JP4668934B2 - Recording / playback apparatus and activation control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording / playback apparatus and a startup control method thereof, and more particularly to a recording / playback apparatus suitable for use in performing playback processing quickly when the apparatus is started up, and a startup control method thereof.

  In recent years, in the field of television broadcasting, there is a shift from conventional analog broadcasting to digital broadcasting.

  Digital broadcasting uses image compression technology that handles image data as digital data and compresses and transmits the image data, and has the advantage that there are few problems such as image degradation due to the reception environment. The outline of digital broadcasting is described in Non-Patent Document 1 below.

  Also, the image data is usually recorded on a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or the like as a file system file. The user records the program as a file by recording designation, and when viewing the program, reads the file from the HDD and plays it back. The file is managed in units of blocks such as sectors in the access management on the HDD, and information on whether the block is in use or empty is a bitmap table in which 1 bit is assigned to each block. Can be managed.

  Patent Literature 1 below discloses file deletion of recorded data of a recording / playback apparatus that performs file management using such a bitmap table. Patent Document 2 below discloses a method of deleting data by allocating bits of a bitmap table for each cylinder.

JP 2003-316623 A JP 2003-345526 A Supervised by Mitsutoshi Hajima, "Point Illustrative Formula, Computer / Communication / Broadcasting Standard Dictionary", ASCII, Inc., First Edition, May 1998, Chapter 13 (pp. 628-689)

  The above prior art records a bitmap table on the HDD and manages data access to the HDD in units of areas such as blocks and cylinders.

  On the other hand, in the recording / playback apparatus, in order to secure an empty area for recording data, a bitmap table is developed on a memory (main storage device) separately from the bitmap table on the HDD to increase the processing speed. It is possible. This is because the main storage device is usually composed of a semiconductor device and can be accessed at a higher speed than an HDD that writes information in a magnetic disk.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a comparison between the bitmap table stored on the HDD and the bitmap table placed on the memory.

  In the example of this figure, in the bitmap table placed on the memory, 1 bit is assigned to every 8 blocks, and when all the blocks are in use (all corresponding bitmaps on the HDD are “1”). When the bit is set to “1”, otherwise, that is, when there is even one block out of 8 blocks (there is at least one “1” in the corresponding bitmap on HDD). The bit is set to “0”.

  By the way, in home appliances, consideration for user convenience becomes important. In a recording / playback apparatus, there is a desire to use the apparatus without turning on the power and waiting as much as possible.

  However, when the bitmap management of the HDD area as described above is performed, in the prior art, it takes a lot of time to create the bitmap table on the memory when the device is initialized. Until the device is finished, there is a problem that the initialization of the device is not completed, and during that time neither recording nor playback is possible. In particular, in recent years when the capacity of HDDs is remarkable, this is particularly highlighted as a problem for making the user interface comfortable at startup.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to start the recording / playback apparatus even when the bitmap management of the HDD area is performed by the bitmap table on the memory. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording / reproducing apparatus capable of performing only reproduction at times.

  In the recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention, when a bitmap table on the memory for managing the vacancy on the HDD is created at the time of initialization of the apparatus activation, the recording process is not accepted, but only the reproduction process is accepted. To play back.

  As a result, even if the bitmap table is large, the reproduction process can be performed quickly without waiting for the completion of the bitmap table.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a recording / reproducing apparatus capable of quickly reproducing only at the start-up even when the bitmap management of the HDD area is performed by the bitmap table on the memory. be able to.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

Embodiment 1
A first embodiment according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

First, the configuration of the recording / playback apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the recording / playback apparatus according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a software configuration for activation control of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

  In the recording / playback apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, video / audio from the external input (1, 2,..., N) 10 or the analog tuner 11 is selectively led to the MPEG encoder 30 via the switch 20 to be video / audio. Generate stream data. Then, the video / audio stream data from the MPEG encoder 30 or the digital tuner 12 is selectively stored temporarily via another switch 21 in, for example, 35 constituted by a RAM. The buffer memory 35 has a storage capacity of about 4 Mbytes, for example. The buffer memory 35 is read in units of a predetermined size (for example, 1.5 Mbytes) by a command from the HDD control unit 50 and recorded as a file on the HDD (hard disk drive) 60. The HDD 60 may be built in the recording / reproducing apparatus 100 or may be a cartridge type removable HDD. The RAM 70 is connected to the control unit 40 and holds data and programs used by the control unit 40. The RAM 70 may be integrated with the buffer memory 35 (that is, a single RAM may be used as the function of the buffer memory 35 and the function of the RAM 70). The ROM 71 is a read-only storage device that is connected to the control unit 40 and stores programs such as firmware and control programs used by the control unit 40.

  On the other hand, when the video / audio stream data file recorded on the HDD 60 is reproduced, the video / audio stream data is read from the HDD 60 and stored in the buffer memory 35 under the control of the HDD control unit 50. Then, under the control of the HDD control unit 50, data of a predetermined size (for example, data of 30 or 60 frames) is read from the buffer memory 35, decoded by the MPEG decoder 31, and converted into a predetermined format. The data is output and displayed on the display unit 80. The display unit 80 is, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel or configured using a plasma display panel (PDP).

  These HDD control units 50 are controlled by a control unit 40 configured by a CPU. Further, when the user instructs activation or recording / playback of the apparatus, it is performed by pressing a button on the remote control 90 or a front panel of the apparatus main body (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the software configuration of the activation control for the recorded file is the user interface AP 204, the recording / playback control 202 and the activation control 203, the file system 201, and the operating system (OS) 200 from the upper layer. 200 includes a hardware control program 200a.

  The user interface AP 204 is a program group that receives instructions such as screen control and recording / playback from the user, or file copying / deleting. The recording / playback control 202 is a program group for instructing recording and playback of video data. The activation control 203 is a program group that gives a control instruction when the apparatus is activated. The file system 201 is a group of programs for realizing a file as a data structure and performing the operation. The operating system 200 is a basic program that mediates between software and hardware, and the hardware control program 200a is control software for controlling the hardware of the apparatus, and includes device drivers for various hardware.

  These software programs are loaded from the system area of the HDD 60 or the ROM 71 onto the RAM 70 and executed by the CPU.

  Next, the activation control method for the recording / playback apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a comparison between the bitmap table stored on the HDD and the bitmap table placed on the memory, as already described.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the bitmap table placed on the HDD 60 is a block in which one block of a recorded data file is assigned to one bit, and is set to “0” when the block is empty. When it is inside, it is set to “1”. A block is a unit of a data writing area on the HDD, and is, for example, one sector (many of 512-byte specifications) of the HDD.

  On the other hand, as already described, in a bitmap table (hereinafter referred to as “extended bitmap table”) placed on the memory, 1 bit is assigned to every 8 blocks, and when all the blocks are in use, the bit Is set to “1”, and in other cases, that is, when there is an empty block in 8 blocks, the bit is set to “0”.

  Actually, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the bitmap table on the HDD is viewed, all the corresponding bitmaps on the HDD among the corresponding bitmaps on the HDD are “1”. In some cases, the bit is set to “1”, and if there is at least one “0”, the bit may be set to “0”.

  In the example of FIG. 3, when 1 bit of the extended bitmap table is 8 blocks, and 1 block = 512 bytes, an area of 512 bytes × 8 = 4 Kbytes is managed by 1 bit of the extended bitmap table. It will be. However, the number of blocks corresponding to one bit of the extended bitmap table may be changed in design according to the performance of the hardware of the apparatus or the software to be executed. A block (512 bytes × 16 = 8 Kbytes), 32 blocks (512 bytes × 32 = 16 Kbytes), or the like may be used.

  Next, in the activation control method of the recording / reproducing apparatus of the present embodiment, when the extended bitmap table is being created at the time of activation, recording is not controlled, but reproduction of the recorded data file is permitted. And

  This extended bitmap table is used to find a free block in the data writing area on the HDD, and is necessary for recording control for writing data on the HDD, but not necessarily for playback control. is there.

Next, the operation and timing at the time of activation will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 4 is a timing chart when starting the recording / playback apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing of the activation control program according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a message screen of the recording / playback apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  When an instruction to turn on the power is given to the recording / playback apparatus from the remote controller 90 or the like, first, initialization of hardware starts.

  When the HDD 60, RAM 70, and control unit 40 (CPU) become operable, initialization of the OS 200 starts and initialization of the hardware control program 200a starts.

When the hardware control program initialization 200a is completed, the OS 200 and hardware can operate. Then, the time from power ON far as _{T 1.}

When the initialization of the OS is completed, the initialization of the file system is started. Here, the file system program intended to include also the process of creating extension bit map table, the time of the extension bit map table generation processing is a T _3, the initial file system other than the processing of creating extended bit map table time of reduction is, and _{T 2.}

Further, when the initialization other than the processing of creating extended bit map table is completed, it is assumed that run in parallel application initialization program, the time of initialization of the application, and a T _4.

Here, in the activation control method of the present embodiment, the time t _play at the time when the initialization of the application is completed is set as the reproducible time. Also, the time t _rec when recording is possible is the time when the creation of the extended bitmap table ends.

  Therefore, the time Δt during which recording is impossible but playback is possible is expressed by the following (Formula 1).

Δt = t _rec −t _play (Formula 1)
As an example, if T ₁ = 13 seconds, T ₂ = 10 seconds, T ₃ = 30 seconds, and T ₄ = 5 seconds, Δt = T ₃ −T ₄ = 30 seconds−5 seconds = 25 seconds. Therefore, the user can play back faster at the start-up than the prior art.

As processing of the activation control program, it is assumed that a command of “recording” or “playback” is given from the remote controller 60 or the like at the current time t. When t _play ≦ t is NO (S100), the control unit 40 is in a state in which the display device or the display program is operable as shown in FIG. 6A. “Medium” is displayed. When t _play ≦ t is YES, the control unit 40 determines whether the command is “recording” or “playback” (S102), and when it is “playback”, starts playing the recorded data. Further, when a "record" further determines whether t _rec ≦ t (S104), when t _rec ≦ t is NO, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), "Recording “Preparing” is displayed (S105). When t _rec ≦ t is YES, recording is started (S106).

In the above example, the example of “playback” of the recorded data is shown as the command. However, other operations such as playlist display, broadcast display, etc. where no data is written to the HDD are after the time of t _play. May be made executable.

[Embodiment 2]
Hereinafter, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing of the activation control program according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In the first embodiment, when all the extended bitmap tables are created, permission for recording is issued for the first time.

  In the present embodiment, even if not all the extended bitmap tables are created, when it is determined that the recording operation is not substantially affected, permission for recording is given and recording is enabled.

  In this embodiment, the hardware configuration and the software configuration are the same as those in the first embodiment, and a part of the activation control program is different.

That is, the process is the same as the process of the flowchart of FIG. 5 until it is determined whether or not t _rec ≦ t in S104. When t _rec ≦ t is NO, the empty area indicated by the extended bitmap table is determined. It is determined whether or not the capacity is equal to or greater than a certain threshold (S105a). When the capacity of the free area indicated by the extended bitmap table is less than a certain threshold value, a message for recording preparation is displayed (S105). (S106).

  For example, in order to start recording with an allowance of about 5 minutes = 300 seconds at a recording data rate for recording 1.5 Mbytes in 0.5 seconds, 1.5 Mbytes × 2 × 300 Recording starts when an empty area of about 900 Mbytes is confirmed by the extended bitmap table.

  According to the present embodiment, it is not always necessary to wait for the completion of all of the extended bitmap table, so that there is an advantage that the recording time comes earlier for the user.

It is a block diagram which shows the hardware structural example of the video recording / reproducing apparatus which concerns on 1st embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the software structure for starting control of the video recording / reproducing apparatus which concerns on 1st embodiment. It is the figure which contrasted and showed the bitmap table memorize | stored on HDD, and the bitmap table put on memory. It is a timing chart at the time of starting of the recording / reproducing apparatus which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the starting control program which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the message screen of the recording / reproducing apparatus which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the starting control program which concerns on 2nd embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... External input 11 ... Analog tuner 12 ... Digital tuner 20, 21 ... Switch 30 ... MPEG encoder 40 ... Control part 50 ... HDD control part 60 ... HDD
70 ... RAM
71 ... ROM
80 ... Display 90 ... Remote control 100 ... Recording / playback apparatus

Claims (7)

In a recording / playback apparatus having a storage device for storing recording data as a recording file,
Means for dividing the recording file into a plurality of blocks and storing it in the storage device;
A bitmap table indicating the usage status of the block stored in the storage device by the value of the corresponding bit;
A control unit that receives a video recording / playback command, instructs a video recording / playback request, and executes a program;
The control unit has data to be read and written and a memory for holding the program,
The bitmap table is created in the memory when the recording / playback apparatus is activated,
When this recording / playback apparatus is activated, the initialization of each unit and the initialization of the program executed by the control unit are finished, the recorded data can be played back, and the creation of the bitmap table in the memory is not finished. In some cases, the control unit does not accept the recording of the video, but accepts the reproduction of the video.   2. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each bit of the bitmap table indicates whether a plurality of blocks are in use or empty.   When this recording / playback apparatus is activated, the initialization of each unit and the initialization of the program executed by the control unit are finished, the recorded data can be played back, and the creation of the bitmap table in the memory is not finished. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a message indicating that the video cannot be recorded is displayed on a display means when the video recording / playback apparatus is instructed to record the video. . In a recording / playback apparatus having a storage device for storing recording data as a recording file,
Means for dividing the recording file into a plurality of blocks and storing it in the storage device;
A bitmap table indicating the usage status of the block stored in the storage device by the value of the corresponding bit;
A control unit that receives a video recording / playback command, instructs a video recording / playback request, and executes a program;
The control unit has data to be read and written and a memory for holding the program,
The bitmap table is created in the memory when the recording / playback apparatus is activated,
When this recording / playback apparatus is activated, the initialization of each unit and the initialization of the program executed by the control unit are finished, the recorded data can be played back, and the creation of the bitmap table in the memory is not finished. Sometimes, the control unit does not accept the recording of the video when the capacity of the free area of the block indicated by the bitmap table is less than a certain threshold, but accepts the playback of the video, and the bitmap table indicates A recording / reproducing apparatus, wherein the recording of the video is received when a capacity of an empty area of the block is equal to or greater than a certain threshold value. In a recording / reproducing apparatus having a storage device for storing recording data as a recording file and storing related information of the recording data,
Means for dividing the recording file into a plurality of blocks and storing it in the storage device;
A bitmap table indicating the use status of the block stored in the storage device by the value of the corresponding bit;
A control unit that receives a video recording / playback command, instructs a video recording / playback request, and executes a program;
The control unit has data to be read and written and a memory for holding the program,
The bitmap table is created in the memory when the recording / playback apparatus is activated,
When this recording / playback device is activated, initialization of each unit and initialization of the program executed by the control unit are completed, and it becomes possible to display related information of the recorded data stored in the storage device, When the creation of the bitmap table in the memory does not end, the control unit does not accept the recording of the video, but accepts the display of the related information of the recording data stored in the storage device. A recording / playback device characterized.   6. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the related information of the recording data is a playlist. In a start control method of a recording / playback apparatus having a storage device for storing recording data as a recording file,
Means for dividing the recording file into a plurality of blocks and storing it in the storage device;
A bitmap table indicating the usage status of the block stored in the storage device by the value of the corresponding bit;
A control unit that receives a video recording / playback command, instructs a video recording / playback request, and executes a program;
The control unit has data to be read and written and a memory for holding the program,
A step of initializing each part of the recording / playback device at the time of startup;
Initializing the program at startup; and
Creating the bitmap table in the memory at startup, and
Before the step of creating the bitmap table in the memory is completed, the step of initializing the respective units is completed, and the program necessary for reproducing the recorded data is initialized in the step of initializing the program. The start control method of the recording / reproducing apparatus is characterized in that the process of converting to the end is completed and the control unit is in a state of accepting reproduction of the recorded data.

Images