JP3356440B2 - Recording and playback device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording / reproducing apparatus, and more particularly to a recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing a video signal and a corresponding audio signal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An apparatus for recording and reproducing a video signal and an accompanying audio signal using the same recording medium has been put to practical use as a VTR (video tape recorder), a video disk device, or the like. The former uses a magnetic tape as the recording medium, and the latter uses a disk of the optical system or the capacitance system as a recording medium. In each case, a converter (head) for converting between an electric signal and a magnetic signal or an optical signal is used. Recording and reproduction are performed by the relative movement between the recording medium and the recording medium.

In a recording / reproducing apparatus using such a so-called dynamic recording medium, digital recording (PCM recording) of an audio signal is performed in order to improve audio quality in accordance with remarkable image quality improvement of recent video equipment. Is desired. Actually, in some VTRs and video disk devices, digital recording of audio signals has already been put to practical use.

However, when an audio signal is digitally recorded, an error correction circuit or an error correction circuit is required in order to avoid the influence of a defect on a recording medium or the like. It also hinders miniaturization. Further, when the defect of the recording medium is remarkable, it is difficult to keep the quality of the reproduced sound high.

[0005]

As described above, in an apparatus for recording and reproducing a video signal and an audio signal by using the same recording medium, digital recording of the audio signal increases the circuit scale, and causes a defect in the medium. When it becomes remarkable, there is a problem that the quality of reproduced sound is deteriorated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a recording / reproducing apparatus capable of recording and reproducing high-quality audio by a digital system with a small-scale circuit configuration.

[0007]

Configuration of the Invention

[0008]

In one embodiment of the present invention, a video signal is recorded on a recording medium, and a digital audio signal corresponding to the video signal is recorded on an electrically rewritable nonvolatile semiconductor memory. You. Also, an address signal indicating a recording position of the digital audio signal on the semiconductor memory is recorded on the recording medium in correspondence with the recording position of the video signal. During reproduction, a video signal is reproduced from the recording medium, and an address signal is reproduced from the recording medium, and a digital audio signal is read from the semiconductor memory by the reproduced address signal.

In another aspect of the present invention, the absolute position on the recording medium can be further identified, and time information synchronized with the video signal is recorded on the recording medium, and the video signal is reproduced from the recording medium during reproduction. At the same time, time information is reproduced, and a digital audio signal is read from the semiconductor memory. In these recording / reproducing processes, a write address and a read address of the semiconductor memory are generated based on the time information.

In another aspect of the present invention, the digital audio signal accompanying the video signal is recorded in the semiconductor memory after being subjected to information compression processing to reduce the bit rate. At the time of reproduction, the compressed digital audio signal is read from the semiconductor memory, and the original digital audio signal is obtained through the reverse processing of compression, that is, the information expansion processing.

According to the present invention, the output of the video recording circuit for recording the video signal on the recording medium can be directly input to the video reproducing circuit for reproducing the video signal from the recording medium. Similarly, the output of the address recording circuit for recording the address signal on the recording medium can be directly input to the address reproducing circuit for reproducing the address signal from the recording medium. Further, the input digital audio signal can be output via the delay element without passing through the semiconductor memory.

The recording medium used in the present invention is a medium such as a magnetic tape or an optical disk which performs recording and reproduction by relative movement with respect to a transducer. Taking the case of a magnetic tape as an example, a video signal is recorded on a first inclined track inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction on the magnetic tape, and an address indicating a storage position of a compressed digital audio signal on a semiconductor memory. The signal may be on the first sloping track or on a second sloping track on an extension of the first sloping track or on a longitudinal track extending in the longitudinal direction of the magnetic tape, or on two or more of these tracks. Recorded on the track.

Hereinafter, other preferred embodiments of the present invention will be listed.

An index area including information indicating a stored area in the semiconductor memory is provided in a part of the semiconductor memory.

In the write address generation circuit, the initial value of the write address can be forcibly set to a desired value.

In the write address generation circuit, a write address can be generated based on information indicating a stored area.

In the write address generation circuit, a write address can be generated based on the reproduced address signal.

A circuit for calculating the amount of the unstored area based on the information representing the stored area and a display circuit for displaying the same are provided.

[0019]

As described above, since the audio signal is digitally recorded in the semiconductor memory, unlike the case where the audio signal is digitally recorded on a magnetic tape or a disk, a circuit for correcting and correcting data errors caused by defects on the medium becomes unnecessary. The circuit scale is reduced. Further, since the audio signal is not affected by the defect of the medium, a high quality reproduced audio can always be obtained.

Since the audio signal is read out from the semiconductor memory and reproduced according to the address signal recorded in association with the video signal on the medium on which the video signal is recorded, the temporal correspondence between the video signal and the audio signal is obtained. Relationships are kept right.

A direct path from the recording circuit to the reproducing circuit is provided for the video signal and the address signal, and the digital audio signal is written to the electrically rewritable nonvolatile semiconductor memory. A path having a delay that does not involve a read operation is provided. Therefore,
The operation of the device can be confirmed while monitoring the video and audio related to the correct time without performing the recording operation on the recording medium and the writing operation on the nonvolatile semiconductor memory.

The digital audio signal is written to or read from the semiconductor memory according to a write and read address signal generated based on time information recorded and reproduced together with the video signal.
The temporal correspondence between the video signal and the audio signal is properly maintained.

Since the absolute position on the recording medium can be identified by the time information, the same write address does not occur twice or more over one recording medium, and important data is not lost.

When the digital audio signal is written and stored in the semiconductor memory, the bit rate is reduced, that is, information is compressed, so that the storage time can be increased or the memory capacity can be reduced.

An index area including information indicating the stored area is provided in a part of the semiconductor memory. When generating a write address, the initial value is forcibly set to a desired value or based on the information indicating the stored area. Function to generate a write address based on the read address signal or a function to generate a write address based on the reproduced address signal, so that it can support various recording and playback modes such as normal recording, assemble, insert, and spot erase. Thus, a write address can be generated appropriately.

If the amount of the unstored area is calculated and displayed based on the information indicating the stored area, the possibility of recording can be determined prior to recording a new program.

[0027]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a recording / reproducing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a recording pattern on a magnetic tape in the present apparatus.

The recording / reproducing apparatus shown in FIG.
, A video recording circuit 5, a switch 6, an A / D converter 8, an electrically rewritable nonvolatile semiconductor memory (hereinafter referred to as an EEPROM) 9, a write address generation circuit 11, and a multiplexer 12. , Address recording circuit 14, switch 15, switch 23, switch 24, video reproduction circuit 16, address reproduction circuit 18, D
/ A converter 19, a random access memory (hereinafter RA)
M) 25 and a control circuit 26.

The rotary heads 2 and 3 are magnetic heads provided on a rotary drum (not shown), and the first rotary head 2 is inclined on the magnetic tape 1 with respect to the longitudinal direction as shown in FIG. The second rotary head 3 is used for recording a video signal and an address signal while forming the inclined tracks 21 and 22 as described later. And for reproducing address signals.

The EEPROM 9 stores a digital audio signal corresponding to a video signal recorded on the tape 1, and is detachably provided to the recording / reproducing apparatus main body. When the tape 1 is formed into a cassette like a conventional VTR, the tape cassette is
May be integrally mounted, and the EEPROM 9 and the recording / reproducing device may be electrically connected / disconnected as the tape cassette is attached / detached. The EEPROM 9 may be directly incorporated in the tape cassette, or a card device having the EEPROM 9 may be mounted on the tape cassette. As the EEPROM 9, NAN suitable for increasing the capacity is used.
D-type EEPROMs are particularly preferred.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First,
When recording video and audio signals, a video signal to be recorded is input from a terminal 4 to a video recording circuit 5. The video recording circuit 5 is a circuit that processes an input video signal and outputs a video recording signal suitable for recording on the tape 1, and includes, for example, a pre-emphasis circuit, an FM modulator, a recording amplifier, and the like. This video recording signal is recorded on the video inclined track 21 on the tape 1 via the switch 6 and the rotary head 2.

On the other hand, an audio signal corresponding to the video signal input to the terminal 4, that is, an audio signal temporally corresponding to the video signal is input from the terminal 7 to the A / D converter 8, and has an appropriate sampling frequency and It is converted into a digital audio signal by the number of quantization bits. This digital audio signal is
The data is written to the EEPROM 9. At this time, EEPRO
An address signal indicating the storage position of each data of the digital audio signal on M9 is generated by a write address generation circuit 11 configured to be preset to a desired state by a control signal input to a terminal 10, and is transmitted through a multiplexer 12. As a result, the data is supplied to the EEPROM 9 as a write address signal.

The multiplexer 12 is switched by an address switching signal input from a terminal 13 so as to selectively supply the address signal from the write address generation circuit 11 and the address signal from the address reproduction circuit 18 to the EEPROM 9. During recording, the EEPROM 9 is writable by a REC signal input via the terminal 28.

The address signal generated by the write address generation circuit 11 is also input to an address recording circuit 14 to be converted into a signal suitable for recording on the tape 1. It is recorded on the upper address tilt track 22. As shown in FIG. 2, the address tilt track 22 is a video tilt track 2.
It is formed on the extension line of No. 1.

Here, the address signal recorded on the address tilt track 22 is a digital audio signal which temporally corresponds to the video signal recorded on the video tilt track 21 on the same straight line as the track 22. 3 shows a storage location on the EEPROM 9. That is,
An address signal indicating the writing position of the digital audio signal on the EEPROM 9 is recorded on the tape 1 on the address inclined track 22 in association with the video signal.

The capacity of the address signal recorded here can be extremely small. For example, when a digital audio signal temporally corresponding to one frame of a video signal is represented by N words, it is possible to record only the address of the temporally preceding word. For this, A / D
The correspondence of addresses to each word of the digital audio signal sequentially input from the converter 8 may be made regular. As a result, the same address signal can be repeatedly recorded on the address inclined track 22 many times, and as a result, the influence of an error due to a medium defect or the like of the tape 1 can be eliminated.

Next, at the time of reproduction, a video signal is detected from the video inclined track 21 by the rotary head 3, and
This video signal is input to the video reproduction circuit 16 via the switch 15 and the switch 23. The video reproduction circuit 16 is a circuit that performs a process reverse to that of the video recording circuit 5, and includes, for example, a reproduction amplifier, an FM demodulator, and a de-emphasis circuit. The video signal reproduced by the video reproduction circuit 16 is output from a terminal 17 and supplied to, for example, a display device.

When a video signal is detected / reproduced from the video tilt track 21, for example, prior to this, the address tilt track 22 which is on the same straight line as the video tilt track 21 from which the video signal is reproduced. , An address signal is detected by the rotary head 3, and the address signal is input to the address reproducing circuit 18 via the switch 15 and the switch 24. The address reproduction circuit 18
A read address signal on the EEPROM 9 is reproduced from the detected address signal.

The reproduced read address signal is applied to the EEPROM 9 via the multiplexer 12.
Thus, the digital audio signal data written at the address specified by the read address signal is read from the EEPROM 9. The read digital audio signal is converted into an analog signal by a D / A converter 19 to be an original audio signal, and then output from a terminal 20 and supplied to, for example, an audio monitor (not shown).

During reproduction, the output of the EEPROM 9 is supplied to the D / A converter 19 via the output line 29A of the control circuit 26 which operates in response to the output selection signal from the terminal 27. On the other hand, another output line 29B of the control circuit 26
Prohibits data output from the RAM 25. At the time of reproduction, the EEPROM 9 is disabled from writing by the REC signal input via the terminal 28.

Through the above recording and reproducing processes, the delay from the video input to the video output and the delay from the audio input to the audio output must be the same. For this purpose, the video recording circuit 5, the address recording circuit 14, the video reproducing circuit 1
6 and the address reproducing circuit 18 may have an appropriate delay element.

The process of recording and reproduction does not necessarily have to be performed independently, and reproduction can be performed simultaneously while recording. In this case, the address switching signal 13 and the REC signal 28 may be applied so that the writing and reading operations to and from the EEPROM 9 are performed during the time slot occupied by one digital audio signal data.

Next, at the time of checking the operation of the apparatus, the video signal is input from the terminal 4 to the video recording circuit 5. The output of the video recording circuit 5 is input to the video reproduction circuit 16 via the switch 23. The output of the video reproduction circuit 16 is connected to a terminal 17
And supplied to, for example, a display device (not shown).

On the other hand, an audio signal accompanying the video signal input to the terminal 4, that is, an audio signal temporally corresponding to the video signal, is input from the terminal 7 to the A / D converter 8, and has an appropriate sampling frequency and It is converted into a digital audio signal by the number of quantization bits. This digital audio signal is R
It is written to AM25. At this time, the write address signal of the RAM 25 is generated by the write address generation circuit 11 and input to the RAM 25 via the multiplexer 12. The address signal generated by the write address generation circuit 11 is also input to the address recording circuit 14. The output of the address recording circuit 14 is input to the address reproducing circuit 18 via the switch 24. The output of the address reproducing circuit 18 is supplied to the RAM 25 via the multiplexer 12 as a read address.

From the RAM 25, the digital audio signal data written at the address specified by the read address is read. This digital audio signal is converted into an analog signal by a D / A converter 19 to be an original audio signal, and then output via a terminal 20 and supplied to, for example, an audio monitor. The RAM 25 is made writable by an EE signal input via a terminal 31. In this case, the terminal 1 is connected so that the writing and reading operations to and from the RAM 25 are performed during the time slot occupied by one digital audio signal data.
The address switching signal and the EE signal may be given to 3, 31. The REC signal 28 disables writing to the EEPROM 9 and the output line 29 of the control circuit 26 that operates in response to an output selection signal from the terminal 27.
The output of data from the EEPROM 9 is prohibited by A, and the output from the RAM 25 is changed to D / by the output line 29B.
The signal is supplied to the A converter 19.

From the output of the video recording circuit 5, the video reproduction circuit 1
The delay time until the input of No. 6 is different between the case of recording / reproducing on the tape 1 and the case of confirming the operation, but this difference can be compensated by switching the amount of delay in the video reproducing circuit 16 It is. The delay time from the output of the address recording circuit 14 to the input of the address reproducing circuit 18 is also different, but this difference can be compensated by switching the delay amount in the address reproducing circuit 18.

In the above embodiment, the address signal indicating the writing position of the digital audio signal data on the EEPROM 9 is transferred to the inclined track 22 on the delay line of the video signal inclined track 21 on the tape 1 as shown in FIG. Although the recording is performed, the recording may be performed on a track (longitudinal track) 30 along the longitudinal direction on the tape 1 as shown in FIG. I do not care. Further, the address signal may be recorded on the video inclined track 21 by a frequency multiplexing method, a deep recording method, or a time division multiplexing method (for example, using blanking, multiplexing with a digital video signal, etc.).

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the second embodiment. The recording pattern on the magnetic tape in this embodiment is, for example, the same as that in FIG.

The recording / reproducing apparatus shown in FIG.
Rotating heads 102 and 10 rotating while contacting
3. Video recording circuit 105, A / D converter 107, EEP
ROM 108, time information generation circuit 110, write address generation circuit 111, multiplexer 112, time information recording circuit 114, fixed heads 115 and 117, time information reproduction circuit 116, video reproduction circuit 118, read address generation circuit 120, and D / A conversion It is constituted by a vessel 121.

The rotary heads 102 and 103 are magnetic heads provided on a rotary drum. Of these, the first rotary head 102 forms an inclined track 21 inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction on the magnetic tape 1 as shown in FIG. 3 to record a video signal as described later, Head 1
03 is used to reproduce the video signal recorded on the inclined track 21.

The first fixed head 115 is, as shown in FIG. 3, a longitudinal track 3 extending in the longitudinal direction of the magnetic tape 1.
0, and record time information as described later.
The fixed head 117 is used to reproduce the time information recorded on the longitudinal track 30.

First, when recording video and audio signals, a video signal to be recorded is supplied from a terminal 104 to the video recording circuit 1.
05 is input. The video recording circuit 105 is a circuit that processes an input video signal and outputs a video recording signal suitable for recording on the tape 1, and is similar to that of the first embodiment. This video recording signal is recorded on the inclined track 21 on the tape 1 via the rotary head 102.

On the other hand, an audio signal corresponding to the video signal input to the terminal 104, that is, an audio signal temporally corresponding to the video signal is input from the terminal 106 to the A / D converter 107, and has an appropriate sampling frequency and It is converted into a digital audio signal by the number of quantization bits. This digital audio signal is written into the EEPROM 108. At this time, an address signal indicating the storage position of each data of the digital audio signal on the EEPROM 108 is generated by the write address generation circuit 111 which operates in response to the output of the time information generation circuit 110 or the output of the time information reproduction circuit 116, EEPROM via multiplexer 112
108 is provided as a write address signal. That is, when time information is newly recorded, a write address is generated based on the recorded time information. Further, when the recorded time information is not rewritten, as in the case of after-recording only the audio, a write address is generated based on the reproduced time information.

The multiplexer 112 selectively converts the address signal from the write address generation circuit 111 and the address signal from the read address generation circuit 120 into EE according to the address switching signal input from the terminal 113.
It is switched to supply to the PROM 108. still,
At the time of recording, the EEPROM 108 is writable by a REC signal input via a terminal 128.

The time information generating circuit 110 can be preset to a desired state by a control signal input to the terminal 109 and the output of the time information reproducing circuit 116. That is, when recording is performed from the beginning of the tape 1, the reset may be performed by a control signal input to the terminal 109. When recording is performed continuously on the tape 1 already recorded, the time information reproducing circuit starts from the recorded portion. New time information may be generated continuously from the time information reproduced by the.

The time information generated by the time information generating circuit 110 is input to the time information recording circuit 114 to become a signal suitable for recording on the tape 1, and is recorded on the longitudinal track 30 of the tape 1 via the fixed head 115. You. The time information recorded here includes information such as hours, minutes, seconds, and frames.

Next, at the time of reproduction, the rotating head 10
The video reproduction signal is detected from the inclined track 21 by 3 and input to the video reproduction circuit 118. Video playback circuit 1
Reference numeral 18 denotes a circuit that performs a process reverse to that of the video recording circuit 105, and has a configuration similar to that of the first embodiment. The video signal reproduced by the video reproduction circuit 118 is output from a terminal 119 and supplied to, for example, a display device (not shown).

On the other hand, a time information reproduction signal is detected from the longitudinal track 30 by the reproduction head 117 and input to the time information reproduction circuit 116. The time information reproducing circuit 116
The time information is reproduced from the detected time information reproduction signal.
The read address generation circuit 120 generates a read address signal of the digital audio signal stored in the EEPROM 108 based on the reproduced time information.

This read address signal is applied to the EEPROM 108 via the multiplexer 112.
From the EEPROM 108, data of the digital audio signal written at the address designated by the read address signal is read. This digital audio signal is D
After being converted into an analog signal by the / A converter 121 to be an original audio signal, the signal is output from a terminal 122 and supplied to, for example, an audio monitor. When reproducing, the terminal 1
28, the REC signal input through the
M108 is not writable.

The amount of delay from input to output throughout the recording and reproduction processes must be the same for video, audio, and time information. For this purpose, the video recording circuit 1
15. The time information recording circuit 114, the video reproduction circuit 118, the time information reproduction circuit 116, and the like may have an appropriate delay element.

The process of recording and reproduction does not necessarily have to be performed independently, and reproduction can be performed simultaneously while recording. In this case, the EEPROM 108 is used during a time slot in which one digital audio signal data is generated.
The address switching signal 113 and the REC signal 128 may be provided so that the write and read operations to the memory are performed.

In the above embodiment, the time information is stored on the tape 1
Although the recording is performed on the upper longitudinal track 30, the recording may be performed on the inclined track 22 on the tape 1 as shown in FIG. 2, or the recording may be performed separately on the inclined track 22 and the longitudinal track 30. I do not care. Further, the time information may be recorded on the inclined track by a frequency multiplexing method, a deep recording method, or a time division multiplexing method (for example, use of blanking, multiplexing with a digital video signal, etc.).

Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the third embodiment. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted. In this embodiment, an information compression circuit 32 is inserted between the A / D converter 8 and the EEPROM 9, and an information decompression circuit 33 is inserted between the D / A converter 19 and the EEPROM 9.

The recording / reproducing operation in this embodiment is basically the same as that in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1. An audio signal passes through the information compression circuit 32 during recording, and an audio signal is expanded during reproduction. The difference is that the signal passes through the circuit 33.

That is, the audio signal accompanying the video signal input to the terminal 4 during recording, that is, the audio signal temporally corresponding to the video signal is input from the terminal 7 to the A / D converter 8 and After being sampled at the sampling frequency, in the information compression circuit 32, for example, the difference PC
The quantization is performed while reducing the bit rate by the M method. Then, the information-compressed digital audio signal is written into the EEPROM 9.

On the other hand, at the time of reproduction, the data of the compressed digital audio signal written to the address specified by the read address signal is read from the EEPROM 9, and the compressed digital audio signal is compressed by the information decompression circuit 33. After inverse processing, that is, information decompression processing, the signal is converted into an analog signal by the D / A converter 19 to be an original audio signal, output from the terminal 20, and supplied to, for example, an audio monitor (not shown).

As described above, in this embodiment, since the audio signal accompanying the video signal is stored as a compressed digital audio signal in the EEPROM 9, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained, and By reducing the bit rate by compression, there is an advantage that the limited memory capacity of the EEPROM can be effectively used.

(Fourth Embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment.

The recording / reproducing apparatus shown in FIG.
Rotating heads 2, 3a and 3b rotating in contact with the image, video recording circuit 5, switch 6, A / D converter 8, EEPR
OM 9, write address generation circuit 11, multiplexer 12, address recording circuit 14, switch 15, video reproduction circuit 16, address reproduction circuit 18, D / A converter 1
9, an index management circuit 34, a calculation circuit 35, and a display circuit 36.

The rotary heads 2, 3a and 3b are magnetic heads provided on a rotary drum (not shown), and the first rotary head 2 is provided on the magnetic tape 1 in the longitudinal direction as shown in FIG. The tilting tracks 21 and 22 are formed to record video signals and address signals as described later, and the second rotary head 3a outputs the video signals and address signals recorded on the video and address tilt tracks 21 and 22. Used to reproduce the address signal. The third rotary head 3b is a preceding reproducing head, and the first rotary head 2b
Is used for reproducing the video signal and the address signal recorded on the video and address inclined tracks 21 and 22 prior to the recording by the predetermined time.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First,
When recording video and audio signals, a video signal to be recorded is input from a terminal 4 to a video recording circuit 5. The video recording circuit 5 is a circuit that processes an input video signal and outputs a video recording signal suitable for recording on the tape 1. For example, the A / D converter, the error correction encoding circuit, the shuffling and interleaving , A modulation circuit, a recording amplifier, and the like. This video recording signal is recorded on the video tilt track (first tilt track) 21 on the tape 1 via the switch 6 and the rotary head 2. On the other hand, an audio signal accompanying the video signal input to the terminal 4, that is, an audio signal temporally corresponding to the video signal is input to the A / D converter 8 from the terminal 7. In the A / D converter 8, the audio signal is quantized after being sampled at an appropriate sampling frequency. This digital audio signal is written into the EEPROM 9. At this time, a write address indicating a storage position of each data of the digital audio signal on the EEPROM 9 is generated by the write address generation circuit 11 and is supplied to the EEPROM 9 via the multiplexer 12 as a write address signal. The multiplexer 12 is switched so as to selectively supply the address signal from the write address generation circuit 11 and the address signal from the address reproduction circuit 18 to the EEPROM 9 by an address switching signal input from a terminal 33.

The write address generated by the write address generation circuit 11 is also input to the address recording circuit 14 and becomes a signal suitable for recording on the tape 1. The address on the tape 1 is transmitted via the switch 6 and the rotary head 2. Recorded on the inclined track 22 for use. As shown in FIG. 2, the address tilt track 22 is a video tilt track 2.
It is formed on the extension line of No. 1.

Here, the write address recorded on the address tilt track 22 is, for example, a digital audio signal temporally corresponding to the video signal recorded on the video tilt track 21 on the same straight line as the write address. 3 shows a storage location on the EEPROM 9. That is,
The write address indicating the write position of the digital audio signal on the EEPROM 9 is recorded on the tape 1 in association with the video signal. The capacity of the write address recorded here can be extremely small. For example,
Considering a set of bits representing a digital audio signal temporally corresponding to one field of a video signal, it is possible to record only the address of the bit that precedes in time. For this purpose, it is sufficient that the correspondence of the address to each bit of the digital audio signal sequentially input from the A / D converter 8 is made regular. As a result, the same write address can be recorded many times on the address inclined track 22, and as a result, the influence of an error due to a medium defect or the like can be eliminated.

Next, at the time of reproduction, a video signal is detected from the inclined video track 21 by the rotary head 3a or 3b, and input to the video reproduction circuit 16 via the switch 15. The video reproduction circuit 16 is a circuit that performs a process reverse to that of the video recording circuit 5, and includes, for example, a reproduction amplifier, a demodulation circuit,
It comprises a memory circuit for deinterleaving and deshuffling, an error correction decoding circuit, a D / A converter, and the like. The video signal reproduced by the video reproduction circuit 16 is output from a terminal 17 and supplied to, for example, a display device.

When a video signal is detected and reproduced from the video tilt track 21, almost simultaneously with this, an address signal is output from an address tilt track 22 which is on the same straight line as the video tilt track 21 from which the video signal is reproduced. Detected by the rotating head 3a or 3b and input to the address reproducing circuit 18 via the switch 15. The address reproducing circuit 18 outputs the EEPROM 9 from the detected address signal.
The upper read address signal is reproduced.

This read address signal is applied to the EEPROM 9 via the multiplexer 12. EEP
From the ROM 9, the data of the digital audio signal written at the address specified by the read address signal is read. This digital audio signal is converted into an analog signal by a D / A converter 19 to be an original audio signal, and then output from a terminal 20 and supplied to, for example, an audio monitor.

It should be noted that the delay from the video input to the video output and the delay from the audio input to the audio output must be the same throughout the recording and reproduction processes. For this purpose, the video recording circuit 5, address recording circuit 14, video reproducing circuit 16
The address reproduction circuit 18 may have an appropriate delay element.

The processes of recording and reproduction need not always be performed independently. For example, the video signal can be reproduced by the rotary head 3a while recording by the rotary head 2 at the same time. In this case, an address switching signal may be applied to the audio signal via the terminal 13 so that the writing and reading operations to and from the EEPROM 9 are performed during the time slot occupied by one digital audio signal data. Further, recording can be performed by the rotary head 2 at the same time as the video signal is reproduced in advance by the rotary head 3b. Also in this case, the address switching signal 1 is applied to the audio signal so that the reading and writing operations to the EEPROM 9 are performed during the time slot indicated by one digital audio signal data.
Just give 3.

Next, in association with the operation mode of the VTR,
The write address generation circuit 11, index management circuit 34, calculation circuit 35, and display circuit 36 will be described. The operation mode information is given to the write address generation circuit 11 and the index management circuit 34 via the terminals 37 and 39, respectively.

(1) If the EEPROM 9 is unused or if it is not necessary to save even if there is recorded information, a write address input from a control panel (not shown) is sent to the write address generation circuit 11. Is provided via a terminal 38. On the other hand, a reset signal is given to the index management circuit 34 via the terminal 40, whereby the index management circuit 34 resets the index area on the EEPROM 9. Thereafter, the write address generation circuit 11 sequentially generates write addresses based on the initial value of the given write address according to the recording command. The index management circuit 34 monitors the write address, and registers the stored area information in the index area after recording is completed.

This mode corresponds to the normal recording mode. Also, after-recording in which only audio is recorded later is also included in this mode.

(2) When there is information already recorded in the EEPROM 9 and it is desired to save the information, the calculation circuit 35 and the display circuit 36 calculate the amount of the unstored area from the information of the index area read by the index management circuit 34. Terminal 38
Is displayed on a control panel (not shown). If it is determined that recording is possible, a recording command is given. At this time, information indicating the stored area is given to the write address generation circuit 11 from the index management circuit 34. The write address generation circuit 11 generates and records a write address so as to avoid this stored area. After the recording is completed, the index management circuit 34 updates the index area including the new stored area. This mode corresponds to a normal recording mode, a splicing mode called assemble editing, and the like.

(3) When there is recorded information in the EEPROM 9 and only a part of the information is rewritten, the following is performed. The address signal is sent from the address tilt track 22 to the rotary head 3a.
Alternatively, it is detected by 3b and input to the address reproduction circuit 18 via the switch 15. Address reproduction circuit 18
Reproduces a read address signal on the EEPROM 9 from the detected address signal.

This read address signal is supplied to the EEPROM 9 via the multiplexer 12 and also to the write address generation circuit 11. The write address generation circuit 11 generates a write address based on the read address signal, and a new digital audio signal is recorded in the EEPROM 9 according to the write address.

In this mode, since the stored area does not change, the index area is not updated. This mode corresponds to an insert mode or a spot erase mode in which only a part of audio is rewritten.

Further, in this embodiment, by providing an index area including information indicating a stored area and changing the write address generation means in accordance with the operation mode of the VTR, the function of the VTR is sufficient. it can.

In a recording / reproducing apparatus which records a video signal as described in each of the above embodiments on a magnetic tape and records an audio signal having a relatively small amount of information in a semiconductor memory, it is easy to handle a storage medium. Therefore, it is desirable that the magnetic tape and the semiconductor memory can be handled integrally.

An example of such an integrated medium is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-2-83879. FIG. 2 of the document shows a card-like medium having a built-in storage element and a connection circuit for connecting the storage element and an external circuit mounted on a magnetic tape cassette. In this example, since the shape of the card-shaped medium is a rectangular parallelepiped, there is a possibility of erroneous insertion such as upside down, upside down, left and right upside down. As a result, there was a risk that the recording would fail, which was extremely inconvenient.

Next, a description will be given of an integrated medium which is easy to handle and eliminates the possibility of erroneous insertion of a card-shaped medium. The integrated medium is a card-shaped storage medium that includes a storage unit and a connection unit that electrically connects the storage unit and an external circuit, and is vertically asymmetrical about the surface on which the connection unit is arranged. . Further, the tape cassette may be provided with a concave portion on which a card-shaped object which is asymmetric with respect to a predetermined surface is provided.

(Fifth Embodiment) FIG. 7 is an external view of a card-shaped medium according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The card-shaped medium is a semiconductor memory chip 203 embedded in the card 201 and a card 20 for connecting the semiconductor memory chip 203 to an external circuit.
1 comprises a contact 202 exposed on the surface. Contact 202
In this case, write and read data, write and read addresses, a write command signal, a read command signal, a chip select signal, a ground, a power supply, and the like are input and output. In the present embodiment, the shape of the card 201 is a shape obtained by cutting out a part 204 of a rectangular parallelepiped. Therefore, if the position of the portion 204 of the rectangular parallelepiped is determined spatially, the spatial position of the contact point 202 is uniquely determined.

(Sixth Embodiment) FIG. 8 is an external view of a tape cassette according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. In this tape cassette 205,
A concave portion 206 for receiving the card-like object is provided.
However, the portion 207 corresponding to the portion 204 of the rectangular parallelepiped in FIG.
When the card 201 is mounted on 05, the card 201 can be mounted only in the direction in which the part 204 and the part 207 of the rectangular parallelepiped are aligned. Therefore, even if the card is erroneously inserted, the user can easily recognize it.

As described above, the shape of the card-shaped storage medium is made asymmetrical in the vertical and horizontal directions with respect to the surface arranged on the connecting means, and the tape cassette is provided with a concave portion for mounting the card-shaped object which is asymmetrical with respect to the predetermined surface. This can prevent erroneous insertion when the card-shaped storage medium is incorporated into the tape cassette, so that recording of an important program does not fail.

Further, such a card-shaped medium can be easily separated from the tape cassette or can be mounted on the tape cassette, and has practical advantages such as easy change of background music. Is big.

[0094]

According to the present invention, an audio signal accompanying a video signal can be recorded and reproduced in a very high quality in the form of a digital signal with a small-scale circuit configuration. Can be kept right,
In addition, a sufficient function can be provided as a VTR.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a recording / reproducing apparatus according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a recording pattern on a tape in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another example of a recording pattern on a tape.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a recording / reproducing apparatus according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a recording / reproducing apparatus according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a recording / reproducing apparatus according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an external view of a card-shaped medium according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an external view of a tape cassette according to a sixth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Magnetic tape 2, 3 ... Rotating head 5 ... Video recording circuit 8 ... A / D converter 9 ... Non-volatile semiconductor memory 11 ... Write address generation circuit 12 ... Multiplexer 14 ... Address recording circuit 15 ... Switch 16 ... Video reproduction circuit 18 Address reproducing circuit 19 D / A converter 21 First tilt track 22 Second tilt track 30 Longitudinal track 32 Information compression circuit 33 Information expansion circuit 34 Index management circuit 35 Calculation circuit 36 ... Display circuit 201 ... Card-shaped storage medium 202 ... Contact 203 ... Semiconductor memory 205 ... Tape cassette

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sound recording and video recording unit to be recorded on the recording medium a video signal, a digital audio signal corresponding to the video signal to the electrically rewritable nonvolatile semiconductor memory which is recorded by the video recording means recording means and a write address generating means for generating a write address signal indicating the recording position of the digital audio signal on a semiconductor memory that is recorded by the voice recording means, writing generated by the write address generator means write
Address recording means for recording only an address signal on the recording medium in association with a recording position of a video signal, and video reproducing means for reproducing a video signal recorded on the recording medium or a video signal output from the video recording means. Address reproducing means for reproducing an address signal recorded on the recording medium or an address signal outputted from the address recording means; and a digital audio signal from the semiconductor memory using the address signal reproduced by the address reproducing means. Sound reproducing means for reproducing the data, wherein the nonvolatile semiconductor memory has information indicating a stored area.
And the write address generation means (a) forcibly initializes the initial value.
(B) the stored area
Generating the write address signal based on information representing
And (c) reproduction by the address reproduction means.
The write address signal based on the received address signal.
A recording / reproducing apparatus having a function of generating a signal . 2. A video recording means for recording a video signal on a first inclined track inclined with respect to a longitudinal direction on a magnetic tape, and a digital audio signal corresponding to the video signal recorded by the video recording means, to a voice recording means for recording the rewritable nonvolatile semiconductor memory, a write address generating means for generating a write address signal indicating the recording position of the digital audio signal on a semiconductor memory that is recorded by the voice recording means, wherein Write generated by write address generating means
The address signal is applied to at least one of the first inclined track on the magnetic tape, a second inclined track on an extension of the first inclined track, and a longitudinal track extending in the longitudinal direction of the magnetic tape. Address recording means for recording the video signal in association with the recording position of the video signal, video reproduction means for reproducing a video signal recorded on the magnetic tape or a video signal output from the video recording means, and recording on the magnetic tape Address reproducing means for reproducing the read address signal or the address signal output from the address recording means; and audio reproducing means for reproducing a digital audio signal from the semiconductor memory using the address signal reproduced by the address reproducing means. Wherein the nonvolatile semiconductor memory has information indicating a stored area.
And the write address generation means (a) forcibly initializes the initial value.
(B) the stored area
Generating the write address signal based on information representing
And (c) reproduction by the address reproduction means.
The write address signal based on the received address signal.
A recording / reproducing apparatus having a function of generating a signal . 3. A video recording means for recording the video signal, the absolute on the recording medium of the video signal recording position can be identified by the video recording means, and time information synchronized with the video signal generating a time information generating means for generating a time information recording means for recording the time information generated by the time information generating means to said recording medium, a write address based on the time information generated by the time information generating means a write address generating means for, using the write address generated by the write address generating means, recording the digital audio signal corresponding to the video signal recorded on the recording medium to an electrically rewritable nonvolatile semiconductor memory Audio recording means for reproducing, a video reproduction means for reproducing a video signal recorded on the recording medium, and recording on the recording medium. And time information reproducing means for reproducing the time information, and read address generating means for generating a read address based on the time information reproduced by said time information reproduction means, the read address generated by the read address generating means Audio reproducing means for reproducing the digital audio signal from the semiconductor memory, wherein the nonvolatile semiconductor memory stores information indicating a stored area.
And the write address generation means (a) forcibly initializes the initial value.
(B) the stored area
Generating the write address signal based on information representing
And (c) reproduction by the address reproduction means.
The write address signal based on the received address signal.
A recording / reproducing apparatus having a function of generating a signal . 4. The audio recording means performs information compression processing on the digital audio signal and records the digital audio signal in the semiconductor memory, and the audio reproduction means reproduces the digital audio signal recorded in the semiconductor memory by performing information expansion processing. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein