: remote control, 110: remote control light receiving unit, 120:
Operation unit, 130: control unit, 140: display unit, 150: reception unit, 160: video / audio signal processing unit, 170: recording device, 180: time unit, 190: data bus

Claims (6)

In a multiple data write control method for writing a plurality of broadcast data to a storage medium by a receiving device,
Receiving a write request for the plurality of broadcast data;
For each of the received broadcast data write requests, identify a continuous write area to be secured based on the program information relating to the broadcast data,
When each of the plurality of broadcast data is received, the broadcast data is written in each of the specified write areas, and the multiple data write control method is characterized in that: The multiple data write control method according to claim 1,
The specification of the writing area is to specify the size of an allocation unit when writing each of the plurality of broadcast data,
The broadcast data writing is a broadcast data writing according to the specified allocation unit. The multiple data write control method according to claim 1,
The plurality of data write control methods characterized in that the writing area is specified by specifying a continuous writing area that restricts writing of data other than the plurality of broadcast data. In the multiple data write control method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The multiple data write control method is characterized in that the write area is specified by using program information associated with each of the plurality of broadcast data. In the multiple data write control method according to claim 4,
The writing area is specified by specifying a writing area having a capacity corresponding to a program time included in the program information. The multiple data write control method according to any one of claims 4 and 5,
From the program information, determine whether there is an extension in the broadcast data to be written,
A method for controlling the writing of a plurality of data, characterized in that, when it is determined that there is an extension, a furnace area to which a capacity corresponding to the maximum extension time included in the program information is added is specified as the writing area.

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