JP4127205B2 - Image recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording / reproducing technique, and more particularly to an image recording / reproducing technique capable of recording and reproducing mixed image signals having different image aspect ratios.

  Conventionally, in terrestrial television broadcasting, the aspect ratio of the image was 4: 3 (horizontal: vertical, the same applies hereinafter), but digital high-definition broadcasting started, and further in terrestrial digital broadcasting scheduled for December 2003 Since the aspect ratio of 16: 9 becomes mainstream, wide-screen televisions with an aspect ratio of 16: 9 are rapidly spreading. However, since a terrestrial television with an aspect ratio of 4: 3 is continuously broadcast, an image with an aspect ratio of 4: 3 and an image of 16: 9 are mixed and broadcast for the time being.

  On the other hand, recording / reproducing apparatuses are also shifting from conventional tapes as recording media to randomly accessible DVDs and hard disks as recording media. In particular, by using a large-capacity medium such as a hard disk, it becomes possible to store a large amount of image data, but on the other hand, it is necessary to improve searchability. For this reason, there is a need for a product that can quickly search for an image to be reproduced by using means such as creating a reduced image during recording and displaying a list of reduced images during reproduction.

  In addition, recording / reproducing apparatuses capable of recording a mixture of image signals having an aspect ratio of 4: 3 and image signals having an aspect ratio of 16: 9 have come to appear. A list needs to be displayed. Conventionally, a reduced image having an aspect ratio of 4: 3 is created and displayed from an image signal having an aspect ratio of 16: 9.

  One method for converting an image signal having an aspect ratio of 16: 9 into a reduced image having an aspect ratio of 4: 3 is to compress the image in the horizontal direction. As another method, there is a method of creating a reduced image by discarding the horizontal image.

  In another conventional technique, the aspect ratio of an image to be recorded can be arbitrarily selected, a reduced image having the same aspect ratio as that image is recorded on a recording medium, and the playback image aspect ratio and the screen aspect ratio of the display device are reproduced. A portion that does not match the ratio, that is, a portion where there is no image is interpolated by a monochromatic display such as a so-called blue back (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-330322 A

  However, in the above-described conventional method for compressing an image in the horizontal direction, in the case of a reduced image display, the image is horizontally compressed, that is, a vertically long image. There is a problem of being different. Further, the method of creating a reduced image by discarding the horizontal image has a problem that the discarded portion cannot be seen. Furthermore, the above-described prior art method has a problem in that it cannot be distinguished at a glance from a reduced image whether it is an image recorded with an aspect ratio of 4: 3 or an image recorded with an aspect ratio of 16: 9.

  Further, in the conventional technique described in Patent Document 1, when a recording medium is moved to a product that does not have a function of interpolating a portion without an image with blue background, blue background cannot be interpolated. That is, there is a problem that playback compatibility is not possible.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a digital image recording technique capable of confirming images in a list of reduced images without discomfort while ensuring reproduction compatibility with other products and distinguishing the aspect ratio of the images at a glance. is there.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a first reduced image representing a first image having a first aspect ratio and a second aspect ratio in which a horizontal to vertical ratio is greater than the first aspect ratio. A second reduced image representing a second image is generated, and the first image, the second image, the first reduced image, and the second reduced image are recorded on a recording medium. . At this time, the first reduced image is reduced so as to maintain the first aspect ratio, and the horizontal size of the second reduced image is the same as the horizontal size of the first reduced image. The aspect ratio of the second reduced image is reduced by adding the image different from the reduced second image in the vertical direction of the reduced second image. Is the first aspect ratio.

  According to the present invention, while ensuring playback compatibility with other playback devices, it is possible to check images in a list of reduced images without a sense of incongruity and to distinguish the aspect ratio of the images at a glance.

First, one of the features of the embodiment described below will be described.
When recording an image signal having an aspect ratio of 4: 3 and an image signal having an aspect ratio of 16: 9, the aspect ratio of the reduced image is unified to 4: 3. Therefore, a reduced image signal corresponding to an image signal having an aspect ratio of 16: 9 is converted to a reduced image signal having an aspect ratio of 4: 3 instead of an aspect ratio of 16: 9 and recorded on a recording medium. At that time, the image having an aspect ratio of 16: 9 is uniformly reduced vertically and horizontally so that the image is reduced, and a strip-shaped image signal is added to an extra portion in the vertical direction to generate a reduced image signal having an aspect ratio of 4: 3. It shall be recorded on a recording medium.

  FIG. 3 is a display example in which a list of reduced images created according to the present embodiment is displayed on the graphic display 16 of FIG. All the reduced images are displayed with an angle of view of 4: 3 aspect ratio. When the image signal has an aspect ratio of 4: 3, the image is displayed as a reduced image 31, and when the image signal has an aspect ratio of 16: 9. It is displayed as a reduced image 32. In the reduced image 32, by adding the above-described band-shaped image signal, it can be seen at a glance that the black image is included vertically and the image is horizontally long, and the aspect ratio is different from that of the reduced image 31. This makes it easy to distinguish the appearance in the mixed display of reduced images created from images having different aspect ratios. Further, since there is no image portion to be discarded when creating a reduced image, there is no problem that the discarded portion cannot be seen.

  Therefore, for an image signal with an aspect ratio of 16: 9, the reduced image and the playback screen display actually reproduced are the same image, and a reduced image created from an image signal with an aspect ratio of 4: 3 and an image signal with an aspect ratio of 16: 9. In the mixed display of images, it is possible to distinguish at a glance which one is recorded. Further, since the band-like image is added to the reduced image itself, the reduced image including the band-like image can be reproduced by other playback apparatuses, and reproduction compatibility can be ensured.

  Moreover, it becomes easy to confirm that the image to be added is a horizontally long image by setting it to a predetermined color.

  Further, the image to be added is made black so that it can be easily distinguished.

  Furthermore, by making the image to be added the same color as the background color of the reduced image list display, the surplus portion becomes inconspicuous and the display quality is improved.

  Furthermore, by using an image having character information as the image to be added, convenience is improved when information (such as a shooting location) corresponding to the image is entered.

In addition, when a plurality of aspect ratio image signals and reduced image signals are converted into a predetermined aspect ratio and recorded on a recording medium, the recorded image signal is subjected to a first conversion process, and the recorded reduction signal is recorded. A second conversion process is performed on the image signal. As a result, the image recorded on the recording medium and the image of the reduced image can be changed, so that the display content of the reduced image can be changed and the convenience is improved. Embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described below. In this embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a video camera will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a digital image recording / reproducing apparatus. In the figure, 1 is a camera, 2 is a camera signal processing unit, 3 is a squeeze conversion unit, 4 is a microphone, and 5 and 29 are A / D conversion units. The MPEG compression unit 6 includes an MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) image compression unit 7, an MPEG audio compression unit 8, and a multiplexing unit 9. Reference numeral 10 denotes a recording / reproducing unit including a recording medium. The MPEG decompression unit 11 includes a separation unit 12, an MPEG image decompression unit 13, and an MPEG audio decompression unit 14. 15 is a letterbox conversion unit, 16 is a graphic display, 17 is a D / A conversion unit, 18 is a speaker, 19 is an operation button, a control unit 20 is a button input processing unit 21, a graphic control unit 22, and a recording / playback control unit 23. And controls the entire digital image recording / reproducing apparatus. The reduced image processing unit 24 includes a reduced image search unit 25, a reduced image display unit 26, a reduced image generation unit 27, and a reduced image recording unit 28.

  In this embodiment, when the image signal converted by the squeeze conversion unit 3 at the time of recording or the image signal expanded by the MPEG image expansion unit 13 at the time of reproduction has an aspect ratio of 16: 9, the letterbox conversion unit 15 The image data is uniformly reduced, and band-like image data is added to the excess part in the vertical direction, and the reduced image generating unit 27 generates a reduced image with an aspect ratio of 4: 3.

  First, the flow of recording processing will be described. The electric signal obtained from the camera 1 is converted into an image signal by the camera signal processing unit 2, and the image signal having an aspect ratio of 4: 3 is left as it is by the squeeze conversion unit 3, while the image signal having an aspect ratio of 16: 9 is changed in the horizontal direction. The image signal is converted into an image signal having an aspect ratio of 4: 3 by compression. The converted image signal is converted into a digital video signal by the A / D converter 29 and compressed to an MPEG image signal by the MPEG image compressor 7. At this time, information on the aspect ratio is added to the MPEG image signal. On the other hand, the audio signal obtained from the microphone 4 is converted into a digital audio signal by the A / D converter 5 and compressed into an MPEG audio signal by the MPEG audio compressor 8. The MPEG image signal and the MPEG audio signal are generated in the MPEG system stream by the multiplexing unit 9, output to the recording / reproducing unit 10, and recorded on the recording medium.

  On the other hand, since the image signal converted by the squeeze conversion unit 3 is an image signal having an aspect ratio of 4: 3 regardless of the aspect ratio of the original image, the letterbox conversion unit 15 has an aspect ratio of 4 : The image signal that was 3: 3 is left as it is, and the original image that has an aspect ratio of 16: 9 is expanded in the horizontal direction and temporarily returned to an image signal with an aspect ratio of 16: 9, so that the horizontal direction is further reduced. The image is reduced evenly in the vertical and horizontal directions, and a black belt-like image signal is added to the reduced image signal and output to the reduced image generation unit 27. The reduced image generation unit 27 creates a reduced image signal having an aspect ratio of 4: 3 from the image signal output from the letterbox conversion unit 15 and outputs the reduced image signal to the reduced image recording unit 28. The reduced image recording unit 28 outputs the image signal of the reduced image generated by the reduced image generating unit 27 to the recording / reproducing unit 10, and the recording / reproducing unit 10 records the image signal of the reduced image on the recording medium.

  As described above, the reduced image recorded on the recording medium is an image having an aspect ratio of 4: 3, and an image having an aspect ratio of 16: 9 is a reduced image to which band-shaped image data is added in the vertical direction, that is, vertically. . For an image signal with an aspect ratio of 16: 9, the reduced image and the playback screen display actually reproduced are the same image, and a reduced image created from an image signal with an aspect ratio of 4: 3 and an image signal with an aspect ratio of 16: 9. In the mixed display, it is possible to distinguish at a glance which one is recorded. In addition, since the black band data is added to the reduced image data itself, the reduced image including the black band data can be reproduced by other playback apparatuses, and reproduction compatibility can be ensured.

  Here, the image to be added to the extra portion in the vertical direction when the image signal has an aspect ratio of 16: 9 is not limited to the black belt, and various images may be used.

  For example, other colors may be used instead of black, and the user may be allowed to select. Thereby, it matches with a user's liking.

  Further, the background color used for the reduced image list display may be used, and by making it the same as the background color, the reduced image can be seen as a 16: 9 display, and the display quality is improved.

  Also, it may be an image having a predetermined pattern (picture, pattern, etc.), and the display is more enjoyable.

  In addition, character information is input to the surplus portion using the operation button 19, information processing is performed by the button input processing unit 21, and the information is sent to the reduced image generating unit 27, and the character information processed by the reduced image generating unit 27 is transmitted. You may make it incorporate in a surplus part. Thereby, for example, when information corresponding to an image (such as a shooting location) is input, user convenience is improved.

  Next, the flow of the reproduction process will be described. An MPEG system stream is read from a recording medium in the recording / reproducing unit 10 and separated into an MPEG image signal and an MPEG audio signal by a separation unit 12. The separated MPEG image signal is expanded by the MPEG image signal expansion unit 13. Since the image signal here is an image signal having an aspect ratio of 4: 3 regardless of the aspect ratio of the original image, the image signal whose original image has an aspect ratio of 4: 3 by the letterbox conversion unit 15 is obtained. As it is, an image signal whose original image has an aspect ratio of 16: 9 is temporarily restored to an image signal having an aspect ratio of 16: 9 by expanding in the horizontal direction. Whether the aspect ratio is 16: 9 or 4: 3 can be determined by reading information about the aspect ratio added to the MPEG video signal. Further, a black belt-like image signal is added to the extra portion in the vertical direction that is formed when the image is reduced evenly in the vertical and horizontal directions so that the horizontal direction can be accommodated, and is output to the graphic display 16. The MPEG audio signal separated by the separation unit 12 is expanded by the MPEG audio signal expansion unit 14, converted into an analog signal by the D / A conversion unit 17, and output to the speaker 18.

  Next, the flow of reduced image list display processing will be described. The reduced image search unit 25 searches for a reduced image file recorded from the recording medium in the recording / reproducing unit 10. If there is a reduced image file, the reduced image display unit 26 arranges a plurality of reduced images vertically and horizontally, adds a background image signal to generate a reduced image list signal, and outputs the reduced image list signal to the graphic display 16.

  Here, since the reduced images generated by the recording method according to the present embodiment are recorded on the recording medium, when the reduced images are displayed as a list, the image signal having the aspect ratio of 4: 3 remains unchanged and the aspect ratio of 16: The image signal of 9 is a reduced image with black bands or the like added in the vertical direction, that is, in the mixed display of the image signal with the aspect ratio of 4: 3 and the reduced image created from the image signal with the aspect ratio of 16: 9. It is possible to distinguish at a glance whether it is recorded.

  Here, if there is no reduced image file, the first image of the image file recorded on the recording medium is sequentially read out and decompressed by the MPEG decompression unit 11 and reduced via the letterbox conversion unit 15 by the method described above. The image generation unit 27 generates a reduced image, and the reduced image display unit 26 generates a reduced image list signal, which is output to the graphic display 16. The reduced image generated by the reduced image generating unit 27 can be output to the recording / reproducing unit 10 as a reduced image file by the reduced image recording unit 28 and recorded on the recording medium.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart of reduced image generation processing for generating a reduced image from an image signal. When the reduced image generation process is started, the aspect ratio is determined (step S1). If the image signal has an aspect ratio of 4: 3, the reduced image is created as it is (step S3), and the image signal having the aspect ratio of 16: 9 is generated. In this case, after letterbox conversion (step S2), a reduced image is created (step S3). Thereafter, if the recording process is being performed, a reduced image is recorded (step S4). If reduced image display processing is being performed, the reduced image creation is repeated to display a list of reduced images (step S5).

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above.

  As a specific example of the digital image recording / reproducing apparatus, the input is a camera, the microphone, the output is a graphic display, and the speaker. However, this is not particularly limited, and for example, it is changed to an image or audio input / output such as a VTR. It is also possible to do.

  In this embodiment, an image having an aspect ratio of 16: 9 is converted into an image having an aspect ratio of 4: 3 and recorded, and strip images are formed above and below a reduced image of the image having an aspect ratio of 16: 9. In addition, an example of recording by converting the aspect ratio to 4: 3 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to converting the aspect ratio from 16: 9 to 4: 3. For example, an image having an aspect ratio of 4: 3 is converted to 16: 9 and recorded, and a strip-like image is added in a horizontal direction, that is, left and right, to a reduced image having an aspect ratio of 4: 3. : It is good also as converting and recording to the aspect-ratio of 9.

It is a block diagram which shows one Example of the digital image audio | voice recording / reproducing apparatus by this invention. The reduced image generation process is a flowchart. It is the example of a display which displayed the reduced image created by the present Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Camera 2 Camera signal processing part 3 Squeeze conversion part 4 Microphone 5 A / D conversion part 6 MPEG compression part 8 MPEG audio | voice compression part 9 Multiplexing part 10 Recording / reproducing part 11 MPEG expansion part 12 Separation part 13 MPEG image expansion part 14 MPEG audio | voice Decompression unit 15 Letterbox conversion unit 16 Graphic display 17 D / A conversion unit 18 Speaker 19 Operation button 20 Control unit 21 Button input processing unit 22 Graphic control unit 23 Recording medium control unit 24 Reduced image processing unit 25 Reduced image search unit 26 Reduction Image display unit 27 Reduced image generation unit 28 Reduced image recording unit

Claims (6)

A first reduced image showing a first image having a first aspect ratio, and a second reduced image showing a second image having a second aspect ratio whose horizontal to vertical ratio is larger than the first aspect ratio Reduced image generation means for generating
Conversion means for compressing the second image in the horizontal direction and converting the second image into the first aspect ratio;
Recording means for recording the first image, the converted second image, the first reduced image, and the second reduced image on a recording medium;
The reduced image generation means reduces the first reduced image so as to maintain the first aspect ratio, and expands the converted second image in the horizontal direction to thereby reduce the second aspect. The second image is reduced so that the horizontal size of the second reduced image is the same as the horizontal size of the first reduced image while maintaining the second aspect ratio. The aspect ratio of the second reduced image is set to the first aspect ratio by adding an image different from the reduced second image in the vertical direction of the reduced second image. An image recording / reproducing apparatus.   2. The digital image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image different from the second reduced image added in the vertical direction of the reduced image is an image of a predetermined color.   2. The digital image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image different from the second reduced image added in the vertical direction of the reduced image is a black image.   2. The digital image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first reduced image and the second reduced image are displayed in a list as an image different from the second reduced image added in the vertical direction of the reduced image. A digital image recording / reproducing apparatus, characterized in that the image is the same color as the background color at the time of recording.   2. The digital image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image different from the second reduced image added in the vertical direction of the reduced image is an image having character information. 6. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein when the second image converted into the first aspect ratio and recorded on the recording medium is reproduced, the second aspect ratio is set. An image recording / reproducing apparatus for reproducing and reproducing the image.

Images