JP4769825B2 - Information playback device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus for recording video information on a medium or reproducing video information from a medium.

In addition to the old VTR, there are video CDs that use an optical disk with a diameter of 12 cm as a recording medium, as a system for reproducing video information recorded media. Recently, the recording capacity has been increased by about 7 times with the same diameter. DVD using optical disc appeared.

In the DVD playback device, the cueing operation for displaying the video to be viewed at the head is, for example, a recorded program (referred to as “title” in DVD. This type is hereinafter referred to as “title”). A number assigned to each of a plurality of scenes (DVD
Then it is called “chapter”. Hereinafter, this type is referred to as a “chapter”. ) And the frame number which is the basic unit (frame) of the video, the title number, chapter number and frame number of the video to be viewed are entered to determine the playback position on the disc, and the position (For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-3).
No. 12737).

In addition, a plurality of incidental information (for example, a plurality of screens viewed from various angles called multi-angle, audio for each channel, languages such as Japanese and English, etc.) are recorded at the same time together with the video. In this case, which of the incidental information is selected is a selection of the reproduction condition. The selection of the playback condition was performed by checking the contents each time while switching the screen for each information. Such incidental information may be recorded in advance on a disc as a playback condition menu (see, for example, JP-A-8-251531).

JP-A-7-312737 JP-A-8-251531

In the above prior art, the creator of a disc, such as a karaoke disc, intentionally assigns a number (for example, a number is assigned to each piece of music), and the number and its corresponding meaning are clearly indicated in the attached material of the disc. It is effective when However, there is a problem in that it is difficult to access and search an arbitrary position on the disk when an image is arbitrarily searched without such material because an effective selection means cannot be obtained. In addition, a plurality of incidental information at the same time cannot be listed, and there is a problem that selection takes time. Furthermore, when information menus are recorded in advance, the way in which information is displayed and the method of selection differs depending on the intention of the program producer, and the inconvenience of checking the method for each disc cannot be avoided.

In addition, it is difficult to grasp the entire contents of a stream (the information of a series of scenes is called a stream).

The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, easily search for information by common operations, grasp the entire stream or at least a part of the content on the playback screen, and select it The object is to provide a new information reproducing apparatus.

The object of the present invention is to display a symbol corresponding to a program recorded on a recording medium or an identifier for identifying the program on a screen, a means for selecting a displayed symbol or identifier, and a selection A means for reducing or enlarging or cutting out a representative screen of a plurality of scenes constituting a program of a symbol or an identifier and displaying the representative screen on the screen; a means for selecting one of the displayed representative screens; It is possible to effectively solve the problem by providing a means for reproducing the scene of the representative screen determined after the change to a full screen size. The screen displaying a plurality of representative screens is a selection screen for selecting a desired screen.

Further, the entire or at least part of the contents of the stream can be grasped by reducing or enlarging or reproducing and displaying the stream on the clipped screen.

The means for reducing or enlarging the representative screen of a plurality of scenes constituting the program of the selected symbol, or cutting it out and displaying it on the screen has been described above. It can also be a means for displaying a representative screen of a plurality of scenes constituting a program on the screen, including those not reduced or enlarged.

Therefore, in the means for displaying a representative screen of a plurality of scenes constituting a program on the screen with an arbitrary reduction / enlargement ratio, the representative screens of the scenes constituting the program can be displayed to overlap each other.

By the way, when using a means for displaying a representative screen of a plurality of scenes constituting a program with an arbitrary reduction / enlargement ratio in the screen, the scene of the representative screen determined after the selection described above is selected. The means for reproducing by changing the screen size to the full screen size does not necessarily have to change the determined scene of the representative screen to the full screen size.

That is, with respect to the representative screen of the scenes that make up the program that has been changed to the full screen size based on the selection of the reduction / enlargement ratio, the representative screen scene determined after selection is made full screen size. There is no need to change and play.

In addition, in a means for displaying the representative screens of scenes constituting a program overlapping each other with an optional reduction / enlargement ratio, means for reproducing the scenes of the representative screens determined after selection to a full screen size Can be used.

Furthermore, the means for reproducing the representative screen scene determined after selection as described above to a full screen size does not necessarily change the determined representative screen scene to a full screen size. Alternatively, it can be reproduced by changing the reduction / enlargement ratio of the representative screen determined after selection to another reduction / enlargement ratio.

Note that the size of the screen on which the representative screens of a plurality of scenes constituting the program are displayed is arbitrary, and may be greater than or equal to the maximum size displayed by the display means.

By adopting such means, it becomes possible to list the contents while quickly switching programs, and search, selection, and determination can be realized by simple operations.

Further, the display of the program symbol or the identifier for identifying the program and the representative screen of the scene is not intentionally performed but by common means based on the data from the recording medium. That is, the inconvenience caused by the change in the display method or the operation method depending on the recording medium can be eliminated.

Of course, the reproduction and display of the representative screen can be appropriately changed in order to make it possible to confirm the display contents.

According to the present invention, the symbols to be given to each program, or an identifier that can identify the program and the selected symbol, or a representative screen of a plurality of scenes of the program having an identifier that can identify the program is displayed on the screen. It is possible to easily list the contents that are displayed, and to select and determine the video to be viewed by a simple operation.

As for the means for reducing the start screen of a plurality of scenes constituting the program of the selected symbol and displaying it divided in the screen, if the reduction ratio is arbitrary and includes those that are not reduced at all, Display the representative screen of one scene that makes up the program in full, and then display the representative screens of other scenes that make up the program in an overlapping manner to select and determine the video you want to see. You can also.

Further, in the means for displaying on the screen a representative screen of a plurality of scenes constituting a program with an optional reduction ratio, the representative screens of the scenes constituting the program are displayed so as to overlap each other, and the video to be viewed is selected. You can also make a decision.

In addition, since the representative screen reduction ratio determined after selection can be changed to other reduction ratios for playback, the desired video can be displayed in the desired size based on the selection and determination of the representative screen. You can also make it.

The representative screen displayed on the screen (the scene constituting the program) may not necessarily be displayed on the screen by reducing all the screens. That is, one arbitrary representative screen may be a screen in which the scene is expanded and displayed without being reduced.

Furthermore, by playing and displaying the stream on the screen, the entire stream,
Alternatively, at least a part of the contents can be grasped, and it becomes easier to select.

The operation is common regardless of the recording medium. For example, in the case of a disc, it is possible to avoid the trouble when the operation method differs depending on the disc.

Hereinafter, the information reproducing apparatus and the information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to embodiments of the invention according to some embodiments shown in the drawings. In addition, the same symbol in FIGS. 1-18 shall display the same thing or a similar thing.

<Example 1>
An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a DVD system playback apparatus will be described.

In the following embodiments, description will be made using a start screen displayed at the start of a scene or a representative small screen as the representative screen.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a driver unit that reproduces an information signal from a position on a disk corresponding to a specified address, 2 is a buffer unit that temporarily stores an information signal output by the driver unit 1, and 3
Is a decoder unit that decodes an information signal from the buffer unit 2 for each video and audio, and 4 is a random access memory (hereinafter referred to as “RAM”) that stores data during operation of the decoder unit 3.
Is a digital / analog converter (hereinafter referred to as “D / A converter”) for converting the video digital signal output from the decoder unit 3 into an analog signal, and 6 is a screen for displaying the video analog signal from the D / A converter 5. Reference numeral 7 denotes a display device, 7 denotes a D / A converter that converts an audio digital signal output from the decoder unit 3 into an analog signal, and 8 denotes a speaker that reproduces the audio analog signal from the DA converter 7.

Further, in the figure, 9 is a system control unit for controlling the operation of the driver unit 1, buffer unit 2 and decoder unit 3, 11 is a control signal generated by the user's instruction input, and the control signal is sent to the system control unit. 9 is a read-only memory (hereinafter referred to as “hereinafter referred to as“ read only memory ”) in which a program and data for instructing an operation procedure of the system control unit 9 are stored in advance
ROM ”13) indicates a RAM that stores data during operation of the system control unit 9.
The driver unit 1, the buffer unit 2, the decoder unit 3, the system control unit 9, the user interface unit 11, the ROM 12 and the RAM 13 are connected to each other by a bus line 10.

The decoder 2 has a function of reducing the size of the screen when decoding the video signal.

In the ROM 12, in addition to a normal control program and control data for the system control unit 9, a selection screen display program 121 according to the present invention and a screen to be displayed superimposed on a video to be reproduced [
The data of “OSD (On Screen Display) screen” is stored as OSD data 122. As will be described in detail later, the RAM 13 has an address data area 131 for storing address data indicating the playback start position of the title of the video recorded on the disc and address data indicating the playback start position of the chapter, and a screen. An OSD work area 132 is provided for storing OSD data converted into bitmap data for display. Further, the RAM 4 is provided with a display screen area 401 for storing data of a selection screen formed by combining OSD bitmap data and video data.

The user interface unit 11 includes a remote control unit (hereinafter referred to as “remote controller”) through which a user inputs an instruction, and an infrared transmission path for transmitting a control signal generated by the remote controller to the playback device. The arrangement of the input buttons on the remote control is shown in FIG.

The input buttons of the remote controller 201 are a playback button 22 for playing a disc, a list button 23 used to select a video to be viewed, and a video selected from a screen (selection screen) displayed by pressing the list button 23 A determination button 25 for determination and a stop button 26 for stopping video reproduction.
Displayed when any of the angle button 28 used when selecting the multi-angle screen, the audio button 29 used when selecting the audio reproduction condition, the list button 23, the angle button 27, and the audio button 28 is pressed. The cursor button 27 is used to select an image or symbol in the screen to be displayed. Control signals in response to user instructions are generated when the user presses these buttons. Further, the cursor button 27 is provided with buttons for moving the selected portion up and down and left and right according to the arrows on the screen. In addition, a video address to be viewed is known from the beginning, and a cue button 24 for inputting the address and reproducing the video and a recording button 30 for starting recording are attached.

An example of the selection screen obtained by starting the selection screen display program 121 (see FIG. 1) of the present invention is shown in FIG. On the selection screen 17, each symbol of the title accommodated on the disc is indicated by a number in a frame 18 (hereinafter referred to as “tag”) at the top of the screen, and the start screen 19 of each chapter included in the title is reduced and arranged. Is done. Hereinafter, the reduced screen is referred to as a small screen. In this example, the number of titles is 3, the second title is selected, and the brightness of the tag 18b is increased. Then, nine chapter small screens 19a to 19i of the same title are displayed, and the second 19b is selected. The number of tags that can be displayed is 4, but since the number of titles is 3, the fourth tag 18d is left blank. Other than the small screen, the tag 18 and the numbers displayed there, the chapter numbers of the small screens 19a to 19i (CH1 to CH1)
The boundary line separating CH9) and the small screen is the OSD screen.

Next, processing executed by the system control unit 11 in accordance with the selection screen display program 121 of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the process, the address data indicating the playback start positions of all the titles and chapters of the video recorded on the DVD disc are stored in RA.
It starts after being stored in the address data area 131 of M13. The storage of these address data may be performed when the playback device is turned on and a disc is loaded, and then the playback button 22 of the remote controller 201 is pressed. The address data is obtained directly from the buffer 2 without going through the decoder 3 (see FIG. 1).

In the following, the number of the title stored in the disc is represented by n, and the chapter number of the title is represented by m.

When the user presses the list button 23 of the remote controller 201 (S41), the number of tags displayed on the screen (
In the example of FIG. 3, the OSD screen data of 4) is extracted from the OSD data 122 of the ROM 12, converted into bitmap data for screen display, and then transferred to the OSD work area 132 of the RAM 13 (S42). The stored OSD screen data is then sent to the decoder 3 (S43). The decoder 3 stores the received data in the display screen area 401 (S4
4). At this time, the decoder 3 is informed of the number of titles recorded on the disc and the prescribed value of the luminance level of the small screen video used for the selection screen. When the luminance level that rises after the start of reproduction reaches a specified value, the small screen image at that time is adopted as the chapter start screen in the selection screen. Also, the decoder 3 puts the numbers of the title numbers in the tags in order based on the notified number of titles, and stores the data in the display screen area 401. It should be noted that the symbol representing the title number is an example, and it is needless to say that any other symbol, an identifier that can identify the program, or a simple name can be adopted according to the intention.

Subsequently, the address data of the first chapter (m = 1) of the first title (n = 1) is extracted from the address data area 131 and sent to the driver unit 1 and the decoder unit 3 (S4).
5). The driver unit 1 starts reproduction of information from the reproduction start position of the disc corresponding to the address data (S46). The decoder 3 reduces the video of the reproduction signal and stores the small screen video data in the display screen area 401. At this time, the small-screen video data is stored at a predetermined position in the display screen area 401 so that the small-screen video is placed at a position (19a in FIG. 3) corresponding to the chapter number (m = 1) on the selection screen. In addition, the decoder 3 stores the luminance increase data of the tag of the title 1 in the display screen area 401.

Thereafter, the small screen image of the next chapter (m = 2) is arranged at the position of the chapter number (reduced screen 19b in the figure) by the same processing, and the data is stored in the display screen area 401. In this way, the small screen of each chapter is placed at each position, and the first title selection screen is completed in the display screen area 401 (S47).

Next, when the user presses the cursor button 27 to select a tag with the number n, that is, the nth title (S48), the small screen of each chapter of the title is placed at each position,
Steps S45 to S47 are performed to complete the selection screen for the selected title.

When the user operates the cursor button 27 to select a screen (S49), the boundary line of the selected screen becomes a bold line to clearly indicate that it has been selected.

As described above, FIG. 3 shows a selection screen when n = 2 is selected and m = 2 is selected. When the video that the user wants to see is this chapter, the user presses the enter button 25 of the remote controller 201. Thereby, a command for canceling the selection operation is sent to the decoder unit 3, and the address data of the same chapter is sent to the driver unit 1 (S50).

Upon receiving the command, the decoder unit 3 erases the OSD screen data and cancels the screen reduction operation, while the driver unit 1 reproduces the information of the corresponding chapter. As a result, the chapter video is displayed on the full screen (S51), and the process ends.

Although the present embodiment is intended for a DVD disc, the present invention is not limited to this, and any program can be used as long as program data is recorded in advance. The same effect can be obtained.

The selection screen described above is obtained in common for any recording medium on which program data is recorded. Therefore, according to the present invention, the user can select a program to be viewed by common operation. become.

In addition, since a plurality of chapters can be listed for each title, and a title is selected immediately by a button operation, it is possible to easily know the entire program, or at least a part of the configuration of the program recorded on the disc. it can.

It should be noted that the display of a plurality of reduced screens and screen selection means by button operation according to the present invention can be applied to selection of playback conditions such as selection of a multi-angle screen, audio playback, and language selection. The multi-angle screen is provided in the chapter according to the intention of the program producer. In that case,
The fact that the multi-angle is prepared is displayed on the chapter screen, and the address data of the multi-angle screen is output from the disc.

The user sees the display with multi-angle and looks at the multi-button 28 on the remote controller 201 (see FIG. 2).
When is pressed, the selection screen display program 121 executes steps S41 to S51 by replacing chapters with multi-angle videos, and arranges and displays a plurality of reduced multi-angle screens on the screen. An example of such a screen (selection screen) is shown in FIG.

The user operates the cursor button 27 to select an angle screen that he / she wants to see (enclosed by a thick line),
When the enter button 25 is pressed, the screen is enlarged and reproduced.

In addition, since the data for various conditions is output at the start of disk playback,
A plurality of conditions can be displayed on the screen by the above-described means, and a selection operation can be performed by selection and determination.

FIG. 6 shows an example of the selection screen in the case where the selection of the playback condition is selection of a plurality of types of audio. The type of audio is displayed separately according to audio information. With this screen, it is possible to list what kind of audio information exists on the disc, and it is possible to quickly select the desired audio information. In FIG. 6, two linear PCM systems, the Dolby system AC3, and MPEG, which are international standards related to the DVD disk audio system, are displayed as audio information, and one of them, the Dolby system AC3, is selected.

Next, when the enter button 25 is pressed, a sound based on the Dolby system AC3 is reproduced.

In addition, by using the above-mentioned means of the present invention, the title is replaced with various playback condition items (for example, audio system, language, playback mode, etc.), and each condition is displayed on the screen as a small screen for each item. It is possible to list, select and determine various playback conditions by the same simple operation as described above.

<Example 2>
FIG. 7 shows an embodiment in which an information recording function is added to the reproducing apparatus so that the same selection operation as in the first embodiment can be performed when reproducing recorded information. In the figure, in order to avoid complexity, the illustration of the configuration on the playback side is omitted.

In the present embodiment, a program for causing the system control unit 9 to save recording data is added to the selection screen display program 121, and further, a writable program is adopted for the ROM 12, and the recording data storage destination is recorded. A data area 123 is provided in the ROM 12.

When recording video using a camera, the video signal from the camera 74 is converted into a digital video signal via the video A / D converter 72, and the audio signal from the microphone 75 is converted to an audio A / D converter. The digital audio signal is converted into a digital audio signal through the signal 73, encoded by the encoder 71, and then recorded on the disk by the driver unit 1. The record is shown in FIG.
The process starts when the recording button 30 of the remote controller 201 shown in FIG. Since the position on the disc where recording is started is indicated by the address data of the position information taken out from the disc, the system control unit 9 stores the address data in the recording data area 123.

When the video is composed of a title and chapters included therein, the address data of the title start position is stored together.

The contents of the recording data area 123 are substantially the same as the contents of the address data area 131 obtained at the start of reproduction. At the time of reproduction, the processes S41 to S51 of the first embodiment are performed by using the data in the recording data area 123. The video to be viewed can be selected in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Note that the data stored in the recording data area 123 can be recorded together in an empty area of the disc. When the disc is played back by another information recording / playback device or information playback device, it is possible to generate the same selection screen as described above by providing the selection screen display program 121 modified so that the recorded data is obtained from the disc. become.

<Example 3>
As an example of how to use a combination system composed of an information recording / reproducing apparatus and a camera, for example, in the case of a general user, there is a usage in which various events such as weddings, trips, and athletic events are recorded. When the recording button 30 (see FIG. 2) of the remote controller 201 is pressed to start recording, and then the stop button 26 is pressed to stop recording, a continuous scene is called a stream. It becomes a record.

If this single record is called a video program, the event, date, date and place of the video program are the unit of recording. Which unit is used depends on the user's wishes. When the unit is year, month, day, and date, time data is obtained from a clock normally built in the information recording / reproducing apparatus, and the data is used as a symbol representing the video program. When the unit is an event, place, etc., although not shown, a character button is provided on the remote controller 201, and the user inputs the name of the event, place, etc. (may be a simplified name) from here, and the video program is It is a symbol to represent.

In this embodiment, when the video program composed of a plurality of streams is recorded and the recorded program is reproduced, the representative small screen of the plurality of streams is displayed on the screen for each video program, and the obtained selection screen is displayed. The desired representative small screen is selected from the above, and the stream is enlarged and reproduced on the entire screen.

In order to implement the present embodiment, both the encoder unit 71 shown in FIG. 7 and the decoder unit not shown in FIG. 7 are based on an image compression encoding method that generates at least an I picture. A program for causing the system control unit 9 to perform the following processing is added to the selection screen display program 121 shown.

In the case of recording, the symbol data by the user is stored in the ROM 12 for each video program.
In the recording data area 123 (see FIG. 7). At that time, the address data of the start position on the disc of the video program is simultaneously stored. In addition, the address data of the start position on the disk of the stream is stored in the recording data area 123. The address data is address data obtained from the disc when the recording button 30 is pressed to record a stream.

In the case of playback, the OSD screen is displayed when the list button 23 is pressed, the video program symbol stored in the recording data area 123 is displayed in the tag of the selection screen on the screen, and the recording data A stream as a representative small screen to be displayed on the selection screen is reproduced by sequentially reproducing the stream of the video program for each video program based on the symbol data and address data of the video program stored in the area 123 and the address data of the stream. The first I picture is adopted, and the reproduction of the next stream is started immediately after the I picture is displayed.

In MPEG1, MPEG2, and the like, which are image compression / encoding systems defined as international standards, a video is assembled by three types of field screens of I picture, P picture, and B picture. Among these I pictures, compression coding is performed only in the screen, and can exist independently as a still screen. The I picture can be obtained from the decoder unit 3.

An example of the selection screen obtained by the present embodiment is shown in FIG. The tag is displayed in the month and day, and the first I picture of each of the plurality of streams of the video program on January 1 is reduced and displayed as a representative small screen (S1 to S9), and the fourth representative small screen S4 is displayed. Is selected. After setting the screen to be viewed by pressing the enter button 25, the stream is reproduced over the entire screen from the beginning as in the first embodiment.

Various data stored in the recording data area 123 can be recorded in an empty area of the disc. When the disc is played back by another information recording / playback device or information playback device, the selection screen display program 121 modified to obtain various data from the disc can be used to generate the same selection screen as described above. It becomes possible.

Each button of the remote controller 201 can be provided on the side surface or the back surface of the camera. The camera can be easily operated.

<Example 4>
An embodiment in which the representative small screen is changed to the representative small screen instead of the I picture in the third embodiment will be described below. After a plurality of streams serving as video programs are recorded on the disc, these streams are reproduced, and when a screen desired to be a representative small screen appears, the enter button 25 of the remote controller 201 is pressed. The decision button 25 from the reproduction start time of the stream
The time until is pressed can be measured by a timer normally provided in the information recording / reproducing apparatus. The time is data for taking out the representative small screen.

The selection screen display program 121 of this embodiment is modified so that the system control unit 9 performs the following processing on the program of the third embodiment.

Data according to the time of the screen that becomes a representative small screen at the time of recording is stored in the recording data area 123 or a predetermined free area of the disc. Based on the data stored in the recording data area 123 or the free area of the disc during reproduction, the representative small screen is divided into the selection screens and displayed.

It should be noted that the representative small screen is not only selected by the user, but may be an I picture depending on the stream, and it can be designated as a user instruction. Conversely, when all the representative small screens are selected by the user, it goes without saying that a method that does not generate an I picture can be adopted as a compression encoding method.

<Example 5>
An embodiment in which a representative small screen of a stream is a still image or a character image separately produced by a user for each stream and is recorded on a disc will be described below.

Still images can be produced using a camera dedicated to still images (for example, an electronic still camera), a scanner, etc., in addition to setting the camera to a still image mode, and character images can be produced by inputting from a keyboard. it can.

In this embodiment, an area having a size capable of accommodating a still image or a character image is provided in the recording data area 123 or an empty area of the disc, and a table for associating the still image or the character image with the corresponding stream is provided.

The selection screen display program 121 of this embodiment is modified so that the system control unit 9 performs the following processing on the program of the third embodiment.

After taking a video program composed of a plurality of streams, a still image or a character image for the target stream is produced and stored in the free space. At this time, in order to record data in the table, the same area is set in a data standby state. Subsequently, as described in the second embodiment, the disc is reproduced, the corresponding video program selection screen is displayed, the small screen of the target stream is selected, and the enter button 25 is pressed. When the determination button 25 is pressed in the data standby state, the stream start position address data obtained by determining the screen is sent to the standby area instead of playing the stream. The address data is recorded in the table as data relating the stored still image or character image to the corresponding stream, and the standby state is released.

In this way, the still image or the character image is related for each stream, and the table is completed.

At the time of reproduction, the address data of the stream is acquired. Therefore, the corresponding still image or character image is extracted from the data using a table and displayed on the selection screen as a representative small screen.

In the present embodiment as well, it goes without saying that a method that does not generate an I picture can be adopted as a compression encoding method.

<Example 6>
An embodiment in which a plurality of streams are bundled and one representative small screen is obtained therefrom will be described below. In this case, a plurality of bundled streams are used as subprograms, and a plurality of subprograms are used as one video program. That is, it has a multi-layer structure of streams, subprograms, and video programs.

In this embodiment, each time a subprogram is configured, an operation for attaching a symbol to the subprogram is performed, and the stream of the subprogram is reproduced, and the user selects one representative small screen.

The selection screen display program 121 of this embodiment is modified so that the system control unit 9 performs the following processing on the program of the third embodiment.

The disc is played back as described in the second embodiment, and the corresponding video program selection screen is displayed. Next, set the symbol to be given to the subprogram to be created. The symbol is selected by the user from a time such as a number, date and time, an event, a place, etc., and the symbol data is determined by inputting the symbol by the user's button operation. Subsequently, the user selects a stream to be included in the subprogram from the selection screen and presses the enter button 25. When the selection and determination of the stream to be included in the subprogram are completed, the determination button 25 is pressed twice. This double pressing is an operation for indicating completion of the subprogram.

By the time the subprogram is completed, the video program symbol data and its start position address data, the subprogram symbol data, and the start data of each of the multiple streams of the subprogram are recorded in relation to each other. It is stored in the data area 123 or the free area of the disk. Subsequently, a plurality of streams corresponding to the completed subprogram are reproduced, and the user selects and decides one desired representative small screen. The data of the representative small screen is indicated by the time from the start point of the stream as in the case of the fourth embodiment. The time data is stored in association with the above data.

By using the association data stored in this way, it is possible to display a selection screen by a subprogram. The selection screen is similar to that shown in FIG. 8, and an example thereof is shown in FIG. The symbol SUB on the representative small screen indicates that it is a subprogram, and a representative small screen selected by the user is displayed there. The code to be displayed can be a symbol given to the subprogram in addition to SUB.

When the user selects and determines the desired representative small screen, the streams included in the subprogram are sequentially reproduced.

In addition, by using the association data, it is possible to display a subprogram symbol on a tag and display a plurality of streams as a selection screen for each subprogram.

This embodiment is useful when the number of streams constituting the video program is very large.

In the present embodiment as well, it goes without saying that a method that does not generate an I picture can be adopted as a compression encoding method.

On the other hand, as a compression encoding method, a method of generating an I picture is adopted, and the user can select a representative small screen instead of a representative small screen, and the first I picture of the selected stream can be a representative small screen. It is.

  Further, the screen itself for displaying the representative small screen can be made into one video file.

Further, the representative small screen of the stream is arranged in the stream or in the vicinity of the stream, the stream and the representative small screen are associated one-to-one, the representative small screens of each stream are collected, and the selection screen is configured. You can also. In this case, even when the stream is deleted or added, the representative small screen of each stream is collected and the selection screen is newly constructed. Therefore, the stream is compared with the case where the selection screen is a single video file. There is an effect that can be easily added or deleted.

<Example 7>
FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the selection screen obtained by starting the selection screen display program 121 (see FIG. 1) of the present invention.

In the selection screen 17, a symbol is displayed in the frame at the top of the screen (in accordance with the number of titles accommodated on the disc).
(Hereinafter referred to as “tag”) 18 is indicated by a number, and a representative screen 19 of each title is displayed. In this example, the number of titles possessed by the disc is 18, and nine title representative screens 19a to 19i from title number 1 to title number 9 are displayed.

In order to indicate that the second title number 2 (19b) is selected, the display brightness of the title number 2 is increased (highlight display portion 62).

About the selected title number and the total number of chapters in the title, the detailed display section 63
Is displayed.

In this example, since the number of tags that can be displayed on one screen is four, for example, to display the number of 18 titles, title numbers 1 to 9 are assigned to the first tag, and the second tag is assigned. It can be displayed by assigning title numbers 10-18. Therefore, although the third and fourth tags are not displayed in this example, it goes without saying that the display method may be changed as appropriate, for example, a tag frame is displayed and a title number is not described.

Other than the small screen, the tag 18 and the numbers displayed there, the title numbers (Title 1 to Title 9) of the small screens 19a to 19i, and the boundary line that divides the small screen are the OSD screen.

Next, processing executed by the system control unit 11 in accordance with the selection screen display program 121 of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In the processing, for example, the address data indicating the playback start position of the title and chapter of the video recorded on the DVD disc is stored in the address data area 131 of the RAM 13.
It starts after being stored in. For storing these address data, for example, the playback device is turned on and a disk is loaded, and then the playback button 22 of the remote controller 201 is stored.
It may be performed when is pressed.

When the process is started (S110), the user waits for the user to press the list button 23 of the remote controller 201 (S111).

A maximum of nine representative screens are displayed on the display screen. Therefore, when the number of titles stored on the disc is 10 or more (S112), a selection screen for selecting a title is displayed (S113).

The title selection screen can always be displayed and executed without setting the condition of this step (S113).

On the title selection screen, a tag that clearly indicates the range of title numbers displayed on the display screen (
In the example of FIG. 10, the number of tags is 2).

Playback is started and the representative screen image is adopted as the start screen of each title on the selection screen.

When a title is selected on the title selection screen (S114), a chapter selection screen for selecting a chapter is displayed (S115).

The reproduction is started and the representative screen image is adopted as the screen of each chapter on the selection screen. When a chapter is selected on the chapter selection screen (S116), the selected chapter is reproduced (S117), and the process is terminated (S118).

If there is only one chapter of the title selected on the title selection screen, playback may be started directly from the beginning of the title without going through the chapter selection screen.

When the list button 23 of the remote controller 201 is pressed again without selecting a title or chapter, the selection screen is canceled and the list button 23 of the remote controller 201 is pressed (immediately before the selection screen is displayed). Return to state.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining operations on the title selection screen and the chapter selection screen.

The process waits (S140) to wait for the user to press the cursor button 27 of the remote controller 201 (S141) or the enter button 25 (S143). When the cursor button 27 is pressed, the display of the representative screen title number of the corresponding title selection screen, the representative screen chapter number of the chapter selection screen, or the tag according to the cursor button (up, down, left, right) The brightness is increased (highlight display portion), and it is clearly indicated that it is selected (S142).

If the next title selection screen or chapter selection screen exists for the right button of the cursor when selecting the title number or chapter number in the third column, the next title selection screen or chapter selection screen is displayed. The first column is a highlight display section.

If the previous title selection screen or chapter selection screen exists for the cursor left button when selecting the title number or chapter number in the first column, the previous title selection screen or chapter selection screen is displayed. The third column is the highlight display section.

For the cursor up button when the title number or chapter number in the first row is selected, the tag is the highlight display section.

When the title number or chapter number on the third row is selected, the highlight display portion does not move with respect to the cursor down button.

When the highlight display portion is a tag, if there is a valid tag on the right for the cursor right button, the right tag is highlighted and a display screen corresponding to the tag is displayed. For example, when moving from the tag of “titles 1 to 9” to “titles 10 to 18”, the screen of each title of titles 10 to 18 is displayed.

When the highlight display portion is a tag, if there is a valid tag on the left for the cursor left button, the left tag is highlighted and a display screen corresponding to the tag is displayed.

When the highlight display portion is a tag, the highlight display portion does not move with respect to the cursor up button.

When the highlight display portion is a tag, the title number or chapter number in the first row is used as the highlight display portion for the cursor down button.

When there is no button input for 1 second or longer (S144), the video of the highlighted title number or chapter number is reproduced with the small screen (S145).

For playback, playback methods such as normal playback, frame advance playback, slow playback, frame skip playback, and fast forward playback are used. Note that this reproduction may be performed not only on the small screen of the video of the title number or chapter number that is highlighted, but also on an arbitrary small screen displayed on the selection screen 17.

This small screen may be played back with or without sound.

In this embodiment, fast-forward playback without sound is performed.

In addition, it is possible to arbitrarily set whether or not playback is performed again from the start position of each title or chapter after playback to the end of each title or chapter.

Needless to say, the time limit for button input may be any time including 0 seconds.

When the enter button is pressed, the title number or chapter number selected from the highlighted title number or chapter number is determined (S146), and the process ends (S146).
S147).

Note that if the tag is highlighted and the enter button is pressed, the title number,
Alternatively, although the chapter number is not determined, in the present embodiment, it is determined that the upper left small screen in the selection screen is selected.

In FIG. 10 of the above embodiment, the representative screens 19 a to 19 i are smaller than the selection screen 17. However, for example, the representative screen 19 a may be the same size as the selection screen 17. In this case, the other representative screens 19b to 19i are displayed so as to be superimposed on the representative screen 19a. Therefore, the tag 18 as shown in FIG. 10 may not be provided, but the tag 18 is not essential, and any other display method that can identify and select a title may be used.

In the description of the above embodiment, the start screen is displayed as a small screen and is divided and displayed on the selection screen. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The screen may be displayed so as to overlap each other, and played back and displayed in full on the basis of selection and determination. An example of this is shown in FIG.

Of course, any one start screen may be displayed in full on the display screen, and another start screen may be displayed on top of it. An example of this is shown in FIG.

Further, as the representative screen or the start screen, a screen cut out from the full screen size can be used, and examples thereof will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 15 shows the representative screen 19as and the representative screen 19am cut out with the center of the full screen as a reference.

FIG. 16 shows the representative screen 19as and the representative screen 19am cut out with the lower right corner of the full screen as a reference. The reference position is not limited to the lower right corner, but may be the lower left corner, the upper right corner, or the upper left corner.

FIG. 17 shows a representative screen 19am of FIG. 16 as a representative screen 19a displayed on the selection screen 17.
This is an example in which the cut out size is used as it is.

18 shows a representative screen 19am shown in FIG. 16 as a representative screen 19a displayed on the selection screen 17.
This is an example in which the extracted size is enlarged.

In the description of FIGS. 17 and 18, the description has been made on the representative screen 19 am of FIG. 16, but the representative screen 19 as of FIG. 16 may be used, or the representative screen 19 am and the representative screen 19 as of FIG. 15 may be used.

In the above description, the center, lower right corner, lower left corner, upper right corner, and upper left corner of the screen are cut out, but these positions are only taken as a reference for the sake of simplicity.

Accordingly, the reference position is not limited to these positions, and any position on the screen may be used, and can be set as appropriate so that the content displayed on the screen can be confirmed. is there. Therefore, the cut-out screen can be cut out at an arbitrary size from an arbitrary position and can be reproduced and displayed at an arbitrary size on the assumption that the content displayed on the screen can be confirmed.

Further, in the means for displaying on the screen the symbols corresponding to a plurality of programs recorded on the recording medium, the symbols corresponding to the programs are not limited to symbols only, but an identifier or display that can identify the program Any method may be used as long as the program can be identified, such as using a screen corresponding to the program.

Furthermore, the means for displaying symbols corresponding to a plurality of programs recorded on the recording medium on the screen does not necessarily display the symbols on the screen. For example, if a plurality of programs recorded on the recording medium can be selected without using symbols, there is no need to display symbols corresponding to the programs on the screen. Therefore, it is possible not to provide a means for displaying symbols corresponding to a plurality of programs on the screen.

In the above description, the DVD disk is the target. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to other discs, tape-shaped recording media, and semiconductor recording media such as a memory as long as program data is recorded in advance. It is possible and the same effect can be obtained.

In the above description, the OSD screen is used. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any screen display method capable of obtaining the effects of the present invention, such as a selection screen, a representative screen presentation, and a representative screen selection operation. It goes without saying that it is good.

The block block diagram for demonstrating the 1st Example of the information reproducing apparatus and information recording / reproducing apparatus which concern on this invention. FIG. 5 is a button layout diagram for explaining a remote controller used in the embodiment. The figure which shows the example of the selection screen of the image | video in a 1st Example. The flowchart figure for demonstrating the process by the selection screen display program of this invention. The figure which shows the example of the selection screen of a multi angle. The figure which shows the example of the selection screen of audio | voice information. The block block diagram for demonstrating the 2nd Example of this invention. The figure which shows the example of the selection screen of an image | video in the 3rd Example of this invention. The figure which shows the example of the selection screen of the image | video in the 6th Example of this invention. The figure which shows the example of the selection screen of the image | video in the 7th Example of this invention. The flowchart for demonstrating the process algorithm of the 7th Example of this invention. The flowchart figure for demonstrating the operation | movement in the title selection screen of the 7th Example of this invention, and a chapter selection screen. The figure which shows the example of the selection screen of the image | video in the 7th Example of this invention. The figure which shows the example of the selection screen of the image | video in the 7th Example of this invention. The figure for demonstrating the example of the representative screen in the Example of this invention, or a start screen. The figure for demonstrating the example of the representative screen in the Example of this invention, or a start screen. The figure for demonstrating the example of the representative screen in the Example of this invention, or a start screen. The figure for demonstrating the example of the representative screen in the Example of this invention, or a start screen.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Driver part, 2 ... Buffer part, 3 ... Decoder part, 4, 13 ... RAM, 9 ... System control part, 10 ... Bus line, 11 ... User interface part, 12 ... ROM, 121 ... Selection screen display program, 122 ... OSD data, 123 ... recording data area, 131 ... address data area, 132 ... OSD work area, 401 ... display screen area.

Claims (2)

An information recording / reproducing apparatus for reproducing information from a recording medium on which a plurality of titles having a plurality of chapters are recorded,
Reproducing means for reproducing the information;
Input means for inputting a selection by the user or a decision of the selection;
Control means for controlling the reproduction means,
The control means includes
A title selection screen for displaying a list of information related to the title is output to display means, and when a predetermined time elapses after one of the information related to the title is selected on the title selection screen, input from the user to the input means Even if there is no, the selected one title is automatically played back as a reduced image , and further,
When a user operation is performed on one of the information on the title on the title selection screen, a chapter selection screen for displaying a list of information on the chapter is output to a display unit, and on the chapter selection screen, the chapter on the chapter is displayed. When a predetermined time has passed after one of the information is selected, the selected one chapter is controlled to automatically play a video as a reduced image without any input from the user in the input means ,
What is selected is any one of the title and the chapter, an information recording / reproducing apparatus characterized in that what is automatically reproduced as a reduced image is normal reproduction with sound . An information reproducing method for reproducing information from a recording medium on which a plurality of titles having a plurality of chapters are recorded,
Reproducing the information;
Entering a selection by the user or a decision of said selection;
Outputting a title selection screen for displaying a list of information about the title to a display means;
In the title selection screen, if one of the information related to the title has been selected and a predetermined time has elapsed, the selected title is automatically played back as a reduced image without any input from the user. Steps ,
In the title selection screen, when a user operation is performed on one of the information on the title, outputting a chapter selection screen for displaying a list of information on the chapter to a display unit;
In the chapter selection screen, when one of the information on the chapter has been selected and a predetermined time has elapsed, the selected chapter is automatically displayed as a reduced image even if there is no input from the user in the input means. It possesses a step of Mama video playback,
What is selected is either the title or the chapter, the information playback method is characterized in that what is automatically played back as a reduced image is normal playback with sound .

Images