JP4654161B2 - Recording apparatus and recording method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus and a recording method, and more particularly to a technique suitable for recording and reproducing video information such as a still image or a moving image on a recording medium.

  In recent years, digital video cameras capable of recording moving images and audio on an optical disk such as a DVD have appeared. Such a DVD digital video camera generally displays a list of representative images (hereinafter referred to as thumbnail images) of recorded scenes when reproducing captured images, and a desired image is displayed from the displayed thumbnail images. The scene is selected.

  When displaying thumbnail images, it is necessary to sequentially access the area on the disc where the thumbnail images of each scene are recorded, and to reproduce the recorded thumbnail images of each scene. Therefore, there is a problem that it takes time to display the thumbnail image list screen. In particular, if an operation that repeats playback and playback stop is performed, a list display is performed each time, so that a light operational feeling is lost. To deal with such a problem, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method in which a thumbnail image buffer memory is provided to shorten the thumbnail image output time.

JP 2001-189915 A

  However, in the configuration of the prior art, when performing thumbnail list display, since decoding is performed immediately before display, there is a problem that display is delayed by the time for decoding. In particular, when the number of displayed images is large, there is a possibility that the display is delayed to the extent that the user feels uncomfortable.

  In addition, as described in Patent Document 1, even in the configuration in which thumbnail images are stored in the buffer memory, if the thumbnail images of the scene at the time of playback stop are not stored in the buffer memory, the thumbnail images are renewed. There was a need to regenerate. Therefore, there is a problem that it takes a long time to display the thumbnail image list screen.

  In order to solve such a problem, if the representative image is stored in the buffer memory, there is a problem that the storage capacity for storing the thumbnail image increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to realize both a reduction in storage capacity for storing thumbnail images and an increase in the speed of thumbnail list display.

  The recording apparatus of the present invention generates a thumbnail image list screen of moving image data recorded on the recording medium when there is an instruction to display a list of thumbnail images and recording means for recording moving image data on a recording medium. Output means for outputting to a display device; generation means for generating thumbnail image data of moving image data recorded on the recording medium; and thumbnail image data of a predetermined number of scenes to be initially displayed in accordance with the list display instruction. Controlling the generating means to generate, recording the thumbnail image data of the generated predetermined number of scenes on the recording medium, and controlling the recording means not to record thumbnail image data other than the predetermined number of scenes And the output means uses the thumbnail image data recorded on the recording medium in accordance with the instruction to display the list. First and generates a list screen of thumbnail images to be displayed Te.

  The recording method of the present invention generates a thumbnail image list screen of moving image data recorded on the recording medium when there is a recording step of recording moving image data on a recording medium and an instruction to display a list of thumbnail images. An output step of outputting to a display device, a generation step of generating thumbnail image data of moving image data recorded on the recording medium, and thumbnail image data of a predetermined number of scenes to be initially displayed in accordance with the list display instruction Controlling the processing in the generating step so as to generate, recording the thumbnail image data of the generated predetermined number of scenes on the recording medium, and not recording the thumbnail image data other than the predetermined number of scenes A thumbnail image data recorded on the recording medium in the output step. Used, and generates a list screen of thumbnail images to be displayed first by an instruction of the list.

  According to the present invention, thumbnail list display can be performed at high speed without consuming a large amount of memory. Thereby, even when the number of displayed images is large, it is possible to perform quick display, to realize recording / reproduction suitable for the user, and to provide a DVD video camera excellent in usability.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the recording / reproducing apparatus of the present embodiment. The recording / reproducing apparatus of this embodiment includes an input unit 101, an encoding unit 102, a multiplexing unit 103, an R / W unit 104, a separation unit 105, a decoding unit 106, an output unit 107, an operation unit 108, a control unit 109, The thumbnail generation unit 110 and the thumbnail control unit 111 are configured.

  In the recording / reproducing apparatus of the present embodiment configured as described above, when a recording operation is performed in the operation unit 108, the control unit 109 causes the encoding unit 102, the multiplexing unit 103, and the R / W unit 104 to The recording instruction is notified. The moving image data and audio data input from the input unit 101 are output to the encoding unit 102. The encoding unit 102 encodes moving image data input from the input unit 101 by a known compression encoding method such as MPEG, and is input from the input unit 101 by a known compression encoding method such as AC3. The encoded audio data is encoded and output to the multiplexing unit 103.

  The multiplexing unit 103 multiplexes the moving image stream or audio stream input from the encoding unit 102 into a DVD format suitable for the recording medium, and outputs the multiplexed video stream or audio stream to the R / W unit 104. The R / W unit 104 writes the stream multiplexed by the multiplexing unit 103 to the disk D.

  Next, when a reproduction operation is performed on the operation unit 108, the control unit 109 notifies the decoding unit 106, the separation unit 105, and the R / W unit 104 of a reproduction instruction. The R / W unit 104 reads the multiplexed stream from the disk D and outputs it to the separation unit 105. In addition, the R / W unit 104 reads the management information of the disk D and notifies the control unit 109 of it. The management information stores the recording time of each chapter, the top physical address, and the like.

  The separation unit 105 separates the stream output from the R / W unit 104 into a moving image stream, an audio stream, and the like, and outputs them to the decoding unit 106. The decoding unit 106 decodes the moving image stream and the audio stream output from the separation unit 105 and outputs them to the output unit 107. The output unit 107 outputs a moving image signal to a TV or a liquid crystal screen, and outputs an audio signal to a speaker.

  Further, the R / W unit 104 notifies the control unit 109 of management information, the type of recording medium, and the like. When the recording process is completed, the control unit 109 notifies the thumbnail control unit 111 of the number of chapters recorded on the recording medium and the type of the recording medium. The thumbnail control unit 111 determines whether to generate a thumbnail image according to the number of chapters notified from the control unit 109 and the type of the recording medium.

  When generating thumbnail images, the control unit 109 and the thumbnail generation unit 110 are notified of the start of thumbnail image generation. First, a stream including the first I picture of each chapter is separated from the stream into a moving image stream by the separation unit 105. Next, the decoding unit 106 decodes the moving image data, and the thumbnail generation unit 110 generates a thumbnail image that is reduced. When the thumbnail generation unit 110 generates a thumbnail image, the thumbnail image is recorded on the disk D through the R / W unit 104.

  When displaying a thumbnail list, the thumbnail image recorded on the disk D is read from the R / W unit 104 and output to the output unit 107. That is, the first page of the thumbnail list screen does not need to be decoded immediately before display.

  Next, a management file including information such as the playback order of each chapter, the top address, and playback time will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a file format of the DVD format.

  Of the DVD format file structure, the DVD video zone is composed of a video manager (VMG) and a video title set (VTS). The video manager (VMG) and the video title set (VTS) are each composed of a plurality of files. The video manager (VMG) is information for controlling the video title set (VTS).

  The video manager (VMG) has a video manager information (VMGI) as control data for controlling a video title set and the like, and a video object set (VMGM_VOBS) as data for menu display. It also has a video manager information (VMGI_BUP) for backup.

  The video title set (VTS) has a video title set information (VTSI) as control data and a video object set (VMGM_VOBS) as data for menu display. In addition, it has a video object set (VTSTT_VOBS) for the title of the video title set, which is a video object set for video display. Furthermore, it has a video title set information (VTSI_BUP) for backup. The VTSI includes information such as the playback order, the top address, and the playback time of each recorded chapter. Hereinafter, the management information indicates the VTSI and the VMGI that controls the VTSI.

  Next, the control of the thumbnail control unit 111 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a thumbnail image creation processing procedure according to the present embodiment. Note that the process shown in FIG. 2 is executed every time shooting of one scene is completed.

  First, in step S201, the type of the recording medium (disc D) is checked. The information to be checked is information that can be understood when the R / W unit 104 accesses the disk D, and is notified from the R / W unit 104 to the thumbnail control unit 111 via the control unit 109. Next, in step S202, it is checked whether or not the number of chapters recorded on the disc D is greater than or equal to a predetermined number.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a thumbnail list display screen in the present embodiment.
Reference numeral 701 denotes a thumbnail list screen, and reference numeral 702 denotes a thumbnail image generated by the thumbnail generation unit 110. In the case of FIG. 6, six thumbnail images 702 are displayed on the thumbnail list screen 701. The number of sheets is not limited to six and can be arbitrarily set by the user. Reference numeral 703 denotes a list screen operation button. By pressing this list screen operation button 703, it is possible to move to a page before or after the thumbnail list screen 701.

  Next, in step S202, the R / W unit 104 reads the management information from the disc D and performs thumbnail control via the control unit 109 in the same manner as the type of the recording medium (disc D) is notified in step S201. Notification to the unit 111. In the management information, the address at which each chapter recorded on the disc D is recorded, the recording time, and the like are written, so the number of chapters recorded on the disc D can be known.

  As a result of the check in step S202, if a predetermined number of chapters has not yet been recorded on the disc D, the processing is terminated without generating a thumbnail image. On the other hand, if a predetermined number of chapters are recorded as a result of the check in step S202, the process proceeds to step S203.

  Next, in step S203, it is checked whether the thumbnail image has already been recorded on the disc D via the R / W unit 104 and the control unit 109. If the result of this check is that a thumbnail image has already been recorded, the process proceeds to step S204. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S203 that no thumbnail image has been recorded yet, the process proceeds to step S207.

  Next, in step S204, it is determined whether or not the recording medium (disc D) is a rewritable type via the R / W unit 104 and the control unit 109. As a result of this determination, if the write-once type is used instead of the rewritable type, the process ends without generating a thumbnail image. On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S204 is rewritable, the process proceeds to step S205.

  Next, in step S205, it is checked whether or not the stream corresponding to the thumbnail image already recorded on the disc D has been deleted by the user's editing operation via the R / W unit 104 and the control unit 109. . If it has been deleted as a result of this check, the process proceeds to step S206. On the other hand, if it remains as a result of the check in step S205, the process ends without generating a thumbnail image.

  Next, in step S206, all the thumbnail images recorded on the disk D are deleted, and a recordable area is provided. In step S207, a thumbnail image is generated and recorded. Specifically, first, the I picture of the first frame of each chapter necessary for generating the thumbnail image displayed on the first page of the thumbnail list display is read, and the thumbnail generating unit 110 generates a thumbnail image.

  Then, the thumbnail control unit 111 notifies the thumbnail generation unit 110 of an address for recording on the disk D, and the thumbnail generation unit 110 records a thumbnail image on the disk D via the R / W unit 104. At this time, the thumbnail image is recorded not in a file system such as UDF but in an area managed by application management information.

  Next, in step S 208, since the thumbnail image is recorded on the disk D, the control unit 109 updates the management information and records it on the disk D via the R / W unit 104. Then, the process ends.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3A, a mode of recording a thumbnail image in a DVD video format on a write-once recording medium in the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram illustrating a data recording state when recording is performed in a DVD video format using a write-once recording medium in the thumbnail image generation processing illustrated in FIG.

  In the case of the DVD video format, as shown in FIG. 3A (1), a video format for one title composed of one or more chapters is continuously recorded as VTS (Video Title Set) information. FIG. 3A shows a case where six chapters are recorded on the disc D in VTS # 1. Up to this point, it is the same as in the case of the conventional DVD video format.

  When six chapters are recorded on the disc D, thumbnail images are created in accordance with the processing of the thumbnail control unit 111 shown in FIG. 2, and six thumbnails corresponding to each chapter are shown in FIG. An image is recorded. At this time, the thumbnail image is recorded not in an area where management information such as VGMI or VTSI is managed, but in an area where application management information is managed.

  Thereafter, the DVD video format is formed as shown in FIG. By recording as described above, the area in which the thumbnail image is recorded is recognized as an invalid data area from a file system such as UDF. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3A (3), even if thumbnail images are recorded, the disc can be reproduced without any problem.

  Next, the relationship between the file system and the DVD video format will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3-2 is a conceptual diagram showing the relationship between the file system and the DVD video format.

  From a file system such as UDF, the disk D can be recognized as a file such as VMG or each VTS, so-called DVD video format. However, the area where the thumbnail image is recorded is recognized as an invalid area from the file system.

Next, a thumbnail list display process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a thumbnail list display procedure according to this embodiment.
First, in step S401, management information is acquired from the disk D. Next, in step S402, as shown in FIG. 3A, the thumbnail image recorded on the disc D is read from the R / W unit 104 and output to the output unit 107.

  In step S403, a thumbnail list screen is generated from the read thumbnail images. At this point, a thumbnail list display screen is output on the TV or liquid crystal screen. However, if the page of the thumbnail list display screen is moved by the user's operation, it takes time to display because a thumbnail image cannot be created unless decoding is performed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, while the thumbnail list display screen is being output, thumbnail images necessary for subsequent pages are created in advance.

  Next, in step S404, the control unit 109 determines whether to end the thumbnail image generation. The control unit 109 generates thumbnail images for all chapters, when the mode of the video camera is switched from thumbnail list display to recording or playback, and when the memory for storing the thumbnail images generated in advance overflows. End image generation.

  As a result of the determination, if the control unit 109 finishes generating the thumbnail image, the process ends. On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S404 is not to end the generation of thumbnail images, the process proceeds to step S405.

  Next, in step S405, a stream including the first I picture of the chapter is read from the disc D according to the management information acquired in step S401. In step S406, the thumbnail generation unit 110 generates a thumbnail image. Then, the process returns to step S404.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the user performs an operation of displaying a thumbnail list, the first page of the thumbnail list display can be output without decoding. As a result, it is possible to display at a higher speed than when a thumbnail image is generated by accessing the recording area of each chapter to reproduce and decode the image data. In addition, since thumbnail images are generated on the second and subsequent pages of the thumbnail list display while the first page is being output, it is possible to prevent the user from feeling uncomfortable.

  Further, by limiting the number of thumbnail images to be recorded on the disc to the number that can be displayed on one page of the thumbnail list display, the remaining amount of the disc is not compressed. Thereby, a disc video camera suitable for the user can be provided.

  In this embodiment, thumbnail images obtained by reducing uncompressed (bitmap) moving image data are used. On the other hand, since a recent DVD video camera also has a still image simultaneous shooting function, the thumbnail generation unit 110 may record a still image compression-encoded such as JPEG on a recording medium.

  In this embodiment, the thumbnail image is recorded on the recording medium as data handled by management information of an application different from the file system. However, the thumbnail image may be recorded as user data classified by Private_ID in the file system.

(Second Embodiment)
In the present embodiment, processing at the time of finalization will be described. Note that the functional configuration of the recording / reproducing apparatus in the present embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure at the time of finalizing in the present embodiment.

  When a finalizing operation is performed by the user, first, management information is acquired in step S501. Next, in step S502, it is determined whether a thumbnail image has already been written on the disc D. If it is determined that a thumbnail image has already been written, the process proceeds to step S505. On the other hand, if it has not been written as a result of the determination in step S502, the process proceeds to step S503.

  Next, in step S503, a stream including the I picture at the head of the chapter is read from the disc D according to the management information acquired in step S501. In step S504, the thumbnail generation unit 110 generates a thumbnail image. Next, in step S505, a finalizing process is performed on the disk D, and the process ends.

  When finalization is performed, the disk D cannot be rewritten, but with the configuration described above, a thumbnail image is always recorded on the disk D after finalization. Even when a thumbnail image is not recorded on a disc on which only a small number of chapters are recorded, the first page of the thumbnail list display can be output without decoding by recording the thumbnail image by the processing shown in FIG. . Thereby, it is possible to display at high speed.

(Other embodiments according to the present invention)
The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, a camera, an interface device, a liquid crystal panel, etc.) or an apparatus composed of a single device.

  Each means constituting the recording / reproducing apparatus and each step of the recording / reproducing method in the embodiment of the present invention described above can be realized by operating a program stored in a RAM or ROM of a computer. This program and a computer-readable recording medium recording the program are included in the present invention.

  Further, the present invention can be implemented as, for example, a system, apparatus, method, program, or recording medium. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to a system including a plurality of devices. The present invention may be applied to an apparatus composed of a single device.

  In the present invention, a software program (in the embodiment, a program corresponding to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 5) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is directly or remotely supplied to the system or apparatus. This includes the case where the system or the computer of the apparatus is also achieved by reading and executing the supplied program code.

  Accordingly, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by computer, the program code installed in the computer also implements the present invention. In other words, the present invention includes a computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention.

  In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, it may be in the form of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, and the like.

  Examples of the recording medium for supplying the program include a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, and a magneto-optical disk. Further, there are MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-R) and the like.

  As another program supply method, there is a method of connecting to a homepage on the Internet using a browser of a client computer. The computer program itself of the present invention or a compressed file including an automatic installation function can be downloaded from the homepage by downloading it to a recording medium such as a hard disk.

  It can also be realized by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer is also included in the present invention.

  As another method, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to users, and encrypted from a homepage via the Internet to users who have cleared predetermined conditions. Download the key information to be solved. It is also possible to execute the encrypted program by using the key information and install the program on a computer.

  Further, the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the computer executing the read program. Furthermore, based on the instructions of the program, an OS or the like running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments can be realized by the processing.

  As another method, the program read from the recording medium is first written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Then, based on the instructions of the program, the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are also realized by the processing.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of a recording / reproducing device according to a first embodiment of this invention. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the procedure of the thumbnail image generation process in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. In the first embodiment of the present invention, it is a schematic diagram showing a data recording mode when recording in the DVD video format using a write-once recording medium. In the 1st Embodiment of this invention, it is a conceptual diagram which shows the relationship between a file system and a DVD video format. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the procedure of the thumbnail list display process in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the procedure of the finalization process in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a thumbnail list display. It is a figure which shows the file structure of DVD format.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Input part 102 Encoding part 103 Multiplexing part 104 R / W part 105 Separation part 106 Decoding part 107 Output part 108 Operation part 109 Control part 110 Thumbnail generation part 111 Thumbnail control part

Claims (4)

Recording means for recording moving image data on a recording medium;
When there is an instruction to display a list of thumbnail images, an output unit that generates a thumbnail image list screen of moving image data recorded on the recording medium and outputs the thumbnail image to a display device;
Generating means for generating thumbnail image data of moving image data recorded on the recording medium;
The generation unit is controlled to generate thumbnail image data of a predetermined number of scenes to be displayed first in response to the list display instruction, and the generated thumbnail image data of the predetermined number of scenes is recorded on the recording medium, and Control means for controlling the recording means so as not to record thumbnail image data other than a predetermined number of scenes,
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output unit generates a thumbnail image list screen to be displayed first in accordance with the list display instruction using the thumbnail image data recorded on the recording medium.   2. The thumbnail image list screen to be displayed next is generated using the moving image data recorded on the recording medium during display of the first list screen. Recording device.   The control means controls the generation means to generate thumbnail image data of the predetermined number of scenes when the number of scenes of moving image data recorded on the recording medium reaches the predetermined number. Item 3. The recording apparatus according to Item 1 or 2. A recording step of recording moving image data on a recording medium;
When there is an instruction to display a list of thumbnail images, an output step of generating a thumbnail image list screen of moving image data recorded on the recording medium and outputting to a display device;
A generation step of generating thumbnail image data of moving image data recorded on the recording medium;
The processing in the generating step is controlled so as to generate thumbnail image data of a predetermined number of scenes to be displayed first in response to the list display instruction, and the generated thumbnail image data of the predetermined number of scenes is recorded on the recording medium. And a control step for controlling processing in the recording step so as not to record thumbnail image data other than the predetermined number of scenes,
In the output step, the thumbnail image data recorded on the recording medium is used to generate a thumbnail image list screen to be displayed first in response to the list display instruction.

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