JP3375619B1 - Bit stream generation method and information recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract: In an optical disc on which multimedia data including digital image data, audio data, and sub-picture data is recorded, video is disturbed, noise is added to noise, or the sound is interrupted at the angle switching portion during multi-angle playback. A bit stream interleaving method and apparatus that enables seamless playback that switches smoothly between video and audio without any problem. A multi-angle system stream is composed of a plurality of system streams each composed of image data and audio data viewed from different viewpoint positions, and the system stream corresponding to each angle can be freely switched and reproduced in predetermined units during reproduction. In the multi-angle system stream, the display time of the image data and the display time of the audio data included in the system stream corresponding to each angle are set to be the same between the angles for each of the predetermined units in which the angles can be switched.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention performs various processes on a bit stream carrying information of moving image data, audio data and sub-picture data, which constitutes each title having a series of related contents, so as to perform a user process. (EN) A recording device and a recording medium that generate a bitstream to compose a title having contents according to a request, and efficiently record the generated bitstream on a predetermined recording medium, and a reproducing device and an authoring system that reproduce. The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for encoding a bit stream to be used for multi-angle connection and recording / reproducing on / from a medium.

BACKGROUND ART In recent years, in a system using a laser disk, a video CD, etc., multimedia data such as moving images, audios and sub-pictures are digitally processed to form a title having a series of associated contents. The authoring system that does is put to practical use.

In particular, in a system using a video CD, MPEG is recorded on a CD medium which originally has a storage capacity of about 600 MB and was originally used for recording digital audio.
Recording of moving image data is realized by a moving image compression method called a high compression rate. Conventional laser disc titles such as karaoke are being replaced by video CDs.

From year to year, users' demands regarding the content and reproduction quality of each title have become more complicated and sophisticated. In order to meet such a user's demand, it is necessary to configure each title with a bitstream having a deeper hierarchical structure than ever before. The data amount of multimedia data configured by a bit stream having such a deeper hierarchical structure is more than ten times as large as the conventional one.
In addition, the details of the title need to be finely edited, which requires data processing and control of the bitstream in units of lower hierarchical data.

As described above, it is necessary to establish a high-performance digital processing method including a bit stream structure and recording / reproduction that enables efficient control of a large amount of digital bit streams having a multi-layer structure at each hierarchical level. Is. Further, there is also a need for an apparatus for performing such digital processing, and a recording medium capable of efficiently recording and storing bit stream information digitally processed by this apparatus and rapidly reproducing the recorded information.

[0006] In view of such a situation, as for a recording medium, a study for increasing the storage capacity of a conventionally used optical disk has been actively conducted. In order to increase the storage capacity of the optical disk, it is necessary to reduce the spot diameter D of the light beam, but assuming that the wavelength of the laser is λ and the numerical aperture of the objective lens is NA, the spot diameter D is proportional to λ / NA. , Λ is small and NA is large, it is suitable for increasing the storage capacity.

However, when a lens having a large NA is used, for example, as described in US Pat. No. 5,235,581,
The coma aberration caused by the relative tilt between the disc surface and the optical axis of the light beam called tilt increases, and in order to prevent this, it is necessary to reduce the thickness of the transparent substrate. There is a problem that the mechanical strength becomes weak when the transparent substrate is made thin.

Regarding data processing, MPEG2 capable of high-speed transfer of large-capacity data has been developed and put into practical use, as compared with the conventional MPEG1 as a method of recording and reproducing signal data such as moving images, audio, and graphics. . MPEG2 uses a compression method and data format that are slightly different from those of MPEG1. MPEG1 and MPE
Regarding the contents of G2 and their differences, see ISO 1117
2 and ISO 13818 MPEG standard, so detailed description will be omitted. Even in MPEG2, the structure of the video encode stream is specified, but the hierarchical structure of the system stream and the processing method of the lower hierarchical level are not clarified.

As described above, the conventional authoring system cannot process a large amount of data stream having enough information to meet various user requirements. Further, even if the processing technique is established, the processed data cannot be effectively and repeatedly used because there is no large-capacity recording medium capable of efficiently recording and reproducing a large-capacity data stream.

In other words, in order to process a bit stream in units smaller than a title, the storage medium has a large capacity, the hardware called digital processing speedup, and a sophisticated digital processing method including a sophisticated data structure. It was necessary to solve the excessive demand for software called the invention of.

As described above, the present invention controls the bit stream of multimedia data in units of titles or less, which has a high demand for hardware and software, so that it is more effective to meet the needs of users. The purpose is to provide a reliable authoring system.

Further, in order to share data among a plurality of titles and use the optical disc efficiently, a plurality of titles can be shared with common scene data and a plurality of scenes arranged on the same time axis can be arbitrarily set. Multi-scene control that selects and plays is desirable. However, in order to arrange a plurality of scenes, that is, multi-scene data on the same time axis, it is necessary to continuously arrange each scene data of the multi-scenes. As a result, there is no choice but to insert non-selected multi-scene data between the selected common scene and the selected multi-scene data. , It is expected that playback will be interrupted.

When multi-scene data is multi-angle scene data obtained by simultaneously shooting the same object from different angles, as in a live broadcast of sports, the user may select a plurality of scenes. If the angle scene data is freely selected and the data is reproduced, it is expected that the divided data cannot be connected and reproduced naturally at the angle switching portion.

In the present invention, even in such multi-angle data, the data of each scene is not interrupted,
In addition to a data structure that enables seamless reproduction that is naturally reproduced, a method of generating a system stream having such a data structure, a recording device, a reproducing device, and a medium for recording such a system stream are provided. It is an object of the present invention to provide an object and a reproducing apparatus therefor. Note that the present application is filed based on Japanese Patent Application No. H7-252734 (filed on September 29, 1995), and the disclosures of both specifications are part of the disclosure of the present invention. It is an eggplant.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION All data in a bitstream reproduction in which two or more data units are selected and reproduced from a bitstream composed of three or more data units continuous on the same time axis The units are sequentially accessed so that only the selected data unit can be reproduced without time interruption, and the data units are arranged in a predetermined order on the same time axis based on the respective reproduction time lengths of the data units. Interleave to arrange and generate the bitstream. The data unit is further divided into minimum read time data units, all the minimum read time data units are sequentially accessed, and only the minimum read time data units of the selected data units are temporally interrupted. So that the bit stream is generated by arranging the minimum read time data units in a predetermined order on the same time axis based on the respective minimum read time, and further reproducing the minimum read time data unit. An interleaving method characterized in that the lengths are the same.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In order to explain the present invention in more detail, it will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Data Structure of Authoring System First, referring to FIG. 1, a recording device, a recording medium, a reproducing device according to the present invention, and multimedia data to be processed in an authoring system including those functions. The logical structure of the bit stream of is described. One title is image and audio information that the user can recognize, understand, or enjoy. In the case of a movie, this title corresponds to the maximum content of one movie, and the minimum content of each scene.

A video title set VTS is composed of bit stream data including information for a predetermined number of titles. Hereinafter, the video title set is referred to as a VTS for simplification. The VTS includes reproduction data such as video and audio representing the contents themselves of the above-mentioned titles, and control data for controlling them.

From a predetermined number of VTSs, a video zone VZ which is one video data unit in the authoring system
Is formed. After that, the video zone is set to VZ for simplification.
I call it. K + 1 VTS # 0 to V in one VZ
TS # K (K is a positive integer including 0) is linearly and continuously arranged. And one of them, preferably the first V
TS # 0 is used as a video manager that represents the content information of the title included in each VTS. The multimedia bitstream MBS, which is the maximum management unit of the multimedia data bitstream in the authoring system, from the predetermined number of VZs configured as described above.
Is formed.

Authoring Encoder EC FIG. 2 shows an authoring encoder EC according to the present invention which encodes an original multimedia bitstream to generate a new multimedia bitstream MBS according to any scenario according to a user's request. 1 illustrates an embodiment. The original multimedia bit stream is composed of a video stream St1 carrying video information, a sub-picture stream St3 carrying auxiliary video information such as captions, and an audio stream St5 carrying audio information. The video stream and the audio stream are streams containing image and audio information obtained from the target during a predetermined time. On the other hand, the sub-picture stream is a stream including one screen, that is, video information of the moment. If necessary, one screen of sub-picture can be captured in a video memory or the like, and the captured sub-picture screen can be continuously displayed.

These multimedia source data St
In the case of live relay, 1, St3, and St5 are supplied with video and audio signals in real time from a means such as a video camera. It may also be a non-real time video and audio signal reproduced from a recording medium such as a video tape. In the figure, for the sake of simplicity, three types of multimedia source streams are selected as three types or more.
It goes without saying that source data representing different title contents may be input. Such multimedia source data having audio, video and auxiliary video information of a plurality of titles is called a multi-title stream.

The authoring encoder EC includes an editing information creating section 100, an encoding system control section 200, a video encoder 300, and a video stream buffer 40.
0, sub-picture encoder 500, sub-picture stream buffer 600, audio encoder 700,
It is composed of an audio stream buffer 800, a system encoder 900, a video zone formatter 1300, a recording unit 1200, and a recording medium M.

In the figure, the bit stream encoded by the encoder of the present invention is recorded on an optical disc medium as an example.

The authoring encoder EC is an edit information generation unit that can output as scenario data for instructing the edit of the corresponding part of the multimedia bit stream MBS according to the user's request regarding the video, sub-picture, and audio of the original multimedia title. Equipped with 100. The edit information creation unit 100 preferably includes a display unit, a speaker unit, a keyboard, a CPU, a source stream buffer unit, and the like. The edit information creation unit 100 is connected to the above-mentioned external multimedia stream source, and is connected to the multimedia source data St.
It receives the supply of 1, St3, and St5.

The user can recognize the contents of the title by playing back the video and audio of the multimedia source data using the display unit and the speaker. Further, the user inputs an editing instruction of the content according to a desired scenario by using the keyboard unit while confirming the reproduced content. The editing instruction content is a selection of one or more contents of each source data at predetermined time intervals for all or each of the source data including a plurality of title contents, and the selected contents are specified. Say the information that you can connect and play by the method.

The CPU receives each stream St of multimedia source data based on the keyboard input.
Position, length of the edit target portion of 1, St3, and St5,
And scenario data St7 that encodes information such as the temporal relationship between the edited parts.

The source stream buffer has a predetermined capacity, and each stream St of multimedia source data St
1, St3, and St5 are delayed by a predetermined time Td and then output.

This is because the user has the scenario data St7.
In the case where encoding is performed at the same time as the creation of the data, that is, in the case of sequential encoding processing, it takes some time Td to determine the editing processing content of the multimedia source data based on the scenario data St7 as described later. Therefore, when actually performing the edit encoding, it is necessary to delay the multimedia source data by the time Td and synchronize with the edit encoding.

In the case of such a sequential editing process, the delay time Td is a degree necessary for the synchronization adjustment between the respective elements in the system, so the source stream buffer is usually composed of a high speed recording medium such as a semiconductor memory. To be done.

However, at the time of so-called batch editing in which the multimedia source data is encoded at once after completing the scenario data St7 throughout the title, the delay time Td is required for one title or longer. is there. In such a case, the source stream buffer can be configured by using a low-speed large-capacity recording medium such as a video tape, a magnetic disk, an optical disk. That is, the source stream buffer may be configured using an appropriate storage medium according to the delay time Td and the manufacturing cost.

The encoding system control unit 200 is connected to the editing information creating unit 100, and the scenario data S
t7 is received from the editing information creation unit 100. The encoding system control unit 200, based on the information on the temporal position and length of the edit target portion included in the scenario data St7, encode parameter data for encoding the edit target portion of the multimedia source data and the start of encoding. , End timing signal St
9, St11, and St13 are generated, respectively. Note that, as described above, each multimedia source data St
Since 1, St3, and St5 are output by the source stream buffer with a delay of time Td, they are synchronized with the respective timings St9, St11, and St13.

That is, the signal St9 is the video stream S
This is a video encode signal that indicates the timing of encoding the video stream St1 in order to extract the encoding target portion from t1 and generate a video encoding unit. Similarly, the signal St11 is a sub-picture stream encode signal that indicates the timing of encoding the sub-picture stream St3 to generate the sub-picture encoding unit. Also, the signal S
t13 is an audio encode signal that indicates the timing of encoding the audio stream St5 to generate the audio encode unit.

The encoding system control unit 200 further performs encoding based on information such as temporal correlation between the encoding target portions of the streams St1, St3, and St5 of the multimedia source data included in the scenario data St7. Timing signals St21, St23, and S for arranging the generated multimedia encoded streams so as to have a predetermined mutual relationship.
Generate t25.

The encoding system control unit 200 controls the title editing unit (V
OB), reproduction time information IT indicating the reproduction time of the title editing unit (VOB) and encoding parameters for system encoding for multiplexing (multiplexing) multimedia encoded streams of video, audio and sub-picture. The stream encode data St33 shown is generated.

The encoding system control unit 200 determines the multimedia bit stream M from the title editing unit (VOB) of each stream having a predetermined mutual time relationship.
To connect title edit units (VOBs) of each title of the BS or to generate interleaved title edit units (VOBs) that overlap each title edit unit,
Each title editing unit (VOB) is used as a multimedia bit stream MBS, and an array designating signal St39 that defines a format parameter for formatting is generated.

The video encoder 300 is connected to the source stream buffer of the editing information creating section 100 and the encoding system control section 200, and includes the video stream St1, the encoding parameter data for video encoding, and the timing signal for the start and end of encoding. St9, for example, the start / end timing of encoding,
Parameters such as an NTSC signal, a PAL signal, or a telecine material are input as the bit rate, the encoding condition at the end of encoding, and the type of material. The video encoder 300 receives the video stream St based on the video encode signal St9.
A predetermined part of 1 is encoded to generate a video encode stream St15.

Similarly, the sub-picture encoder 500
Is connected to the source buffer of the editing information creation unit 100 and the encoding system control unit 200, and receives the sub-picture stream St3 and the sub-picture stream encode signal St11, respectively. The sub-picture encoder 500 encodes a predetermined portion of the sub-picture stream St3 based on the parameter signal St11 for sub-picture stream encoding to generate a sub-picture encoded stream St17.

The audio encoder 700 is connected to the source buffer of the edit information creating section 100 and the encoding system control section 200, and receives the audio stream St5 and the audio encode signal St13, respectively. The audio encoder 700 encodes a predetermined portion of the audio stream St5 based on the parameter data for audio encoding and the signal St13 of the encoding start / end timing to generate an audio encoded stream St19.

The video stream buffer 400 is connected to the video encoder 300 and outputs the video encoded stream S output from the video encoder 300.
Save t15. The video stream buffer 400 is further connected to the encoding system control unit 200,
Based on the input of the timing signal St21, the stored video encode stream St15 is output as the timed video encode stream St27.

Similarly, the sub-picture stream buffer 600 is connected to the sub-picture encoder 500 and stores the sub-picture encoded stream St17 output from the sub-picture encoder 500.
The sub-picture stream buffer 600 is further connected to the encoding system control unit 200 and outputs the stored sub-picture encode stream St17 as a timed sub-picture encode stream St29 based on the input of the timing signal St23.

The audio stream buffer 80
0 is connected to the audio encoder 700,
The audio encoded stream St19 output from the audio encoder 700 is stored. The audio stream buffer 800 is further connected to the encoding system control unit 200 and outputs the stored audio encode stream St19 as a timed audio encode stream St31 based on the input of the timing signal St25.

The system encoder 900 is connected to the video stream buffer 400, the sub-picture stream buffer 600, and the audio stream buffer 800, and the timed video encode stream St.
27, timed sub-picture encoded stream St2
9 and the timed audio encode St31 are input. The system encoder 900 is also connected to the encoding system control unit 200, and receives the stream encode data St33.

The system encoder 900 performs a multiplexing process on each of the timing streams St27, St29, and St31 based on the encode parameter data of the system encode and the signal St33 of the encode start / end timing, and the title edit unit (VOB). Generate St35.

The video zone formatter 1300 is connected to the system encoder 900 and receives the title edit unit St35 as input. Video zone formatter 1
300 further connected to the encoding system controller 200, is input format parameter data and formatting start termination timing signal St39 for formatting multimedia bitstream MBS. The video zone formatter 1300 rearranges the title editing units St35 for one video zone VZ based on the title editing unit St39 in the order according to the scenario desired by the user to generate the edited multimedia bitstream St43.

The multimedia bit stream St43 edited according to the contents of the scenario requested by the user is transferred to the recording unit 1200. The recording unit 1200 processes the edited multimedia bitstream MBS into data St43 having a format corresponding to the recording medium M and records the data St43 on the recording medium M. In this case, the multimedia bitstream M
The BS includes a volume file structure VFS that indicates a physical address on the medium, which is generated by the video zone formatter 1300 in advance.

Further, the encoded multimedia bit stream St35 may be directly output to a decoder as described below to reproduce the edited title contents. In this case, it goes without saying that the multimedia bitstream MBS does not include the volume file structure VFS.

Authoring Decoder DC Next, referring to FIG. 3, the edited multimedia bit stream MBS is decoded by the authoring encoder EC according to the present invention, and the content of each title is written according to the scenario desired by the user. An embodiment of the authoring decoder DC that develops the following will be described. In the present embodiment, the multimedia bit stream St45 encoded by the authoring encoder EC recorded on the recording medium M is recorded on the recording medium M.
It is recorded in.

The authoring decoder DC is a multimedia bit stream reproducing unit 2000, a scenario selecting unit 2100, a decoding system control unit 2300, a stream buffer 2400, a system decoder 2500, a video buffer 2600, a sub picture buffer 2700,
Audio buffer 2800, synchronization control unit 2900, video decoder 3800, sub-picture decoder 310
0, an audio decoder 3200, a synthesizing unit 3500, a video data output terminal 3600, and an audio data output terminal 3700.

Multimedia bit stream playback unit 2
Reference numeral 000 denotes a recording medium drive unit 2004 that drives the recording medium M, a read head unit 2006 that reads information recorded on the recording medium M and generates a binary read signal St57, and performs various processing on the read signal ST57. It is composed of a signal processing unit 2008 that generates a reproduction bit stream St61 and a mechanism control unit 2002. The mechanism control unit 2002 is the decoding system control unit 2
When the multimedia bit stream reproduction instruction signal St53 is received, the reproduction control signals St55 and St59 for controlling the recording medium driving unit (motor) 2004 and the signal processing unit 2008 are generated.

The decoder DC selects and plays a corresponding scenario so that a user-desired portion of the video, sub-picture, and audio of the multimedia title edited by the authoring encoder EC is played. , A scenario selection unit 2100 that can output as scenario data that gives an instruction to the authoring decoder DC.

The scenario selection unit 2100 is preferably
It is composed of a keyboard and a CPU. The user operates the keyboard unit to input a desired scenario based on the content of the scenario input by the authoring encoder EC. The CPU selects the scenario selection data St51 that indicates the selected scenario based on the keyboard input.
To generate. The scenario selection unit 2100 uses, for example, an infrared communication device or the like to decode the decoding system control unit 230.
It is connected to 0. Decoding system control unit 2300
Is a reproduction instruction signal St5 for controlling the operation of the multimedia bitstream reproduction unit 2000 based on St51.
3 is generated.

The stream buffer 2400 has a predetermined buffer capacity and has a reproduction signal bit stream S input from the multimedia bit stream reproduction unit 2000.
The stream control data St63 is generated by temporarily storing t61 and extracting the address information and the synchronization initial value data of each stream. The stream buffer 2400 is connected to the decoding system control unit 2300 and supplies the generated stream control data St63 to the decoding system control unit 2300.

The synchronization control unit 2900 is connected to the decoding system control unit 2300 and controls the synchronization control data St81.
To receive the synchronous initial value data (SCR) included therein , set the internal system clock (STC) , and supply the reset system clock St79 to the decoding system control unit 2300.

The decoding system control unit 2300 generates the stream read signal St65 at a predetermined interval based on the system clock St79, and the stream buffer 2
Enter 400.

The stream buffer 2400 outputs the reproduced bit stream St61 at predetermined intervals based on the read signal St65.

The decoding system control unit 2300 further generates a decoding stream instruction signal St69 indicating the ID of each stream of video, sub-picture and audio corresponding to the selected scenario based on the scenario selection data St51, and the system Output to the decoder 2500.

The system decoder 2500 makes the video, sub-picture, and audio streams input from the stream buffer 2400 into a video buffer 2600 as a video encode stream St71 based on the instruction of the decode instruction signal St69.
To the sub picture buffer 2700 as the sub picture encoded stream St73 and to the audio buffer 2 as the audio encoded stream St75.
Output to 800.

The system decoder 2500 uses the reproduction start time (PTS) of each stream St67 in each minimum control unit.
Also, the decoding start time (DTS) is detected, and the time information signal St77 is generated. The time information signal St77 is input to the synchronization control unit 2900 as the synchronization control data St81 via the decoding system control unit 2300.

The synchronization control unit 2900 uses the synchronization control data S
At t81, the decoding start timing for each stream is determined so that each stream is in a predetermined order after decoding. The synchronization control unit 2900 generates a video stream decoding start signal St89 based on this decoding timing and inputs it to the video decoder 3800. Similarly, the synchronization control unit 2900 generates a sub-picture decoding start signal St91 and an audio decoding start signal t93, and inputs them to the sub-picture decoder 3100 and the audio decoder 3200, respectively.

The video decoder 3800 generates a video output request signal St84 based on the video stream decoding start signal St89, and the video buffer 2600.
Output to. The video buffer 2600 receives the video output request signal St84 and receives the video stream St8.
3 is output to the video decoder 3800. The video decoder 3800 detects the reproduction time information included in the video stream St83, and invalidates the video output request signal St84 when receiving the input of the video stream St83 corresponding to the reproduction time. In this way, the video stream corresponding to the predetermined reproduction time is reproduced by the video decoder 3.
Reproduced video signal St1 decoded by 800
04 is output to the combining unit 3500.

Similarly, the sub-picture decoder 3100
Generates a sub-picture output request signal St86 based on the sub-picture decoding start signal St91 and supplies it to the sub-picture buffer 2700. The sub-picture buffer 2700 has a sub-picture output request signal St86.
In response, the sub picture stream St85 is output to the sub picture decoder 3100. The sub-picture decoder 3100 decodes the sub-picture stream St85 in an amount corresponding to a predetermined reproduction time based on the reproduction time information included in the sub-picture stream St85, reproduces the sub-picture signal St99, and the combining unit 35.
Is output to 00.

The synthesizing unit 3500 outputs the video signal St104.
And the sub-picture signal St99 is superimposed to generate a multi-picture video signal St105, which is output to the video output terminal 3600.

The audio decoder 3200 generates an audio output request signal St88 based on the audio decoding start signal St93, and outputs the audio output request signal St88.
Supply to 00. The audio buffer 2800 receives the audio output request signal St88 and outputs the audio stream St87 to the audio decoder 3200. The audio decoder 3200, based on the reproduction time information included in the audio stream St87, outputs the audio stream St8 in an amount corresponding to a predetermined reproduction time.
7 is decoded and output to the audio output terminal 3700.

In this way, the multimedia bit stream MBS desired by the user can be reproduced in real time in response to the user's scenario selection. That is, each time the user selects a different scenario, the authoring decoder DC can reproduce the title content desired by the user by reproducing the multimedia bitstream MBS corresponding to the selected scenario.

As described above, in the authoring system of the present invention, a plurality of branchable substreams of the minimum edit unit representing each content are set in a predetermined temporal correlation with respect to the basic title content. The multimedia source data can be encoded in real-time or in bulk for alignment to produce a multimedia bitstream according to any of several scenarios.

Also, the multimedia bitstream encoded in this way can be played back in accordance with any of a plurality of scenarios. Then, even during playback, even if another scenario is selected (switched) from the selected scenarios, the multimedia bitstream according to the newly selected scenario can be played back (dynamically). Further, while the title contents are being reproduced according to an arbitrary scenario, an arbitrary scene among a plurality of scenes can be dynamically selected and reproduced.

As described above, in the authoring system according to the present invention, not only the encoded multimedia bit stream MBS is reproduced in real time but also it can be repeatedly reproduced. The details of the authoring system are disclosed in the Japanese patent application dated September 27, 1996 by the same applicant as the present patent application.

DVD FIG. 4 shows an example of a DVD having a single recording surface. The DVD recording medium RC1 in this example is a laser beam LS.
Information recording surface RS1 for irradiating and writing and reading information
And a protective layer PL1 covering this. Furthermore, the recording surface R
A reinforcing layer BL1 is provided on the back side of S1. Thus, the surface on the protective layer PL1 side is the surface SA and the reinforcing layer BL1 is
The side surface is referred to as back surface SB. A DVD medium having a single recording layer RS1 on one side like this medium RC1 is called a single-sided single-layer disc.

FIG. 5 shows details of the C1 portion in FIG. The recording surface RS1 has an information layer 41 to which a reflective film such as a metal thin film is attached.
It is formed by 09. On top of that, a predetermined thickness T
By the first transparent substrate 4108 having the protective layer PL
1 is formed. The reinforcing layer BL1 is formed by the second transparent substrate 4111 having a predetermined thickness T2. The first and second transparent substrates 4108 and 4111 are adhered to each other by an adhesive layer 4110 provided between them.

Furthermore, if necessary, the second transparent substrate 41
A printing layer 4112 for printing a label is provided on the printed wiring board 11. The printed layer 4112 is not the entire region of the reinforcing layer BL1 on the substrate 4111, but only the portion necessary for displaying characters and pictures is printed, and the transparent substrate 4111 may be exposed in other portions. In that case, when viewed from the back surface SB side, the metal thin film 4109 that forms the recording surface RS1 in the unprinted portion
The reflected light is directly visible. For example, when the metal thin film is an aluminum thin film, the background looks silvery white, and the printed characters and figures appear to float on it. The printed layer 4112 does not need to be provided on the entire surface of the reinforcing layer BL1 and may be partially provided depending on the application.

FIG. 6 shows details of the C2 portion in FIG.
On the surface SA where the light beam LS is incident and information is taken out, uneven pits are formed by a molding technique on the contact surface between the first transparent substrate 4108 and the information layer 4109, and the length and interval of these pits should be changed. Records information. That is, the first transparent substrate 410 is formed on the information layer 4109.
The uneven pit shape of 8 is transferred. The length and interval of the pits are shorter than that of the CD, and the information tracks formed by the pit rows are also narrow in pitch. As a result, the areal recording density is significantly improved.

The surface SA side of the first transparent substrate 4108 where the pits are not formed is a flat surface. The second transparent substrate 4111 is for reinforcement and is a transparent substrate made of the same material as the first transparent substrate 4108 and having flat surfaces on both sides. The predetermined thicknesses T1 and T2 are both preferably, for example, 0.6 mm, but are not limited thereto.

Information is taken out in the same manner as in the case of CD.
When the light beam LS is emitted, it is extracted as a change in the reflectance of the light spot. In the DVD system, since the numerical aperture NA of the objective lens can be made large and the wavelength λ of the light beam can be made small, the diameter of the light spot Ls used is about 1 / 1.6 of the light spot on the CD. Can be narrowed down to. This means that it has about 1.6 times the resolution of the CD system.

To read data from a DVD, the NA of the red semiconductor laser with a short wavelength of 650 nm and the objective lens is used.
An optical system whose (numerical aperture) is increased to 0.6 mm can be used. Combined with the fact that the thickness T of the transparent substrate is reduced to 0.6 mm, the information capacity that can be recorded on one side of an optical disc having a diameter of 120 mm exceeds 5 GB.

In the DVD system, as described above, even in the single-sided single-layer disc RC1 having the single recording surface RS1, the recordable information amount is close to 10 times that of the CD.
A moving image with a very large data size per unit can be handled without impairing its image quality. as a result,
In the conventional CD system, the reproduction time is 74 minutes even if the quality of the moving image is sacrificed.
It is possible to record and reproduce high-quality moving images for over 2 hours. As described above, the DVD is characterized in that it is suitable as a moving image recording medium.

7 and 8 show an example of a DVD recording medium having a plurality of recording surfaces RS described above. The DVD recording medium RC2 of FIG. 7 has first and semi-transparent second recording surfaces RS1 and RS2 arranged in two layers on the same side, that is, the front side SA. First recording surface RS1 and second recording surface RS2
On the other hand, by using different light beams LS1 and LS2, recording and reproduction from two surfaces can be performed at the same time. Also, with one of the light beams LS1 or LS2,
You may make it correspond to both recording surfaces RS1 and RS2. The DVD recording medium thus configured is called a single-sided dual layer disc. In this example, two recording layers RS1 and RS2 are arranged, but if necessary, two or more recording layers RS are arranged D
It goes without saying that a VD recording medium can be constructed. Such a disc is called a single-sided multi-layer disc.

On the other hand, the DVD recording medium RC3 of FIG. 8 is provided with the first recording surface RS1 on the opposite side, that is, the front side SA side, and the second recording surface RS2 on the back side SB. In these examples, one DVD has two recording surfaces, but it goes without saying that it can be configured to have a multilayer recording surface of two or more layers. Similar to the case of FIG. 7, the light beams LS1 and LS2 may be separately provided, or one light beam may be used for recording / reproducing on both recording surfaces RS1 and RS2. The DVD recording medium thus configured is called a double-sided single layer disc. Further, it goes without saying that a DVD recording medium having two or more recording layers RS arranged on one side can be constructed. Such a disc is called a double-sided multi-layer disc.

9 and 10 are plan views of the recording surface RS of the DVD recording medium RC as seen from the irradiation side of the light beam LS. For DVD, from the inner circumference to the outer circumference,
Tracks TR for recording information are continuously provided in a spiral shape. The track TR is divided into a plurality of sectors for each predetermined data unit. It should be noted that, in FIG. 9, in order to make it easier to see, it is shown as being divided into three or more sectors per track.

Normally, the track TR, as shown in FIG. 9, has an end point IA on the inner circumference of the disk RCA to an end point O on the outer circumference thereof.
It is wound in the clockwise direction DrA toward A. Such a disc RCA is called a clockwise disc, and its track is called a clockwise track TRA. Depending on the application, as shown in FIG. 10, a clockwise direction Dr from the outer peripheral end point OB of the disc RCB toward the inner peripheral end point IB.
A track TRB is wound around B. This direction Dr
B is a counterclockwise direction when viewed from the inner circumference to the outer circumference, so to distinguish it from the disk RCA of FIG.
Counterclockwise disc RCB and counterclockwise truck TR
Call B. The track winding directions DrA and DrB described above.
Is a movement of a light beam scanning a track for recording and reproduction, that is, a track path. Track winding direction D
The opposite direction RdA of rA is the direction in which the disk RCA is rotated. RdB opposite to the track winding direction DrB
Is the direction in which the disc RCB is rotated.

FIG. 11 shows a single-sided dual-layer disc R shown in FIG.
The development view of disk RC2o which is an example of C2 is shown typically. On the lower first recording surface RS1, a clockwise track TRA is provided in a clockwise direction DrA as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, the counterclockwise track TRB is provided in the counterclockwise direction D on the second recording surface RS2 on the upper side.
It is provided in rB. In this case, the upper and lower track outer peripheral ends OB and OA are located on the same line parallel to the center line of the disc RC2o. Both the winding directions DrA and DrB of the track TR described above are also the reading and writing directions of data with respect to the disc RC. In this case, the winding directions of the upper and lower tracks are opposite, that is, the track paths DrA and DrB of the upper and lower recording layers face each other.

The opposite track path type single-sided dual-layer disc RC2o is rotated in the RdA direction corresponding to the first recording surface RS1, and the light beam LS follows the track of the first recording surface RS1 along the track path DrA. When the light beam LS is traced and reaches the outer peripheral end OA, the light beam LS is adjusted so as to focus on the outer peripheral end OB of the second recording surface RS2. The track on the recording surface RS2 can be traced. In this way, the physical distance between the tracks TRA and TRB on the first and second recording surfaces RS1 and RS2 can be instantaneously eliminated by adjusting the focus of the light beam LS. As a result, in the opposite track path type single sided dual layer disc RCo, it is easy to process the tracks on the upper and lower two layers as one continuous track TR. Therefore, the multimedia bitstream MBS, which is the maximum management unit of multimedia data in the authoring system described with reference to FIG. 1, is continuously recorded on the two recording layers RS1 and RS2 of one medium RC2o. Can be recorded.

The winding directions of the tracks on the recording surfaces RS1 and RS2 are opposite to those described in this example, that is, the counterclockwise track TRB is on the first recording surface RS1 and the clockwise track is on the second recording surface. When the TRA is provided, both recording surfaces are used as having one continuous track TR, as in the above example, except that the rotation direction of the disc is changed to RdB. Therefore, for the sake of simplicity, the illustration and the like of such an example will be omitted. By configuring the DVD in this way, the multimedia bitstream MBS of a long title can be recorded on one opposite track path type single-sided dual-layer disc RC2o. Such a DVD medium is called a single-sided dual-layer opposed track path type disc.

FIG. 12 shows a single-sided dual-layer disc R shown in FIG.
A further development of C2 RC2p is schematically shown. As shown in FIG. 9, the first and second recording surfaces RS1 and RS2 are both provided with a clockwise track TRA. In this case, the one-sided dual-layer disc RC2p is rotated in the RdA direction, and the moving direction of the light beam is the same as the winding direction of the track, that is, the track paths of the upper and lower recording layers are parallel to each other. Also in this case, it is preferable that the upper and lower track outer peripheral end portions OA and OA are located on the same line parallel to the center line of the disc RC2p. Therefore, by adjusting the focus of the light beam LS at the outer peripheral end portion OA, similarly to the medium RC2o described in FIG. 11, from the outer peripheral end portion OA of the track TRA of the first recording surface RS1 to the second recording. Momentarily to the outer peripheral end OA of the track TRA of the surface RS2,
You can change the access destination.

However, in order to access the track TRA of the second recording surface RS2 temporally continuously by the light beam LS, the medium RC2p may be rotated in the reverse direction (in the anti-RdA direction). However, since it is not efficient to change the rotation direction of the medium according to the position of the light beam, the light beam LS is directed to the track outer peripheral end portion of the first recording surface RS1 as indicated by an arrow in the figure. After reaching OA, the light beam is directed to the track inner peripheral end portion I of the second recording surface RS2.
By moving to A, it can be used as one logically continuous track. Further, if necessary, the tracks on the upper and lower recording surfaces may not be treated as one continuous track but may be recorded as separate tracks for each title of the multimedia bit stream MBS. Such a DVD medium is called a single-sided dual-layer parallel track path type disc.

It should be noted that the winding direction of the tracks on both recording surfaces RS1 and RS2 is opposite to that described in this example, that is, even if the counterclockwise track TRB is provided, the rotation direction of the disk is R.
It is the same except that it is set to dB. This single-sided, double-layer parallel track path type disc is suitable for use in recording a plurality of titles, which are frequently required to be randomly accessed, on a single medium RC2p, such as an encyclopedia.

FIG. 13 shows a double-sided single-layer DVD having one recording surface RS1 and one recording surface RS2 shown in FIG.
The development view of example RC3s of medium RC3 is shown. A clockwise track TRA is provided on one recording surface RS1, and a counterclockwise track TRB is provided on the other recording surface RS2. Also in this case, it is preferable that the track outer peripheral end portions OA and OB on both recording surfaces be the disc RC3.
It is located on the same line parallel to the center line of s. These recording surfaces RS1 and RS2 have the track winding directions opposite to each other, but the track paths have a plane-symmetrical relationship with each other. Such a disc RC3s is referred to as a double-sided single layer symmetrical track path type disc. This double-sided single-layer symmetrical track path type disc RC3s corresponds to the first recording medium RS1 and is R
It is rotated in the dA direction. As a result, the track path of the second recording medium RS2 on the opposite side has its track winding direction D
The direction opposite to rB, that is, DrA. In this case, there are essentially two recording surfaces RS1 regardless of whether they are continuous or discontinuous.
And it is not practical to access RS2 with the same light beam LS. Therefore, on each of the front and back recording surfaces,
Record the multimedia bitstream MSB.

FIG. 14 is a development view of a further example RC3a of the double-sided single-layer DVD medium RC3 shown in FIG. Both recording surfaces R
Both S1 and RS2 are provided with a clockwise track TRA as shown in FIG. Also in this case, it is preferable that the track outer peripheral end portions OA and OA of both recording surface sides RS1 and RS2 are located on the same line parallel to the center line of the disc RC3a. However, in this example, the double-sided single-track target track path type disc R described above is used.
Unlike C3s, the tracks on the recording surfaces RS1 and RS2 have an asymmetric relationship. Such a disc RC
3a is referred to as a double-sided single layer non-symmetrical track path type disc.
This double-sided non-target track path type disc RC3s
Is rotated in the RdA direction corresponding to the first recording medium RS1.

As a result, the track path of the second recording surface RS2 on the opposite side is the direction opposite to the track winding direction DrA, that is, the DrB direction. Therefore, if a single light beam LS is continuously moved from the inner circumference to the outer circumference of the first recording surface RS1 and from the outer circumference to the inner circumference of the second recording surface RS2, a different light beam source for each recording surface can be obtained. It is possible to record and reproduce on both sides without reversing the front and back of the medium PC 3a without preparing. Further, in this double-sided single-layer asymmetric track path type disc, the track paths of both recording surfaces RS1 and RS2 are the same. Therefore, by reversing the front and back of the medium PC3a, it is possible to record and reproduce on both sides with a single light beam LS without preparing a different light beam source for each recording surface. Can be manufactured in a simple manner.
Even if a track TRB is provided on both recording surfaces RS1 and RS2 instead of the track TRA, the same operation as in this example is basically performed.

As described above, a plurality of moving image data, a plurality of audio data, and a plurality of graphics recorded on one disc are used by the DVD system in which the recording surface is multi-layered so that the recording capacity can be easily doubled. It demonstrates its true value in the area of multimedia in which data and the like are reproduced through user interaction. In other words, it was possible to provide the quality of a movie produced by one movie, which was a dream of software providers in the past, as it is, and to provide it to many different languages and many different generations by one medium. To do.

Parentalization Conventionally, software providers of movie titles have been multi-rated as individual packages corresponding to the same title in many languages all over the world and parental locks regulated in Western countries. Producing and supplying titles,
I had to manage. This was a great deal of work. Further, it is important that the image can be reproduced as intended as well as the high image quality. The DVD is a recording medium that is one step closer to solving such wishes.

Multi-angle Also, as a typical example of the interactive operation, a function called multi-angle is required to switch a scene from another viewpoint while reproducing one scene. For example, in the case of a baseball scene, this is an angle centered on the pitcher, catcher, or batter viewed from the backnet side, an angle centered on the infield viewed from the backnet side, a pitcher viewed from the center side, or a catcher. , There is a demand for an application that allows the user to freely choose from a number of angles, such as the batter-centered angle, as if the user were switching cameras.

In the DVD, the MPEG similar to the video CD is used as a system for recording signal data such as moving images, audios and graphics in order to meet such a demand. The video CD and the DVD use the same MPEG format due to differences in capacity, transfer speed, and signal processing performance in the playback apparatus, but employ different compression methods and data formats, that is, MPEG1 and MPEG2.
However, since the contents of MPEG1 and MPEG2 and the difference between them are not directly related to the gist of the present invention, description thereof will be omitted (for example, ISO11172, ISO1381).
8 MPEG standard).

The data structure of the DVD system according to the present invention will be described later with reference to FIGS. 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20.

Multi-scene If , in order to satisfy the above-mentioned requirements for parental lock playback and multi-angle playback, titles having the contents as requested are prepared for each, almost the same scene data having only a part of different scene data is provided. As many titles as the content must be prepared and recorded on a recording medium. This means that the same data is repeatedly recorded in most areas of the recording medium, so that the utilization efficiency of the storage capacity of the recording medium is significantly excluded. Furthermore, even with a large-capacity recording medium such as a DVD, it is impossible to record titles that meet all requirements. It can be said that such a problem can be basically solved by increasing the capacity of the recording medium, but it is extremely undesirable from the viewpoint of effective use of system resources.

In the DVD system, by using the multi-scene control, the outline of which will be described below, a title having various kinds of variations is configured with the minimum necessary data, and the system resources such as the recording medium are effectively used. Is possible. That is, titles having various variations are composed of a basic scene section including common data between titles and a multi-scene section including different scene groups according to respective requirements. Then, at the time of reproduction, the user can freely select a specific scene in each multi-scene section and at any time. Note that multi-scene control including parental lock playback and multi-angle playback will be described later with reference to FIG.

Data Structure of DVD System FIG. 22 shows the data structure of authoring data in the DVD system according to the present invention. In the DVD system, in order to record the multimedia bit stream MBS, a lead-in area LI, a volume area VS,
The lead-out area LO is provided with three recording areas.

The lead-in area LI is located at the innermost peripheral portion of the optical disc, for example, at the inner peripheral end portions IA and IB of the track in the disc described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. In the lead-in area LI, data etc. for stabilizing the operation at the start of reading by the reproducing apparatus are recorded.

The lead-out area LO is located at the outermost periphery of the optical disc, that is, at the outer peripheral ends OA and OB of the tracks described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. In the lead-out area LO, data indicating that the volume area VS has ended is recorded.

The volume area VS is a lead-in area L.
Located between I and the lead-out area LO, 2048-byte logical sectors LS are recorded as an n + 1 (n is a positive integer including 0) one-dimensional array. Each logical sector LS is distinguished by a sector number (# 0, # 1, # 2, ... #n). Further, the volume area VS includes a volume / file management area VFS formed from m + 1 logical sectors LS # 0 to LS # m (m is a positive integer including 0 smaller than n) and n−m logical areas. Sectors LS # m + 1 to LS
The file data area FDS is formed from #n. This file data area FDS corresponds to the multimedia bit stream MBS shown in FIG.

The volume / file management area VFS is
This is a file system for managing the data in the volume area VS as a file, and the logical sectors LS # 0 to LS # with the number of sectors m (m is a natural number smaller than n) necessary for storing the data necessary for managing the entire disk. It is formed by m. This volume / file management area V
FS includes, for example, ISO9660 and ISO133.
According to the standards such as 46, information of files in the file data area FDS is recorded.

The file data area FDS is composed of n−m logical sectors LS # m + 1 to LS # n, each of which is an integral multiple of the logical sector (2048 × I, I
Is a video manager VM having a size of a predetermined integer)
G and k video title sets VTS # 1 to V
TS # k (k is a natural number smaller than 100) is included.

The video manager VMG holds information indicating title management information of the entire disc and also has information indicating a volume menu which is a menu for setting / changing reproduction control of the entire volume. The video title set VTS # k is also simply called a video file, and represents a title made up of data such as moving images, audios, and still images.

FIG. 16 shows the internal structure of the video title set VTS shown in FIG. Video title set VTS
Is VTS information (VTS
I) and a VOBS for a VTS title (VTSTT_VOB) which is a system stream of a multimedia bit stream.
S). First, the VTS information will be described below, and then the VOBS for the VTS title will be described.

The VTS information mainly includes a VTSI management table (VTSI_MAT) and a VTSPGC information table (VTS_PG).
CIT) is included.

The VTSI management table includes the internal structure of the video title set VTS and the video title set VTS.
Number of selectable audio streams, number of sub-pictures and video title set VT included in TS
The storage location of S and the like are described.

The VTSPGC information management table is a table in which i pieces (i is a natural number) of PGC information VTS_PGCI # 1 to VTS_PGCI # I representing a program chain (PGC) for controlling the reproduction order are recorded. PGC information VT of each entry
S_PGCI # I is information indicating a program chain, and j
(J is a natural number) cell reproduction information C_PBI # 1 to C_PBI # j. Each cell reproduction information C_PBI # j includes the reproduction order of cells and control information regarding reproduction.

The program chain PGC is a concept for describing a story of a title, and a title is formed by describing a reproduction order of cells (described later). For example, in the case of information about a menu, the VTS information is stored in a buffer in the playback device at the start of playback,
When the "menu" key of the remote controller is pressed in the middle of reproduction, the reproduction device refers to it and, for example, the # 1 top menu is displayed. For a hierarchical menu, for example,
Program chain information VTS_PGCI # 1 is the main menu that is displayed by pressing the "Menu" key, # 2 to # 9 are submenus corresponding to the numbers on the "numeric keypad" of the remote control, and # 10 and later are submenus of lower layers. It is configured like this. For example, # 1 is "menu"
The top menu displayed by pressing the keys and the voice guidance that is reproduced in correspondence with the numbers on the "ten" key are displayed from # 2.

Since the menu itself is represented by a plurality of program chains specified in this table, it is possible to configure a menu of any form, whether it is a hierarchical menu or a menu including voice guidance. It is possible.

For example, in the case of a movie, the playback device refers to the cell playback order stored in the buffer in the playback device at the start of playback and described in the PGC, and plays the system stream.

The cell mentioned here is the whole or a part of the system stream and is used as an access point at the time of reproduction. For example, in the case of a movie, it can be used as a chapter that divides the title in the middle.

Note that the entered PGC information C_PBI # j
Each includes cell reproduction processing information and a cell information table. The reproduction processing information is composed of processing information necessary for cell reproduction such as reproduction time and number of repetitions. Block mode (CBM), cell block type (CBT), seamless playback flag (SPF), interleave block allocation flag (IAF), STC reset flag (STCDF), cell playback time (C_PBTM), seamless angle switch flag (SACF) , Cell start VOBU start address (C_FVOBU_S
A) and cell end VOBU start address (C_LVOBU_S
A).

The seamless playback mentioned here is a DVD.
In the system, multimedia data such as video, audio and sub-video is reproduced without interruption of each data and information, which will be described later in detail with reference to FIGS. 23 and 24.

The block mode CBM indicates whether or not a plurality of cells constitute one functional block, and the cell reproduction information of each cell constituting the functional block is continuously PG.
The CBM of the cell playback information placed in the C information and placed at the beginning of the C information has a value indicating the “leading cell of the block”, and the CBM of the cell playback information placed at the end thereof has the “last of block A value indicating "cell" and a value indicating "cell in block" are shown in the CBM of cell reproduction information arranged between them.

The cell block type CBT indicates the type of block shown in the block mode CBM. For example, when setting the multi-angle function, the cell information corresponding to the playback of each angle is set as the function block as described above, and the type of the block is set to the CBT of the cell playback information of each cell as "Angle". Set the value that indicates ".

The seamless reproduction flag SPF is a flag indicating whether or not the cell or cell block to be reproduced previously is seamlessly connected and reproduced, and is seamlessly connected to the previous cell or previous cell block. When reproducing, a flag value 1 is set in the SPF of the cell reproduction information of the cell. Otherwise, the flag value 0 is set.

Interleave allocation flag IA
F is a flag indicating whether or not the cell is arranged in the interleave area. When the cell is arranged in the interleave area, a flag value 1 is set in the interleave allocation flag IAF of the cell. Otherwise, the flag value 0 is set.

The STC reset flag STCDF is information as to whether or not the STC used for synchronization needs to be reset at the time of reproducing the cell, and the flag value 1 is set when the reset is necessary. . Otherwise, the flag value 0 is set.

Seamless angle change flag SAC
When the cell belongs to the angle section and is seamlessly switched, F sets a flag value 1 in the seamless angle change flag SACF of the cell. Otherwise, the flag value 0 is set.

The cell playback time (C_PBTM) indicates the cell playback time with the accuracy of the number of video frames.

C_LVOBU_SA indicates a cell end VOBU start address, and its value is VOBS (VTST for VTS title).
T_VOBS) indicates the distance from the logical sector of the first cell by the number of sectors. C_FVOBU_SA indicates the cell start VOBU start address, and the VOBS for the VTS title (VTSTT_VOB
S) shows the distance from the logical sector of the first cell in the number of sectors.

Next, VOBS for VTS title, that is, one multimedia system stream data VTSTT_
I will explain about VOBS. System stream data VTST
T_VOBS is composed of i (i is a natural number) system streams SS called video objects VOB.
Each of the video objects VOB # 1 to VOB # i is composed of at least one video data, and in some cases, a maximum of 8 audio data and a maximum of 32 sub-picture data are interleaved.

Each video object VOB has q (q
Is a natural number) of cells C # 1 to C # q. Each cell C
Is formed from r (r is a natural number) video object units VOBU # 1 to VOBU # r.

Each VOBU is composed of a plurality of GOPs, which are refresh cycles of video encoding, and audio and sub-pictures of a time corresponding to the GOPs. Also,
The beginning of each VOBU includes a nab pack NV which is the management information of the VOBU. The configuration of the nabupack NV will be described later with reference to FIG.

FIG. 17 shows the internal structure of the video zone VZ (FIG. 22). In the figure, the video encode stream St15 is a compressed one-dimensional video data string encoded by the video encoder 300. Similarly, the audio encode stream St19 is a one-dimensional audio data string in which the left and right stereo data encoded by the audio encoder 700 are compressed and integrated. Also, multi-channel such as surround may be used as the audio data.

The system stream St35 is a logical sector L having a capacity of 2048 bytes described in FIG.
It has a structure in which packs having the number of bytes corresponding to S # n are one-dimensionally arranged. System stream St3
At the beginning of 5, that is, the beginning of VOBU, a stream management pack called navigation pack NV, which records management information such as a data array in the system stream, is arranged.

The video encode stream St15 and the audio encode stream St19 are packetized for each byte number corresponding to the pack of the system stream. These packets are represented by V
, V2, V3, V4, ... And A1, A2 ,. These packets are interleaved as the system stream St35 in the figure in an appropriate order in consideration of the processing time of the decoder for decompressing video and audio data and the buffer size of the decoder to form an array of packets. For example, in this example, V1, V2, A1,
They are arranged in the order of V3, V4, and A2.

FIG. 17 shows an example in which one moving image data and one audio data are interleaved. However, in the DVD system, the recording / reproducing capacity is greatly expanded, high-speed recording / reproducing is realized, and the performance of the signal processing LSI is improved. Sub-picture data, which is a plurality of graphics data, is recorded in an interleaved form as one MPEG system stream, and it becomes possible to selectively reproduce from a plurality of audio data and a plurality of sub-picture data during reproduction. . FIG.
Shows the structure of the system stream used in such a DVD system.

Also in FIG. 18, the packetized video encode stream St15 is the same as in FIG.
It is represented as V1, V2, V3, V4, .... However, in this example, the audio encode stream St
The number 19 is not one, and three audio data strings, St19A, St19B, and St19C, are input as sources. Furthermore, the sub-picture encoding stream St17, which is a sub-image data string, also has two columns of data, St17A and St17B, as sources. These six compressed data strings in total are interleaved in one system stream St35.

Video data is encoded by the MPEG system, and a unit called GOP is a compression unit.
As for the GOP unit, in the case of NTSC as standard, 15 frames make up one GOP, but the number of frames is variable. The stream management pack, which represents management data having information such as interleaved data correlation, will also be interleaved at intervals based on GOP based on video data, and the number of frames that make up the GOP. If changes, the interval will also change. In the DVD, the interval is a reproduction time length within the range of 0.4 seconds to 1.0 seconds, and the boundary is in GOP units. If the reproduction time of a plurality of consecutive GOPs is 1 second or less, the management data pack is interleaved in one stream for the video data of the plurality of GOPs.

In the DVD, such a management data pack is called a nabupack NV. From this nabupack NV,
Up to the pack immediately before the next nab pack NV is called a video object unit (hereinafter referred to as VOBU), and one continuous playback unit that can be generally defined as one scene is called a video object (hereinafter referred to as VOB) and one It will consist of the above VOBUs. Also, a set of data in which a plurality of VOBs are collected is a VOB set (hereinafter referred to as VOB set).
Call S). These are the data formats first adopted in DVD.

When a plurality of data strings are interleaved in this way, a navigation pack NV representing management data showing the interrelation of interleaved data.
Also needs to be interleaved in a unit called a predetermined pack number unit. A GOP is a unit that collects video data of about 0.5 seconds, which usually corresponds to a reproduction time of 12 to 15 frames, and it is considered that one stream management packet is interleaved with the number of data packets required for reproduction of this time. To be

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing stream management information contained in a pack of interleaved video data, audio data, and sub-picture data which constitutes a system stream. As shown in the figure, each data in the system stream is recorded in a packetized and packed format conforming to MPEG2. The packet structure for video, audio, and sub-image data is basically the same. In the DVD system, one pack has a capacity of 2048 bytes as described above, includes one packet called a PES packet, and has a pack header PK.
H, a packet header PTH, and a data area.

In the pack header PKH, the time when the pack should be transferred from the stream buffer 2400 to the system decoder 2500 in FIG. 26, that is, AV
An SCR indicating reference time information for synchronous reproduction is recorded. In MPEG, it is assumed that this SCR is used as the reference clock for the entire decoder.
In the case of disc media such as the above, a closed time control is sufficient for each player, and therefore a clock serving as a reference for the time of the entire decoder is separately provided. In the packet header PTH, PTS indicating the time when the video data or audio data included in the packet should be output as reproduction output after being decoded, DTS indicating the time when the video stream should be decoded, etc. PTS and DTS in which is recorded are placed when the head of the access unit that is the decoding unit is in the packet, PTS indicates the display start time of the access unit, and DTS indicates the decode start time of the access unit. There is. If PTS and DTS are at the same time, D
TS is omitted.

Further, in the packet header PTH, a stream ID which is an 8-bit field indicating whether the packet is a video packet representing a video data string, a private packet or an MPEG audio packet.
It is included.

Here, the private packet is MP
It is data whose contents may be freely defined according to the standard of EG2. In the present embodiment, private packet 1 is used to carry audio data (other than MPEG audio) and sub-picture data, and private packet 2 is used. Carry PCI and DSI packets.

Private packet 1 and private packet 2 consist of a packet header, a private data area and a data area. The private data area includes a substream ID having an 8-bit field indicating whether the recorded data is audio data or sub-picture data. The audio data defined by the private packet 2 is # 0 to # 7 for each of the linear PCM system and the AC-3 system.
Up to 8 types can be set. In addition, the sub-picture data can be set to a maximum of 32 types from # 0 to # 31.

The data area is MP for video data.
This is a field in which compressed data of EG2 format, linear PCM system, AC-3 system or MPEG system data in the case of audio data, graphics data compressed by run length encoding in the case of sub-picture data, etc. are recorded. .

As a compression method for MPEG2 video data, a fixed bit rate method (hereinafter referred to as "CBR") is used.
(Also referred to as "VBR"). The constant bit rate method is a method in which a video stream is continuously input to a video buffer at a constant rate. On the other hand, in the variable bit rate method, the video stream is intermittent (intermittent).
This is a method of inputting to a video buffer, which makes it possible to suppress the generation of unnecessary code amount.

The DVD can be used in both the fixed bit rate system and the variable bit rate system. MPEG
However, since the moving image data is compressed by the variable length coding method, the GOP data amount is not constant. Furthermore, the decoding time of the moving image differs from that of the audio, and the time relation between the moving image data and the audio data read from the optical disc does not match the time relation between the moving image data and the audio data output from the decoder. Therefore, a method of temporally synchronizing the moving image and the audio will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 26. First, for simplicity, the description will be given based on the fixed bit rate method.

FIG. 20 shows the structure of Nabupack NV.
The nab pack NV is composed of a PCI packet and a DSI packet, and has a pack header PKH at the head. PK
In H, as described above, the pack is from the stream buffer 2400 to the system decoder 25 in FIG.
00, the SCR indicating the reference time information for AV synchronous reproduction is recorded.

The PCI packet contains PCI information (PCI_GI).
And non-seamless multi-angle information (NSML_AGLI). In the PCI information (PCI_GI), the start time of the first video frame of the video data included in the VOBU (VO
BU_S_PTM) and last video frame display time (VOBU_E_
PTM) is described with system clock accuracy (90 KHz).

Non-seamless multi-angle information (NSML_A
In GLI), the read start address when the angle is switched is described as the number of sectors from the beginning of the VOB.
In this case, since the number of angles is 9 or less, the address description area for 9 angles (NSML_AGL_C1_DSTA ~
NSML_AGL_C9_DSTA).

The DSI information (DSI_G
I), seamless playback information (SML_PBI) and seamless multi-angle playback information (SML_AGLI). D
The final pack address (VOBU_EA) in the VOBU is described as the SI information (DSI_GI) as the number of sectors from the beginning of the VOBU.

Although seamless reproduction will be described later, in order to seamlessly reproduce a branched or combined title, it is necessary to interleave (multiplex) at the system stream level with ILVU as a continuous read unit. An interval in which a plurality of system streams are interleaved with ILVU as the minimum unit is defined as an interleave block.

Seamless playback information (SML_PBI) is described in order to seamlessly play back an interleaved stream with ILVU as the minimum unit. In the seamless reproduction information (SML_PBI), an interleave unit flag (ILVU flag) indicating whether the VOBU is an interleave block is described. This flag indicates whether it exists in the interleaved area (described later), and when it exists in the interleaved area, "1" is set. Otherwise, the flag value 0 is set.

When the VOBU exists in the interleave area, a unit end flag indicating whether the VOBU is the last VOBU of ILVU is described. ILVU is
Since it is a continuous read unit, the VO currently being read
If BU is the last VOBU of ILVU, "1" is set. Otherwise, the flag value 0 is set.

When the VOBU exists in the interleave area, an ILVU last pack address (ILVU_EA) indicating the address of the last pack of the ILVU to which the VOBU belongs
Describe. Here, as the address, the NV of the VOBU
Described in the number of sectors from.

If the VOBU exists in the interleave area, the start address (NT_ILVU__) of the next ILVU will be output.
SA) is described. Here, the number of sectors from the NV of the VOBU is described as the address.

When seamlessly connecting two system streams, especially when the audio before connection and the audio after connection are not continuous (in case of different audio, etc.), the video and audio after connection are synchronized. It is necessary to pause (pause) the audio in order to take it. For example, in the case of NTSC, the video frame period is about 33.3.
It is 3msec, and the frame period of audio AC3 is 32mse.
c.

For this reason, the audio reproduction stop time 1 (VOBU_A_S) indicating the time and period information for stopping the audio.
TP_PTM1), audio playback stop time 2 (VOBU_A_STP_PT
M2), audio playback stop period 1 (VOB_A_GAP_LEN1),
Describe the audio playback stop period 2 (VOB_A_GAP_LEN2). This time information is the system clock accuracy (90KH
z).

Also, seamless multi-angle reproduction information
As (SML_AGLI), describe the read start address when the angle is switched. This field is a valid field in the case of seamless multi-angle.
This address is described by the number of sectors from the NV of the VOBU. Since the number of angles is 9 or less, the address description area for 9 angles is: (SML_AGL_C1_
DSTA to SML_AGL_C9_DSTA).

DVD Encoder FIG. 25 shows an embodiment of the authoring encoder ECD when the multimedia bitstream authoring system according to the present invention is applied to the above-mentioned DVD system. Authoring encoder ECD applied to a DVD system (hereinafter referred to as a DVD encoder)
Has a configuration very similar to the authoring encoder EC shown in FIG. The DVD authoring encoder ECD basically has a structure in which the video zone formatter 1300 of the authoring encoder EC is replaced by the VOB buffer 1000 and the formatter 1100. Of course, the bitstream encoded by the encoder of the present invention is
It is recorded on the DVD medium M. The operation of the DVD authoring encoder ECD is described below.
Description will be made while comparing with C.

In the DVD authoring encoder ECD, as in the authoring encoder EC, the encoding system control unit 200 controls each of the encoding system control units 200 based on the scenario data St7 representing the user's editing instruction content input from the editing information creating unit 100. Control signals St9, St11,
St13, St21, St23, St25, St33,
And St39 are generated to control the video encoder 300, the sub-picture encoder 500, and the audio encoder 700. Incidentally, the editing instruction content in the DVD system is the same as the editing instruction content in the authoring system described with reference to FIG. 25, for all or each of the source data including a plurality of title contents. In addition, it includes not only information for selecting one or more contents of each source data for each predetermined time and connecting and reproducing the selected contents by a predetermined method, and further includes the following information. That is, the multi-title source stream is divided into predetermined time units, and the number of streams included in the editing unit, the number of audios in each stream, the number of sub-pictures and the display period of the data, parental or multi-angle data from multiple streams. It includes information such as whether or not to select, a switching connection method between scenes in the set multi-angle section, and the like.

Incidentally, in the DVD system, the scenario data St7 can be controlled by VOB unit necessary for encoding the media source stream, that is, whether or not multi-angle, parental control is possible. Bit rate at the time of encoding each stream, considering the interleave and disk capacity in the case of multi-angle or parental control described later, the start time and end time of each control, It contains the content of whether to connect seamlessly with the stream. Encoding system control unit 200
Extracts information from the scenario data St7 and generates an encoding information table and encoding parameters required for encoding control. The encoding information table and the encoding parameters will be described later in detail with reference to FIGS. 27, 28, and 29.

The system stream encode parameter data and the signal St33 of the system encode start / end timing include VOB generation information by applying the above information to the DVD system. As VOB generation information, connection conditions before and after, audio count, audio encoding information, audio ID, sub-picture count, sub-picture I
D, time information for starting video display (VPTS), time information for starting audio reproduction (APTS), and the like.
Moreover, multimedia Avi Tsu preparative stream MBS formatting parameter data and formatting start and end timing signals St39 includes reproduction control information and interleave information.

The video encoder 300 encodes a predetermined part of the video stream St1 on the basis of the encode parameter signal for video encoding and the signal St9 of the encoding start / end timing to obtain ISO.
An elementary stream conforming to the MPEG2 video standard defined by 13818 is generated. Then, this elementary stream is output to the video stream buffer 400 as the video encode stream St15.

Here, in the video encoder 300, an elementary stream conforming to the MPEG2 video standard defined by ISO13818 is generated. However, based on the signal St9 including the video encode parameter data, the encode start / end timing is set as the encode parameter. , Bit rate, encoding condition at the end of encoding, type of material, NTSC signal or PAL
Parameters such as a signal or a telecine material and settings of an open GOP or closed GOP encoding mode are input as encoding parameters.

The MPEG2 coding method is basically a coding method which utilizes correlation between frames. That is, encoding is performed with reference to the frames before and after the frame to be encoded. However, in terms of error propagation and accessibility from the middle of the stream, a frame that does not refer to another frame (intra frame) is inserted. The encoding processing unit having at least one intraframe is GO
Call P.

In this GOP, a GOP whose encoding is completely closed within the GOP is a closed GOP,
The frame that refers to the frame in the previous GOP is the GOP.
If it exists inside, the GOP is called an open GOP.

Therefore, when playing back a closed GOP, it is possible to play back only with the GOP, but when playing back an open GOP, the previous GOP is generally required.

The GOP unit is often used as an access unit. For example, during special reproduction such as a reproduction start point in the case of reproducing from the middle of a title, a video switching point, or fast-forwarding, by reproducing only a frame that is an intra-frame coded frame in a GOP in GOP units, Achieve high-speed playback.

The sub-picture encoder 500, based on the sub-picture stream encode signal St11,
A predetermined portion of the sub-picture stream St3 is encoded to generate variable length encoded data of bitmap data. Then, this variable-length coded data is output to the sub-picture stream buffer 600 as a sub-picture encoded stream St17.

The audio encoder 700 encodes a predetermined portion of the audio stream St5 based on the audio encode signal St13 to generate audio encoded data. As this audio encode data, M specified in ISO11172 is used.
Data based on the PEG1 audio standard and the MPEG2 audio standard defined by ISO13818;
There are AC-3 audio data, PCM (LPCM) data, and the like. Methods and devices for encoding these audio data are known.

The video stream buffer 400 is connected to the video encoder 300 and outputs the video encode stream S output from the video encoder 300.
Save t15. The video stream buffer 400 is further connected to the encoding system control unit 200,
Based on the input of the timing signal St21, the stored video encode stream St15 is output as the timed video encode stream St27.

Similarly, the sub-picture stream buffer 600 is connected to the sub-picture encoder 500 and stores the sub-picture encoded stream St17 output from the sub-picture encoder 500.
The sub-picture stream buffer 600 is further connected to the encoding system control unit 200 and outputs the stored sub-picture encode stream St17 as a timed sub-picture encode stream St29 based on the input of the timing signal St23.

Also, the audio stream buffer 80
0 is connected to the audio encoder 700,
The audio encoded stream St19 output from the audio encoder 700 is stored. The audio stream buffer 800 is further connected to the encoding system control unit 200 and outputs the stored audio encode stream St19 as a timed audio encode stream St31 based on the input of the timing signal St25.

The system encoder 900 is connected to the video stream buffer 400, the sub-picture stream buffer 600, and the audio stream buffer 800, and the timed video encode stream St
27, timed sub-picture encoded stream St2
9 and the timed audio encode St31 are input. The system encoder 900 is also connected to the encoding system control unit 200, and St33 including encoding parameter data for system encoding.
Is entered.

The system encoder 900, based on the encode parameter data and the encode start / end timing signal St33, sets each of the timing streams St27, S27.
The minimum title edit unit (VOBs) St35 is obtained by performing multiplexing processing on t29 and St31.
To generate.

The VOB buffer 1000 is a buffer area for temporarily storing the VOB generated in the system encoder 900, and the formatter 1100 uses St3.
VO required from the VOB buffer 1100 according to 9
B is read and one video zone VZ is generated. Further, in the formatter 1100, the file system (V
FS) is added to generate St43.

The stream St43 edited according to the contents of the scenario requested by the user is transferred to the recording unit 1200. The recording unit 1200 stores the edited multimedia bitstream MBS in the data St format of the recording medium M.
It is processed into 43 and recorded on the recording medium M.

DVD Decoder Next, with reference to FIG. 26, the multimedia bit stream authoring system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the above-mentioned DV.
Authoring decoder D when applied to D system
1 illustrates one embodiment of C. An authoring encoder DCD (hereinafter referred to as a DVD decoder) applied to a DVD system is a multimedia bit stream M edited by a DVD encoder ECD according to the present invention.
The BS is decoded to expand the content of each title according to the scenario desired by the user. In the present embodiment, the multimedia bitstream St45 encoded by the DVD encoder ECD is recorded on the recording medium M.

The basic structure of the DVD authoring decoder DCD is the same as that of the authoring decoder DC shown in FIG.
01, the reorder buffer 3300 and the switch 34 are provided between the video decoder 3801 and the synthesizing unit 3500.
00 is inserted. The switch 3400 is connected to the synchronization control unit 2900 and receives the switching instruction signal St103.

The DVD authoring decoder DCD includes a multimedia bit stream reproducing unit 2000, a scenario selecting unit 2100, a decoding system controlling unit 2300,
Stream buffer 2400, system decoder 250
0, video buffer 2600, sub-picture buffer 2
700, audio buffer 2800, synchronization control unit 29
00, video decoder 3801, reorder buffer 33
00, sub-picture decoder 3100, audio decoder 3200, selector 3400, combining unit 3500, video data output terminal 3600, and audio data output terminal 3700.

Multimedia bitstream playback unit 2
Reference numeral 000 denotes a recording medium drive unit 2004 that drives the recording medium M, a read head unit 2006 that reads information recorded on the recording medium M and generates a binary read signal St57, and performs various processing on the read signal ST57. It is composed of a signal processing unit 2008 that generates a reproduction bit stream St61 and a mechanism control unit 2002. The mechanism control unit 2002 is the decoding system control unit 2
When the multimedia bit stream reproduction instruction signal St53 is received, the reproduction control signals St55 and St59 for controlling the recording medium driving unit (motor) 2004 and the signal processing unit 2008 are generated.

The decoder DC selects and reproduces the corresponding scenario so that the user's desired portion regarding the video, sub-picture, and audio of the multimedia title edited by the authoring encoder EC is reproduced. , A scenario selection unit 2100 that can output as scenario data that gives an instruction to the authoring decoder DC.

The scenario selection unit 2100 preferably
It is composed of a keyboard and a CPU. The user operates the keyboard unit to input a desired scenario based on the content of the scenario input by the authoring encoder EC. The CPU selects the scenario selection data St51 that indicates the selected scenario based on the keyboard input.
To generate. The scenario selection unit 2100 uses, for example, an infrared communication device or the like to decode the decoding system control unit 230.
It is connected to 0 and inputs the generated scenario selection signal St51 to the decoding system control unit 2300.

The stream buffer 2400 has a predetermined buffer capacity and has a reproduction signal bit stream S input from the multimedia bit stream reproduction section 2000.
While temporarily storing t61, the stream control data St6 is obtained by extracting the volume file structure VFS, the synchronization initial value data (SCR) existing in each pack, and the VOBU control information (DSI) existing in the nab pack NV.
3 is generated.

The decoding system control unit 2300 controls the operation of the multimedia bit stream reproduction unit 2000 based on the scenario selection data St51 generated by the decoding system control unit 2300.
53 is generated. The decoding system control unit 2300
Further, the reproduction instruction information of the user is extracted from the scenario data St53, and a decoding information table required for decoding control is generated. For the decode information table,
A detailed description will be given later with reference to FIGS. 62 and 63. Furthermore,
The decoding system control unit 2300, based on the file data area FDS information in the stream reproduction data St63,
Video manager VMG, VTS information VTSI, PGC
Information C_PBI # j, cell playback time (C_PBTM: Cell Playback t
The title information St200 is generated by extracting the title information recorded on the optical disc M such as ime).

The stream control data St63 is generated in pack units in FIG. Stream buffer 2
The decoding system control unit 400 is connected to the decoding system control unit 2300 and supplies the generated stream control data St63 to the decoding system control unit 2300.

The synchronization control unit 2900 is connected to the decoding system control unit 2300 to generate the synchronized reproduction data St81.
Received the synchronous initial value data (SCR), set the internal system clock (STC), and decode the reset system clock St79.
Supply to 300.

The decoding system control unit 2300 generates the stream read signal St65 at predetermined intervals based on the system clock St79, and the stream buffer 2
Enter 400. The read unit in this case is a pack.

Next, a method of generating the stream read signal St65 will be described. Decoding system control unit 2
In 300, the SCR in the stream control data extracted from the stream buffer 2400 and the synchronization control unit 290
The system clock St79 from 0 is compared, and St63 is compared.
The read request signal St65 is generated when the system clock St79 becomes larger than the internal SCR. By performing such control in pack units, pack transfer is controlled.

The decoding system control unit 2300 further generates a decoding stream instruction signal St69 indicating the ID of each stream of video, sub-picture and audio corresponding to the selected scenario based on the scenario selection data St51, and the system Output to the decoder 2500.

[0184] In the title, for example, a plurality of audio data such as audio by language such as Japanese, English, French, etc., and a plurality of subpictures such as subtitles by language such as Japanese subtitle, English subtitle, French subtitle, etc. When data exists, ID is given to each. That is,
As described with reference to FIG. 19, video data and
A stream ID is given to the MPEG audio data, and a substream ID is given to the sub-picture data, the AC3 audio data, the linear PCM, and the nab pack NV information. Although the user is not aware of the ID, the scenario selection unit 2100 selects which language audio or subtitles to select. If you select English audio, scenario selection data St
The ID corresponding to the audio in English as 51 is conveyed to the day code system control unit 2300. In addition, the decoding system control unit 2300 uses the system decoder 250.
The ID is transported to St69 and passed to 0.

The system decoder 2500 outputs the video, sub-picture, and audio streams input from the stream buffer 2400 as video encode streams St71 based on the instruction of the decode instruction signal St69.
To the sub picture buffer 2700 as the sub picture encoded stream St73 and to the audio buffer 2 as the audio encoded stream St75.
Output to 800. That is, the system decoder 2500
Are the buffers (video buffer 2600, sub-picture buffer 27) when the stream ID input from the scenario selection unit 2100 and the pack ID transferred from the stream buffer 2400 match.
00, audio buffer 2800).

The system decoder 2500 uses the playback start time (PTS) of each stream St67 in each minimum control unit.
And the reproduction end time (DTS) are detected, and the time information signal St is detected.
77 is generated. The time information signal St77 is input to the synchronization control unit 2900 as St81 via the decoding system control unit 2300.

The synchronization control unit 2900 determines, based on this time information signal St81, the decoding start timing for each stream so that each stream will be in a predetermined order after decoding. The synchronization control unit 2900 generates a video stream decoding start signal St89 based on this decoding timing and inputs it to the video decoder 3801. Similarly, the synchronization control unit 2900 generates the sub-picture decoding start signal St91 and the audio encoding start signal St93, and the sub-picture decoder 31
00 and audio decoder 3200 respectively.

The video decoder 3801 generates the video output request signal St84 on the basis of the video stream decoding start signal St89, and the video buffer 2600.
Output to. The video buffer 2600 receives the video output request signal St84 and receives the video stream St8.
3 is output to the video decoder 3801. The video decoder 3801 detects the reproduction time information included in the video stream St83, and invalidates the video output request signal St84 when receiving the input of the video stream St83 corresponding to the reproduction time. In this way, the video stream corresponding to the predetermined reproduction time is reproduced by the video decoder 3.
Video signal St9 reproduced by being decoded in 801
5 is output to the reorder buffer 3300 and the switch 3400.

Since the video encode stream is coded by utilizing inter-frame correlation, the display order and the coded stream order do not match when viewed in frame units. Therefore, they cannot be displayed in decoding order. Therefore, the decoded frame is stored in the temporary reorder buffer 3300. In the synchronization control unit 2900, St103 is controlled so as to be in the display order, and the output St95 of the video decoder 3801 and the reorder buffer St9 are controlled.
The output of No. 7 is switched and output to the combining unit 3500.

Similarly, the sub-picture decoder 3100
Generates a sub-picture output request signal St86 based on the sub-picture decoding start signal St91 and supplies it to the sub-picture buffer 2700. The sub-picture buffer 2700 receives the video output request signal St84 and outputs the sub-picture stream St85 to the sub-picture decoder 3100. Sub-picture decoder 31
00 decodes the sub-picture stream St85 in an amount corresponding to a predetermined reproduction time based on the reproduction time information included in the sub-picture stream St85, reproduces the sub-picture signal St99, and outputs the sub-picture signal St99 to the synthesizing unit 3500. .

The synthesizer 3500 superimposes the output of the selector 3400 and the sub-picture signal St99 to generate a video signal St105 and outputs it to the video output terminal 3600.

The audio decoder 3200 generates an audio output request signal St88 based on the audio decoding start signal St93, and outputs the audio output request signal St88 to the audio buffer 28.
Supply to 00. The audio buffer 2800 receives the audio output request signal St88 and outputs the audio stream St87 to the audio decoder 3200. The audio decoder 3200, based on the reproduction time information included in the audio stream St87, outputs the audio stream St8 in an amount corresponding to a predetermined reproduction time.
7 is decoded and output to the audio output terminal 3700.

In this way, the multimedia bit stream MBS desired by the user can be reproduced in real time in response to the user's scenario selection. That is, each time the user selects a different scenario, the authoring decoder DCD can reproduce the title content desired by the user by reproducing the multimedia bitstream MBS corresponding to the selected scenario.

The decoding system control unit 2300 is
The scenario selection unit 2 is passed through the infrared communication device described above.
The title information signal St200 may be supplied to 100. The scenario selection unit 2100 uses the title information signal St
By extracting the title information recorded on the optical disc M from the file data area FDS information in the stream reproduction data St63 included in 200 and displaying it on the built-in display, it is possible to interactively select a scenario by the user.

Further, in the above example, the stream buffer 2400, the video buffer 2600, the sub-picture buffer 2700, the audio buffer 2800, and the reorder buffer 3300 are functionally different, and are therefore represented as different buffers. However, one buffer memory can be made to function as these individual buffers by using, in a time-divisional manner, buffer memories having operation speeds several times as high as the read and read speeds required in these buffers.

[0196] Using the multi-scene view 21, a concept of a plural scene control in the present invention. As described above, it is already composed of a basic scene section made up of common data among titles and a multi-scene section made up of different scene groups according to the respective requirements. In the figure, scene 1, scene 5, and scene 8 are common scenes. Common scene 1 and scene 5
And the parental scene between the common scenes 5 and 8 is a multi-scene section. In the multi-angle section, different angles, that is, any of the scenes photographed from the angle 1, the angle 2, and the angle 3, can be dynamically selected and reproduced during reproduction.
In the parental section, either scene 6 or scene 7 corresponding to data of different contents can be statically selected and reproduced in advance.

The user inputs the scenario contents, such as which scene in the multi-scene section to select and reproduce, in the scenario selection unit 2100 to generate the scenario selection data St51. In the figure, scenario 1
Indicates that an arbitrary angle scene is freely selected, and the scene 6 selected in advance is reproduced in the parental section. Similarly, in scenario 2, in the angle section,
It is possible to freely select a scene, which means that scene 7 is selected in advance in the parental section.

The multi-scene shown in FIG. 21 will be described below.
PGC information VTS_PGCI when the VD data structure is used
This will be described with reference to FIGS. 30 and 31.

FIG. 30 shows a case where the scenario of the user instruction shown in FIG. 21 is described by the VTSI data structure representing the internal structure of the video title set in the DVD data structure of FIG. In the figure, scenario 1 and scenario 2 in FIG. 21 are described as two program chains VTS_PGCI # 1 and VTS_PGCI # 2 in the program chain information VTS_PGCIT in VTSI in FIG. That is, VTS_PGCI # 1 describing scenario 1 includes cell playback information C_PBI # 1 corresponding to scene 1, cell playback information C_PBI # 2 within a multi-angle cell block corresponding to a multi-angle scene, cell playback information C_PBI # 3.
Cell playback information C_PBI # 4, cell playback information C_PBI # 5 corresponding to scene 5, cell playback information C_PBI # 6 corresponding to scene 6, C_PBI # corresponding to scene 8
It consists of 7.

VTS_PGC # 2 describing scenario 2
Is the cell playback information C_PBI # 1 corresponding to scene 1,
Corresponds to cell playback information C_PBI # 2, cell playback information C_PBI # 3, cell playback information C_PBI # 4, cell playback information C_PBI # 5 corresponding to scene 5, and scene 7 in a multi-angle cell block corresponding to a multi-angle scene. It consists of cell playback information C_PBI # 6 and C_PBI # 7 corresponding to scene 8. In the DVD data structure,
A scene, which is one unit of playback control of a scenario, is described by replacing it with a unit of a DVD data structure called a cell, and a scenario instructed by the user is realized on the DVD.

FIG. 31 shows the scenario of the user instruction shown in FIG. 21, which is a multimedia bit stream V for the video title set in the DVD data structure of FIG.
The case of description in the OB data structure VTSTT_VOBS is shown.

In the figure, two scenarios, scenario 1 and scenario 2 in FIG. 21, use one title VOB data in common. The single scene shared in each scenario is VOB # 1, scene 5 corresponding to scene 1.
Corresponding to VOB # 5, VOB # 8 corresponding to scene 8
Is arranged in a part which is not an interleaved block, that is, a continuous block, as a single VOB.

In the multi-angle scene shared between scenario 1 and scenario 2, angle 1 is VOB
# 2, angle 2 is VOB # 3, angle 3 is VOB #
4), that is, one angle is made up of 1 VOB, and an interleave block is provided for switching between angles and seamless reproduction of each angle.

Scenes 6 and 7 which are scenes unique to scenario 1 and scenario 2 are interleaved blocks not only for seamless reproduction of each scene but also for seamless connection and reproduction of common scenes before and after. .

As described above, the scenario of the user instruction shown in FIG. 21 can be realized in the DVD data structure by the reproduction control information of the video title set shown in FIG. 30 and the title reproduction VOB data structure shown in FIG.

[0206] Seamless above seamless reproduction as described in connection with the data structure of the DVD system is described. What is seamless playback?
Between common scene sections, between common scene sections and multi-scene sections, and between multi-scene sections, video, audio,
That is, when multimedia data such as sub-picture is connected and reproduced, each data and information are reproduced without interruption. As a factor of interruption of the reproduction of the data and information, as a factor related to hardware, in the decoder, the speed at which the source data is input and the speed at which the input source data is decoded are unbalanced, that is, a so-called decoder. There is something called underflow.

Further, regarding the characteristics of the data to be reproduced, reproduction of data which is required to be continuously reproduced for a predetermined time unit or more in order for the user to understand the content or information of the reproduced data such as voice. With regard to the above, there is one in which the continuity of information is lost when the required continuous reproduction time cannot be secured. Playing while ensuring the continuity of such information is called continuous information reproduction and further seamless information reproduction. In addition, reproduction in which information continuity cannot be ensured is called non-continuous information reproduction, and further called non-seamless information reproduction. Needless to say, continuous information reproduction and non-continuous information reproduction are seamless and non-seamless reproduction, respectively.

As described above, the seamless reproduction includes seamless data reproduction for physically preventing a blank or interruption from occurring in the data reproduction due to buffer underflow or the like.
Although there is no interruption in the data reproduction itself, it is defined as seamless information reproduction that prevents the user from feeling information interruption when recognizing information from the reproduction data.

Details of Seamless Note that a specific method for enabling seamless reproduction will be described later in detail with reference to FIGS. 23 and 24.

Interleaving A title such as a movie on a DVD medium is recorded on the system stream of the DVD data described above by using the authoring encoder EC. However, in order to provide the same movie in a format that can be used in multiple different cultures or countries, it is natural to record the dialogue in each language, and the ethical requirements of each culture It is necessary to edit and record the contents according to. In such a case, in order to record a plurality of titles edited from the original title on one medium, even in a large-capacity system called DVD, the bit rate must be reduced, and a high image quality is required. Will not be satisfied. Therefore, the common part is shared by a plurality of titles, and only different parts are recorded for each title. This allows
It is possible to record multiple titles by country or cultural area on a single optical disc without reducing the bit rate.

As shown in FIG. 21, the title recorded on one optical disk is composed of a common part (scene) and a non-common part (scene) to enable parental lock control and multi-angle control. Has a multi-scene section.

In the case of parental lock control, if one title includes so-called adult scenes that are not suitable for children, such as sexual scenes and violent scenes, this title is common scenes and adult scenes. It consists of a scene for children and a scene for children. Such a title stream is realized by arranging a scene for adults and a scene for non-adults as a multi-scene section provided between common scenes.

Further, when the multi-angle control is realized within an ordinary single-angle title, a plurality of multimedia scenes obtained by shooting an object at a predetermined camera angle are used as a multi-scene section and a common scene is set. It is realized by placing it in between. Here, each scene shows examples of scenes shot at different angles. The scenes may be shot at the same angle, but may be scenes shot at different times, or may be data such as computer graphics. May be.

When data is shared by a plurality of titles, the optical pickup must be moved to different positions on the optical disc (RC1) in order to move the light beam LS from the shared portion of the data to the non-shared portion. become. Due to the time required for this movement, there arises a problem that it is difficult to seamlessly reproduce sound or video, that is, seamless reproduction. To solve such a problem, theoretically, a track buffer (stream buffer 2400) for a time corresponding to the worst access time may be provided. Generally, data recorded on an optical disc is read by an optical pickup, subjected to predetermined signal processing, and then temporarily stored as data in a track buffer. The accumulated data is then decoded and reproduced as video data or audio data.

Specific Problem of Interleaving The operation of the stream buffer 2400 called a track buffer in the DVD system will be briefly described below. The input to the stream buffer 2400, that is, the transfer rate Vr from the optical disc cannot be instantaneously dealt with, such as control of the rotation speed of the drive of the optical disc, and is a substantially constant rate. The output from the track buffer, that is, the transfer rate Vo to the decoder
In DVD, the compressed data of video has a variable rate, and changes depending on the user's request or the image quality. In the DVD system, the transfer rate Vr from the disc is constant at about 11 Mbps, and Vo is variable at a maximum of 10 Mbps. Thus V
There is a gap between r and Vo, and if the transfer from the disk is continuously performed, the stream buffer 2400 overflows. Therefore, in the reproducing apparatus, so-called intermittent transfer is performed while pausing so that the stream buffer 2400 does not overflow the transfer from the disc. For normal continuous playback,
The stream buffer is always controlled so as to overflow.

If such a stream buffer 2400 is used, the space between the data on the disk M is the logical sector LS.
Even if the reading head unit (optical pickup) 2006 jumps to move the data, and the reading of data is interrupted to some extent, the data can be reproduced without interruption. However, in an actual device, the jump time is 20 depending on the distance or the position on the disk M.
It also varies from 0 msec to 2 sec. It is possible to prepare a track buffer (stream buffer) 2400 having a capacity capable of absorbing the time required for the jump, but in the case of a large capacity optical disc M which requires high image quality, the compression bit rate is also 4 to 5 Mbps on average. ,
The maximum rate is as high as 10 Mbps, and a large amount of memory is required to guarantee seamless reproduction regardless of the jump from any position, and the decoder DC
Becomes expensive. When a product that is practical in terms of cost is provided, the memory capacity that can be mounted on the decoder DC is limited, and as a result, there is a limitation such as a jump time that allows data to be reproduced without interruption.

FIG. 32 shows the relationship between the operation mode of the read head unit 2006 and the amount of data stored in the stream buffer 2400. In the figure, Tr is a period during which the optical pickup reads data from the optical disc RC, and T
j is a jump period during which the optical pickup moves between logical sectors. The straight line L1 represents the transition of the data amount Vd accumulated in the track buffer 2400 during the data read period Tr. The straight line L2 represents the transition of the data amount Vd accumulated in the track buffer 2400 during the jump period Tj.

During the data read period Tr, the read head unit 2006 reads data from the optical disk M at the transfer rate Vr and, at the same time, supplies it to the track buffer 2400. On the other hand, the track buffer 2400 has the transfer rate Vo at each of the decoders 3801, 3100, and 3.
Data is supplied to 200. Therefore, the data read period T
Data amount Vd accumulated in the track buffer 2400 of r
Is the difference between these two transfer rates Vr and Vo (Vr-V
o) increase.

Since the read head unit 2006 is jumping during the jump period Tj, the data read from the optical disk M is not supplied to the track buffer 2400. However, since the data supply to the decoders 3801, 3100, and 3200 continues, the accumulated data amount Vd in the track buffer 2400 decreases according to the transfer rate Vo to the decoder. In the figure, the transfer rate Vo to the decoder is shown as an example in which it continuously changes, but in reality, since the decoding time differs for each type of data, it changes intermittently. However, it is simplified here to explain the concept of buffer underflow. This is the read head unit 2006
However, it is continuously read from the optical disc M at a constant linear velocity (CLV), which is the same as intermittent reading at the time of jump. From the above, assuming that the slopes of the straight lines L1 and L2 are L1 and L2, respectively, they can be expressed by the following equation. L1 = Vr-Vo (Equation 1) L2 = Vo (Equation 2) Therefore, the jump period Tj is long and the track buffer 2
When the data in 400 becomes empty, underflow occurs and the decoding process stops. Jump time T
If j is set within the time when the data in the buffer 2400 becomes empty, the decoding process can be continued without interruption. In this way, the track buffer 24
The time at which the read head unit 2006 can jump without causing data underflow at 00 is called the jumpable time at that time.

In the above description, the physical movement of the read head unit 2006 is taken as an example of the cause of the data underflow in the track buffer 2400. However, the following causes are also included. . The buffer size is too small for the decoding speed of the decoder. In addition, the size of each input unit of a plurality of types of VOBs in the reproduction bitstream St61 input from the multimedia bitstream reproduction unit 2000 to the track buffer 2400 is inappropriate for the buffer size. Furthermore, the reproduction bit stream S
Since the order of the individual input units of the plurality of types of VOBs included in t61 is inappropriate for the decoding speed, while the data currently being decoded is being decoded, the input of the next data to be decoded may be too late. Various factors of underflow are included.

As an example of such underflow, in the case of a digital video disc reproducing apparatus,
The reading rate from the disc is 11 Mbps, the maximum compression rate of AV data is 10 Mbps, and the capacity of the track buffer is 4 Mbits. To prevent underflow of the track buffer (the input to the track buffer cannot catch up with the output) while jumping in this playback device,
In the case of normal continuous reproduction, if the control is such that overflow is likely to occur, it is possible to guarantee a maximum jumpable time of 400 msec even during reproduction of AV data of 10 Mbps in the worst case.

The jumpable time of 400 msec is a realistic value even in an actual device. In an actual reproducing apparatus, the jumpable distance is about 500 tracks within 400 msec. The jumpable time is
Also, the jumpable distance can be defined by replacing the time with the amount of data. That is, the sequential data sequence on the disk is
It is the amount of data that can be moved. For example, the amount of data corresponding to the jumpable time of 400 msec is about 250 Mbits. It goes without saying that the actual distance in units of sectors and tracks on the recording medium can be easily obtained from the recording amount and the recording density of the recording medium, which is defined as the jumpable distance. .

[0223] The jumpable distance of 250 Mbits described above is 50 in AV data having an average of 5 Mbits / second.
This corresponds to a reproduction time of 2 seconds, and is 50 seconds or less in higher quality AV data. Also, in the case of data such as movies in which cuts of specific scenes may be required due to educational or cultural issues, the length of those cut scenes is often 2 to 5 minutes, which is long. It takes about 10 minutes. With respect to such a cut scene, in the above-described playback device, for example, in the case of a cut screen of 5 minutes, if the cut scene is connected to the preceding scene and the subsequent scene is connected, the cut scene is not displayed. I cannot connect the preceding scene and the succeeding screen without interruption. That is, a single jump cannot jump the data representing the cut scene for 5 minutes as described above.

Even if the cut scene data is jumped for a jump time of 400 msec or more, the AV
The data compression rate, that is, the consumption rate Vo from the track buffer may be close to 10 Mbps,
There is no guarantee that the buffer will not underflow. As another measure, it is possible to prepare two types of AV data, one with and without cutting, and record it on the disc, but in this case, the limited disc capacity is effective. If the data cannot be used and, in some cases, data for a long time has to be recorded on the disc, the AV data has low quality, and it becomes difficult to satisfy the user's request.

FIG. 33 shows the concept of data sharing among a plurality of titles. In the figure, TL1 represents the data content of the first title, and TL2 represents the data content of the second title. That is, the first title TL1 is composed of the data DbA, the data DbB, and the data DbD that are continuously reproduced as the time T elapses, and the second title TL2 is composed of the data DbA, the data DbB, and the data DbC. ing. These data DbA and data Db
B, the data DbD, and the data DbC are VOBs, and have display times of times T1, T2, T3, and T2, respectively. Two such titles TL1 and T
When recording L2, as shown in TL1_2, data Db
With A and data DbD as common data, data DbB and DbC unique to the first title TL1 and the second title TL2, respectively, are set to a data structure that can be reproduced by switching during the time T2 (switching section). .
In FIG. 33, it seems that there is a time gap between each data, but this is because the reproduction path of each data is shown in an easy-to-understand manner by using an arrow. It goes without saying that there is no.

FIG. 34 shows a state in which the data of the title TL1_2 is recorded on the optical disc M so as to be continuously reproduced. These data DbA, DbB, Db
In principle, the continuous titles of C and DbD are arranged in the continuous area on the track TR (FIG. 9). That is, data DbA, data DbB, and data DbD that form the first title TL1 are arranged, and then data DbC unique to the second title TL2.
Are placed. When arranged in this way, the first title T
Regarding L1, the read head unit 2006 moves the data DbA, DbB, and DbD on the track TR in synchronization with the reproduction times T1, T2, and T3.
The title content can be played continuously without interruption, that is, seamlessly.

However, regarding the second title TL2, as shown by the arrow Sq2a in the figure, the read head unit 2006 skips the distance between the two data DbB and DbD after reproducing the data DbA at the reproduction time T1. , The data DbC must be reached before the reproduction time T2 starts. Furthermore, the reading head unit 20
After reproduction of the data DbC, the data 06 returns the distance between the two data DbC and DbD again as shown by the arrow Sq2b, and the data Db is reproduced before the reproduction time T3 starts.
You must arrive at the beginning of D. Due to the time required to move the read head unit 2006 between data, the data DbC may be lost between the data DbA and the data DbC.
It is not possible to guarantee seamless reproduction between the data and the data DbD. In other words, seamless reproduction cannot be performed unless the inter-data distance is such that the track buffer 2400 does not underflow.

Definition of Interleave In order to cut a certain scene or select from a plurality of scenes as described above, consecutively arranged data units belonging to each scene are arranged on a track of a recording medium. Since the data is recorded in, the data of the non-selected scene is inevitably recorded between the common scene data and the selected scene data. In such a case, if you read the data in the order in which they were recorded, you will have no choice but to access the data of the non-selected scene before accessing and decoding the data of the selected scene, so seamlessly connecting to the selected scene. Connection is difficult.

However, in the DVD system, such a seamless connection between a plurality of scenes is possible by utilizing the excellent random access performance to the recording medium. In other words, the data belonging to each scene
By dividing into a plurality of units having a predetermined data amount, and arranging a plurality of divided data units to which these different scenes belong in a predetermined order with each other, by arranging them in the jump performance range, each selected scene By intermittently accessing and decoding the data to which each of the divided units belongs, it is possible to reproduce the selected scene without interruption of the data. That is, seamless data reproduction is guaranteed.

Detailed Definition of Interleave Using the above-mentioned input transfer rate Vr of the track buffer and data consumption rate Vo, the concept of seamless connection method and data division and arrangement in the present invention will be described below. In FIG. 32, the data consumption rate Vo is V
There is a relation of r> Vo, and by utilizing the difference, a certain amount of data is read at the rate Vr, buffered in the track buffer, the data is accumulated, and the next read data is arranged. Data is consumed until the optical pickup moves. Even if this operation is repeated, divided data units of a predetermined data amount belonging to each scene are discretely arranged so that the track buffer does not underflow. Arranging data so as to guarantee such seamless data reproduction is called interleaving, and a divided data unit having a sufficient data amount to be buffered in the above-mentioned track buffer is an interleave division unit and an interleave division after arrangement. Each unit is defined as an interleave unit ILVU.

In the case of selecting one scene from a plurality of scenes, interleaving as described above is required for a plurality of VOBs forming the plurality of scenes. Two consecutive interleave units belonging to the selected scene on the time axis are separated by one or more interleave units belonging to another scene arranged therebetween. In this way, the distance between temporally consecutive interleave units belonging to two identical scenes is defined as an interleave distance.

For example, when the recording medium is an optical disk, it takes 260 msec to move 10000 sectors. Here, assuming that the movement of 10000 sectors of the optical pickup is the interleave unit distance, the predetermined data amount of the interleave unit is determined based on the difference between the input rate Vr and the output rate Vo to the track buffer and the amount of the track buffer. You can For example, assuming that Vr = 11 Mbps and Vo = 8 Mbps fixed, that is, fixed-rate compressed data is being reproduced, the track buffer amount is further set to 3 Mbits. As described above, the movement between interleave units is 1000
If the sector is 0, it is necessary to have an interleave unit for the purpose of inputting to the track buffer a reproduction data amount of 260 msec before the movement so as to be stored in the track buffer.

In this case, the reproduced data amount for 260 msec is 2080 Kbits, and in order to store the data in the track buffer before moving between interleaves, the source data is transferred at the rate of the difference between the transfer rates Vr and Vo. It is necessary to input for 0.7 seconds (2080 kilobits / (11-8) megabits / second) or more. In this way, the interleave unit I for the purpose of the optical pickup is
During the jump time before moving to the LVU and restarting the reading of data again, the necessary amount from the recording medium M to store data in the track buffer before the jump in preparation for data consumption by the decoder during the jump time. The time for reading the source data of is defined as the minimum storage reading time.

That is, the amount of data that must be read as the interleave unit is 7.7 Mbits or more. When this value is converted to playback time, it is 0.9
This means that an interleave unit having a reproduction time of 6 seconds or more and a data amount having a reproduction time of 20 seconds or less can be arranged between the interleave units. The minimum storage read time can be shortened by lowering the system stream consumption bit rate. As a result, the amount of data in the interleave unit can be reduced. Furthermore, the jumpable time can be extended without changing the data amount of the interleave unit.

FIG. 35 shows an example of one scene connection. FIG. 35 shows a case in which the scene A is connected to the scene D, a case in which a part of the scene D is replaced by the scene B, and a case in which the scene C is replaced by a different time from the scene replaced by the scene B. As shown, the scene D to be replaced is divided (scene D-1, scene D-2, and scene D-3). Scene B, Scene D-1, Scene C,
The system stream corresponding to the scene D-2 is Vo (= 8 Mbps) as described above, the input to the track buffer is Vr (= 11 Mbps), and each scene is scene B, scene D-1, and scene C. , Scene D-2
Since the data amount of each scene length is equal to or more than the value (= 0.96 seconds) as described above, and it can be arranged within the jumpable distance described above between each connected scene. is there.

However, as shown in FIG. 35, scene D
When scene C and scene B having the same start point and different end points are interleaved, interleaving is performed at a time corresponding to scene D-1, interleaving of three streams, and a time corresponding to scene D-2. Is interleaved with two streams, which tends to complicate the process. When interleaving a plurality of VOBs, it is more common to interleave VOBs having the same start point and end point, and the process is also easier. In FIG. 36, the scene D-2 is duplicated and connected to the scene C of FIG. 35, and branching into a plurality of scenes and matching points are matched, that is, start points and end points are matched, and a plurality of VOBs are interleaved. It shows a thing. In the DVD system, when interleaving a scene with branching and joining,
Be sure to interleave by making the start and end points match.

The concept of interleaving will be described below.
This will be described in more detail. The AV (audio and video) described above is used as the interleave method with time information.
Although there is a system stream of this type, this interleave method arranges audio and video with the same time axis so that the data with a close buffer input time is close, and the amount of data including almost the same playback time is arranged alternately. Will be done. However, in titles such as movies,
It is necessary to replace with a new scene, but the time length is often different between these multiple scenes. In such a case, when the interleave method such as the AV system stream is applied, if the time difference between scenes is within the jumpable time described above, this time difference can be absorbed by the buffer. However, if the time difference between scenes is equal to or longer than the jumpable time, the buffer cannot absorb this time difference and seamless reproduction is impossible.

In such a case, if the size of the track buffer is increased and the amount of data that can be stored at one time is increased, the jumpable time is increased, and the interleave unit and arrangement are relatively easy to perform. However, considering an interactive operation such as seamlessly switching from multiple streams such as multi-angle, if the interleave unit is lengthened and the amount of data to be stored at one time is increased, the previous operation after the stream switching operation will be performed. The angle stream playback time becomes longer,
As a result, the stream switching on the display becomes slow and difficult.

That is, interleaving is performed in the track buffer of the authoring decoder so as not to cause underflow when the encoded data supplied from the stream source is consumed for decoding by the decoder. This is to optimize the array for each data division unit. The major causes of this buffer underflow are:
There is a mechanical movement of the optical pickup, and a small one has a decoding speed of a communication system. Mainly, the mechanical movement of the optical pickup becomes a problem when scanning and reading the track TR on the optical disc M. Therefore, when recording data on the track TR of the optical disc M, interleaving is necessary. Further, in the case of receiving the source stream directly from the recording medium on the user side, as in the case of live broadcasting, priority distribution of cable television, etc., wireless distribution of satellite broadcasting, etc. Factors such as the decoding speed of the are problematic.
In this case, interleaving of the delivered source stream is required.

Strictly speaking, interleaving is to access target source data intermittently and sequentially in a source stream consisting of a source data group including a plurality of source data that are continuously input to access the target source data. This is to arrange each data in the source stream in a predetermined array so that the information of the source data can be continuously reproduced. In this way, the interruption time of the input of the target source data to be reproduced is defined as the jump time in the interleave control. Specifically, as described above, it is possible to play back a video object containing video data obtained by compressing a general title such as a movie in which scenes are branched or combined by a variable length coding method without interruption. , The interleaving method for arranging on a randomly accessible disc is not clearly shown. Therefore, when actually arranging such data on the disk, thought and error are necessary based on the actually compressed data. In order to arrange a plurality of video objects so that they can be reproduced seamlessly, it is necessary to establish an interleave scheme.

Further, in the case of the application to the DVD described above, it is divided and arranged at a position of a certain time range (navpack NV) having a boundary in GOP units which are units of video compression. However, the GOP data length becomes variable length data due to user requests, insertion of intraframe coding for high image quality processing, etc., so the position of the management pack (navpack NV) that depends on the playback time varies. It may happen. Therefore, when the angle is switched or the jump point to the next data in the reproduction order is unknown. In addition, even if the next jump point is found, if a plurality of angles are interleaved, the data length to be read continuously is unknown. That is, the data end position is not known until the other angle data is read, and the switching of the reproduction data is delayed.

In view of the above problems, the present invention shares data among a plurality of titles to efficiently use an optical disc,
In addition, a method and apparatus for enabling seamless data reproduction in an optical disc having a data structure that realizes a new function of multi-angle reproduction is proposed in the following embodiments.

Interleave Block, Unit Structure An interleave method that enables seamless data reproduction will be described with reference to FIGS. 24 and 37. In FIG. 24, one VOB (VOB-A) to a plurality of VOB (V
OB-B, VOB-D, and VOB-C) are branched and reproduced, and then combined with one VOB (VOB-E). FIG. 37 shows a case where these data are actually arranged on the track TR on the disc.

VOB-A and VOB-E in FIG.
Is a video object that has a single start point and end point for playback, and is placed in a continuous area in principle. Further, as shown in FIG. 24, for VOB-B, VOB-C, and VOB-D, the interleaving process is performed by matching the reproduction start point and reproduction end point. Then, the interleaved area is arranged in a continuous area on the disc as an interleaved area. Further, the continuous area and the interleaved area are arranged in the order of reproduction, that is, in the direction of the track path Dr. FIG. 37 shows the case where a plurality of VOBs, that is, VOBSs are arranged on the track TR.

In FIG. 37, a data area in which data is continuously arranged is set as a block, and the block is a continuous block in which VOBs whose start points and end points are independently completed are continuously arranged. , Interleaved blocks in which a plurality of VOBs are interleaved by matching the start point and the end point. These blocks are arranged in the order of reproduction as shown in FIG.
.., and block 7 are arranged.

In FIG. 38, the system stream data VTSTT_VOBS is composed of blocks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. The VOB 1 is independently arranged in the block 1. Similarly, blocks 2, 3, 5,
VOBs 2, 3, 6, and 10 are individually arranged in and 7, respectively. That is, these blocks 2,
3, 5, and 7 are consecutive blocks.

On the other hand, in block 4, VOB4 and VOB
5 are interleaved and arranged. Similarly, in the block 6, three VOBs VOB7, VOB8, and VOB9 are interleaved and arranged. That is, these blocks 4 and 6 are interleaved blocks.

FIG. 39 shows the data structure in a continuous block. In the figure, VOB-i and VOB-j are added to VOBS.
Are arranged as continuous blocks. The VOB-i and VOB-j in the continuous block are further divided into cells which are logical reproduction units, as described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 39, each of VOB-i and VOB-j has three cells CELL # 1, CELL # 2, and CELL # 2.
It is shown that it is configured by ELL # 3. Cell is 1
It is composed of one or more VOBUs, and the boundary is defined in units of VOBUs. A cell is a program chain (hereinafter referred to as PGC) that is the reproduction control information of the DVD.
The position information is described in the field as shown in FIG. That is, the addresses of the cell start VOBU and the cell end VOBU are described. As clearly shown in FIG. 39,
The VOB and the cells defined therein are recorded in the continuous area so that the continuous block is continuously reproduced. Therefore, there is no problem in reproducing continuous blocks.

Next, FIG. 40 shows the data structure in the interleave block. In the interleave block, each VOB is divided into interleave units ILVU units, and interleave units belonging to each VOB are arranged alternately. Then, the cell boundary is defined independently of the interleave unit. In the figure, VO
Bk is four interleave units ILVUk1,
ILVUk2, ILVUk3, and ILVUk4 are divided into two cells CELL # 1k and CEL
L # 2k is defined. Similarly, VOB-m is IL
VUm1, ILVUm2, ILVUm3, and ILVU
m4 is divided into two cells CELL # 1m,
And CELL # 2m are defined. That is, the interleave unit ILVU includes video data and audio data.

In the example of FIG. 40, two different VOB-k
And VOB-m interleave unit ILVUk
1, ILVUk2, ILVUk3, and ILVUk4 and ILVUm1, ILVUm2, ILVUm3, and IL
VUm4s are alternately arranged in the interleaved block. Interleave unit IL of two VOBs
By interleaving VUs in such an arrangement, a single scene can be branched into one of a plurality of scenes, and seamless reproduction from one of the plurality of scenes into a single scene can be realized. By interleaving in this way, it is possible to make a seamless reproducible connection of scenes with branch and coupling in many cases.

Modifications for Realizing Interleave As shown in FIG. 35 described above, when scene A is connected to scene B, and after scene B ends, scene D-3, which is in the middle of scene D, is connected. , Scene A to Scene D
In the case where there are three branch scenes, one is connected to the beginning of the scene, the other is connected from the scene A to the scene C, and after the scene C is finished, the scene D-2 is connected to the middle of the scene D. Seamless playback is possible. In addition, in FIG.
As shown in the drawing, by connecting the scenes before and after (scene D-2), the start point and the end point can be made to coincide with each other and can be matched with the data structure of the present invention. In this way, it is possible to deal with the case where the transformation of the scene such as copying the scene and matching the start point and the end point is considerably complicated.

Interleave Variable Length Support Next, an example of an interleave algorithm including support for video data that is variable length data will be described below.

When interleaving a plurality of VOBs, each VOB is basically divided into the same predetermined number of interleave units. Also, the bit rate of the interleaved VOB, the jump time, the distance that can be moved to the jump time, and the track buffer amount,
By the input rate Vr to the track buffer, and V
The data amount of each of the predetermined number of interleave units can be obtained from the position of the OBU. Each interleave unit is composed of VOBU units, and the VOBU is a G type of MPEG system.
It is composed of one or more OPs and usually has a data amount for a reproduction time of 0.4 to 1 second.

In the case of interleaving, the interleaving units IL which form different VOBs, respectively.
Alternating VUs. The shortest V among multiple VOBs
Among a plurality of interleaved units interleaved in the OB, if there is one that does not satisfy the minimum interleaved unit length, or among a plurality of VOBs, a plurality of interleaved units configured by VOBs other than the above-mentioned shortest-length VOB. When the total length is larger than the interleave distance of the shortest length, underflow occurs when the interleaved VOB of the shortest length is reproduced, and therefore non-seamless reproduction is performed instead of seamless reproduction.

As described above, in this embodiment, consideration is given to whether or not interleaved arrangement is possible before encoding and to execute the encoding process. That is, it is possible to determine whether or not interleaving is possible from the length of each stream before encoding. Since the effect of interleaving can be known in advance in this way, it is possible to prevent reprocessing such as re-encoding by adjusting the interleaving condition again after encoding and interleaving.

First, various conditions such as the bit rate of the VOB to be recorded and the performance of the disc to be reproduced will be described when the interleaving method for recording on the optical disc of the present invention is concretely carried out.

When interleaving is performed, the input rate Vr and the output rate Vo to the track buffer are V
It has already been described that r> Vo. That is, the maximum bit rate of each interleaved VOB is set to be equal to or lower than the input rate Vr to the track buffer. Let B be the maximum bit rate of each VOB and be a value less than Vr. In determining whether interleaving that allows seamless playback is possible, multiple Vs that interleave are used.
Assuming that all OBs are encoded by CBR with the maximum bit rate B, the interleave unit has the largest amount of data, and the amount of data that can be placed within the jumpable distance is short, and the time for reproduction is short, which is a severe condition for interleaving. . Hereinafter, each VOB will be described as being encoded with CBR having the maximum bit rate B.

In the reproducing apparatus, the jump time of the disk is JT, the jumpable distance in which the distance of the disk which can be jumped by the jump time JT is represented by the data amount is JM, and the input data bit to the track buffer of the reproducing apparatus is JT. Let the rate be BIT.

As an example of an actual device, the jump time JT of the disc is 400 msec, and the jumpable distance JM corresponding to the jump time JT is 250 Mbits. Further, the maximum bit rate B of VOB is 6 Mb on average in order to obtain an image quality higher than that of the conventional VTR in the MPEG system.
Considering that about ps is required, a maximum of 8.8 Mbp
Let s.

Here, the minimum interleave unit data amount ILVU is calculated based on the values such as the jump distance and the jump time and the data read time from the disk.
M, IL the playback time of the minimum interleaved unit
As VUMT, a standard of the value is calculated first.

Reproduction time I of the minimum interleaved unit
The following equation can be obtained as LVUMT. ILVUMT ≧ JT + ILVUM / BIT (Formula 3) ILVUMT × B = ILVUM
(Equation 4) From Equation 3, the minimum interleave unit reproduction time ILVUMT = 2 sec and the minimum GOP block data GM = 17.6 M bits. That is, it is understood that the minimum value of the interleave unit, which is the minimum unit of layout, is the data amount of 2 seconds, and the data amount of 4 GOPs if the GOP configuration is 15 frames of NTSC.

A condition for interleaving is that the interleaving distance is equal to or less than the jumpable distance.

Among the plurality of VOBs to be interleaved, the condition is that the total reproduction time of VOBs except the VOB having the shortest reproduction time is shorter than the time that can be reproduced by the interleave distance.

In the above example, the jumpable distance JM = 2
50 Mbit, VOB maximum bit rate 8.8 Mbp
In the case of s, the reproducible time JMT with the data amount of the interleave distance JM can be calculated as 28.4 seconds.
By using these values, it is possible to calculate a conditional expression that can be interleaved. Each VOB in the interleave area
Is divided into the same number of interleaved blocks, if the number of divisions of the VOB is the number of interleaved divisions, then equation 5 is obtained from the condition of the minimum interleaved unit length. (Playback time of shortest length VOB) / ILVUMT ≤ v (Equation 5) Also, Equation 6 is obtained from the condition of the jumpable playback time. v ≦ (reproduction time of VOB excluding shortest length VOB) / JMT (Equation 6) It is possible in principle to interleave a plurality of VOBs if the above conditions are satisfied. Further realistically, since the interleave unit is configured only at the boundary of each VOBU, it is necessary to add a correction for the VOBU to the value calculated based on the above equation. That is,
The correction to the conditional expressions of Expressions 2, 3 and 4 is performed by the reproduction time ILVUMT of the minimum interleave unit described above.
It is necessary to reduce the maximum VOBU time from the time JMT that can be played at the interleaved distance by adding the maximum VOBU time (1.0 second) to.

As a result of calculating the conditions for interleaving the scene that becomes the VOB before encoding as described above, if it is determined that seamless interleaved arrangement is not possible, increase the number of divisions during interleaving. Need to That is, the scene that becomes the shortest VOB is moved to the succeeding scene or the preceding scene to the interleaved area and lengthened. At the same time, the same scene as that added to the shortest length scene is added to other scenes. In general, the interleaving distance is much larger than the minimum interleave unit length, and the increase rate of the value on the left side of Expression 4 is larger than the increase of the value on the right side of Expression 6, so that the moving scene amount is increased. You will be able to meet.

The data in the interleave block is the input rate V of the track buffer as described above.
It is essential that r and the output rate Vo have a relationship of Vr> Vo.
In addition, a jump may occur immediately after entering the interleaved area from the continuous area, and it is necessary to accumulate the data immediately before the interleaved area. Therefore, the bit rate of some data of the VOB immediately before the interleaved area is suppressed. There is a need.

Further, the portion connecting the continuous block to the interleaved block may jump immediately after entering the interleaved block, and the maximum bit rate of the continuous block immediately before the interleaved block may be suppressed to reduce the track. It is necessary to store data in the buffer. As a value thereof, a reference is a reproduction time of a minimum interleave unit length that can be calculated from a maximum bit rate of an interleave block reproduced after a continuous block.

In the above, the number of divisions of interleaving is common to all VOBs. However, when the difference in length of VOBs is large, VOBs in which the number of divisions is u and (u + 1)
There is also a method of grouping into VOBs.

That is, the minimum value of the number of divisions of each VOB obtained by the equation 5 is u, and a VOB in which no division exceeding the minimum value is obtained is the number of divisions u and the number of divisions obtained by the equation 4 is The number of possible VOB divisions up to (u + 1) is (u + 1). An example thereof is shown in FIG.

FIG. 42 shows an interleave unit (hereinafter, ILVU) according to a further embodiment of the present invention.
Data structure). In the figure, the above-mentioned decoder performance determined by the equation 5 and the equation 6 with the unit of which the nab pack NV described in detail with reference to FIG. 20 is the head and the VOB is up to immediately before the next nab pack NV is the boundary position. It is shown that the interleave unit has a length equal to or longer than the minimum interleave length obtained from the bit rate and the bit rate. Each VOB has a nab pack NV which is its management information pack, and the ILV to which the VOBU belongs
ILVU last pack address ILVU_EA indicating the address of the last pack of U, start address NT_ILVU_S of the next ILVU
A is described. As described above, these addresses are represented by the number of sectors from NV of the VOBU. That is, the position information (NT_ILVU_SA) of the first pack of the next interleaved unit to be continuously reproduced and the last pack address (ILVU_EA) of the interleaved unit are described in the nab pack NV.

When the VOBU exists in the interleaved area, the start address (NT_ILVU_NT) of the next ILVU.
SA) is described. Here, the number of sectors from the NV of the VOBU is described as the address.

As a result, when the head pack data of the interleaved unit is read, it is possible to obtain the position information of the next interleaved unit as well as the information on how far the interleaved unit should be read.
As a result, only the interleave unit can be read out, and a smooth jump process to the next interleave unit can be performed.

Multi-Scene Below, the concept of multi-scene control based on the present invention will be explained, as well as the multi-scene section.

[0274] An example is described which is composed of scenes shot at different angles. However, although each scene of the multi-scene has the same angle, it may be scenes shot at different times, or may be data such as computer graphics. In other words, the multi-angle scene section is a multi-scene section.

Parental A concept of a plurality of titles such as parental lock and director's cut will be described with reference to FIG. The figure shows an example of a multi-rated title stream based on a parental lock. When a title includes so-called adult scenes that are not suitable for children, such as sexual scenes and violent scenes, the titles are common system streams SSa, SSb, and SS.
e, an adult system stream SSc including an adult scene, and a non-adult system stream SSd including only a minor scene. Such a title stream is an adult system stream SS.
c and the non-adult system stream SSd are arranged as a multi-scene system stream in a multi-scene section provided between the common system streams SSb and SSe.

The relationship between the system stream described in the program chain PGC of the title stream configured as described above and each title will be described. In the adult-oriented program chain PGC1, common system streams SSa and SSb, adult system stream SSc, and common system stream SSe are sequentially described. Program chain P for minors
The common system streams SSa and SS are included in the GC2.
b, the minor system stream SSd, and the common system stream SSe are sequentially described.

In this way, by arranging the adult system stream SSc and the minor system stream SSd as a multi-scene, the common system streams SSa and SSb are formed by the above-described decoding method based on the description of each PGC. After the reproduction, the adult-oriented SSc is selected and reproduced in the multi-scene section, and the common system stream SSe is reproduced, so that the title having the adult-oriented content can be reproduced. Also, on the other hand,
System stream S for minors in the multi-scene section
By selecting and playing Sd, it is possible to play a minor title that does not include a scene for adults.
In this way, a multi-scene section including a plurality of alternative scenes is prepared in the title stream, a scene to be reproduced is selected in advance from the scenes in the multi-section, and basically, according to the selection content, A method of generating a plurality of titles having different scenes from the same title scene is called parental lock.

The parental lock is called a parental lock based on a request from the viewpoint of protection of minors. From the viewpoint of system stream processing, as described above, a specific scene in a multi-scene section is selected. This is a technique for statically generating different title streams by the user's preselection. On the other hand, the multi-angle is a technique for dynamically changing the content of the same title by the user selecting a scene in the multi-scene section at any time during title reproduction.

[0279] Also, by using the parental lock technology, so-called director's cut title stream editing is possible. With Director's Cut, when a title with a long playing time in a movie etc. is served on an airplane, unlike the playback in the theater, depending on the flight time,
The title cannot be played to the end. To avoid this situation, the title production manager, that is, the director, decides in advance which scenes may be cut in order to shorten the title playback time, and a system stream containing such cut scenes. By placing a system stream that has not been scene-cut in the multi-scene section, it is possible to edit the scene-cut according to the intention of the creator. In such parental control, at the connection from the system stream to the system stream,
It is necessary to connect playback images smoothly and consistently, that is, seamless data playback in which buffers such as video and audio do not underflow, and playback information and playback information are seamless to the audio and visual without causing any unnatural or uninterrupted playback. Become.

[0280] With reference to multi-angle views 44, a concept of a plural-angle control to the present invention. Usually multimedia titles are
It is obtained by recording and photographing the object with the passage of time T (hereinafter, simply referred to as photographing). # SC1, # SM1, #S
Each block of M2, # SM3, and # SC3 represents a multimedia scene obtained in the photographing unit times T1, T2, and T3 obtained by photographing the object at a predetermined camera angle. Scene # SM1, #SM
2 and # SM3 are scenes shot with a plurality of (first, second, and third) camera angles different from each other in the shooting unit time T2, and hereinafter, first, second, and third multi-angles. Call it a scene.

Here, an example is given in which the multi-scene is composed of scenes shot at different angles. However, although each scene of the multi-scene has the same angle, it may be scenes shot at different times, or may be data such as computer graphics. In other words, the multi-angle scene section is a multi-scene section, and the data of that section is
It is not limited to scene data actually obtained at different camera angles, but is a section composed of data such that a plurality of scenes having the same display time can be selectively reproduced.

Scenes # SC1 and # SC3 are respectively
There are scenes photographed at the same basic camera angle in the photographing unit times T1 and T3, that is, before and after the multi-angle scene, and are hereinafter referred to as basic angle scenes. Normally, one of the multi angles is the same as the basic camera angle.

In order to make the relationship between these angle scenes easy to understand, a relay broadcast of baseball will be described as an example. The basic angle scenes # SC1 and # SC3 are shot at a basic camera angle centered on the pitcher, catcher, and batter viewed from the center side. The first multi-angle scene # SM1 was shot at the first multi-camera angle centered on the pitcher, catcher, and batter viewed from the back net side. The second multi-angle scene # SM2
The image was taken at the second multi-camera angle centered on the pitcher, catcher, and batter viewed from the center side, that is, the basic camera angle.

In this sense, the second multi-angle scene #
SM2 is a basic angle scene # SC2 in the shooting unit time T2. Third multi-angle scene # SM3
Was taken with a third multi-camera angle centered on the infield seen from the backnet side.

Multi-angle scene # SM1, #SM
In 2 and # SM3, the presentation (presentation) time overlaps with respect to the shooting unit time T2, and this period is called a multi-angle section. The viewer views the multi-angle scenes # SM1 and #SM in the multi-angle section.
By freely selecting 2 and # SM3, it is possible to enjoy the favorite angle scene video from the basic angle scene as if the camera is switched. In the figure, basic angle scenes # SC1 and # SC3 and multi-angle scenes # SM1 and #SM are shown.
There seems to be a time gap between # 2 and # SM3, but this makes it easy to understand what the route of the scene to be played will be depending on which of the multi-angle scenes is selected. Needless to say, there is no time gap in practice.

With reference to FIG. 23, multi-angle control of the system stream according to the present invention will be described from the viewpoint of data connection. The multimedia data corresponding to the basic angle scene #SC is set as the basic angle data BA, and the basic angle data BA at the shooting unit times T1 and T3 is set as BA1 and BA3, respectively. The multi-angle data corresponding to the multi-angle scenes # SM1, # SM2, and # SM3 are respectively set to the first, second, and
And third multi-angle data MA1, MA2, and M
It is represented as A3. As described above with reference to FIG. 44, the multi-angle scene data MA1, MA2,
By selecting either of MA3 and MA3, it is possible to switch and enjoy a favorite angle scene image. Similarly, basic angle scene data BA1 and BA
3 and each multi-angle scene data MA1, MA2,
, And MA3, there is no time gap.

However, in the case of the MPEG system stream, when any data among the multi-angle data MA1, MA2, and MA3 and the connection from the preceding basic angle data BA1 or the connection to the subsequent basic angle data BA3 is made, Depending on the content of the angle data to be connected, the reproduction information may be discontinuous between the reproduced data and may not be naturally reproduced as one title. That is, in this case, seamless data reproduction is performed, but non-seamless information reproduction is performed.

[0288] Furthermore, in reference to D VD systems in multi-scene period to Figure 23, and selectively reproducing a plurality of scenes, the multi-angle switching is seamless information reproduction connecting before and after scenes explain.

Switching of angle scene video, that is, multi-angle scene data MA1, MA2, and MA3
The selection of one of the above must be completed before the end of the reproduction of the preceding basic angle data BA1. For example, it is very difficult to switch to another multi-angle scene data MA2 while reproducing the angle scene data BA1. This is because multimedia data has a variable length coding MPEG data structure, so it is difficult to find a break in the data in the middle of the switching destination data, and the inter-frame correlation is used in the coding process. Since it uses, the image may be distorted when switching the angle. At least 1 in MPEG
GOP is defined as a processing unit having a frame refresh frame. In this GOP processing unit, closed processing that does not refer to frames belonging to other GOPs is possible.

In other words, before the reproduction reaches the multi-angle section, at the latest, the preceding basic angle data B
At the time when the reproduction of A1 is completed, if any multi-angle data, for example MA3, is selected, the selected multi-angle data can be reproduced seamlessly. However, it is very difficult to seamlessly reproduce other multi-angle scene data while reproducing the multi-angle data. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain a free viewpoint such as switching cameras during the multi-angle period.

The data switching in the multi-angle section will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 76, 77, and 45.

FIG. 76 shows the display time for each minimum angle switching unit of the multi-angle data MA1, MA2 and MA3 shown in FIG. DV
In the D system, multi-angle data MA1, M
A2 and MA3 are video objects VOB which are title editing units. First angle data MA1
Is an interleave unit (IL, which is a minimum unit capable of switching an angle scene composed of a predetermined number of GOPs).
VU) A51, A52, and A53.

The interleave units A51, A52, and A53 of the first angle data MA1 are each 1
The display time of seconds, 2 seconds, and 3 seconds, that is, the display time of 6 seconds for the entire first angle data MA1 is set. Similarly, the second angle data MA2 is 2 seconds and 3 seconds, respectively.
It has interleave units B51, B52, and B53 in which the display time of 1 second is set. Further, the third angle data MA3 includes the interleave unit C5 in which the display time is set to 3 seconds, 1 second, and 2 seconds, respectively.
It has 1, C52, and C53. In this example, each multi-angle data MA1, MA2, and MA
The display time of 3 is set to 6 seconds, and the interleaving unit is set to the individual table time. However, these are examples, and it goes without saying that other predetermined values can be set.

In the following example, a description will be given of the case where the reproduction to the next angle is started during the reproduction in the interleave unit in the angle switching.

For example, when switching to the second angle data MA2 is instructed during reproduction of the interleave unit A51 of the first angle data MA1, reproduction of the interleave unit A51 is stopped and the second angle data MA2 Reproduction of the interleave unit B52 is started. In this case, the video / audio is interrupted and non-seamless information is reproduced.

[0296] Further, if the switching to the angle scene of the third angle data MA3 is instructed during the reproduction of the second interleave unit B52 of the second angle data MA2 thus switched, the interleave unit B52 is reproduced. The reproduction is stopped midway and the reproduction is switched to the reproduction of the interleave unit C53. In this case as well, the video / audio is interrupted at the time of switching, resulting in non-seamless information reproduction.

In the above case, although the multi-angle is switched, the reproduction is stopped during the reproduction, so that the video / audio is reproduced without interruption, that is, the seamless information is not reproduced.

A method of switching the angle after completing the reproduction of the interleave unit will be described below. For example, while reproducing the interleave unit A51 of the first angle data MA1, the second angle data MA
When switching to 2 is instructed, when the second interleave unit B52 of the second angle data MA2 is switched from the time when the reproduction of the interleave unit A51 having a display time of 1 second is completed, the start time of B52 is the beginning of the angle section. 2 seconds later. That is, as the time elapses, there is no temporal continuity because one second from the beginning of the angle section is switched to two seconds later. That is, since there is no continuity of the voice, the voice cannot be seamlessly and continuously reproduced.

[0299] Further, if the switching to the angle scene of the third angle data MA3 is instructed during the reproduction of the second interleave unit B52 of the second angle data MA2 thus switched, the reproduction of the interleave unit B52 is performed. After completion, switch to interleave unit C53. In this case, the reproduction of B52 is completed 5 seconds after the beginning of the angle section, and C53 is reproduced.
The beginning of the is 4 seconds after the beginning of the angle section, and it will not continue as time passes. Therefore, as in the previous case, the video and audio reproduced between both units B52 and C53 are not connected well. In other words, it is necessary for multi-angle seamless information switching that the playback time and the number of playback frames in the video are the same in the interleave unit of each angle.

FIG. 77 shows a state in which the video packet V and the audio packet A in the interleave unit in the multi-angle section are interleaved. In the figure, BA1 and BA3 are basic angle scene data connected before and after the angle scene,
MAB and MAC are multi-angle scene data.
The multi-angle scene data MAB is composed of interleave units ILVUb1 and ILVUb2, and the MAC is composed of interleave units ILVUc1 and ILVUc2.

Interleave unit ILVUb1, I
In each of LVUb2, ILVUc1, and ILVUc2, video data and audio data are interleaved for each packet as illustrated. In the figure, video packets and audio packets are displayed as A and V, respectively.

Normally, the data amount and display time of each audio packet A are constant. In this example, the interleave units ILVUb1, ILVUb2, ILVU
Each of c1 and ILVUc2 has three, two, two, and three audio packets A, respectively.
That is, in the multi-angle section T2, the number of audio packets and the number of video packets of the multi-angle data MAB and MAC are 5 and 13 respectively.

Angle control in the multi-angle section consisting of the multi-angle system stream (VOB) having the packet structure is as follows. For example, when switching from the interleave unit ILVUb1 to the interleave unit ILVUc2, the two interleave units ILVUb1 are switched.
And the total number of audio packets in ILVUc2 is 6, and from the predetermined number 5 in this multi-angle section T2,
1 more. Therefore, when these two ILVUs are connected and played back, the sound is duplicated by one audio packet.

Conversely, interleave units ILVUc1 and IL each having two audio packets
When switching between VUb2, the total number of audio packets is 4, which is one less than the predetermined number 5 of the multi-angle section T2. As a result, when these two ILVUs are connected and reproduced, the audio for one audio packet is interrupted. In this way, when the number of audio packets included in the connected ILVU is not the same as the predetermined number in the corresponding multi-angle section, the voice does not connect well, and the voice is noisy or discontinuous. It becomes information reproduction.

FIG. 45 shows multi-angle data MAB and MAC in the multi-angle data shown in FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state of multi-angle control in the case where audio data has different audio data. Multi-angle data B
A1 and BA3 are audio data representing common sounds before and after the multi-angle section. First angle data M
AB includes first angle interleave unit audio data ILVUb1 and ILVUb2, which are the minimum unit for angle switching in the multi-scene period. Similarly, the second angle data MAC includes second angle interleave unit audio data ILVUc1 and ILVUc2.

FIG. 15 shows a voice waveform of audio data included in the multi-angle data MAB and MAC in the multi-angle section T2. One continuous voice of the multi-angle data MAB is formed by two interleave unit audio data ILVUb1 and ILVUb2, respectively. Similarly, the sound of the multi-angle data MAC is formed by the interleave units ILVUc1 and ILVUc2.

[0307] Here, for example, the multi-angle data MA
B first interleaved unit audio data I
Consider a case where the LVUb1 is being reproduced and the multi-angle data MAC is switched to be reproduced. In this case, after the reproduction of the interleave unit ILVUb1 is completed, the reproduction of the interleave unit ILVUc2 is performed. The reproduced audio waveform at that time is a composite waveform of the audio waveforms of these two interleave units, as indicated by MAB-C. In the case of FIG. 15, this composite waveform is discontinuous at the angle switching point. In other words, the voice does not connect well.

Also, these audio data are AC3.
If the data is coded using the voice coding method, a more serious problem occurs. The encoding method of AC3 is performed by taking correlation in the time axis direction. That is, at the time of multi-angle playback, even if audio data of one angle is cut in the middle to connect with audio data of another angle, the data is encoded with correlation in the time axis direction, so at the switching point of angles. I can't play it.

As described above, in the multi-angle, when each angle has individual audio data, discontinuity may occur between the connection data at the switching point when switching the angle. In such a case, depending on the content of the data to be connected, for example, voice or the like may have noise or breaks during reproduction, which may cause a discomfort to the user. Since this discomfort is caused by the discontinuity in the content of the reproduced information, it can be avoided by ensuring the continuity of the information or preventing the interruption of the information. In this way, seamless information reproduction can be realized.

FIG. 46 shows the multi-angle control according to the present invention. In this example, three multi-angle data MA1, MA2, and MA3 are provided in the multi-angle section T2. Multi-angle data MA1
Is further composed of three interleave units ILVUa1, ILVUa2, and ILVUa3, which are minimum angle switching units. These interleave units ILVUa1, ILVUa2, and ILVU
For a3, display times of 2 seconds, 1 second, and 3 seconds are set, respectively.

Similarly, the second multi-angle data MA2
Are interleave units ILVUb1 and ILVUb1 having display times of 2 seconds, 1 second and 3 seconds, respectively.
2 and ILVUb3. Furthermore, the third multi-angle data MA3 is also ILVUc1, ILV
It is composed of Uc2 and ILVUc3. In this way, the synchronized interleave units have the same display time set, so even if an instruction is made to switch to different angle data, the video and audio will not be interrupted or overlapped at the angle switching position, As described above, video and audio can be continuously reproduced, and seamless information can be reproduced.

To have the data structure shown in FIG. 46,
That is, in order to actually set the display time of the image data to be the same in the multi-angle section for each minimum unit of angle switching, the number of reproduction frames in the interleave unit must be the same. The MPEG compression is usually processed in units of GOP, and there are setting values of M and N as parameters defining the GOP structure. M is I or P
The picture period, N is the number of frames included in the GOP. In the MPEG encoding process, changing the value of M or N at the time of encoding is often referred to as MPEG.
Controlling video encoding becomes complicated and is not normally done.

As having the data structure shown in FIG. 46,
A method of actually setting the display time of image data to be the same in the multi-angle section for each minimum angle switching unit will be described with reference to FIG. 78. In the figure, for simplification, two multi-angle data MAB and MAC are provided in the multi-angle section instead of three, and the angle data includes two interleave units ILVUb1 and ILVUb1 and IVUb1, respectively.
It has LVUb2 and ILVUc1 and ILVUc2, and the respective GOP structures are shown. Generally, the structure of GOP is represented by the values of M and N. M is the period of the I or P picture, and N is the number of frames included in the GOP.

The GOP structure has an interleave unit ILVU which is synchronized in each multi-angle section.
The values of M and N of b1 and ILVUc1 are set to the same value. Similarly, interleave units ILVUb2 and IL
The values of M and N of VUc2 are also set to the same value. By setting the GOP structure to the same value between the angle data MAB and the MAC in this way, the display time of the image data can be made the same between the angles for each minimum unit of angle switching. For example, the angle data MAB ILVUb
When switching from 1 to ILVUc2 of the angle data MAC, the switching timings between these two ILVUs are the same, so that the video can be continuously reproduced at the angle switching position without interruption or duplication of the video. .

Next, a method for actually setting the display time of audio data to be the same between angles for each minimum unit of angle switching will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 77 is the same as FIG.
Similarly to the interleave unit ILV shown in FIG.
Ub1, ILVUb2, ILVUc1, and ILVUc
2 shows that the video packet V and the audio packet A are interleaved.

Usually, the data amount and display time of each audio packet A are constant. As shown in the figure, ILVUb1 and ILVUc1 in the multi-angle section
Are set to the same number of audio packets. Similarly, the same number of audio packets is set in the interleave units ILVUb2 and ILVUc2. In this way, the number of audio packets is set to each angle data MAB and M.
By setting the same in units of interleave unit ILVU between ACs, the display time of audio data can be made the same between angles for each minimum unit of angle switching. By doing this, for example, when the angle is switched between each angle data MAB and MAC,
Since the angle switching timings are the same, it is possible to continuously reproduce the sound at the angle switching position without causing noise or interruption in the sound.

However, in the case of voice, as described with reference to FIG. 15, in the multi-angle section,
If audio data having an individual audio waveform is provided for each minimum switching unit, audio data is continuously output at the angle switching points by only setting the display time of the audio data to be the same for each angle switching minimum unit ILVU as described above. May not be able to play. In order to avoid such a situation, it is sufficient to have common audio data for each minimum switching unit ILVU in the multi-angle section. That is, in the seamless information reproduction, the data is arranged based on the information content which is continuous before and after the connection point of the data to be reproduced, or the data having the information completed at the connection point is arranged.

FIG. 80 shows the case where common audio data is provided for each angle in the multi-angle section. Unlike FIG. 45, this figure shows a state of multi-angle control when the multi-angle data MAB and MAC have audio data completed for each interleave unit ILVU which is a switching unit. With such a data structure, the first angle interleave unit ILVUb1 to the second angle interleave unit ILVUc2 in the multi-angle section of the encoded audio data.
Even if the audio data is switched to, as described above, since each audio data is completed in the unit of interleave unit ILVU, it is not possible to reproduce audio data having a discontinuous audio waveform by synthesizing different audio waveforms at the angle switching points. There is no. It should be noted that, if the audio data is configured to have the same audio waveform in the interleave unit ILVU unit, it is obvious that seamless information reproduction is possible as in the case of the audio waveform completed in the interleave unit ILVU unit. is there.

Even if these audio data are data coded using the voice coding method of AC3, the audio data is common between the interleave units ILVU which is the minimum switching unit between the angle data,
Alternatively, since the interleaving unit is completed in units of ILVU, it is possible to maintain the correlation in the time axis direction even when the angles are switched, and it is possible to continuously perform sound without noise or interruption at the angle switching points. The sound can be played. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to a few types of angle data MA in the multi-angle section, and the multi-angle section T2 is not limited to VOB units and extends over the entire title stream. But good. In this way, the information continuous reproduction defined above can be realized. The operation of multi-angle control based on the DVD data structure has been described above.

Further, a method of recording multi-angle control data on a recording medium so that different angles can be selected during reproduction of one data in the same angle scene section will be described.

In the multi-angle shown in FIG. 23, the basic angle data BA1 is arranged in a continuous data block in FIG. 23, and MA1, MA2, MA of the multi-angle section are arranged.
The interleaved unit data of No. 3 is arranged in the interleaved block, followed by the basic angle data B.
It is arranged in a continuous block followed by A3. As the data structure corresponding to FIG. 16, the basic angle BA1 is
MA1 and M in a multi-angle section that compose one cell
A2 and MA3 form cells, and MA1 and MA3
The cells corresponding to MA2 and MA3 are cell blocks (MA1
CBM of cell of "cell block head", CBM of cell of MA2 = "of cell block", CB of cell of MA3
M = “end of cell block”), and these cell blocks become angle blocks (CBT = “angle”). The basic angle BA3 becomes a cell connected to the angle block. The connection between cells shall be seamless playback (SPF = "seamless playback").

FIG. 47 shows an outline of the structure of a stream having a multi-angle section and the layout on the disc in this embodiment of the present invention. The multi-angle section is a section in which the stream can be freely switched by user's designation. In the stream having the data structure shown in FIG. 47, it is possible to switch to VOB-C and VOB-D during playback of VOB-B. Similarly, during playback of VOB-C, VOB-
It is possible to switch to B and VOB-D. further,
During reproduction of VOB-D, switching to VOB-B and VOB-C can be freely performed.

The unit for switching the angle is the angle interleave unit (hereinafter referred to as A-ILVU) with the minimum interleave unit obtained under the conditions from the expressions 3 and 4 as the angle switching unit.
It is defined as This A-ILVU is composed of one or more VOBUs. Also, with this A-ILVU, A-IL
VU management information is added. The above-mentioned Nabupack NV corresponds to that.

FIG. 48 shows an embodiment of the A-IL.
An example is shown in which the last pack address of the VU and the address of the next A-ILVU are described by the number of angles. This figure is similar to the example of FIG. 42, but in this example, the angle interleave unit A-ILVU is composed of two VOBUs, and the nab pack NV of each VOBU includes
The ILVU last pack address ILVU_EA indicating the address of the last pack of the ILVU to which the VOBU belongs and the start address SML_AGL_C1 of the next ILVU for each angle data
_DSTA ~ SML_AGL_C9_DSTA (angle # 1 ~ angle #
9) is described.

These addresses are represented by the number of sectors from the NV of the VOBU. In the field where the angle does not exist, data indicating that the angle does not exist, for example, "0" is described. With this last pack address, it is possible to switch to the next angle without reading the extra information of the angle information and by obtaining the address of the next angle.

As an interleaving method in the multi-angle section, the interleave unit of angles is the minimum read time, and all angles are interleave boundaries at the same time. That is, this is to allow the angles to be switched as quickly as possible within the performance range of the player. Interleaved data is once input to the track buffer, then the angle data after switching is input to the track buffer, and the next angle cannot be played unless the data in the track buffer of the previous angle has been consumed. Of. In order to switch to the next angle quickly, it is necessary to minimize the interleave unit. In addition, the switching times must be the same for seamless switching. That is, between the VOBs that make up each angle,
Interleave units and boundaries must be common.

That is, the VOBs have the same reproduction time of the video encode stream forming the VOBs, and the interleaved units having the same reproduction time of the respective angles have the same reproduction time in the same interleave boundary. There is a need. V that composes each angle
The OB needs to be divided into the same number of interleave units, and the playback time of the interleave units needs to be the same at each angle. That is, the VOBs that make up each angle are divided into the same number N of interleave units, and the kth (1 ≦ k ≦ n) in each angle.
The interleaved units should have the same playback time.

Furthermore, in order to seamlessly reproduce the interleaved units between the angles, the encoded stream is completed within the interleaved unit, that is, M
In the PEG method, a closed GOP structure is provided,
It is necessary to use a compression method that does not refer to frames outside the interleave unit. If that method is not adopted, interleaved units between angles cannot be seamlessly connected and played. VOB like this
By making the configuration and the boundary of the interleave unit, even if the angle switching operation is performed, it becomes possible to continuously reproduce in time.

The number of interleaves in the multi-angle section is determined from the number of interleave units of other angles which can be arranged within the jumpable distance after reading the interleave units. As the arrangement of each interleaved unit of each angle after interleaving, the interleaved unit of each angle reproduced first is arranged in the order of angle, and the interleaved unit of each angle reproduced next is arranged in the order of angle. That is, the number of angles is M (M:
1≤M≤9), the m-th angle is angle #m (m: 1≤m≤M natural number), the number of interleave units is N (N: 1 or more natural number), and the n-th interleave in VOB If the unit is an interleave unit #n (n: natural number of 1 ≦ n ≦ N), the interleave unit # 1 and the angle # 2 of the angle # 1.
Interleave unit # 1 of No. 1 and interleave unit # 1 of angle # 3 are arranged in this order. After arranging the interleave unit # 1 of the angle #M in this way, the interleave unit # 2 of the angle # 1 and the angle #
2 interleave unit # 2.

In the case of a seamless switching angle in which angles are switched seamlessly, if the length of the interleave unit of each angle is the minimum read time, the maximum jump distance when moving between angles is the same time. The distance from the interleaved unit of the angle that is arranged first in the array of interleaved units of each angle that is played back to the interleaved unit that is arranged at the end of the array of the interleaved unit of each angle that is played next. Is. When the number of angles is An, the jump distance needs to satisfy the following formula.

Maximum ILVU length in angle × (An−1) × 2 ≦ jumpable distance (Equation 7) Further, in the case of non-seamless switching multi-angle,
The playback of each angle needs to be seamless, but it does not have to be seamless when moving between angles. Therefore, the length of the interleave unit at each angle is
In the case of the minimum read time, the maximum jump distance is the distance between the interleave units of each angle. When the number of angles is An, the jump distance needs to satisfy the following formula.

Maximum ILVU length in angle × (An−1) ≦ jumpable distance (Equation 8) With reference to FIGS. 49 and 50 below, a switching unit between multi-angle data VOBs in a multi-angle section Will explain how to manage each other's addresses. Figure 4
9, the angle interleave unit A-ILVU is a data switching unit, and the nab pack N of each A-ILVU is
An example in which the address of another A-ILVU is described in V is shown. FIG. 49 shows an address description example for realizing seamless reproduction, that is, reproduction without interruption of video and audio. That is, it is possible to perform control such that only the data of the interleave unit of the angle to be reproduced can be read into the track buffer when the angle is switched.

FIG. 50 shows the video object unit V
An example is shown in which the OBU is a data switching unit and the addresses of other VOBUs are described in the nab pack NV of each VOBU. FIG. 50 is an address description that enables control to switch to another angle close to the switching time as quickly as possible when performing non-seamless reproduction, that is, when switching the angle.

In FIG. 49, regarding the three multi-angle data VOB-B, VOB-C, and VOB-D, each A-ILVU is the address of the next reproduction A-ILVU, and the A-ILVU which is later in time. ILVU is described. Here, it is assumed that VOB-B is angle number # 1, VOB-C is angle number # 2, and VOB-D is angle number # 3.
The multi-angle data VOB-B includes the angle interleave units A-ILVUb1, A-ILVUb2,
And A-ILVUb3. Similarly, VOB-C is an angle interleave unit A-ILVUc1, I.
LVUc2 and ILVUc3, VOB-D is an angle interleave unit A-ILVUd1, A
-ILVUd2 and A-ILVUd3.

Angle interleave unit A-IL
In the nab pack NV of VUb1, as shown by the line Pb1b, the relative address SML_AGL_C # 1_DSTA of the next angle interleave unit A-ILVUb2 of the same VOB-B.
, A relative address SML_AGL_C # 2_DSTA of the angle interleave unit A-ILVUc2 of the VOB-C synchronized with the same angle interleave unit A-ILVUb2 as shown by the line Pb1c, and an angle interleave unit A-of the VOB-D as shown by the line Pb1d. IL
SML_AGL_C # 3_DSTA indicating the relative address of VUd2 is described.

Similarly, Nabupack N of A-ILVUb2
In V, as indicated by lines Pb2b, Pb2c, and Pb2d, SML_AGL_C # 1_ indicating the relative address of the next angle interleave unit A-ILVUb3 for each VOB.
SML_AGL_ indicating the relative address of DSTA and A-ILVUc3
C # 2_DSTA and SML_AGL_C # 3_DSTA indicating the relative address of A-ILVUd3 are described. The relative address is described by the number of sectors from the nabupack NV of the VOBU included in each interleave unit.

Furthermore, even in VOB-C, A-ILV
In the nab pack NV of Uc1, as shown by line Pc1c, SML_AGL_C # indicating the relative address of the next angle interleave unit A-ILVUc2 of the same VOB-C.
2_DSTA, SML_AGL_C # 1_DSTA indicating the relative address of the angle interleave unit A-ILVUb2 of VOB-B as indicated by the line Pc1b, and the angle interleave unit AI of VOB-D as indicated by the line Pb1d.
SML_AGL_C # 3_DSTA indicating the relative address of LVUd2 is described. Similarly, in the nab pack NV of A-ILVUc2, as shown by lines Pc2c, Pc2b, and Pc2d, the next angle interleave units A-ILVUc3, A-ILVUb3, and A-I for each VOB are shown.
Each relative address of LVUd3 SML_AGL_C # 2_DSTA, SML_AG
L_C # 1_DSTA and SML_AGL_C # 3_DSTA are described. VO
Similar to the description in BB, the relative address is the nabupack NV of the VOBU included in each interleave unit.
It is described by the number of sectors from.

Similarly, in VOB-D, A-IL
In the nab pack NV of VUd1, as shown by line Pd1d, SML_AGL_C # indicating the relative address of the next angle interleave unit A-ILVUd2 of the same VOB-D.
3_DSTA, SML_AGL_C # 1_DSTA indicating the relative address of the angle interleave unit A-ILVUb2 of VOB-B as shown by the line Pd1b, and the angle interleave unit A next to VOB-C as shown by the line Pd1c.
-SML_AGL_C # 2_DSTA indicating the relative address of ILVUc2
Is described.

Similarly, Nabupack N of A-ILVUd2
V has the following angle interleave units A-ILVUd3, A-ILVUb3, and A-IL for each VOB, as indicated by lines Pd2d, Pd2b, and Pd2c.
Each relative address of VUc3 SML_AGL_C # 3_DSTA, SML_AGL_
C # 1_DSTA and SML_AGL_C # 2_DSTA are described. VO
Similar to the description in BB and VOB-C, the relative address is described by the number of sectors from the nab pack NV of VOBU included in each interleave unit.

It should be noted that, in addition to the relative addresses SML_AGL_C # 1_DSTA to SML_AGL_C # 9_DSTA described above, various parameters are written in each nab pack NV.
Since it has already been described with reference to, a further description is omitted for simplification.

This address description will be described in further detail. In the nab pack NV of A-ILVUb1 in the figure,
IL-VU_E, which is the end address of A-ILVUb1 itself
A, and the addresses SML_AGL_C # 1_DSTA and A-ILVUc of the next reproducible A-ILVUb2 nab pack NV
Address of 2 nabupack NV SML_AGL_C # 2_DSTA and A
-Address of the Navpack NV of ILVUd2 SML_AGL_C #
3_DSTA is described. Nabupack N of A-ILVUb2
V is the end address ILVU_EA of B2 and the address of the nab pack NV of A-ILVUb3 to be reproduced next.
SML_AGL_C # 1_DSTA, N-pack NV of A-ILVUc3
Address SML_AGL_C # 2_DSTA and the address SML_AGL_C # 3_DSTA of the nab pack NV of A-ILVUd3 are described. Nabupack NV of A-ILVUb3 contains A-IL
End address ILVU_EA of VUb3 and A to be reproduced next-
Termination information as the address of the navpack NV of the ILVU, for example, NULL (zero) or all "1"
Describe parameters such as ILVU_EA. VOB-C
The same applies to VOB-D and VOB-D.

As described above, since the address of the A-ILVU to be reproduced later in time can be prefetched from the nab pack NV of each A-ILVU, it is suitable for seamless reproduction of continuous reproduction in time. Also, since the A-ILVU of the next angle in the same angle is also described, the jump address next to the selected angle is simply obtained without considering whether the angle is switched or not. It can be controlled by the same sequence of jumping to the next interleave unit based on the address information.

As described above, since the relative address of the A-ILVU that can be switched between each angle is described and the video encode data included in each A-ILVU is composed of the closed GOP, the angle switching is performed. Sometimes the video can be played continuously without any disturbance.

If the sound is the same sound at each angle, or as described above, each interleave unit I
Audio data that is completed or independent between LVUs can be continuously and seamlessly reproduced. Further, when the same audio data is recorded in each interleave unit ILVU, even if the audio data is switched over between the angles and continuously reproduced, the listener does not even know the switching.

On the other hand, regarding the data structure for realizing non-seamless information reproduction by angle switching, that is, seamless data reproduction which allows discontinuity in the content of reproduced information, FIG.
It will be described using 0.

In FIG. 50, multi-angle data VOB
-B is three video object units VOBUb
1, VOBUb2, and VOBUb3. Similarly, VOB-C has three video object units V
It is composed of OBUc1, VOBUc2, and VOBUc3. Further, VOB-D is composed of three video object units VOBUd1, VOBUd2, and VOBUd3. Similar to the example shown in FIG. 49, the last pack address VOBU_EA of each VOBU is described in the nab pack NV of each video object unit VOBU. The pack address VOBU_EA is the address of the nabupack NV in the VOBU composed of one or more packs including the nabupack NV. However, in this example,
The Nabupack NV of each VOBU has a VOB that is later in time.
The address NSML_AGL_C # _DSTA of the VOBU before the switching of the reproduction time is described in another angle instead of the address of U.

That is, the address NSML_AGL_C1_DSTA to NSML of the VOBU of another angle synchronized with the VOBU concerned.
_AGL_C9_DSTA is described. Here, the numbers # 1 to # 9 indicate angle numbers. Then, a value indicating that there is no angle, for example, "0" is described in the field in which the angle corresponding to the angle number does not exist. That is, the nab pack N of the video object unit VOBUb1 of the multi-angle data VOB-B.
In V, as shown by lines Pb1c 'and Pb1d',
Synchronized VO of VOB-C 'and VOD-D'
Relative address of BUc1 and VOBUd1 NSML_AGL_C #
2_DSTA to NSML_AGL_C # 3_DSTA are described.

Similarly, in the nab pack NV of VOBUb2, the relative addresses NSML_AGL_C # 2_DSTA to NSML_AGL_C # 3_DSTA of VOBUc2 as shown by the line Pb2c 'and as shown by the line Pb2d' are described. Further, in the nabupack NV of VOBUb3, relative addresses NSML_AGL_C # 2_DSTA to NSML_AGL_C # 3_DSTA of VOBUc3 as indicated by the line Pb3c ′ and VOBUd3 as indicated by the line Pb3d ′ are described.

Similarly, each of VOBUc1 and V of VOB-C is
Nabupack NV and VO of OBUc2 and VOBUc3
VOBUd1, VOBUd2, and VOBU of BD
In the nab pack NV of d3, lines Pc1b 'and Pc are shown in the drawing.
1d ', Pc2b', Pc2d ', Pc3b', Pc
Relative address of VOBU indicated by 3d 'NSML_AGL_C # 1_DS
TA, NSML_AGL_C # 3_DSTA are Pd1b ', Pd1
c ', Pd2b', Pd2c ', Pd3b', and P
Relative address of VOBU indicated by d3c 'NSML_AGL_C # 1_D
STA to NSML_AGL_C # 2_DSTA are described. Also, the angle switching address information corresponding to angles # 3 to # 9 where there is no switching angle here, NS
Since no angle exists in ML_AGL_C # 4_DSTA to NSML_AGL_C # 9_DSTA, a value indicating that no angle exists in the field, for example, “0” is described.

With respect to the angle data having such a data structure, the DVD decoder interrupts the data reproduction of the VOBU of the angle being reproduced at the time of angle switching, and reads and reproduces the data of the VOBU of the switched angle. To do.

Incidentally, in FIG. 50, VOB-C is VOB.
It seems that there is a time lag compared to -D and VOB-B, but this is to make it easier to understand the address description relationship in the nab pack NV of each VOB. Similar to the example of FIG. 49, there is no misalignment.

As described above, the data structure shown in FIG. 50 is an example in which another VOBU which is originally simultaneous in time or a VOBU before that is described as the VOBU to be reproduced next. Therefore, if you change the angle,
It will be played from the scene that is previous (past) in time. In the case of non-seamless information reproduction in which seamless angle switching is not required, that is, continuity is not required in reproduced information, such a description method of address information is more suitable.

Flowchart: Encoder The encode information table generated by the encode system control unit 200 based on the scenario data St7 described above will be described with reference to FIG. The encoding information table corresponds to a scene section delimited by branch points / junction points of the scene, and includes a VOB set data string including a plurality of VOBs and a VOB data string corresponding to each scene. The VOB set data string shown in FIG. 27 will be described in detail later.

In step # 100 of FIG. 51, the encoding system control unit 20 generates the multimedia stream of the DVD based on the title contents instructed by the user.
It is an encoding information table created within 0. In the user-specified scenario, there is a branch point from a common scene to multiple scenes, or a connection point to a common scene. A VOBOB corresponding to a scene section with the branch point / junction point as a delimiter is a VOB set, and data created to encode the VOB set is a VOB set data string. In addition, in the VOB set data string, when the multi-scene section is included, the number of titles shown is VOB.
The number of titles in the set data string is shown.

The VOB set data structure of FIG. 27 is VO
The contents of data for encoding one VOB set of the B set data string are shown. The VOB set data structure has a VOB set number (VOBS_NO), a VOB number in the VOB set (VOB_NO), a preceding VOB seamless connection flag (VOB_Fsb), and a subsequent VOB seamless connection flag (VOB).
_Fsf), multi-scene flag (VOB_Fp), interleave flag (VOB_Fi), multi-angle (VOB_Fm), multi-angle seamless switching flag (VOB_FsV), maximum bit rate of interleaved VOB (ILV_BR), division number of interleaved VOB (ILV_DIV), It consists of the minimum interleaved unit playback time (ILV_MT).

The VOB set number VOBS_NO is a number for identifying the VOB set which is based on, for example, the title scenario playback order.

The VOB number VOB_NO in the VOB set is a number for identifying the VOB over the entire title scenario, for example, by using the title scenario playback order as a guide.

Previous VOB seamless connection flag VOB_Fsb
Is a flag indicating whether or not to seamlessly connect to the preceding VOB in scenario reproduction.

Subsequent VOB seamless connection flag VOB_Fsf
Is a flag indicating whether or not to seamlessly connect to the subsequent VOB in scenario reproduction. Multi-scene flag VOB_
Fp is a flag indicating whether or not the VOB set is composed of a plurality of VOBs.

The interleave flag VOB_Fi is a flag indicating whether VOBs in the VOB set are interleaved.

The multi-angle flag VOB_Fm is a flag indicating whether or not the VOB set is multi-angle.

Multi-angle seamless switching flag
VOB_FsV is a flag indicating whether or not switching within the multi-angle is seamless.

Interleave VOB maximum bit rate IL
V_BR indicates the value of the maximum bit rate of VOB to be interleaved.

The number of interleaved VOB divisions ILV_DIV is
Indicates the number of interleaved VOB interleaving units.

Minimum interleave unit playback time ILVU
_MT indicates the time that can be reproduced when the bit rate of the VOB is ILV_BR in the minimum interleave unit where the track buffer does not underflow during interleaved block reproduction.

The encoding information table corresponding to each VOB generated by the encoding system control unit 200 based on the scenario data St7 will be described with reference to FIG. Based on this encoding information table, the video encoder 300 and the sub-picture encoder 50
0, the audio encoder 700, and the system encoder 900 to generate encoding parameter data corresponding to each VOB described later. The VOB shown in FIG.
The data string is an encoding information table for each VOB created in the encoding system control for generating the multimedia stream of the DVD based on the title content instructed by the user in step # 100 of FIG. One encoding unit is a VOB, and the data created to encode that VOB is a VOB data string. For example, a VOB consisting of three angle scenes
The set will consist of three VOBs. Figure 2
8 VOB data structure is one VOB of VOB data string
Indicates the content of the data for encoding.

The VOB data structure has a video material start time (VOB_VST), a video material end time (VOB_VEND), and
Video material type (VOB_V_KIND), video encoding bit rate (V_BR), audio material start time (VO
B_AST), end time of audio material (VOB_AEND), audio encoding method (VOB_A_KIND), and audio bit rate (A_BR).

[0368] The video material start time VOB_VST is the start time of video encoding corresponding to the time of the video material.

[0369] The video material end time VOB_VEND is the end time of video encoding corresponding to the time of the video material.

The type of video material VOB_V_KIND indicates whether the encoded material is in NTSC format or PAL format, or whether the video material is telecine-converted material.

The video bit rate V_BR is the video encoding bit rate.

The audio material start time VOB_AST is the audio encode start time corresponding to the time of the audio material.

Audio material end time VOB_AEND is the audio encode end time corresponding to the time of the audio material.

The audio encoding method VOB_A_KIND is
The audio encoding method is shown, and the encoding method includes AC-3 method, MPEG method, and linear PC.
There is an M method.

The audio bit rate A_BR is the audio encoding bit rate.

FIG. 29 shows video, audio and system encoders 300 for encoding VOB.
The encoding parameters to 500 and 900 are shown.
The encode parameters are VOB number (VOB_NO), video encode start time (V_STTM), video encode end time (V_ENDTM), encode mode (V_ENCMD), video encode bit rate (V_RATE), video encode maximum bit rate (V_MRATE), GOP. Structure fixed flag (GOP_FXflag), video encoding GOP structure (GO
PST), video encode initial data (V_INTST), video encode end data (V_ENDST), audio encode start time (A_STTM), audio encode end time (A_ENDTM), audio encode bit rate (A_RATE), audio encode method (A_ENCMD),
Audio start gap (A_STGAP), audio end gap (A_ENDGAP), preceding VOB number (B_VOB_N)
O) and subsequent VOB number (F_VOB_NO).

The VOB number VOB_NO is a number for identifying the VOB, which is numbered over the entire title scenario, for example, using the title scenario playback order as a guide.

The video encode start time V_STTM is the video encode start time on the video material.

The video encode end time V_STTM is the video encode end time on the video material.

[0380] The encode mode V_ENCMD is an encode mode for setting whether or not the inverse telecine conversion process is performed at the time of video encoding so that efficient encoding can be performed when the video material is telecine converted. .

The video encode bit rate V_RATE is
This is the average bit rate during video encoding.

Video encoding maximum bit rate is V_MR
ATE is the maximum bit rate for video encoding.

The GOP structure fixed flag GOP_FXflag indicates whether or not encoding is performed without changing the GOP structure during video encoding. This is an effective parameter for enabling seamless switching in a multi-angle scene.

Video encoding GOP structure GOPST
Is GOP structure data at the time of encoding.

The video encode initial data V_INST is a parameter that sets the initial value of the VBV buffer (decoding buffer) at the start of video encoding and is effective in seamless reproduction with the preceding video encode stream.

Video encoding end data V_ENDST is
The end value of the VBV buffer (decoding buffer) at the end of video encoding is set. This parameter is effective for seamless playback with the subsequent video encoded stream.

Audio encoder start time A_STTM is
It is the audio encoding start time on the audio material.

Audio encoder end time A_ENDTM
Is the end time of audio encoding on the audio material.

Audio encoding bit rate A_RATE
Is the bit rate during audio encoding.

Audio encoding method A_ENCMD is an audio encoding method, which is AC-3 method, MP
There are an EG method, a linear PCM method, and the like.

Audio start gap A_STGAP is V
It is the time difference between the start of video and the start of audio at the start of OB. This parameter is effective for seamless playback with the preceding system encoded stream.

At the end of audio, the gap A_ENDGAP is V
This is the time difference between the end of video and the end of audio at the end of OB. This parameter is effective for seamless playback with the subsequent system encoded stream.

The preceding VOB number B_VOB_NO indicates the VOB number of a seamless connection preceding VOB.

The succeeding VOB number F_VOB_NO indicates the VOB number of the succeeding VOB of the seamless connection.

The operation of the DVD encoder ECD according to the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the figure, blocks enclosed by double lines indicate subroutines. Although the present embodiment describes a DVD system, it goes without saying that the authoring encoder EC can be similarly configured.

At step # 100, the user
In the editing information creation unit 100, the multimedia source data S
While confirming the contents of t1, St2, and St3, the editing instruction of the contents according to the desired scenario is input.

At step # 200, the editing information creating section 10
0 generates the scenario data St7 including the above-mentioned editing instruction information according to the editing instruction of the user.

The scenario data S in step # 200
At the time of generation of t7, of the editing instruction contents of the user, the editing instruction at the time of interleaving in the multi-angle or parental multi-scene section, which is supposed to be interleaved, is input so as to satisfy the following conditions.

First, the maximum bit rate of the VOB is determined so that a sufficient image quality can be obtained, and the track buffer amount and jump performance, jump time and jump distance of the DVD decoder DCD assumed as a DVD encoded data reproducing device are determined. Determine the value of. Based on the above values, the reproduction time of the minimum interleaved unit is obtained from Expressions 3 and 4.

Next, based on the reproduction time of each scene included in the multi-scene section, it is verified whether Expressions 5 and 6 are satisfied. If it is not satisfied, the user changes the input of the instruction so that the following scenes are partially connected to each scene in the multi-scene section and the expressions 5 and 6 are satisfied.

Further, in the case of a multi-angle editing instruction, at the time of seamless switching, the expression 7 is satisfied, and at the same time,
Input the edit instruction to make the playback time and audio of each scene of the angle the same. Further, at the time of non-seamless switching, the user inputs an editing instruction so as to satisfy Expression 8.

At step # 300, the encoding system control unit 200 first determines, based on the scenario data St7, whether or not the target scene is seamlessly connected to the preceding scene. The seamless connection means that when the preceding scene section is a multi-scene section including a plurality of scenes, any one of all scenes included in the preceding multi-scene section is referred to as a common scene that is the current connection target. Connect seamlessly. Similarly, when the current connection target scene is a multi-scene section, it means that any one scene in the multi-scene section can be connected. If NO in step # 300, that is, if non-seamless connection is determined, step # 400
Go to.

At step # 400, the encoding system control unit 200 resets the preceding scene seamless connection flag VOB_Fsb indicating that the target scene is seamlessly connected to the preceding scene, and proceeds to step # 600.

On the other hand, if YES in step # 300, that is, if it is determined that the preceding sheet is seamlessly connected, the process proceeds to step # 500.

In step # 500, the preceding scene seamless connection flag VOB_Fsb is set, and step # 600
Proceed to.

At step # 600, the encoding system control unit 200 determines, based on the scenario data St7, whether or not the target scene is seamlessly connected to the succeeding scene. If NO in step # 600, that is, if it is determined that the connection is non-seamless, the process proceeds to step # 700.

[0407] In step # 700, the encoding system control unit 200 indicates that the scene is seamlessly connected to the succeeding scene, and the succeeding scene seamless connection flag VOB_.
Reset Fsf and proceed to step # 900.

On the other hand, if YES in step # 600, that is, if it is determined that seamless connection with the succeeding sheet is made, the process proceeds to step # 800.

[0409] In step # 800, the encoding system control unit 200 causes the succeeding scene seamless connection flag VOB_.
Set Fsf and proceed to step # 900.

[0410] In step # 900, the encoding system control unit 200 determines, based on the scenario data St7, whether or not there are one or more scenes to be connected, that is, a multi-scene. The multi-scene includes a parental control that reproduces only one reproduction path among a plurality of reproduction paths that can be configured by the multi-scene and a multi-angle control that can switch the reproduction path during a multi-scene section. If scenario step # 900 returns NO, that is, non-multi-scene connection, the process proceeds to step # 1000.

[0411] In step # 1000, the multi-scene flag VOB_Fp indicating the multi-scene connection is reset, and the flow advances to encoding parameter generation step # 1800. The operation of step # 1800 will be described later.

On the other hand, if YES in step # 900, that is, if multi-scene connection is determined, step # 1
Go to 100.

[0413] In step # 1100, the multi-scene flag VOB_Fp is set, and the flow advances to step # 1200 to determine whether or not multi-angle connection is established.

At step # 1200, it is determined whether or not to switch between a plurality of scenes in the multi-scene section, that is, whether or not the section is a multi-angle section. If NO in step # 1200, that is, if it is determined that the parental control is to reproduce only one reproduction path without switching in the middle of the multi-scene section, step # 130
Go to 0.

[0415] In step # 1300, the multi-angle flag VO indicating that the scene to be connected is multi-angle.
B_Fm is reset and the process proceeds to step # 1302.

In step # 1302, it is determined whether or not either the preceding scene seamless connection flag VOB_Fsb or the succeeding scene seamless connection flag VOB_Fsf is set. If YES in step # 1300, that is, if it is determined that the connection target scene is seamlessly connected to either the preceding scene or the succeeding scene, or both, the process proceeds to step # 1304.

At step # 1304, the interleave flag VOB_Fi indicating that the VOB which is the encoded data of the target scene is interleaved is set, and the routine proceeds to step # 1800.

On the other hand, if NO in step # 1302, that is, if the target scene does not seamlessly connect to either the preceding scene or the succeeding scene, the flow advances to step # 1306.

At step # 1306, the interleave flag VOB_Fi is reset and the routine proceeds to step # 1800.

On the other hand, if YES in step # 1200, that is, if it is determined to be multi-angle, the process proceeds to step # 1400.

At step # 1400, the multi-angle flag VOB_Fm and the interleave flag VOB_Fi are set, and then the routine proceeds to step # 1500.

At step # 1500, based on the scenario data St7, is the encoding system control unit 200 so-called seamlessly switched in the multi-angle scene section, that is, in a reproduction unit smaller than VOB, without interruption of video and audio? To judge. If NO in step # 1500, that is, if non-seamless switching is determined, the process proceeds to step # 1600.

At step # 1600, a seamless switching flag VO indicating that the target scene is seamless switching.
Reset B_FsV and proceed to step # 1800.

On the other hand, if step # 1500 returns YES, that is, if seamless switching is determined, step # 17
Go to 00.

In step # 1700, the seamless switching flag VOB_FsV is set, and the flow advances to step # 1800. As described above, in the present invention, after the editing information is detected as the set state of each flag described above from the scenario data St7 that reflects the editing intention, the process proceeds to step # 1800.

In step # 1800, the VOB set unit and VOB shown in FIG. 27 and FIG. 28, respectively, for encoding the source stream based on the editing intention of the user detected as the set state of each flag as described above. Information is added to the encoding information table for each unit, and an encoding parameter for each VOB data unit shown in FIG. 29 is created. Then, the process proceeds to step # 1900.

Details of this encoding parameter creating step will be described later with reference to FIGS. 52, 53, 54 and 55.

In Step # 1900, Step # 180
After the video data and the audio data are encoded based on the encoding parameter created in step 0, the process proceeds to step # 2000. It should be noted that the sub-picture data is originally not required to have continuity with the preceding and subsequent scenes for the purpose of inserting and using the sub-picture data as needed during video reproduction. Further, since the sub-picture is video information for about one screen, unlike the video data and audio data extending on the time axis, the sub-picture is often stationary on the display and is not always continuously reproduced. Absent. Therefore,
In the present embodiment relating to continuous reproduction called seamless and non-seamless, description of the encoding of sub-picture data is omitted for simplification.

In step # 2000, a loop composed of steps # 300 to # 1900 is rotated by the number of VOB sets, and reproduction information such as the reproduction order of each VOB in the title of FIG. Format the program chain (VTS_PGC # I) information in the structure, create an interleaved arrangement of VOBs in the multi-scene scene, and complete the VOB set data string and VOB data string necessary for system encoding. Then, the process proceeds to step # 2100.

In Step # 2100, Step # 200
The total number of VOB sets resulting from the loop up to 0
Obtain VOBS_NUM, add it to the VOB set data string, and in the scenario data St7, set the title number TITLE_NO when the number of scenario playback paths is the number of titles, and set the VOB set data as the encoding information table. After completing the row, proceed to step # 2200.

In Step # 2200, Step # 190
Based on the video encode stream, the audio encode stream encoded by 0, and the encode parameter of FIG. 29, VOB (VO in VOTSTT_VOBS of FIG.
B # i) Perform system encoding to create data. Then, the process proceeds to step # 2300.

At step # 2300, the VTSI management table (VTSI_M) included in the VTS information and VTSI shown in FIG.
AT), VTSPGC information table (VTSPGCIT)
Also, a format including processing such as data creation of program chain information (VTS_PGCI # I) for controlling the reproduction order of VOB data and interleaved arrangement of VOBs included in the multi-scene section is performed.

Details of this formatting step will be described later with reference to FIGS. 56, 57, 58, 59 and 60.

With reference to FIGS. 52, 53, and 54,
The operation of the encode parameter generation at the time of multi-angle control in the encode parameter generation subroutine of step # 1800 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 51 will be described.

First, referring to FIG. 52, when NO is determined in step # 1500 in FIG. 51, that is, each flag is VOB_Fsb = 1 or VOB_Fsf = 1, VOB_Fp = 1, V, respectively.
Description will be made regarding the encoding parameter generation operation of the non-seamless switching stream when OB_Fi = 1, VOB_Fm = 1, and FsV = 0, that is, in multi-angle control. By the following operation, the encoding information table shown in FIGS.
The encoding parameters shown in FIG. 29 are created.

[0436] In step # 1812, the scenario playback order included in the scenario data St7 is extracted, and VOB is extracted.
The set number VOBS_NO is set, and the VOB number VOB_NO is set for one or more VOBs in the VOB set.

In step # 1814, the maximum bit rate of the interleaved VOB is calculated from the scenario data St7.
Extract ILV_BR and set it to the video encoding maximum bit rate V_MRATE of the encoding parameter based on the interleave flag VOB_Fi = 1.

At step # 1816, the minimum interleave unit reproduction time ILVU is calculated from the scenario data St7.
Extract _MT.

At step # 1818, based on the multi-angle flag VOB_Fp = 1, the video encoding GOP structure GOPST has N = 15 and M = 3 values and the GOP structure fixed flag G.
Set OPFXflag = "1".

Step # 1820 is a common VOB data setting routine. In FIG. 53, step # 182.
The VOB data common setting routine of 0 is shown. By the following operation flow, the encoding information table shown in FIGS. 27 and 28 and the encoding parameter shown in FIG. 29 are created.

At step # 1822, the start time VOB_VS of the video material of each VOB is calculated from the scenario data St7.
T and end time VOB_VEND are extracted, and video encoding start time V_STTM and encoding end time V_ENDTM are used as video encoding parameters.

At step # 1824, the start time VOB_ of the audio material of each VOB is determined from the scenario data St7.
AST is extracted, and audio encoding start time A_STTM is used as an audio encoding parameter.

At step # 1826, the end time VOB_ of the audio material of each VOB is determined from the scenario data St7.
AEND is extracted, and the time of the audio access unit (hereinafter referred to as AAU) unit that can be encoded by the audio encoding method is the time that does not exceed VOB_AEND.
ENDTM.

Step # 1828 is for video encoding start time V_STTM and audio encoding start time A_STTM.
The audio start gap A_STGAP is used as the system encoding parameter based on the difference between.

[0445] In step # 1830, the video encode end time V_ENDTM and the audio encode end time A_E.
From the NDTM difference, the audio end gap A_ENDGAP is used as the system encoding parameter.

At step # 1832, the video bit rate V_BR is extracted from the scenario data St7, and the video encoding bit rate V_RATE is used as the video encoding parameter as the average bit rate of video encoding.

In step # 1834, the audio bit rate A_BR is extracted from the scenario data St7,
Audio encoding bit rate A_RATE is used as an audio encoding parameter.

At step # 1836, the type VOB_V_KIND of the video material is extracted from the scenario data St7, and if it is the film material, that is, the material which has been telecine converted, the inverse telecine conversion is set in the video encoding mode V_ENCMD and the video encoding is performed. Use as a parameter.

At step # 1838, the audio encoding method VOB_A_KIND is extracted from the scenario data St7, the encoding method is set in the audio encoding mode A_ENCMD, and the audio encoding parameter is set.

At step # 1840, the VBV buffer initial value of the video encode initial data V_INST is set to a value equal to or less than the VBV buffer end value of the video encode end data V_ENDST, and is set as a video encode parameter.

At step # 1842, based on the preceding VOB seamless connection flag VOB_Fsb = 1, the VO of the preceding connection is obtained.
The B number VOB_NO is set to the VOB number B_VOB_NO of the preceding connection, and is set as the system encoding parameter.

At step # 1844, based on the subsequent VOB seamless connection flag VOB_Fsf = 1, the VO of the subsequent connection is obtained.
The B number VOB_NO is set to the VOB number F_VOB_NO of the subsequent connection and used as the system encoding parameter.

As described above, it is a multi-angle VOB set, and an encoding information table and an encoding parameter in the case of control of non-seamless multi-angle switching can be generated.

Next, referring to FIG. 54, in step # 1500 in FIG. 51, when it is determined Yes, that is, each flag is VOB_Fsb = 1 or VOB_Fsf = 1, V, respectively.
The encoding parameter generation operation of the seamless switching stream during multi-angle control when OB_Fp = 1, VOB_Fi = 1, VOB_Fm = 1, and VOB_FsV = 1 will be described.

By the following operation, the encode information tables shown in FIGS. 27 and 28 and the encode parameters shown in FIG. 29 are created.

At step # 1850, the scenario playback order included in the scenario data St7 is extracted, and the VOB
The set number VOBS_NO is set, and the VOB number VOB_NO is set for one or more VOBs in the VOB set.

At step # 1852, the maximum bit rate LV_BR of the interleave VOB is extracted from the scenario data St7, and the video encoding maximum bit rate V_RATE is set based on the interleave flag VOB_Fi = 1.

At step # 1854, the minimum interleave unit reproduction time ILVU is calculated from the scenario data St7.
Extract _MT.

At step # 1856, based on the multi-angle flag VOB_Fp = 1, the video encoding GOP structure GOPST has N = 15 and M = 3 values and the GOP structure fixed flag G.
Set OPFXflag = "1".

[0460] In step # 1858, the video encoding G is performed based on the seamless switching flag VOB_FsV = 1.
Closed GOP is set in OP structure GOPST and used as a parameter for video encoding.

Step # 1860 is a common routine for setting VOB data. This common routine is shown in FIG.
Since the routine is shown in FIG. 1 and has already been described, the description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, an encoding parameter in the case of seamless switching control can be generated with a multi-angle VOB set.

Next, referring to FIG. 55, in FIG. 51, when NO is determined in step # 1200 and YES is determined in step 1304, that is, each flag is VOB_Fsb = 1 or VOB_Fsf =. 1, VOB_Fp = 1, VOB_F
An encoding parameter generating operation during parental control when i = 1 and VOB_Fm = 0 will be described. The following operation creates the encoding information tables shown in FIGS. 27 and 28 and the encoding parameters shown in FIG. 29.

At step # 1870, the scenario reproduction order included in the scenario data St7 is extracted, and the VOB
The set number VOBS_NO is set, and the VOB number VOB_NO is set for one or more VOBs in the VOB set.

At step # 1872, the maximum bit rate of the interleaved VOB is determined from the scenario data St7.
ILV_BR is extracted, and the video encoding maximum bit rate V_RATE is set based on the interleave flag VOB_Fi = 1.

At step # 1874, the VOB interleave unit division number ILV_ is calculated from the scenario data St7.
Extract the DIV.

Step # 1876 is a common routine for setting VOB data. This common routine is shown in FIG.
Since the routine is shown in FIG. 1 and has already been described, the description thereof will be omitted.

[0468] As described above, an encoding parameter for parental control can be generated in a multi-scene VOB set.

Next, referring to FIG. 61, in step # 900 in FIG. 51, when NO is determined, that is, when each flag is VOB_Fp = 0, that is, a single scene is encoded. The parameter generation operation will be described. The following operation creates the encoding information tables shown in FIGS. 27 and 28 and the encoding parameters shown in FIG. 29.

At step # 1880, the scenario reproduction order contained in the scenario data St7 is extracted, and VOB is extracted.
The set number VOBS_NO is set, and the VOB number VOB_NO is set for one or more VOBs in the VOB set.

At step # 1882, the maximum bit rate ILV_BR of the interleaved VOB is extracted from the scenario data St7, and the video encoding maximum bit rate V_MRATE is set based on the interleave flag VOB_Fi = 1.

Step # 1884 is a common VOB data setting routine. This common routine is shown in FIG.
Since the routine is shown in FIG. 1 and has already been described, the description thereof will be omitted.

[0473] Creation of the encoding information table as described above,
By the encoding parameter creation flow, encoding parameters for DVD video, audio, system encode, and DVD formatter can be generated.

Formatter flow FIG. 56, FIG. 57, FIG. 58, FIG. 59 and FIG.
The operation of the formatter subroutine for generating the DVD multimedia stream in step # 2300 shown in FIG.

The operation of the formatter 1100 of the DVD encoder ECD according to the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the figure, blocks enclosed by double lines indicate subroutines.
In step # 2310, based on the number of titles TITLE_NUM in the VOB set data string, the number of VTSI_NUMs in the video title set management table VTSI_MAT in the VTSI.
Set the PGCI.

At step # 2312, it is judged whether or not the scene is a multi-scene based on the multi-scene flag VOB_Fp in the VOB set data. If NO in step # 2112, that is, if it is determined that the scene is not a multi-scene, the process proceeds to step # 2114.

At step # 2314, the formatter 1 in the authoring encoder of FIG. 25 for the single VOB is used.
10 shows a subroutine of 100 operations. This subroutine will be described later.

If YES in step # 2312, that is, if it is determined that the scene is multi-scene, the flow advances to step # 2316.

In step # 2316, it is determined whether or not to interleave based on the interleave flag VOB_Fi in the VOB set data. Step # 2316
If NO, that is, if it is determined not to interleave, the process proceeds to step # 2314.

[0480] In step 2318, it is determined whether the multi-angle is set or not based on the multi-angle flag VOB_Fm in the VOB set data. Step # 2318
If NO, that is, if it is determined not to be multi-angle, the process proceeds to step # 2320, which is a subroutine of parental control.

At step # 2320, a subroutine of the formatter operation in the parental control VOB set is shown. This subroutine is shown in FIG. 59 and will be described later in detail.

If YES in step # 2320, that is, if it is determined to be multi-angle, the flow advances to step # 2322.

At step # 2322, it is determined whether or not seamless switching is performed based on the multi-angle seamless switching flag VOB_FsV. Step # 2322
If NO, that is, if multi-angle control is non-seamless switching control, then step # 232.
Go to 6.

At step # 2326, the subroutine of the operation of the authoring encoding formatter 1100 of FIG. 25 in the case of the non-seamless switching control multi-angle is shown. A detailed description will be given later with reference to FIG.

[0485] If YES in step # 2322, that is, if it is determined that the multi-angle control is seamless switching control, the process proceeds to step # 2324.

At step # 2324, a subroutine of operation of the multi-angle formatter 1100 for seamless switching control is shown. Details will be described later with reference to FIG.

At step 2328, the cell reproduction information CPBI set in the preceding flow is recorded as VTSI CPBI information.

In step # 2330, the formatter flow indicates the number of VOB sets in the VOB set data string VOBS_NUM.
It is determined whether or not the processing of the VOB set for the portion indicated by is completed. If NO in step # 2130, that is, if the processing for all VOB sets has not been completed, the process advances to step # 2112.

If YES at step # 2130, that is, if the processing for all VOB sets has been completed, the processing is completed.

Next, referring to FIG. 57, step # in FIG.
In 2322, the subroutine of subroutine step # 2326 in the case where NO is determined, that is, the multi-angle is non-seamless switching control, will be described. According to the operation flow described below, the interleaved arrangement of the multimedia stream, the contents of the cell reproduction information (C_PBI # i) shown in FIG. 16 and the information in the nab pack NV shown in FIG. 20 are recorded in the generated multimedia stream of the DVD. To do.

At step # 2340, a cell (C_PBI # i in FIG. 16) describing VOB control information corresponding to each scene based on VOB_Fm = 1 information indicating that the multi-scene section performs multi-angle control. Cell block mode (CBM in FIG. 16) of the MA shown in FIG.
CBM of cell 1 = “cell block head = 01b”, MA
CBM of cell 2 = “cell block = 10b”, MA
Record CBM of cell 3 = “end of cell block = 11b”.

At step # 2342, a cell describing the control information of the VOB corresponding to each scene based on the information of VOB_Fm = 1 indicating that the multi-scene section performs multi-angle control (C_PBI # i in FIG. 16). Cell block type (CBT in Fig. 16) "angle" value = "01b"
To record.

At step # 2344, a cell describing the control information of the VOB corresponding to the scene (C_ in FIG. 16) based on the information of VOB_Fsb = 1 indicating that seamless connection is performed.
PBI # i) seamless playback flag (SPF in Figure 16)
Record 1 ".

[0494] In step # 2346, the cell that describes the control information of the VOB corresponding to the scene based on the information of VOB_Fsb = 1 indicating that seamless connection is to be performed (C_ in Fig. 16).
"PBI # i) STC reset flag (STCDF in FIG. 16)"
Record 1 ".

At step # 2348, a cell for describing the control information of the VOB corresponding to the scene is generated based on the information of VOB_FsV = 1 indicating that interleaving is necessary (see FIG. 16).
C_PBI # i) interleave block allocation flag (Fig. 1
Record "1" in IAF in 6.

At step # 2350, the position information of the nab pack NV (the number of relative sectors from the head of the VOB) is detected from the title editing unit (hereinafter referred to as VOB) obtained from the system encoder 900 of FIG.
Playback time ILVU_MT of the minimum interleaved unit, which is the parameter of the formatter obtained in step # 1816 of
Based on the data of the
The BU position information (the number of sectors from the beginning of the VOB, etc.) is obtained and divided into VOBU units. For example, in the above example, the minimum interleave unit playback time is 2 seconds and VO
BU has 1 playback time of 0.5 seconds, so 4 VOBUs
Each is divided as an interleave unit. This division processing is performed on the VOB corresponding to each multi-scene.

In Step # 2352, Step # 21
The cell block mode (CB in FIG. 16) described as control information of the VOB corresponding to each scene recorded in 40
M) According to the description order (the order of description "cell block head", "cell block inside", "cell block end")
For example, the cell of MA1, the cell of MA2, M shown in FIG.
Each V obtained in step # 2350 in the order of A3 cell
OB interleave units are arranged to form an interleave block as shown in FIG. 37 or FIG. 38 and added to VTSTT_VOB data.

In Step # 2354, Step # 23
Each VOB based on the VOBU position information obtained in 50
The relative sector number from the beginning of the VOBU is recorded in the VOBU last pack address (COBU_EA in FIG. 20) of the U nab pack NV.

In Step # 2356, Step # 23
Based on the VTSTT_VOBS data obtained at 52, the address of the nab pack NV of the first VOBU of each cell and the last VO
The number of sectors from the beginning of VTSTT_VOBS is used as the address of BU navpack NV, and the cell top VOBU address C_FVOB
Record U_SA and cell end VOBU address C_LVOBU_SA.

At step # 2358, each VO
The non-seamless angle information (NSM_AGLI in FIG. 20) of the nabupack NV of the BU is used as the position information (FIG. 50) of the nabupack NV included in the VOBUs of all angle scenes near the playback start time of the VOBU.
The number of relative sectors in the data of the interleave block formed by 352 is set to the angle #iVOBU start address (NSML_AGL_C1_DSTA to NSML_AGL_C9_DSTA in FIG. 20).
).

In step # 2160, step # 23
In the VOBU obtained in 50, if it is the last VOBU of each scene in the multi-scene section, the non-seamless angle information of the nab pack NV of that VOBU (NSM_ in FIG. 20).
AGLI) angle #iVOBU start address (Fig. 20
NSML_AGL_C1_DSTA ~ NSML_AGL_C9_DSTA) has "7FF
Record FFFFFh ".

Through the above steps, the interleaved block corresponding to the non-seamless switching multi-angle control of the multi-scene section and the control information in the cell which is the reproduction control information corresponding to the multi-scene are formatted.

Next, referring to FIG. 58, step # in FIG.
At 2322, YES, that is, the subroutine step # 2324 when it is determined that the multi-angle is the seamless switching control will be described. According to the operation flow shown below, the interleaved arrangement of multimedia streams and the cell reproduction information (C_PBI #) shown in FIG.
The contents of i) and the information in the nab pack NV shown in FIG. 20 are recorded in the generated multimedia stream of the DVD.

At step # 2370, a cell describing VOB control information corresponding to each scene based on the information of VOB_Fm = 1 indicating that the multi-scene section performs multi-angle control (C_PBI # i in FIG. 16). Cell block mode (CBM in FIG. 16) of the MA shown in FIG.
CBM of cell 1 = “cell block head = 01b”, MA
CBM of cell 2 = “cell block = 10b”, MA
Record CBM of cell 3 = “end of cell block = 11b”.

At step # 2372, a cell describing the control information of the VOB corresponding to each scene based on the information of VOB_Fm = 1 indicating that the multi-scene section performs multi-angle control (C_PBI # i in FIG. 16). Cell block type (CBT in Fig. 16) "angle" value = "01b"
To record.

[0506] In step # 2374, a cell that describes the control information of the VOB corresponding to the scene based on the information of VOB_Fsb = 1 indicating that seamless connection is to be performed (C_ in Fig. 16).
PBI # i) seamless playback flag (SPF in Figure 16)
Record 1 ".

[0507] In step # 2376, a cell that describes the control information of the VOB corresponding to the scene based on the information of VOB_Fsb = 1 indicating that seamless connection is to be performed (C_ in Fig. 16).
"PBI # i) STC reset flag (STCDF in FIG. 16)"
Record 1 ".

[0508] In step # 2378, based on the information of VOB_FsV = 1 indicating that interleaving is required, a cell that describes VOB control information corresponding to a scene (see Fig. 16).
C_PBI # i) interleave block allocation flag (Fig. 1
Record "1" in IAF in 6.

At step # 2380, the position information (the number of relative sectors from the head of the VOB) of the nab pack NV is detected from the title editing unit (hereinafter referred to as VOB) obtained from the system encoder 900 of FIG.
Playback time ILVU_MT of the minimum interleaved unit, which is the parameter of the formatter obtained in step # 1854 of
Based on the data of the
The BU position information (the number of sectors from the beginning of the VOB, etc.) is obtained and divided into VOBU units. For example, in the above example, the minimum interleave unit playback time is 2 seconds and VO
BU has 1 playback time of 0.5 seconds, so 4 VOBUs
Each unit is divided as an interleaved unit. This division processing is performed on the VOB corresponding to each multi-scene.

At step # 2382, step # 21
The cell block mode (CB in FIG. 16) described as control information of the VOB corresponding to each scene recorded in 60
M) According to the description order (the order of description "cell block head", "cell block inside", "cell block end")
For example, the cell of MA1, the cell of MA2, M shown in FIG.
In the order of cells of A3, each V obtained in step # 1852
OB interleave units are arranged to form an interleave block as shown in FIG. 37 or FIG. 38 and added to VTSTT_VOBS data.

[0511] In Step # 2384, Step # 23
Based on the VOBU position information obtained in 60, each VOB
The relative sector number from the beginning of the VOBU is recorded in the VOBU last pack address (COBU_EA in FIG. 20) of the U nab pack NV.

[0512] In Step # 2386, Step # 23
Based on the VTSTT_VOBS data obtained in 82, the address of the nab pack NV of the first VOBU of each cell and the last VO
The number of sectors from the beginning of VTSTT_VOBS is used as the address of BU navpack NV, and the cell top VOBU address C_FVOB
Record U_SA and cell end VOBU address C_LVOBU_SA.

[0513] In Step # 2388, Step # 23
Based on the data of the interleaved unit obtained at 70, each of the Vs forming the interleaved unit
OBU nab pack NV interleave unit last pack address (ILVU last pack address) (Fig. 2
(ILVU_EA of 0), the number of relative sectors up to the last pack of the interleave unit is recorded.

[0514] In step # 2390, each VO
Seamless angle information of BU Navpack NV (Fig. 2
(SML_AGLI of 0) has the start time following the playback end time of the VOBU, as position information (FIG. 50) of the nab pack NV included in the VOBUs of all angle scenes.
The number of relative sectors in the data of the interleaved block formed in step # 2382 is calculated as the angle #iVOB.
U start address (SML_AGL_C1_DSTA to SML_AGL in FIG. 20)
_C9_DSTA).

In step # 2392, step # 23
If the interleave unit arranged at 82 is the last interleave unit of each scene in the multi-scene section, the VOBU included in that interleave unit.
Seamless angle information of Nab Pack NV of
SML_AGLI) angle #iVOBU start address (Fig. 2
0 to SML_AGL_C1_DSTA to SML_AGL_C9_DSTA) and "FF
FFFFFFh ”is recorded.

By the above steps, the interleaved block corresponding to the seamless switching multi-angle control of the multi-scene section and the control information in the cell which is the reproduction control information corresponding to the multi-scene are formatted.

Next, referring to FIG. 59, step # in FIG.
In 2318, NO, that is, the subroutine step # 2320 when it is determined that the parental control is performed instead of the multi-angle will be described.

[0518] By the operation flow shown below, the interleaved arrangement of the multimedia stream, the content of the cell reproduction information (C_PBI # i) shown in Fig. 16 and the information in the nab pack NV shown in Fig. 20 are generated into the generated multimedia of the DVD. Record to stream.

At step # 2402, VOB_Fm = indicating that the multi-scene section does not perform multi-angle control
Based on the information of 0, “00b” is recorded in the cell block mode (CBM in FIG. 16) of the cell (C_PBI # i in FIG. 16) that describes the VOB control information corresponding to each scene.

[0520] In step # 2404, a cell that describes the control information of the VOB corresponding to the scene (C_ in Fig. 16) based on the information of VOB_Fsb = 1 indicating that seamless connection is to be performed.
PBI # i) seamless playback flag (SPF in Figure 16)
Record 1 ".

[0521] In step # 2406, a cell that describes the control information of the VOB corresponding to the scene (C_ in Fig. 16) based on the information of VOB_Fsb = 1 indicating that seamless connection is performed.
"PBI # i) STC reset flag (STCDF in FIG. 16)"
Record 1 ".

[0522] In step # 2408, a cell that describes VOB control information corresponding to a scene based on VOB_FsV = 1 information indicating that interleaving is required (see Fig. 16).
C_PBI # i) interleave block allocation flag (Fig. 1
Record "1" in IAF in 6.

At step # 2410, the position information (the number of relative sectors from the head of the VOB) of the nab pack NV is detected from the title editing unit (hereinafter referred to as VOB) obtained from the system encoder 900 of FIG.
Based on the data of the VOB interleave division number ILV_DIV which is the parameter of the formatter obtained in step # 1874 of step # 1874, the nab pack NV is detected to obtain the VOBU position information (the number of sectors from the head of the VOB, etc.),
The VOB is divided in BU units into interleave units of the set division number.

[0524] In Step # 2412, Step # 24
The interleave units obtained in 10 are arranged alternately. For example, they are arranged in the ascending order of VOB numbers to form interleave blocks as shown in FIG. 37 or FIG.
Add to VTSTT_VOBS.

In step # 2414, step # 21
Based on the VOBU position information obtained in 86, each VOB
The relative sector number from the beginning of the VOBU is recorded in the VOBU last pack address (COBU_EA in FIG. 20) of the U nab pack NV.

In step # 2416, step # 24
Based on the VTSTT_VOBS data obtained in 12, the address of the nab pack NV of the first VOBU of each cell and the last VO
The number of sectors from the beginning of VTSTT_VOBS is used as the address of BU navpack NV, and the cell top VOBU address C_FVOB
Record U_SA and cell end VOBU address C_LVOBU_SA.

In step # 2418, step # 24
Based on the data of the arranged interleave unit obtained in 12, the end of the interleave unit is added to the interleave unit last pack address (ILVU last pack address) (ILVU_EA of FIG. 20) of the nab pack NV of each VOBU forming the interleave unit. Record the relative number of sectors up to the pack.

At step # 2420, the nabupack NV of the VOBU included in the interleave unit ILVU.
Then, as position information of the next ILVU, step # 241.
The number of relative sectors in the data of the interleaved block formed in 2 is recorded in the next interleaved unit start address NT_ILVU_SA.

At step # 2422, the nabupack NV of the VOBU included in the interleave unit ILVU.
"1" is recorded in the ILVU flag.

At step # 2424, the nab pack NV of the last VOBU in the interleave unit ILVU.
"1" is recorded in the UnitEND flag of UnitEND flag of.

[0531] In step # 2426, the next interleave unit start address NT of the nab pack NV of the VOBU in the last interleave unit ILVU of each VOB.
“FFFFFFFFh” is recorded in _ILVU_SA.

[0532] Through the above steps, the interleave block corresponding to the parental control in the multi-scene section and the control information in the cell which is the cell reproduction control information corresponding to the multi-scene are formatted.

Next, referring to FIG. 60, step # in FIG.
In step 2312 and step # 2316, NO, that is, subroutine step # 2314 when it is determined that the scene is not a multi-scene but a single scene will be described. According to the operation flow described below, the interleaved arrangement of the multimedia stream, the contents of the cell reproduction information (C_PBI # i) shown in FIG. 16 and the information in the nab pack NV shown in FIG. 20 are recorded in the generated multimedia stream of the DVD. To do.

At step # 2430, VOB_Fp = 0 indicating that the scene is a single scene section, not a multi-scene section.
"00b" indicating that it is a non-cell block in the cell block mode (CBM in FIG. 16) of the cell (C_PBI # i in FIG. 16) that describes the control information of the VOB corresponding to each scene based on the information of To record.

At step # 2432, a cell describing VOB control information corresponding to a scene based on VOB_FsV = 0 information indicating that interleaving is unnecessary (see FIG. 16).
“0” is recorded in the interleaved block arrangement flag (IAF in FIG. 16) of C_PBI # i).

At step # 2434, the position information (the number of relative sectors from the head of the VOB) of the nab pack NV is detected from the title editing unit (hereinafter referred to as VOB) obtained from the system encoder 900 of FIG. 25, and the VOB is detected.
It is arranged in U units and added to VTSTT_VOB which is stream data such as video of multimedia stream.

In Step # 2436, Step # 24
Based on the VOBU position information obtained in step 34, each VOB
The relative sector number from the beginning of the VOBU is recorded in the VOBU last pack address (COBU_EA in FIG. 20) of the U nab pack NV.

In Step # 2438, Step # 24
Based on the VTSTT_VOBS data obtained at 34, the address of the nab pack NV of the head VOBU and the address of the nab pack NV of the last VOBU of each cell are extracted. Furthermore, the number of sectors from the beginning of VTSTT_VOBS is set to the cell start VOB.
As the U address C_FVOBU_SA, the number of sectors from the end of VTSTT_VOBS is recorded as the cell end VOBU address C_LVOBU_SA.

[0539] In step # 2440, the VOB_indicating the state determined in step # 300 or step # 600 of FIG.
It is determined whether Fsb = 1. If YES in step # 2440, the flow advances to step # 2442.

[0540] In step # 2442, a cell that describes the control information of the VOB corresponding to the scene based on the information of VOB_Fsb = 1 indicating that seamless connection is to be performed (C_ in Fig. 16).
PBI # i) seamless playback flag (SPF in Figure 16)
Record 1 ".

At step # 2444, the cell describing the control information of the VOB corresponding to the scene based on the information of VOB_Fsb = 1 indicating that the seamless connection is performed (C_ in FIG. 16).
"PBI # i) STC reset flag (STCDF in FIG. 16)"
Record 1 ".

If it is determined NO at step # 2440, that is, if seamless connection with the previous scene is not made, the process proceeds to step # 2446.

[0543] In step # 2446, the cell that describes the control information of the VOB corresponding to the scene based on the information of VOB_Fsb = 0 indicating that the seamless connection is performed (C_ in Fig. 16).
“0” is recorded in the seamless reproduction flag (SPF in FIG. 16) of PBI # i).

[0544] In step # 2448, based on the information of VOB_Fsb = 0 indicating that seamless connection is to be performed, a cell (V in Fig. 16 C_ in Fig. 16) describing control information of VOB corresponding to the scene is described.
“0” is recorded in the STC reset flag (STCDF in FIG. 16) of PBI # i).

By the operation flow shown above, the arrangement of the multimedia stream corresponding to a single scene section and FIG.
Contents of cell reproduction information (C_PBI # i) shown in FIG.
The information in the nab pack NV shown in is recorded on the generated multimedia stream of the DVD.

Flowchart of Decoder Flowchart of Stream Buffer Transfer from Disk Below, referring to FIGS. 62 and 63, the decoding system control unit 23 is executed based on the scenario selection data St51.
The decoding information table generated by 00 will be described. The decoding information table is composed of the decoding system table shown in FIG. 62 and the decoding table shown in FIG. 63.

As shown in FIG. 62, the decoding system table comprises a scenario information register section and a cell information register section. The scenario information register unit extracts and records the reproduction scenario information such as the title number selected by the user included in the scenario selection data St51. The cell information register unit extracts and records information necessary for reproduction of each cell information forming the program chain based on the scenario information selected by the scenario information register unit by the user.

Furthermore, the scenario information register section includes an angle number register ANGLE_NO_reg and a VTS number register VTS_.
NO_reg, PGC number register VTS_PGCI_NO_reg, audio ID register AUDIO_ID_reg, sub-picture ID register SP
_ID_reg and SCR buffer register SCR_buffer are included.

[0549] The angle number register ANGLE_NO_reg records information about which angle is reproduced when the PGC to be reproduced has a multi-angle. The VTS number register VTS_NO_reg stores a plurality of VTSs existing on the disc.
Of these, the number of the VTS to be reproduced next is recorded. PGC
The number register VTS_PGCI_NO_reg records information instructing which PGC is to be reproduced among a plurality of PGCs existing in the VTS for purposes such as parental use.

[0550] The audio ID register AUDIO_ID_reg is
Information for instructing which of a plurality of audio streams existing in the VTS to be reproduced is recorded. The sub-picture ID register SP_ID_reg records information for instructing which sub-picture stream is reproduced when a plurality of sub-picture streams exist in the VTS. SCR buffer SCR_buff
As shown in FIG. 19, er is a buffer for temporarily storing the SCR described in the pack header. The temporarily stored SCR is output to the decoding system control unit 2300 as the stream reproduction data St63, as described with reference to FIG.

The cell information register section includes a cell block mode register CBM_reg and a cell block type register CBT_r.
eg, seamless playback flag register SPB_reg, interleave allocation flag register IAF_reg, STC reset flag register STCDF_reg, seamless angle switching flag register SACF_reg, cell first VOBU start address register C_FVOBU_SA_reg, cell last VOBU
Includes start address register C_LVOBU_SA_reg.

The cell block mode register CBM_reg indicates whether or not a plurality of cells form one functional block, and if not, records “N_BLOCK” as a value. In addition, when the cell constitutes one functional block, if it is the first cell of the functional block, “F_CEL
“L” is recorded as the value, “L_CELL” is recorded as the value for the last cell, and “BLOCK” is recorded as the value for the cells in between.

[0553] The cell block type register CBT_reg is
Cell block mode register This register records the type of block indicated by CBM_reg. "A_BLOCK" for multi-angle, "N_BLOCK" for non-multi-angle.
To record.

[0554] Seamless playback flag register SPF_reg
Records information indicating whether or not the cell is seamlessly connected to the cell or cell block to be reproduced before and is reproduced. When seamlessly connecting to the previous cell or previous cell block and reproducing, “SML” is recorded as a value, and when not seamlessly connected, “NSML” is recorded as a value.

The interleave allocation flag register IAF_reg records information as to whether or not the cell is arranged in the interleave area. When it is arranged in the interleave area, "ILVB" is recorded as a value, and when it is not arranged in the interleave area, "N_ILVB" is recorded.

STC reset flag register STCDF_reg
Is an STC (System Time Cloc) used for synchronization.
Record information about whether or not k) needs to be reset during cell playback. If resetting is required, set the value to "ST
If you do not need to reset the value, set “C_RESET” to “STC
Record _NRESET ”.

The seamless angle change flag register SACF_reg records information indicating whether or not the cell belongs to the angle section and is seamlessly switched. "SML" is recorded as the value when switching seamlessly in the angle section, otherwise "NSML" is recorded.

Cell first VOBU start address register
C_FVOBU_SA_reg records the cell start VOBU start address. The value is VOBS for VTS title (VTSTT_VO
The distance from the logical sector of the first cell of BS) is indicated by the number of sectors, and the number of sectors is recorded.

VOBU start address register at end of cell
C_LVOBU_SA_reg records the cell last VOBU start address. The value is VOBS for VTS title (VTSTT_
The distance from the logical sector of the first cell of (VOBS) is indicated by the number of sectors, and the number of sectors is recorded.

Next, the decode table in FIG. 63 will be described. As shown in the figure, the decoding table includes a non-seamless multi-angle information register section, a seamless multi-angle information register section, a VOBU information register section, and a seamless reproduction register section.

The non-seamless multi-angle information register section includes NSML_AGL_C1_DSTA_reg to NSML_AGL_C9_DSTA_reg. N SML_AGL_C1_DSTA_reg ~ NSML_AGL_C9_DSTA_reg
Is the NSML_AGL_C1_DS in the PCI packet shown in FIG.
Record TA to NSML_AGL_C9_DSTA.

[0562] The seamless multi-angle information register section includes SML_AGL_C1_DSTA_reg to SML_AGL_C9_DSTA_reg. SML_AGL_C1_DSTA_reg to SML_AGL_C9_DSTA_reg are SML_AGL_C1_DSTA in the DSI packet shown in FIG.
~ Record SML_AGL_C9_DSTA. The VOBU information register unit is a VOBU final address register VOBU_EA_reg.
including.

The VOBU_EA_reg in the DSI packet shown in FIG. 20 is recorded in the VOBU information register VOBU_EA_reg.

[0564] The seamless playback register section includes an interleave unit flag register ILVU_flag_reg, a unit end flag register UNIT_END_flag_reg, an ILVU final pack address register ILVU_EA_reg, a next interleave unit start address NT_ILVU_SA_reg, and a VOB head video frame display start time register VOB_V_SPTM_r.
eg, VOB final video frame display end time register
VOB_V_EPTM_reg, audio playback stop time 1 register VO
B_A_GAP_PTM1_reg, audio playback stop time 2 register
VOB_A_GAP_PTM2_reg, audio playback stop period 1 register VOB_A_GAP_LEN1, audio playback stop period 2 register
Includes VOB_A_GAP_LEN2.

Interleave unit flag register IL
VU_flag_reg indicates whether the VOBU exists in the interleaved area, and records "ILVU" when it exists in the interleaved area and "N_ILVU" when it does not exist in the interleaved area.

Unit end flag register UNIT_END_f
lag_reg records information indicating whether the VOBU is the last VOBU of the ILVU when the VOBU exists in the interleave area. Since the ILVU is a continuous read unit, if the currently read VOBU is the last VOBU of the ILVU, “END” is recorded, and if it is not the last VOBU, “N_END” is recorded.

ILVU final pack address register ILVU
_EA_reg records the address of the last pack of the ILVU to which the VOBU belongs when the VOBU exists in the interleave area. Here, the address is the NV of the VOBU
Is the number of sectors from.

Next ILVU start address register NT_ILV
U_SA_reg records the start address of the next ILVU when the VOBU exists in the interleave area. Here, the address is the number of sectors from the NV of the VOBU.

The head video frame display start time register VOB_V_SPTM_reg in the VOB records the time when the display of the head video frame of the VOB is started.

The VOB final video frame display end time register VOB_V_EPTM_reg records the time when the display of the final video frame of the VOB ends.

[0571] Audio playback stop time 1 register VOB_A_
GAP_PTM1_reg sets the time to stop audio playback,
Audio playback stop period 1 register VOB_A_GAP_LEN1_reg
Records the period during which audio playback is stopped.

[0572] Audio playback stop time 2 register VOB_A_
The same applies to GAP_PTM2_reg and audio reproduction stop period 2 register VOB_A_GAP_LEN2.

Next, the operation of the DVD decoder DCD according to the present invention, the block diagram of which is shown in FIG. 26, will be described with reference to the DVD decoder flow shown in FIG.

Step # 310202 is a step of evaluating whether or not a disc has been inserted, and if the disc has been set, the flow advances to step # 310204.

In step # 310204, FIG.
After reading the volume file information VFS of, the process proceeds to step # 310206.

At step # 310206, the video manager VMG shown in FIG. 22 is read, the VTS to be reproduced is extracted, and the process proceeds to step # 310208.

[0577] In step # 310208, the video title set menu address information VTSM_C_ADT is extracted from the VTS management table VTSI, and step # 31021.
Go to 0.

[0578] In step # 310210, VTSM_C_ADT
Based on the information, the video title set menu VTSM_V
The OBS is read from the disc and the title selection menu is displayed. The user selects a title according to this menu. In this case, if the title includes not only the title but also the audio number, sub-picture number, and multi-angle, the angle number is input. When the user's input is completed, the process proceeds to the next step # 310214.

[0579] In step # 310214, VTS_PGCI # J corresponding to the title number selected by the user is extracted from the management table, and the flow advances to step # 310216.

At next step # 310216, the PGC reproduction is started. When the PGC reproduction is completed, the decoding process is completed. After that, when another title is reproduced, it can be realized by control such as returning to the title menu display in step # 310210 if the user inputs a key in the scenario selection unit.

Next, with reference to FIG. 64, the reproduction of the PGC in step # 310216 described above will be described in more detail. As shown in the figure, the PGC reproduction step # 310216 includes steps # 31030, # 31032, and # 3.
1034 and # 31035.

At step # 31030, the decoding system table shown in FIG. 62 is set. Angle number register ANGLE_NO_reg, VTS number register VTS_NO_r
eg, PGC number register PGC_NO_reg, audio ID register AUDIO_ID_reg, sub-picture ID register SP_ID_reg
Is set by a user operation on the scenario selection unit 2100.

[0583] When the PGC to be reproduced is uniquely determined by the user selecting the title, the corresponding cell information (C_P
BI) is extracted and set in the cell information register. The registers to be set are CBM_reg, CBT_reg, SPF_reg, IAF_re
g, STCDF_reg, SACF_reg, C_FVOBU_SA_reg, C_LVOB
It is U_SA_reg.

After setting the decoding system table, the data transfer process to the stream buffer in step # 31032 and the data decoding process in the stream buffer in step # 31034 are activated in parallel.

Here, the data transfer processing to the stream buffer in step # 31032 relates to the data transfer from the disk M to the stream buffer 2400 in FIG. That is, necessary data is read from the disc M according to the title information selected by the user and the reproduction control information (navpack NV) described in the stream, and the stream buffer 240 is read.
This is a process of transferring to 0.

On the other hand, step # 31034 decodes the data in the stream buffer 2400 in FIG. 26, and outputs the video output 3600 and the audio output 37.
This is a part for performing processing of outputting to 00. That is, this is a process of decoding and reproducing the data stored in the stream buffer 2400. This step # 31032
Then, step # 31034 operates in parallel.

The step # 31032 will be described in more detail below. The process of step # 31032 is performed on a cell-by-cell basis, and when the process of one cell is completed, it is evaluated in the next step # 31035 whether the process of PGC is completed.
If the PGC processing is not completed, step # 310.
At 30, the decoding system table corresponding to the next cell is set. This process is repeated until PGC ends.

Next, referring to FIG. 70, step # 31
The operation of 032 will be described. The data transfer processing step # 3102 to the stream buffer includes steps # 31040, # 31042, # 31044 and # 31 as shown in the figure.
046 and # 31048.

Step # 31040 is a step of evaluating whether the cell is multi-angle. If the angle is not multi-angle, the process proceeds to step # 31044.

Step # 31044 is a processing step in non-multiangle.

[0591] On the other hand, if multiangle is found in step # 31040, the flow advances to step # 31042. This step # 31042 is a step of evaluating whether or not it is a seamless angle.

[0592] If the angle is seamless, step #
Proceed to step 31046, Seamless Multi Angle. On the other hand, if it is not a seamless multi-angle, the process proceeds to step # 31048 of non-seamless multi-angle.

Next, with reference to FIG. 71, the non-multi-angle processing of step # 31044 described above will be described in more detail. Non-multi-angle processing step # 3
1044, steps # 31050, # 3, as shown.
1052 and # 31054.

First, in step # 31050, it is evaluated whether the block is an interleaved block. If it is an interleaved block, the process proceeds to the non-multi-angle interleaved block process of step # 31052. Step # 31052 is a processing step in, for example, a multi-scene where there is a branch or connection for seamless connection.

On the other hand, if it is not the interleaved block, the process proceeds to the non-multi-angle continuous block process of step # 31054.

Step # 31054 is the processing when there is no branch or join.

Next, with reference to FIG. 72, the processing of the non-multiangle interleaved block in step # 31052 described above will be described in more detail. In step # 31060, the cell top VOBU start address (C_FVO
Jump to (UB_SA_reg).

More specifically, referring to FIG.
The address data (C_FVOBU_SA_reg) held in the decoding system control unit 2300 is given to the mechanism control unit 2002 via St53. The mechanism control unit 2002 is a motor 200
4 and the signal processing unit 2008 to move the head 2006 to a predetermined address to read data, and after the signal processing unit 2008 performs signal processing such as ECC, the VOBU data at the cell head is streamed via St61. Transfer to buffer 2400 and proceed to step # 31062.

At step # 31062, the nabupack NV shown in FIG.
The DSI packet data in the data is extracted, the decode table is set, and the process proceeds to step # 31064. The registers to be set here are ILVU_EA_reg and NT_ILVU_SA.
_reg, VOB_V_SPTM_reg, VOB_V_EPTM_reg, VOB_A_STP_P
TM1_reg, VOB_A_STP_PTM2_reg, VOB_A_GAP_LEN1_reg, V
There is OB_A_GAP_LEN2_reg.

At step # 31064, the cell head VO
Data from the BU start address (C_FVOBU_SA_reg) to the interleave unit end address (ILVU_EA_reg), that is, one ILVU worth of data is transferred to the stream buffer 2400, and the flow proceeds to step # 31066. More specifically, the decoding system control unit 2 of FIG.
Address data held in 300 (ILVU_EA_reg)
Is given to the mechanism control unit 2002 via St53. The mechanism controller 2002 includes a motor 2004 and a signal processor 2008.
The data up to the address of ILVU_EA_reg is controlled by performing the signal processing, signal processing such as ECC is performed by the signal processing unit 2008, and then ILVU data at the cell head is transferred to the stream buffer 2400 via St61. In this way, data for one continuous interleave unit on the disc can be transferred to the stream buffer 2400.

At step # 31066, it is evaluated whether all interleave units in the interleave block have been transferred. Interleave block If it is the last interleave unit, "0x7FFFFFFF" indicating the end as the address to be read next is registered in the register NT_ILVU_SA_reg.
Is set to. If all interleave units in the interleave block have not been transferred, the process proceeds to step # 31068.

At step # 31068, a jump is made to the address (NT_ILVU_SA_reg) of the interleaved unit to be reproduced next, and the routine proceeds to step # 31062. The jump mechanism is the same as described above.

The steps after step # 31062 are the same as described above.

On the other hand, in step # 31066, if all the interleave units in the interleave block have been transferred, step # 31052 ends.

[0605] Thus, in step # 31052, 1
One cell data is transferred to the stream buffer 2400.

Next, the processing of the non-multi-angle continuous block in step # 31054 described above will be described with reference to FIG. 73.

[0607] In step # 31070, the VOB at the beginning of the cell
Jump to the U start address (C_FVOUB_SA_reg) and proceed to step # 31072. The jump mechanism is the same as described above. In this way, the VOBU data at the head of the cell is transferred to the stream buffer 2400.

At step # 31072, the nabupack NV shown in FIG.
The DSI packet data in the data is extracted, the decode table is set, and the process proceeds to step # 31074. The registers set here are VOBU_EA_reg and VOB_V_S.
PTM_reg, VOB_V_EPTM_reg, VOB_A_STP_PTM1_reg, VOB_A
_STP_PTM2_reg, VOB_A_GAP_LEN1_reg, VOB_A_GAP_LEN2_
There is a reg.

At step # 31074, the cell head VO
Data from the BU start address (C_FVOBU_SA_reg) to the VOBU end address (VOBU_EA_reg), that is, one VOBU worth of data, is stream buffer 240.
0, and proceeds to step # 31076. In this way, continuous 1 VOBU worth of data on the disc can be transferred to the stream buffer 2400.

At step # 31076, it is evaluated whether or not the data transfer of the cell is completed. If all the VOBUs in the cell have not been transferred, the next VOBU data is continuously read and the process proceeds to step # 31070.

The steps after step # 31072 are the same as described above.

On the other hand, in step # 31076, if all the VOBU data in the cell has been transferred, step # 31054 is ended. Step like this #
In 31054, one cell data is transferred to the stream buffer 2400.

Another method for the non-multi-angle processing in step # 31044 described above will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0614] In step # 31080, the VOB at the beginning of the cell
It jumps to the U head address (C_FVOUB_SA_reg), transfers the VOBU data at the cell head to the stream buffer 2400, and proceeds to step # 31081.

At step # 31081, the nabupack NV shown in FIG.
The DSI packet data in the data is extracted, the decode table is set, and the process proceeds to step # 31082. Registers set here are SCR_buffer, VOBU_EA
_reg, ILVU_flag_reg, UNIT_END_flag_reg, ILVU_EA
_reg, NT_ILVU_SA_reg, VOB_V_SPTM_reg, VOB_V_EPT
M_reg, VOB_A_STP_PTM1_reg, VOB_A_STP_PTM2_reg,
There are VOB_A_GAP_LEN1_reg and VOB_A_GAP_LEN2_reg.

In step # 31082, the cell head VO
Data from the BU start address (C_FVOBU_SA_reg) to the VOBU end address (VOBU_EA_reg), that is, one VOBU worth of data, is stream buffer 240.
0, and proceeds to step # 31083.

In step # 31083, the VOB of the cell
Evaluate whether all U have been transferred.

[0618] If all have been transferred, step # 310
44 is ended. If transfer is not completed, step # 3
Proceed to 1084.

At step # 31084 it is evaluated whether it is the last VOBU in the interleave unit. If it is not the last VOBU of the interleave unit, step # 3108
Return to 1. If so, it proceeds to step # 31085.
In this way, the data for one cell is transferred to the stream buffer 2400 in units of VOBU.

The processing after step # 31081 is as described above.

[0621] In step # 31085 it is evaluated whether the interleaved block is the last ILVU. If it is the last ILVU of the interleaved block, this step # 31
044, otherwise, step # 3108
Go to 6.

At step # 31086, the address of the next interleave unit (NT_ILVU_SA_reg) is jumped to,
It proceeds to step # 31081. In this way, the data for one cell can be transferred to the stream buffer 2400.

Next, with reference to FIG. 75, the seamless multi-angle processing of step # 31046 described above will be described.

[0624] In step # 31090 the VOB at the beginning of the cell
Jump to the U start address (C_FVOUB_SA_reg) and proceed to step # 31091. The jump mechanism is the same as described above. In this way, the VOBU data at the head of the cell is transferred to the stream buffer 2400.

At step # 31091, the nabupack NV shown in FIG.
The DSI packet data in the data is extracted, the decode table is set, and the process proceeds to step # 31092. The registers to be set here are ILVU_EA_reg and SML_AGL_C1.
_DSTA_reg ~ SML_AGL_C9_DSTA_regVOB_V_SPTM_reg, VOB
_V_EPTM_reg, VOB_A_STP_PTM1_reg, VOB_A_STP_PTM2_
There are reg, VOB_A_GAP_LEN1_reg and VOB_A_GAP_LEN2_reg.

At step # 31092, the cell head VO
Data from the BU start address (C_FVOBU_SA_reg) to the ILVU end address (ILVU_EA_reg), that is, one ILVU worth of data, is transferred to the stream buffer 2400, and the flow proceeds to step # 31093. In this way, continuous 1 ILVU worth of data on the disc can be transferred to the stream buffer 2400.

In step # 31093, ANGLE_NO_reg is set.
Is updated and the process proceeds to step # 31094. Here, the user operation, that is, the scenario selection unit 2 in FIG.
When the angle is switched at 100, this angle number is reset in the register ANGLE_NO_reg.

[0628] In step # 31094, it is evaluated whether the transfer of the angle cell data has been completed. IL in the cell
If all VUs have not been transferred, step # 31
095, otherwise end.

At step # 31095, the process jumps to the next angle (SML_AGL_C # n_reg) and step # 310.
Proceed to 91. Where SML_AGL_C # n_reg is the step #
This is the address corresponding to the angle updated in 31093. In this way, the data of the angle set by the user operation is stream buffer 24 in units of ILVU.
00 can be transferred.

Next, with reference to FIG. 65, the non-seamless multi-angle processing of step # 31048 described above will be described.

[0631] In step # 31100 the VOB at the beginning of the cell
Jump to the U start address (C_FVOUB_SA_reg) and proceed to step # 31101. The jump mechanism is the same as described above. In this way, the VOBU data at the head of the cell is transferred to the stream buffer 2400.

At step # 31101, the nabupack NV shown in FIG.
The data in the data is extracted, the decode table is set, and the process proceeds to step 31102. The registers set here are VOBU_EA_reg, NSML_AGL_C1_DSTA_reg to NSM.
L_AGL_C9_DSTA_regm, VOB_V_SPTM_reg, VOB_V_EPTM_re
g, VOB_A_STP_PTM1_reg, VOB_A_STP_PTM2_reg, VOB_A_
There are GAP_LEN1_reg and VOB_A_GAP_LEN2_reg.

At step # 31102, the cell head VO
The data from the BU start address (C_FVOBU_SA_reg) to the VOBU end address (VOBU_EA_reg), that is, the data for one VOBU is transferred to the stream buffer 2400, and the flow proceeds to step # 31103. In this way, continuous 1 VOBU worth of data on the disc can be transferred to the stream buffer 2400.

In step # 31103, ANGLE_NO_reg
Is updated and the process proceeds to step # 31104. Here, the user operation, that is, the scenario selection unit 2 in FIG.
When the angle is switched at 100, this angle number is reset in the register ANGLE_NO_reg.

[0635] In step # 31104, it is evaluated whether the data transfer of the angle cell is completed. VO in cell
If all BUs have not been transferred, step # 31
Go to 105, otherwise end.

[0636] In step # 31105, the next angle (NS
ML_AGL_C # n_reg) and jump to step # 31106
Go to. Here, NSML_AGL_C # n_reg is step # 31.
This is the address corresponding to the angle updated in 103.
In this way, the data of the angle set by the user operation is stream buffer 2400 in units of VOBU.
Can be transferred to.

[0637] In step # 31106, the stream buffer 2400 is cleared, which is an effective step when the angles are switched at high speed. By clearing the stream buffer here, the data of the newly switched angle can be reproduced without reproducing the data of the undecoded angle. That is,
It is possible to respond to user operations faster.

In the DVD decoder of the present invention, particularly in the seamless reproduction which is the main object of the present invention, the detection of the end of the data of the interleave units ILVU, VOBU, etc. is rapidly shifted to the processing of the next data read,
It is important to read data efficiently.

With reference to FIG. 66, the structure and operation of the stream buffer 2400 capable of efficiently performing the end detection of the interleave unit ILVU will be briefly described.

The stream buffer 2400 comprises a VOB buffer 2402, a system buffer 2404, a nab pack extractor 2406, and a data counter 2408.

The system buffer 2404 temporarily stores the data of the title management data VTSI (FIG. 16) included in St61 from the bit stream reproduction unit 2000,
Control information St2 such as program chain information VTS_PGC
Outputs 450 (St63).

[0642] The VOB buffer 2402 temporarily stores the title VOB data VTSTT_VOB (Fig. 16) data included in St61, and outputs it as an input stream St67 to the system decoder 2500.

The nab pack extractor 2406 receives the VOB data input to the VOB buffer 2402 at the same time, extracts the nab pack NV from the VOB data, and further outputs the COBU_EA or ILVU final pack address of the VOBU final pack address which is the DSI information DSI_GI shown in FIG. The pack address ILVU_EA is extracted, and the pack address information St2452 is extracted.
(St63) is generated.

The data counter 2408 receives the VOB data input to the VOB buffer 2402 at the same time, counts each pack data shown in FIG. 19 in byte units, and at the moment when the pack data input is completed, the pack input end signal St2454 ( St63).

With the above block configuration, for example, step # 3106 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 72.
In the transfer processing of VOBU data up to ILVU_EA of 4, the first VOBU of the interleave unit ILVU
At the same time as the data is input to the VOB buffer 2402, it is input to the nabupack extractor 2406 and the data counter 2408. As a result, the Nabpack extractor can extract the data of ILVU_EA and NT_ILVU_SA at the same time as the input of the Nabpack NV data, and outputs it to the decoding system control unit 2300 as St2452 (St63).

[0646] In the decoding system control unit 2300, S
Store t2452 in ILVU_EA_reg, NT_ILVU_SA_reg,
Pack end signal St24 from the data counter 2408
The count of the number of packs is started by 54. Based on the count value of the number of packs and ILVU_EA_reg described above, ILVU
Of the last pack data of the ILVU, that is, the moment of inputting the last byte data of the last pack of ILVU is detected, and the decoding system control unit 2300
The NT_ILVU_SA in the bitstream playback unit 2000.
It gives an instruction to move the read position to the sector address indicated by _reg. In the bitstream playback part, NT_I
Move to the sector address indicated by LVU_SA_reg and start reading data.

With the above operation, the end detection of the ILVU and the reading process to the next ILVU can be efficiently performed.

[0648] In this embodiment, the case where the MBS data from the disc is input to the stream buffer 2400 without buffering in the bitstream reproduction unit 2000 has been described. However, in the signal processing unit 2008 of the bitstream reproduction unit 2000, For example, when there is a buffer for ECC processing, it goes without saying that the completion of the input of the last pack data of the ILVU described above is detected, and the internal buffer of the bit stream playback unit 2000 is cleared,
An instruction is given to move the read position to the sector address indicated by NT_ILVU_SA_reg.

By performing such processing, even if the bit stream reproduction unit 2000 has a buffer for ECC processing or the like, the ILVU data can be efficiently reproduced.

Further, as described above, when the bit stream reproducing unit 2000 has an ECC processing buffer for ECC processing, the input section of the ECC processing buffer has a function equivalent to that of the data counter 2408 of FIG. As a result, data can be transferred efficiently. That is, in the bit stream reproduction unit 2000, the ECC
St62 is generated as the pack input completion signal to the processing buffer, and the decoding system control unit 2300 outputs St62.
The bitstream playback unit 2 moves the read position to the sector address indicated by NT_ILVU_SA_reg based on
Give 000 instructions. As described above, even if the bitstream reproduction unit 2000 has a function of buffering data from the disc, data transfer can be efficiently performed.

Also, for the detection of the VOBU end, basically the same device and method as the above-described device and method explained by taking the interleave unit ILVU as an example can be used. That is, the above-mentioned extraction of ILVU_EA and NT_ILVU_SA and storage in ILVU_EA_reg and NT_ILVU_SA_reg are performed by VOBU_EA.
Of the VOB by extracting and storing it in VOBU_EA_reg
It is also applicable to U end detection. Ie step #
31074, Step # 31082, Step # 310
92, it is effective for the transfer processing of VOBU data up to VOBU_EA_reg in step # 31102.

[0652] With the above processing, ILVU and VO
The BU data can be read efficiently.

Decoding Flow from Stream Buffer Next, referring to FIG. 67, step # 31 shown in FIG.
The decoding process in the 034 stream buffer will be described.

Step # 31034 is step # 31110, step # 31112, step # 31104 as shown in the figure.
31114 and step # 31116.

[0655] Step # 31110 is from the stream buffer 2400 shown in Fig. 26 to the system decoder 250.
Data is transferred in pack units to 0, and step # 3
Proceed to 1112.

At step # 31112, the pack data transferred from the stream buffer 2400 is transferred to each buffer, that is, the video buffer 2600, the sub-picture buffer 2700, and the audio buffer 2800.

At step # 31112, the IDs of the audio and sub-picture selected by the user, that is, the audio ID register AUDIO_ID_reg and the sub-picture ID register SP_ID_reg included in the scenario information register shown in FIG.
And the stream ID in the packet header shown in FIG.
And the substream IDs are compared with each other, and matching packets are searched for in each buffer (video buffer 2600, audio buffer 2700, subpicture buffer 28).
00) and proceeds to step # 31114.

[0658] In step # 31114, the decode timing of each decoder (video decoder, sub-picture decoder, audio decoder) is controlled, that is, each decoder is synchronized, and the flow advances to step # 31116. Details of the synchronization processing of each decoder in step # 31114 will be described later.

At step # 31116, decoding processing of each elementary is performed. That is, the video decoder reads data from the video buffer and performs decoding processing.
Similarly, the sub-picture decoder also reads data from the sub-picture buffer and performs decoding processing. Similarly, the audio decoder reads data from the audio decoder buffer and performs decoding processing. When the decoding process ends, step # 31034 ends.

Next, referring to FIG. 68, the above-mentioned step # 31114 will be described in more detail.

As shown in the figure, step # 31114 comprises step # 31120, step # 31122 and step # 31124.

Step # 31120 is a step of evaluating whether the preceding cell and the cell are seamlessly connected,
If it is a seamless connection, proceed to step # 31122,
Otherwise, it proceeds to step # 31124.

[0663] In step # 31122, synchronization processing for seamless is performed. On the other hand, step # 31124 performs non-seamless synchronization processing.

As described above, according to the present invention, a multi-angle system stream is constituted by a plurality of system streams each consisting of image data and audio data viewed from different viewpoint positions, and each angle is reproduced during reproduction. In the multi-angle system stream that can dynamically and freely switch and reproduce the system stream corresponding to each of the predetermined units, the display time of the image data and the audio data included in the system stream corresponding to each angle By setting the display time to be the same between the angles for each of the predetermined units in which the angles can be switched, it is possible to switch from a certain angle at the user's favorite position at the time of multi-angle, as if switching the camera. If you switch to another angle But, interrupted or disturbed or video,
You can switch between video and audio smoothly without any noise or interruptions in the audio.

Further, since the audio data included in the system stream corresponding to each angle is made the same between the angles, at the time of multi-angle, it is as if the camera is switched at the user's favorite position. Even when switching from one angle to another angle, the sound can be played back smoothly without noise or interruption.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, the method and apparatus for recording / reproducing on / from a medium by interleaving a bit stream according to the present invention,
It is suitable for use in an authoring system that can compose a new title by editing a title composed of bitstreams carrying various information according to the user's request. It is suitable for digital video disc systems, so-called DVD systems.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a data structure of a multimedia bitstream.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an authoring encoder.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an authoring decoder.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a cross section of a DVD recording medium having a single recording surface.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a cross section of a DVD recording medium having a single recording surface.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a cross section of a DVD recording medium having a single recording surface.

FIG. 7: DVD having a plurality of recording surfaces (single-sided, double-layer type)
Diagram showing cross section of recording medium

FIG. 8: DVD having a plurality of recording surfaces (double-sided single-layer type)
Diagram showing cross section of recording medium

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a DVD recording medium.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a DVD recording medium.

FIG. 11 is a development view of a single-sided dual-layer DVD recording medium.

FIG. 12 is a development view of a single-sided dual-layer DVD recording medium.

FIG. 13 is a development view of a double-sided single-layer DVD recording medium.

FIG. 14 is a development view of a double-sided single layer DVD recording medium.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a voice waveform of audio data in a multi-angle section.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a data structure of VTS.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a data structure of a system stream.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a data structure of a system stream.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a pack data structure of a system stream.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a data structure of Nabpack NV.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example scenario of a DVD multi-scene.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing the data structure of a DVD.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a connection of system streams for multi-angle control.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a VOB corresponding to a multi-scene.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a DVD authoring encoder.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a DVD authoring decoder.

FIG. 27 is a diagram showing a VOB set data string.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a VOB data string.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing encoding parameters.

FIG. 30 is a diagram showing an example of a program chain structure of a DVD multi-scene.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of VOB structure of a DVD multi-scene.

FIG. 32 is a diagram showing changes in the amount of data accumulated in the stream buffer.

FIG. 33 is a diagram showing a concept of sharing data between a plurality of titles.

FIG. 34 is a diagram showing a recording example of data sharing between a plurality of titles.

[Fig. 35] Fig. 35 is a diagram showing a connection example of a multi-scene.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing an example of multi-scene connection on a DVD.

FIG. 37 is a diagram showing an example of interleaved block configuration.

FIG. 38 is a diagram showing an example of VOB block configuration of VTS.

FIG. 39 is a diagram showing a data structure in a continuous block.

FIG. 40 is a diagram showing a data structure in an interleave block.

FIG. 41 is a diagram showing an example of interleaved block configuration.

FIG. 42 is a diagram showing a data structure of an interleave unit.

FIG. 43 is a diagram showing an example of a multi-rated title stream.

FIG. 44 is a diagram showing the concept of multi-angle control.

[Fig. 45] Fig. 45 is a diagram illustrating an example of audio data configuration of an interleave unit in a multi-angle section.

FIG. 46 is a diagram showing an example of interleave unit switching of multi-angle data.

[Fig. 47] Fig. 47 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a system stream in a multi-angle section.

FIG. 48 is a diagram showing a data structure of A-ILVU.

FIG. 49 is a diagram showing angle switching in units of A-ILVU.

FIG. 50 is a diagram showing angle switching for each VOBU.

FIG. 51 is a diagram showing an encoding control flowchart.

[Fig. 52] Fig. 52 is a diagram showing a flowchart for generating encoding parameters for non-seamless switching multi-angle.

FIG. 53 is a diagram showing a common flowchart of encoding parameter generation.

FIG. 54 is a diagram showing a flowchart of encoding parameters for seamless switching multi-angle.

FIG. 55 is a diagram showing an encoding parameter generation flowchart of parental control.

FIG. 56 is a diagram showing a formatter operation flowchart.

FIG. 57 is a view showing a flowchart of a non-seamless switching multi-angle formatter operation subroutine.

FIG. 58 is a diagram showing a flow chart of a formatter operation subroutine of seamless switching multi-angle.

FIG. 59 is a diagram showing a flow chart of a formatter operation subroutine for parental control.

FIG. 60 is a view showing a flowchart of a single scene formatter operation subroutine.

[Fig. 61] Fig. 61 is a diagram showing an encoding parameter generation flowchart of a single scene.

FIG. 62 is a diagram showing a decoding system table.

FIG. 63 is a diagram showing a decode table.

FIG. 64 is a view showing a flowchart of PGC reproduction.

FIG. 65 is a diagram showing a non-seamless multi-angle decoding process flowchart.

FIG. 66 is a block diagram of a stream buffer.

[Fig. 67] Fig. 67 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a data decoding process in the stream buffer.

68 is a diagram showing a synchronization processing flowchart of each decoder. FIG.

FIG. 69 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a decoder.

Fig. 70 is a diagram showing a flowchart of data transfer to a stream buffer.

71 is a diagram showing a non-multi-angle decoding process flowchart. FIG.

FIG. 72 is a diagram showing a decoding process flowchart of an interleave section.

FIG. 73 is a diagram showing a decoding process flowchart of a continuous block section.

FIG. 74 is a diagram showing a non-multi-angle decoding process flowchart.

FIG. 75 is a diagram showing a seamless multi-angle decoding process flowchart.

FIG. 76 is a diagram showing an example of switching multi-angle data.

[Fig. 77] Fig. 77 is a diagram showing a pack data configuration example of an interleave unit in a multi-angle section.

[Fig. 78] Fig. 78 is a diagram illustrating a GOP structure example of an interleave unit of multi-angle data.

[Fig. 79] Fig. 79 is a diagram showing an example of the pack data structure in the interleave unit in the multi-angle section.

[Fig. 80] Fig. 80 is a diagram illustrating an audio data configuration example of an interleave unit in a multi-angle section.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Takumi Hasebe 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Mihiro Mori, 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Hamazaka 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-8-339665 (JP, A) JP-A-7-176175 (JP, A) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-177459 (JP, A) International Publication 95/12197 (WO, A1) Hidenori Mimura et al., DVD-Video application format, Toshiba Review, Japan, Toshiba Corporation Technical Planning Department, December 1996 1 Sun, Vol. 51, No. 12, p.p. 12-17 (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 5/76-5/956 G11B 20/10

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A bitstream generation method for generating a bitstream including a plurality of video objects (VOB) including video data and audio data recorded on an information recording medium (M), said video object (VOB). Is capable of selectively reproducing one video object (VOB) from m video objects (VOB), and the bitstream generation method is such that m bit objects each having the same video data display period. Selecting the video objects (VOBs) of the selected video objects (VOBs), partitioning each of the selected m video objects (VOBs) into the same number of interleave units (ILVU) as v, Interleave unit (ILVUij) is the following sequence, ILVU11 .. .ILVU21 .. .ILVU (m-1) 1 .. .ILVUm1 .. ILVU12 .. .ILVU22 .. .ILVU (m-1) 2 .. ILVUm2 .. .. .ILVU1 (v-1) .. .ILVU2 (v-1) .. .ILVU (m-1) (v-1) .. .ILVUm (v-1) .. .ILVU1v .. .ILVU2v .. .ILVU (m-1) v .. .ILVUmv .. producing an interleaved bitstream, where i is a sequential index ranging from 1 to m indicating a video object (VOB) and j is an interleave unit (I
LVU), which is a sequential index ranging from 1 to v,
And all of the m interleave units (ILVUij) having the same index j have the same video display period, and the m interleave units (ILVUij) having the same index j (ILVUij)
A method for generating a bitstream, wherein the image group (GOP) structure for VUij) is the same. 2. The interleave unit (ILV
U _ij ) contains video data conforming to the MPEG standard, and I-frames in a GOP for m interleaved units (ILVU _ij ) having the same index j .
The bitstream generation method according to claim 1, wherein the numbers are the same. 3.For information recording medium (M)2 or more videos
Information recording for recording an object (VOB)Method
And,Management information storage area (VTSI) Video object
Playback sequence information indicating the playback sequence of (VOB)
And which video object (VOB) and selectively
Any other playable video object (VOB)
Group information indicating whether it is associated with one group
Record informationStep,1 Record one or more video objects (VOBs)
Storage area for video objects (VOBs)To, M pieces (m is an integer of 2 or more) associated with the same group
Numerical value of bidet object (VOB) is the same table
PeriodBetweenIncluding video data having Each of the m video objects (VOBs) is v
The same numberInterleave unit (ILVU_ij)
Is The interleave unit (ILVU_ij) Is the following
-Kens,     ILVU₁₁ .. .ILVU_{twenty one} .. .ILVU_{( m -1) 1} .. .ILVU _{m 1} ..     ILVU₁₂ .. .ILVU_{twenty two} .. .ILVU_{( m -1) 2} .. .ILVU _{m 2} ..     ...     ILVU_{1 ( v -1)} .. .ILVU_{2 ( v -1)} .. .ILVU_{( m -1) ( v -1)} .. .ILVU_{m (v -1)}  ...     ILVU_{1 v}  .. .ILVU_{2 v}  .. .ILVU_{( m -1) v} .. .ILVU _mv  .. Interleaved withAndi is a video objectKuTo (V
OB) Sequential index ranging from 1 to mShows, J
Is an interleave unit (ILVU) from 1 to v
Range of sequential indexesShows, And have the same index j
m interleave units (ILVU_ij) Is all
Have the same video display periodSteps that make up the signal group
The,The signal groups are listed in order from the smallest j-number, row i-number.
Recorded as one bit stream in the ascending order of
It consists of Tep, The interleave unit is the video data and management information.
Information (NV) is recorded One or more sub-regions
Including (VOBU), M interleaved units (IL with the same index j
VU_ij) ForThe image group (GOP) structure isSame
Information recording characterized byMethod. 4. The interleave unit (ILV
U _ij ) contains video data conforming to the MPEG standard, and I-frames in a GOP for m interleaved units (ILVU _ij ) having the same index j .
4. The information recording method according to claim 3 , wherein the numbers of are the same. 5. A record recorded by the information recording method according to claim 3.
A method of reproducing a recording medium, in which the information reading means is
A video object when loading a stream
I having the same index i from 1 to m indicating (VOB)
Interleave with interleaved units with index j in ascending order
Identical shooting by changing the unit to a continuous bit stream
Bitstream characterized by playing angles
How to play. 6. A record recorded by the information recording method according to claim 3.
A method of reproducing a recording medium, in which the information reading means is
In from 1 to m indicating a video object (VOB)
Interleaving with different index i in units of turleaves
Units are interleaved units with index j in ascending order
Different bit angles by changing the bitstream
Bit stream characterized by performing combined playback
Playback method.