JP7070886B2 - Information storage device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information storage technique for encoding and storing video data and audio data.

Conventionally, as an information storage technique, a technique has been known in which it is possible to select whether or not to perform encoding of received digital broadcast video data and audio data when they are stored in a storage medium (Patent Documents). 1).

By encoding video data and audio data, the amount of those data becomes smaller. Therefore, it is possible to save storage medium resources and efficiently store video data and the like.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-186815

However, if the video data or audio data is encoded by a codec that cannot be handled by the playback device or playback software at hand, the video or audio cannot be reproduced.
For example, the encoded video data may not be playable with a codec that is standard built into the operating system WINDOWS® or the included Windows Media Player®. Also, the codec that can be played may change depending on the version upgrade of the operating system. Furthermore, codec technology is advancing day by day, and there can always be a gap between the video data storage side and the video data user side regarding the codec.

For example, if the video encoded by MPEG-2 can be played, but the video compressed by H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC cannot be used, it can be used by the playback device at hand using software. By converting the encoding method to (eg, converting from MPEG-2 to H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC or from H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC to MPEG-2) or by installing the corresponding codec. , You will be able to play the video.

However, conversion of the coding method and installation of the codec are time-consuming, and in particular, conversion of the coding method requires a considerable amount of time depending on the performance of the computer and the amount of video data. Also, it may not be possible to install a new codec.

Therefore, an information storage technique that can not only encode and store video data and audio data but also store video and audio so that they can be handled by various playback devices and playback software is desired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and at least an information storage device that can not only encode and store video data but also can be stored so that it can be handled by various playback devices and playback software, and is excellent in convenience at the time of use. The challenge is to provide.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 acquires and uses viewing data of digital broadcast programs broadcast by a broadcasting station and received through a transmission / reception unit and video contents received from a computer network via the Internet. An information storage device provided to a user terminal, which has a coding code for encoding viewing data including video data and audio data, and a coding processing unit for generating encoded viewing data as compressed viewing data, and the above-mentioned code. In an information storage device provided with a storage unit for storing compressed viewing data generated by the conversion processing unit.
The coding processing unit has two or more video codecs having different coding methods, encodes one viewing data with the two or more video codecs, and has different coding methods. Two or more compressed viewing data having two or more voice codecs and encoding one viewing data with the two or more voice codecs, thereby having common contents and different coding methods. The storage unit stores two or more compressed viewing data having the common contents generated by the coding processing unit and having different coding methods, and further holds the compressed viewing data via the Internet. It is provided with a codec acquisition unit that extracts and acquires a video codec and an audio codec that have not been recorded from a computer network, and the codec acquisition unit extracts and extracts the degree of diffusion or the number of users of the video codec and the audio codec in the computer network. The video codec and the audio codec that are judged to have the prevalence or the number of users is equal to or more than the standard value are acquired, and the video data and the audio coded are used by the video codec and the audio codec selected by the user via the user terminal. It is an information storage device characterized by encoding voice data.

The "information storage device" is a device capable of storing video, audio, etc., such as a so-called video recording device or a personal computer.

The "viewing data" is, for example, data such as video and audio such as a program digitally broadcast by a broadcasting station and video content distributed via the Internet. The viewing data is not particularly limited as long as it can be encoded.

"Extracting the degree of penetration or the number of users and determining that the extracted degree of penetration or the number of users is equal to or higher than the standard value" uses, for example, the frequency of appearance of a character string indicating a codec on a plurality of selected websites. Can be done.

In the invention according to claim 2, in addition to the configuration according to claim 1 or 2, the coding processing unit may be used as the video codec. It has 264 / MPEG-4 AVC and MPEG-2, and is characterized by having MP3 and WMA as the audio codec.

[Explanation of terms]
H. 264 / MPEG-4 AVC: ITU-T Rec. H. 264 | ISO / IEC 14496-10 Advanced Video Coding.
MPEG-2: Moving Picture Experts Group Phase 2.
MP3: MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3.
WMA: windows Media Audio.

H. which is a video codec. 264 / MPEG-4 AVC and MPEG-2, the audio codecs MP3, and WMA are widely used codecs.

In the invention according to claim 3, in addition to the configuration according to claim 1, the coding processing unit is configured so that the video codec and the audio codec can be replaced with other video codecs and audio codecs. It is characterized by.

In the invention according to claim 4, in addition to the configuration according to claim 1, the coding processing unit has three or more video codecs having different coding methods, and two selected video codecs. It is characterized in that the video data is encoded by the above video codec.

In the invention according to claim 5, in addition to the configuration according to claim 1, a code for converting a method for encoding compressed viewing data generated by the coding processing unit into another coding method. It is characterized by having a conversion method conversion unit.

In the invention according to claim 6, in addition to the configuration according to claim 5, the coding method conversion unit may be used for a conversion source coding method, a conversion destination coding method, and a conversion method. It is configured to be able to accept a conversion execution plan including a start time, and is characterized in that the conversion is executed based on the received conversion execution plan.

The "conversion execution plan" converts the selected viewing data from H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC to MPEG-2 at an arbitrary time, for example.

The conversion execution plan may include an item that specifies the program to be converted by the coding method and its part.

In the invention according to claim 7, in addition to the configuration according to claim 1, the storage unit continuously uses the compressed viewing data of the viewing data digitally broadcast by at least one broadcasting station. It is characterized by using a large-capacity storage medium that can be stored for more than a year, or by constructing a storage medium that can be expanded.

According to the invention according to claim 1, the viewing data including video data and audio data is encoded by the codec of the coding processing unit to be compressed viewing data, and the compressed viewing data is stored in the storage unit.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the amount of video data and audio data can be reduced by coding, saving storage medium resources and efficiently storing viewing data (programs, etc.). can.

However, if the video data or audio data is encoded by a codec that cannot be handled by the playback device or playback software at hand, the video or audio cannot be reproduced.

For example, an image encoded by MPEG-2 can be played back, but an image compressed by H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC cannot be used.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, two or more compressed viewing data having common contents and different coding methods for video data are generated and stored by the coding processing unit. Therefore, one viewing data (program, etc.) can be saved so that it can be handled by various playback devices.

That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information storage device that can not only encode and store video data but also store it so that it can be handled by various playback devices and playback software, and is excellent in convenience at the time of use. can.

Therefore, for example, it is possible to avoid a situation in which encoded video data cannot be played back by a codec standardly incorporated in the operating system WINDOWS® or the attached Windows Media Player®.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, two or more compressed viewing data having common contents and different coding methods for audio data are generated and stored by the coding processing unit. Therefore, one viewing data (program, etc.) can be saved so that it can be handled by various playback devices and playback software.

That is, according to the invention of claim 1, in addition to video data, audio data can be stored so that it can be handled by various playback devices and playback software, providing an information storage device that is more convenient when used. can.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the video codec and the audio codec that are not possessed are acquired from the computer network by the codec acquisition unit. Therefore, the newly published codec can be used without the work of acquiring the newly published codec, and therefore an information storage device excellent in diversification can be easily realized.

According to the invention according to claim 1, the codec acquisition unit extracts the degree of penetration or the number of users in a computer network, and the extracted degree of penetration or the number of users is determined to be equal to or higher than a reference value. And the audio codec is acquired.

For this reason, it is possible to avoid the acquisition of unnecessary video codecs and audio codecs, and it is shown that the acquired codecs are the main codecs, and it is easy to save viewing data by the frequently used coding method. You will be able to do it reliably and reliably.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the video data is widely spread by the coding processing unit. It is encoded by the 264 / MPEG-4 AVC method and the MPEG-2 method, and is encoded by the MP3 and WMA methods, which are widely used as audio codecs.
Therefore, since the number of playback devices and the like that can handle the video data and the audio data encoded and stored increases, it is possible to provide an information storage device that is more convenient at the time of use.

According to the invention of claim 3, since the video codec and the audio codec in the coding processing unit are configured to be replaceable with other video codecs and audio codecs, it is possible to cope with the standardization of the codec and the mainstream change. This makes it possible to store video and audio for a long period of time.

According to the invention according to claim 4, since the video data is encoded by two or more video codecs selected from three or more video codecs having different coding methods, the video by a useless method is used. It is possible to avoid data coding and efficiently store viewing data.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the coding method conversion unit converts the compression viewing data coding method into another coding method.
Therefore, even if the stored compressed viewing data cannot be decoded by the playback device on the user side, it can be re-encoded by a playable method.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the above conversion is executed based on the conversion execution plan including the conversion source coding method, the conversion destination coding method, and the conversion start time.

Therefore, for example, it is possible to automatically convert the coding method in a time zone in which digital broadcasting is not performed or in a time zone in which the processing load of other information storage devices is small.

According to the invention of claim 7, since the storage unit is configured to use a large-capacity storage medium or to expand the storage medium, the viewing data to be digitally broadcast is encoded for a long period of time. Can be accumulated.

Further, the invention according to claim 7 can accumulate viewing data while sufficiently ensuring long-term reproducibility.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an information storage device according to the present invention.

The information storage device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The information storage device of the present embodiment is a device that has a codec that encodes viewing data including video data and audio data, and can reduce the amount of those data by encoding and store the data.

As shown in FIG. 1, the information storage device 10 of the present embodiment has viewing data such as a digital broadcast program broadcast by the broadcasting station 21 and received through the transmission / reception unit 11 and video content received from the computer network 18 via the Internet. To get.

The information storage device 10 is generated by a coding processing unit 12 that encodes video data and audio data included in the acquired viewing data and generates the encoded viewing data as compressed viewing data, and a coding processing unit 12. It is provided with a storage unit 15 for storing compressed viewing data.

The coding processing unit 12 has a different coding method as a video codec. It has two types, 264 / MPEG-4 AVC and MPEG-2.

Further, the coding processing unit 12 has two types of audio codecs, MP3 and WMA, which have different coding methods.

The coding processing unit 12 encodes one viewing data such as a specific digital broadcast program by the above two types of video codecs and two types of audio codecs, and has common contents and only a coding method. Generates two different compressed viewing data.

Specifically, H. The video data encoded by 264 / MPEG-4 AVC and the audio data encoded by MP3 are combined into one as a reproducible file by the playback device and used as the first compressed viewing data. It is stored in the storage unit 13.

Similarly, the video data encoded by MPEG-2 and the audio data encoded by WMA are combined into one as a reproducible file by the playback device and used as the second compressed viewing data, and then the second compressed viewing data is also obtained. It is stored in one storage unit 13.
The second storage unit 14 is provided to store the viewing data converted by the coding method described later.

The storage unit 15 having the first storage unit 13 can store the first compressed viewing data and the second compressed viewing data having common contents generated by the coding processing unit 12 and having different coding methods. , The compressed viewing data generated from the viewing data digitally broadcast by at least one broadcasting station is continuously configured by using a large-capacity hard disk that can be stored for 10 years or more.

The first compressed data and the second compressed viewing data generated by the coding processing unit 12 can be reproduced by the user terminal 16 or copied to a storage medium.

Further, the coding processing unit 12 is a video codec, H.I. 264 / MPEG-4 AVC and MPEG-2 are configured to be replaceable with other video codecs, and MP3 and WMA, which are audio codecs, are configured to be replaceable with other audio codecs.

Other video codecs are, for example, Xvid, DivX, VP9, Motion JPEG, DV, MPEG-1, MPEG-4, H.265 / HEVC, WMV9, and other audio codecs are AAC, Vorbis, AC3, etc. MP2 and so on. For encoding viewing data broadcast in full high-definition, H.265 / HEVC and subsequent H.266 are suitable from the viewpoint of compressing the amount of data.

The coding processing unit 12 has no limitation on the codecs that can be executed, and when it has three or more video codecs having different coding methods, the video codec selected by the user via the user terminal 16 And audio codecs are used to encode video data and audio data.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the information storage device 10 includes a codec acquisition unit 17. The codec acquisition unit 17 extracts a video codec and an audio codec that are not owned via the Internet from the computer network 18 via the transmission / reception unit 11, acquires them, and sends them to the coding processing unit 12.

The codec acquisition unit 17 extracts the usage status of the video codec and the audio codec in the computer network 18, and then acquires only the video codec and the audio codec for which the usage status is determined to be equal to or higher than the reference value. There is.

As the usage status, for example, it is preferable that the degree of penetration of the codec and the number of users can be estimated. In the codec acquisition unit 17 of the present embodiment, the frequency of appearance and the usage of the character string indicating the codec are extracted from a plurality of preselected websites, and the degree of diffusion is the third or higher based on the result. Acquires the video codec and the audio codec determined to be. The reference value such as the third is appropriately selected.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the information storage device 10 converts the coding method of the compressed viewing data generated by the coding processing unit 12 and stored in the first storage unit 13 into another coding method. A coding method conversion unit 19 is provided.

The coding method conversion unit 19 executes the conversion of the coding method when a request is received via the user terminal 16.

The coding method conversion unit 19 includes a conversion source coding method (for example, H.264 / MPEG-4AVC), a conversion destination coding method (for example, MPEG-2), a conversion start time, and a code. It is possible to accept a conversion execution plan including viewing data to be converted and execute the conversion process based on the received conversion execution plan. The conversion execution plan is appropriately set by the user via the user terminal 16.

The compressed viewing data converted by the coding method conversion unit 19 is stored in the second storage unit 14, and can be reproduced by the user terminal 16 or copied to the storage medium.

Next, the effect of the information storage device 10 will be described.
In the information storage device 10 of the present embodiment, the viewing data including the video data and the audio data is encoded by the codec of the coding processing unit 12 to be compressed viewing data, and this compressed viewing data is the first storage unit. It is stored in 13.

Therefore, according to the information storage device 10, the amount of video data and audio data is reduced by coding, and viewing data (programs and the like) can be efficiently stored by saving storage medium resources.

Further, by the coding processing unit 12, H. 264 / MPEG-4 AVC-encoded video data and MP3-encoded audio data are reproducibly combined into one file, and at the same time, MPEG-2 encoded video data and WMA encoded. The generated voice data is reproducibly combined into one file and stored in the storage unit 15.

Therefore, depending on the playback device, a program encoded and compressed by MPEG-2 and WMA can be played, but a program compressed by H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC and MP3 cannot be played. It can be avoided.

That is, according to the information storage device 10 of the present embodiment, not only the video data and the audio data can be encoded and stored, but also can be stored so that they can be handled by various playback devices and playback software, and the information is excellent in convenience at the time of use. A storage device can be provided.

Although the information storage device according to the present invention has been described above based on one embodiment, the specific configuration is not limited to the present embodiment and deviates from the gist of the invention described in the claims. Unless otherwise, changes or additions are allowed.

For example, in the present embodiment, the transmission / reception unit is provided inside the information storage device, but the transmission / reception unit may be provided outside the information storage device.

Further, the first storage unit and the second storage unit may be configured as separate hard disks, or may be configured by dividing the area of one hard disk.

The information storage device according to the present invention has a wide range of industrial potential, such as a server for storing video and audio, a video recording device for home use, and the like.

10 ... Information storage device 11 ... Transmission / reception unit 12 ... Coding processing unit 13 ... First storage unit 14 ... Second storage unit 15 ... Storage unit 16 ... User terminal 17 ... Codec acquisition unit 18 ... Computer network 19 ... Coding method conversion Department

Claims (7)

An information storage device that acquires viewing data of digital broadcast programs broadcast by a broadcasting station and received through a transmission / reception unit and video contents received from a computer network via the Internet and provides them to a user terminal.
It has a codec that encodes viewing data including video data and audio data, and stores a coding processing unit that generates encoded viewing data as compressed viewing data and compressed viewing data generated by the coding processing unit. In an information storage device equipped with a storage unit
The coding processing unit has two or more video codecs having different coding methods, encodes one viewing data with the two or more video codecs, and has different coding methods. Two or more compressed viewing data having two or more audio codecs and encoding one viewing data with the two or more audio codecs, thereby having common contents and different coding methods. To generate,
The storage unit stores two or more compressed viewing data having common contents generated by the coding processing unit and having different coding methods.
Furthermore, it is equipped with a codec acquisition unit that extracts and acquires video codecs and audio codecs that it does not own from the computer network via the Internet.
The codec acquisition unit extracts the degree of penetration or the number of users of the video codec and the audio codec in the computer network, and acquires the video codec and the audio codec for which it is determined that the extracted degree of penetration or the number of users is equal to or higher than the reference value. ,
An information storage device for encoding video data and audio data using the video codec and the audio codec selected by the user via the user terminal. The coding processing unit may be used as the video codec. The information storage device according to claim 1, wherein the information storage device has 264 / MPEG-4 AVC and MPEG-2, and has MP3 and WMA as the audio codecs. The information storage device according to claim 1 , wherein the coding processing unit is configured so that the video codec and the audio codec can be replaced with another video codec and the audio codec. Claim 1 is characterized in that the coding processing unit has three or more video codecs having different coding methods, and encodes the video data with two or more selected video codecs.
Information storage device described in. The information storage device according to claim 1, further comprising a coding method conversion unit that converts a coding method of compressed viewing data generated by the coding processing unit into another coding method. The coding method conversion unit is configured to be able to accept a conversion execution plan including a conversion source coding method, a conversion destination coding method, and a conversion start time, and is based on the received conversion execution plan. The information storage device according to claim 5, wherein the conversion is performed. The storage unit uses a large-capacity storage medium that can continuously store the compressed viewing data of viewing data digitally broadcast by at least one broadcasting station for 10 years or more, or an additional storage medium. The information storage device according to claim 1, wherein the information storage device is configured to be possible.

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