JP4345040B2 - Signal recording / playback device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a video / audio signal recording / reproducing apparatus suitable for recording a video / audio signal of a television broadcast or the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Video tape recorders of the VHS (registered trademark) system are widely used as devices for recording and reproducing video and audio signals for television broadcasting and the like, but with the digitalization of television broadcasting, video and audio signals are converted into digital signals. Digital tape recorders that can be recorded and reproduced as they are have been developed and are becoming popular.
[0003]
This digital tape recorder uses a digital video / audio signal that has been converted into a digital signal form or a digital video / audio signal that has been converted into a digital signal form. While having the feature that it can be recorded, it takes time to randomly access the recorded video and audio signal.
[0004]
In recent years, a video / audio signal recording / reproducing apparatus using an HDD has appeared. The recording / reproducing apparatus using the HDD has a feature that a recorded video / audio signal can be quickly accessed randomly. The recording time is short, and the video / audio signal cannot be recorded beyond the recording time that can be recorded on the recording medium provided inside the apparatus.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Under such circumstances, a video / audio signal recording / reproducing apparatus in which two recording / reproducing apparatuses, ie, a tape recording / reproducing apparatus and a disk recording / reproducing apparatus, are being developed. The features of each recording medium and recording apparatus are utilized. However, how to properly use the tape device and the disk device is a big problem.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, a signal recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention provides:
A signal recording / reproducing apparatus capable of recording / reproducing a viewing program compressed and encoded by a predetermined compression encoding method in the form of a compressed signal,
A first recording / reproducing means capable of recording / reproducing the viewing program in the form of the compressed signal on a first recording medium which is removable;
A second recording / reproducing unit capable of recording / reproducing the viewing program in the form of the compressed signal on a second recording medium that is not removable;
Each viewing program recorded on the second recording medium is provided with a flag indicating whether or not each viewing program has been viewed and a flag indicating whether or not to perform erasure protection. When the new viewing program is recorded on the recording medium, the new viewing program is recorded in an area where the viewing program that has been viewed and is not erase-protected is recorded with reference to the flag,
If the area does not exist, the viewed and erase-protected viewing program is reproduced and recorded by the first recording / reproducing means, and the new viewing program is recorded in the reproduced area. It is characterized by doing.
[0007]
Further, the signal recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention provides:
When a new viewing program is recorded on the second recording medium, if there is no viewing program already viewed on the second recording medium, the unviewed viewing program on the second recording medium is reproduced. At the same time, this is recorded by the first recording / reproducing means, and the new viewing program is recorded in an area on the second recording medium where the reproduction has been completed.
[0008]
Further, the signal recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention provides:
A decoder that performs a decompression process of the compression encoding method on a viewing program in the form of a compressed signal reproduced by the second recording / reproducing means;
An encoder that performs compression processing of the compression encoding method on the viewing program expanded by the decoder;
When the viewing program reproduced by the second recording / reproducing means is recorded by the first recording / reproducing means, the encoder controls the encoder to output a high compression signal having a lower bit rate than the compression signal. And
The first recording / reproducing means records the viewing program in the form of the highly compressed signal output from the encoder.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a signal recording / reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes an A / D for receiving an analog video signal by analog television broadcasting or the like and converting it into a digital video signal. A converter 2 is an encoder that applies an MPEG2 compression encoding process to the digital video signal converted by the A / D converter 1.
[0010]
The encoder 2 is also supplied with a digital video signal from a decoder 5 described later, and the encoder 2 receives either the digital video signal from the A / D converter 1 or the digital video signal from the decoder 5. It is possible to select and perform compression encoding processing.
[0011]
Reference numeral 3 denotes an HDD unit capable of recording / reproducing a compressed signal that has been compression-encoded into the MPEG2 system by the encoder 2 or an MPEG2 system compressed signal by digital television broadcasting, etc., and 4 represents a recording / reproduction of the compressed signal from the encoder 2. The HDD unit 3 records and reproduces a compressed signal using a hard disk as a recording medium, and the VCR unit 4 records and reproduces a compressed signal using a D-VHS (registered trademark) magnetic tape as a recording medium. As shown in the figure, the HDD unit 3 and the VCR unit 4 are interconnected so that the compressed signals on the respective recording media can be copied to other recording media.
[0012]
Reference numeral 5 denotes a decoder that performs MPEG2 expansion processing on the compressed signal reproduced by the HDD unit 3 or the VCR unit 4, and reference numeral 6 denotes a D / A converter that converts the digital video signal restored by the decoder 5 into an analog video signal. . Further, 7 is a CPU, which controls each part of the signal recording / reproducing apparatus shown in the figure.
[0013]
Although the signal recording / reproducing apparatus configured as described above, the encoder 2 and the decoder 5 can operate simultaneously, and the encoder 2 can compress and encode the input digital video signal at different bit rates under the control of the CPU 7. The decoder 5 can decompress compressed signals having different bit rates. Although not described in detail here, it goes without saying that the HDD unit 3 and the VCR unit 4 can record and reproduce audio signals together with video signals.
[0014]
The operation of the signal recording / reproducing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below. When a user records an analog television broadcast, an analog video signal from the analog television broadcast enters the A / D converter 1, and the A / D converter 1 converts the analog video signal into a digital video signal. Convert. The digital video signal obtained in this way is converted into a high bit rate compressed signal by the encoder 2, and this compressed signal is recorded by the HDD unit 3.
[0015]
On the other hand, when recording a digital television broadcast, a digital compressed signal from the digital television broadcast enters the HDD unit 3, and the HDD unit 3 records the compressed signal. In digital television broadcasting, program related information is transmitted separately from the compressed signal recorded by the HDD unit 3, and the signal recording / reproducing apparatus shown here generates index information of the recorded program based on this program related information. .
[0016]
This index information is composed of a program title, a program broadcast or recording time, etc., and when recording a digital television broadcast, the index information is automatically generated and stored in a management area (not shown). When the broadcast is recorded, the index information is created by the user himself and stored in the management area.
[0017]
Then, the user can confirm at least the index information of the program recorded on the hard disk of the HDD unit 3 on a display screen (not shown), and can add a deletion protection flag for each program. In addition, an unviewed flag is added to each program recorded on the hard disk in this way, and this flag is removed once played back. Since these flag information can also be confirmed on the display screen as part of the index information, the user confirms an unviewed program on the display screen, selects this unviewed program, and selects the HDD unit 3. It is also possible to play with.
[0018]
When the user selects a program and reproduces it on the HDD unit 3, the reproduced compressed signal is decompressed by the decoder 5 and further converted into an analog video signal by the D / A converter 6. Not output to the monitor. With the operation as described above, a program by analog television broadcasting or digital television broadcasting is recorded and reproduced. The analog television broadcast is recorded and reproduced after high-bit-rate compression encoding processing is performed by the encoder 2. Since digital television broadcasts are recorded and reproduced without being subjected to compression / decompression processing, it is possible to output these programs to a monitor without image quality deterioration.
[0019]
Next, the operation in the case where the hard disk space in the HDD unit 3 is reduced and a new program cannot be recorded in the HDD unit 3 will be described. For example, when a user records an analog television broadcast or a digital television broadcast, if there is not enough free space on the hard disk, the CPU 7 starts recording a new program at the same time as the HDD 7 and stores it in the management area. Based on the index information of each program, the following processing is performed.
[0020]
FIG. 2 shows a flow in which the CPU 7 confirms the flag attached to each program as index information, which is performed for each program recorded on the hard disk. The CPU 7 checks the presence or absence of an unviewed flag for each program recorded on the hard disk and also checks the presence or absence of an erase protection flag, and each program recorded on the hard disk is in any of categories A to D. Determine whether or not there is [0021]
Here, the category A program is a program to which an unviewed flag and an erase protection flag are attached, the category B program is a program to which only an unviewed flag is attached, and the category C program is an erase protection flag only. The program of category D is a program without an unviewed flag or an erase protection flag.
[0022]
Then, the program to be deleted or copied is determined according to the flow shown in FIG. When there is a program of category D, the CPU 7 controls the HDD unit 3 so that a new program is overwritten and recorded in an area on the hard disk where the oldest program of category D is recorded. That is, when there is a program that has been viewed and has no deletion protection flag, the oldest program is overwritten and deleted in order.
[0023]
If there is no category D program and there is a category C program, the CPU 7 replays the oldest program in category C and overwrites the new program in the area on the hard disk that has been reproduced. The HDD unit 3 is controlled. Then, the VCR unit 4 is controlled so that the program reproduced by the HDD unit 3 is recorded by the VCR unit 4.
[0024]
In other words, if there is a program that has already been viewed but there is only a program that has an erase protection flag as the program that has been viewed, such a program is played back in order from the oldest, and the played back program becomes a VCR. Part 4 is recorded on the magnetic tape.
[0025]
If there is neither a Category D program nor a Category C program and a Category B program, a new program is overwritten and recorded in the area on the hard disk that has been played back while playing the oldest program in Category B. The CPU 7 controls the HDD unit 3 and controls the VCR unit 4 so that the reproduced program is recorded by the VCR unit 4.
[0026]
That is, when there is no program that has already been viewed and there is a program that has not been viewed but is not marked with an erase protection flag, such a program is reproduced in order from the oldest, and the reproduced program is displayed in the VCR section 4. Is recorded on the magnetic tape.
[0027]
When there is only a category A program, the CPU 7 controls the HDD unit 3 so that a new program is overwritten and recorded in the area on the hard disk that has been reproduced while reproducing the oldest program in category A. The VCR unit 4 is controlled so that the reproduced program is recorded by the VCR unit 4.
[0028]
That is, when there is no program that has been viewed and there is only a program with an erase protection flag as an unviewed program, such a program is reproduced in order from the oldest, and the reproduced program is displayed in the VCR section 4. Is recorded on the magnetic tape.
[0029]
Since the programs on the hard disk are erased or copied based on the priority order as described above, the viewing is finished and, for example, the program which does not need to be protected is erased first, and then the viewing is finished but erased. For example, a protected program for which the user recognizes the necessity of storage is transferred to the VCR unit 4.
[0030]
If there is no program that has been viewed, the program that has not been viewed and that is not erase protected, for example, the user's recorded program is moved to the VCR unit 4, and if none of the above programs are present, An unviewed and erase-protected program, for example, that a user intends to view immediately, is moved to the VCR unit 4. As described above, since a recording area is secured on the hard disk, it is possible to record a new program even if there is not enough free space when starting recording a new program.
[0031]
In addition, as described above, when a new program is recorded and the program on the hard disk is reproduced and recorded by the VCR unit 4, the newly recorded program is based on digital television broadcasting. The VCR unit 4 can record the program reproduced at the HDD unit 3 at a lower bit rate.
[0032]
That is, the amount of information as a compressed signal can be reduced by once decompressing the program reproduced by the HDD unit 3 by the decoder 5 and further applying the compression encoding process at a low bit rate by the encoder 2. That is, it is possible to reduce the amount of information as a compressed signal by increasing the compression rate in the encoder 2.
[0033]
Here, the VCR unit 4 has first and second recording modes having different recording times and recording bit rates. When recording in the second recording mode, the VCR 4 is used for recording in the first recording mode. As compared with, the recording time can be increased by n times (n is a natural number of 2 or more) using the same magnetic tape, while the recording bit rate becomes 1 / n times.
[0034]
Then, by matching the bit rate of the compressed signal recorded in the HDD unit 3 with the recording bit rate of the first recording mode in the VCR unit 4, it is desired to store the program recorded in the HDD unit 3 while maintaining its image quality. In this case, when the recording mode in the VCR unit 4 is set to the first recording mode and the compressed signal is directly output from the HDD unit 3 to the VCR unit 4, while the usage amount of the magnetic tape is reduced and stored, the VCR The compression mode reproduced from the HDD unit 3 with the recording mode in the unit 4 as the second recording mode may be compression-encoded again into a low bit rate compressed signal by the encoder 2 and recorded by the VCR unit 4.
[0035]
In the above description, an example in which a D-VHS magnetic tape is used as a removable recording medium and a hard disk is used as a non-removable recording medium has been described. However, the HDD unit 3 and the VCR unit 4 are recorded in other formats. It goes without saying that other recording media can be used by replacing the reproducing unit.
[0036]
That is, instead of the VCR unit 4, for example, a disk recording / reproducing unit using a removable recording medium may be used, and another type of recording / reproducing unit using a non-removable recording medium may be used instead of the HDD unit 3. Here, the removable recording medium means a recording medium that can be removed from the recording / reproducing means, and the non-removable recording medium means a recording medium that cannot be removed from the recording / reproducing means.
[0037]
In the above description, the HDD unit 3 and the VCR unit 4 have been described as being inside the signal recording / reproducing apparatus. However, either the HDD unit 3 or the VCR unit 4 may have another configuration. For example, when the HDD unit 3 and the other configurations, the encoder 2, the decoder 5, CPU 7 and the first device and the IEEE1394 standard between a second device with a built-in HDD unit 3 a VCR unit 4 has at least internal It is possible to connect with a digital interface based on the above, and replace the HDD unit with a larger recording capacity, or add an HDD unit.
[0038]
Further, when the VCR unit 4 has another configuration, the IEEE 1394 standard between the third device having at least the encoder 2, the decoder 5, the CPU 7, and the HDD unit 3 and the fourth device having at least the VCR unit 4 built therein. It is also possible to connect with a digital interface based on the above.
[0039]
In this case, the third device can be constituted by a personal computer, and the fourth device can be constituted by a digital tape recorder. That is, the CPU in the personal computer is used as the CPU 7 and the hard disk drive is used as the HDD unit 3, and the personal computer and the digital signal are processed by executing software processing or compressed signal processing in the encoder 2 and decoder 5 with on-board hardware. The signal recorder according to the present invention can be constituted by the tape recorder.
[0040]
The encoder 2, connected by digital interfaces based on the fifth device and the sixth seventh device and the respective IEEE1394 standard with a built-in device and the VCR unit 4 with a built-in HDD unit 3 with a built-least the decoder 5 and CPU7 Needless to say, the fifth device may be configured by a personal computer.
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, when there is a viewing program that has been viewed and is not erase-protected on the second recording medium that is not removable, first, a new recording is performed using the area where the viewing program is recorded. On the other hand, if there is no such area, the viewed and erase-protected viewing program is reproduced and recorded on the first removable recording medium, and the reproduction is finished. Since a new viewing program is recorded using the area, there is an effect that the new viewing program can be recorded even if there is not enough free space on the second recording medium.
[0042]
Further, according to the invention of claim 2, even when there is no viewed program on the second recording medium, the program is recorded on the first recording medium while playing the unviewed viewing program, Since a new viewing program is recorded using the finished playback area, a new viewing program is recorded even when there is not enough free space on the second recording medium and no viewed viewing program is recorded. There is an effect that can be done.
[0043]
According to the third aspect of the invention, when the viewing program reproduced from the second recording medium is recorded on the first recording medium, the bit rate is reduced. It is possible to record the viewing program.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a flow of confirming a flag attached to each program.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the order of programs to be erased or copied;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... A / D converter 2 ... Encoder 3 ... HDD part 4 ... VCR part 5 ... Decoder 6 ... D / A converter 7 ... CPU

Claims (3)

A signal recording / reproducing apparatus capable of recording / reproducing a viewing program compressed and encoded by a predetermined compression encoding method in the form of a compressed signal,
A first recording / reproducing means capable of recording / reproducing the viewing program in the form of the compressed signal on a first recording medium which is removable;
A second recording / reproducing unit capable of recording / reproducing the viewing program in the form of the compressed signal on a second recording medium that is not removable;
Each viewing program recorded on the second recording medium is provided with a flag indicating whether or not each viewing program has been viewed and a flag indicating whether or not to perform erasure protection. When the new viewing program is recorded on the recording medium, the new viewing program is recorded in an area where the viewing program that has been viewed and is not erase-protected is recorded with reference to the flag,
If the area does not exist, the viewed and erase-protected viewing program is reproduced and recorded by the first recording / reproducing means, and the new viewing program is recorded in the reproduced area. And a signal recording / reproducing apparatus.   When a new viewing program is recorded on the second recording medium, if there is no viewing program already viewed on the second recording medium, the unviewed viewing program on the second recording medium is reproduced. 2. The signal recording / reproducing according to claim 1, wherein the first recording / reproducing means records the new viewing program on the second recording medium in a region where the reproduction is finished. apparatus. A decoder that performs a decompression process of the compression encoding method on a viewing program in the form of a compressed signal reproduced by the second recording / reproducing means;
An encoder that performs compression processing of the compression encoding method on the viewing program expanded by the decoder;
When the viewing program reproduced by the second recording / reproducing means is recorded by the first recording / reproducing means, the encoder controls the encoder to output a high compression signal having a lower bit rate than the compression signal. And
3. The signal recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first recording / reproducing unit records the viewing program in the form of the high compression signal output from the encoder.

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