JPH11213524A - Recording and reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the redundancy as video recording data and to vary the recording time of images to be recorded by recording compressed image data on a disk shaped recording medium while performing an importance specifying operation and recording them while varying the data rate to a prescribed data rate higher than that of a normal time as an importance specification corresponding recording operation corresponding to the importance specifying operation. SOLUTION: Image pickup signal data to be outputted by a cameral block 2 are coded into compressed moving image data by the VBR mode of an MPEG 2 format in a video signal processing part 3. Simultaneously with this, the voice collected with a microphone 202 is also compressingly coded by an ATTRAC2 format in the part 3. Then, controllings and processings for making them so as to be recorded by the compressed moving image data rate of a standard speed. Moreover, when the specification of an importance specifying key is present, this device moves to a video recording operation and a sound recording operation corresponding to the operation of the importance specifying key.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording / reproducing apparatus capable of recording / reproducing moving image data corresponding to, for example, a predetermined type of recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as a video camera in which an imaging device such as a camera and a recording / reproducing device such as a video deck are integrated, for example, a device capable of recording / reproducing a captured image by digital data has become widespread.

In this case, the quality of a moving image recorded as a captured image and the length of recording time on a recording medium largely depend on the data rate of recording data. For this reason, depending on the model, for example, SP (Sho
There has been known an apparatus capable of switching between an rt Play) mode and an LP (Long Play) mode. In this case, in the SP mode, by increasing the data rate, recording can be performed with high image quality although the recording time is short, and L
In the P mode, recording can be performed for a long time by lowering the data rate, but recording is performed with lower image quality than in the SP mode. Such switching of the recording mode is generally set by a user performing a predetermined operation before the start of recording, and at the time of recording, the recording operation is performed after being fixed in the set recording mode. Will be

[0004]

By the way, in consideration of the case where the user is actually recording using a video camera, all the contents of the images taken during the recording period are not necessarily important to the user. However, it is often the case that only certain image contents during the recording period are important to the user.

However, as described above, during the recording period, the recording mode is generally fixed and cannot be switched. For this reason, for example, when it is assumed that the user intends to record a part of the content to be recorded from now on, the content of which is highly important and which needs to be recorded with high image quality, for example, the SP mode is set in advance. It is necessary to set and record, and in this case, the overall redundancy of the recording contents requested by the user as recorded data becomes too high. That is,
If the user wants to shoot only a part of the recorded content with high image quality, the user has to reluctantly select a short recording time. Considering such a situation, at the time of shooting, for example, by a user operation,
It is preferable for the user's convenience that the data rate of the image to be recorded, which corresponds to the switching of the recording mode, can be changed according to the importance of the recorded content.

[0006] For example, as a method for searching for image data recorded as a file on a certain recording medium, a search screen based on so-called thumbnail display is often displayed on a display screen in recent years. “Thumbnail display” refers to a thumbnail image in which a representative screen of a still image or a moving image, which is representative for each file recorded on a recording medium, is displayed in one screen in a form smaller than usual. The thumbnail image is created and arranged on a display screen to form a search screen and output for display. By performing such a thumbnail display, for example, the user can visually grasp the contents of the image file recorded on the recording medium, and can quickly and accurately search for a desired file. Becomes

For example, as an operation using the thumbnail display as a user interface, generally,
The user selects a thumbnail image corresponding to a desired file from a plurality of thumbnail images arranged on the thumbnail display screen with a cursor or the like, and performs an operation such as a click. Then, for example, the image data of the file corresponding to the thumbnail image selected by the user is reproduced and displayed in a normal size from the recording medium.

[0008] Such a thumbnail display and the aforementioned
When considering in connection with the change of the data rate according to the importance of the recorded content in a video camera or the like, the file containing the highly important content as the recorded content does not include, for example, the highly important content at all. Compared to the file, the file is regarded as a file having a higher priority for the user. For this reason, it is preferable from a user's point of view that the information regarding the file, which is considered to be a high priority for the user, is presented in some form even when the thumbnail is displayed as the search screen.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a method for recording or reproducing compressed image data which is compression-encoded at a variable data rate in accordance with a predetermined disk-shaped recording medium. In a recording / reproducing apparatus capable of performing important designation operation means capable of performing important designation operation, and important designation corresponding recording operation corresponding to important designation operation when recording compressed image data on a disk-shaped recording medium, It is provided with a recording control means capable of performing recording by changing the rate to a required data rate higher than usual.

At this time, the important designation operation means includes:
The recording control means is configured to be capable of outputting pressure level information indicating the strength of the pressing force, and the recording control means varies the data rate based on the pressure level information as an important designation corresponding recording operation. It was decided to constitute.

A disk rotation speed for variably controlling the rotation speed of the disk-shaped recording medium so that recording on the disk-shaped recording medium is performed at a transfer data rate based on the data rate changed by the important designation corresponding recording operation. Control means is provided.

Further, in the compressed image data file including the data recorded by the important designation corresponding recording operation in accordance with the above configuration, the identification information indicating that the important designation has been made is specified on the recording medium. A display control means capable of displaying and outputting thumbnail images of all or some of the compressed image data files recorded on the disk-shaped recording medium after being recorded in the area is provided. The display control means includes a predetermined display indicating that the important designation has been performed for the file including the compressed image data on which the important designation correspondence recording operation has been performed based on the identification information read from the recording medium. The configuration is such that a thumbnail image is generated so that a form can be obtained, and the thumbnail image is output for display.

The display control means displays a thumbnail image of only the compressed image data file subjected to the important designation correspondence recording operation from among the image data files to be displayed and output as thumbnail images. It is configured to be able to output. Further, as the display control means, for a file including the compressed image data recorded by the important designation corresponding recording operation, the compressed image data recorded during the important designation corresponding recording operation period at the time of recording the file. It is configured to generate a thumbnail image based on.

According to the above arrangement, when recording the compressed image data which is compressed and encoded by the variable data rate corresponding to the disk-shaped recording medium, the user can specify the important designation even during the recording execution period of the compressed image data. The change can be performed by increasing the data rate (compressed image data rate) of the compressed image data by the operation. That is, it is possible to improve the image quality of the recorded content portion given priority during the recording of the compressed image data based on the user's important designation operation. At this time, for example, if the compressed image data rate is changed in accordance with the pressing level information as an important designation operation, that is, the compressed image data rate is increased as the pressing level increases, the importance determined by the user Thus, the change in the image quality of the recorded image according to the degree of the change can be obtained. Further, for example, when the disk rotation speed remains at the standard speed when the compressed image data rate is increased, the compressed image data rate is temporarily stored in a memory or the like, and is then stored. A configuration for reading data from the memory at a transfer data rate corresponding to the speed and transferring the data to the disk driver is required. However, according to the present invention, recording at a data transfer rate corresponding to a variable compressed image data rate is performed. If the disk rotation speed of the disk-shaped recording medium is changed so as to perform the above operation, it is not necessary to adopt the above configuration.

For a file having recorded contents for which an important designation operation has been performed, a display indicating that an important designation has been made is displayed at the time of thumbnail display, and a thumbnail display can be performed only for an important designated file. By doing so, the fact that an important designation operation has been performed at the time of recording can be reflected as search information. At this time, with respect to the file designated as important, a thumbnail image is generated from the recorded content on which the important designation operation has been performed, so that the content of the search information about the important designated file can be further enhanced. .

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. The image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is mounted on a portable video camera in which a camera device unit and a recording / reproducing device unit capable of recording and reproducing images (still images or moving images) and audio are integrated. Take the case as an example. Further, the recording / reproducing device section mounted on the video camera of the present embodiment adopts a configuration for recording and reproducing data corresponding to a so-called mini disk, which is known as a kind of magneto-optical disk. The description will be made in the following order. 1. Disk format 2. 2. External configuration of video camera 3. Internal configuration of video camera 4. Configuration of media drive section 5. Example of disk structure corresponding to this embodiment Recording operation of the present embodiment 6-1. Recording operation example of recording file 6-2. Processing operation 7. 7. Thumbnail display of present embodiment 7-1. Example of display form of thumbnail 7-2. Processing operation 8. Modified example

1. Disc Format The recording / reproducing device section mounted on the video camera of this example is assumed to be compatible with a format called MD data, which records / reproduces data in correspondence with a mini disc (magneto-optical disc). . As this MD data format, two types of formats called MD-DATA1 and MD-DATA2 have been developed, but the video camera of this example is capable of recording at higher density than MD-DATA1. It is assumed that recording and reproduction are performed in accordance with the format. So first, MD
-Disc format of DATA2 will be described.

FIGS. 1 and 2 conceptually show an example of a track structure of a disk as MD-DATA2. FIGS. 2A and 2B are a cross-sectional view and a plan view, respectively, showing an enlarged portion enclosed by a broken line A in FIG. As shown in these figures, two types of grooves (grooves) are previously formed on the disk surface: a wobbled groove WG provided with wobbles (meandering) and a non-wobbled groove NWG provided with no wobble. It is formed. The wobbled groove WG and the non-wobbled groove NWG
Exist in a double spiral on the disk so as to form a land Ld therebetween.

In the MD-DATA2 format, the land Ld is used as a track. Since the wobbled groove WG and the non-wobbled groove NWG are formed as described above, the track Tr / A is used as the track. , Tr and B are independently formed in a double spiral (double spiral) shape. The track Tr · A is a track in which the wobbled groove WG is located on the outer peripheral side of the disk and the non-wobbled groove NWG is located on the inner peripheral side of the disk. On the other hand, the track Tr · B is a track in which the wobbled groove WG is located on the inner peripheral side of the disk and the non-wobbled groove NWG is located on the outer peripheral side of the disk. In other words, it can be considered that a wobble is formed only on one side on the outer peripheral side of the disk for the track Tr.A, and a wobble is formed only on one side on the inner peripheral side of the disk for the track Tr.B. . In this case, the track pitch is the track Tr adjacent to each other.
・ It is the distance between each center of A and track Tr ・ B,
The track pitch is 0.95 μm as shown in FIG.
It has been.

Here, the wobbles formed in the groove as the wobbled groove WG are formed based on a signal in which a physical address on the disk is encoded by FM modulation + biphase modulation. Therefore, it is possible to extract the physical address on the disc by demodulating the reproduction information obtained from the wobbling given to the wobbled groove WG at the time of recording / reproduction. Further, the address information as the wobbled groove WG is commonly effective for the tracks Tr · A and Tr · B. In other words, the track Tr · A located on the inner periphery of the wobbled groove WG and the track Tr · B located on the outer periphery share the address information by the wobbling given to the wobbled groove WG. . Note that such an addressing scheme is also called an interlace addressing scheme. By adopting this interlace addressing method, for example, it is possible to reduce the track pitch while suppressing crosstalk between adjacent wobbles. For a method of recording an address by forming a wobble in a groove, A
Also called DIP (Adress In Pregroove) method.

The identification of which of the tracks Tr.A and Tr.B sharing the same address information is being traced as described above can be performed as follows. For example, in a state where the main beam is tracing a track (land Ld) by applying a three-beam method, the remaining two side beams trace grooves located on both sides of the track being traced by the main beam. It is possible to make it.

FIG. 2B shows, as a specific example, a state where the main beam spot SPm traces the track Tr · A. In this case, of the two side beam spots SPs1 and SPs2, the inner side beam spot SPs1 traces the non-wobbled groove NWG and the outer side beam spot S
Ps2 traces the wobbled groove WG. On the other hand, although not shown, if the main beam spot SPm traces the tracks Tr and B, the side beam spot SPs1 traces the wobbled groove WG and the side beam spot SP
s2 traces the non-wobbled groove NWG. Thus, the main beam spot SPm
Tracing the track Tr · A and the track T
In the case of tracing r · B, the grooves to be traced by the side beam spots SPs1 and SPs2 are necessarily replaced by the wobbled groove WG and the non-wobbled groove NWG.

Side beam spots SPs1, SPs2
As a detection signal obtained by the photodetector due to the reflection of light, different waveforms are obtained depending on which of the wobbled groove WG and the non-wobbled groove NWG is being traced. By determining which of the side beam spots SPs1 and SPs2 traces the wobbled groove WG (or the non-wobbled groove NWG), the main beam is moved to the tracks Tr · A,
Which of Tr and B is being traced can be identified.

FIG. 3 shows the main specifications of the MD-DATA2 format having the track structure as described above.
It is a figure shown in comparison with D-DATA1 format.
First, in the MD-DATA1 format, the track pitch is 1.6 μm and the pit length is 0.59 μm / bi.
t. The laser wavelength λ is set to 780 nm, and the aperture ratio NA of the optical head is set to 0.45. As a recording method, a groove recording method is adopted. That is, the groove is used as a track for recording and reproduction. As a method of addressing, a method of forming a groove (track) by a single spiral and using a wobbled groove in which wobbles are formed as address information on both sides of the groove is adopted.

EFM (8
-14 conversion). As an error correction method, ACIRC (Advanced Cross Interleave Reed-
Solomon Code) and a convolutional data interleave. Therefore, the data redundancy is 46.3%.

In the MD-DATA1 format, a CLV (Constant Linear V) is used as a disk drive system.
erocity) is adopted, and the linear velocity of CLV is
1.2 m / s. The standard data rate during recording and reproduction is 133 kB / s, and the recording capacity is 140 MB.

On the other hand, in the MD-DATA2 format which can be supported by the video camera of this embodiment, the track pitch is 0.95 μm and the pit length is 0.39 μm / b.
It can be seen that both are shorter than the MD-DATA1 format. For example, in order to realize the pit length, the laser wavelength λ = 650 nm and the aperture ratio NA of the optical head are set to 0.52, thereby narrowing the beam spot diameter at the in-focus position and expanding the band as an optical system. .

As described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a land recording method is employed as a recording method, and an interlace addressing method is employed as an address method. As a modulation method of recording data, an RLL (1,7) method (RLL;
Run Length Limited), an RS-PC method is used as an error correction method, and a block complete type is used as data interleaving. As a result of adopting each of the above methods, the data redundancy can be suppressed to 19.7%.

Also in the MD-DATA2 format, CLV is adopted as a disk drive system, but its linear velocity is 2.0 m / s, and the standard data rate for recording and reproduction is 589 kB / s. It is said. As a result, a recording capacity of 650 MB can be obtained. Compared with the MD-DATA1 format, this means that a high-density recording of almost four times is realized. For example, assuming that a moving image is to be recorded in the MD-DATA2 format, MPEG
In the case where the compression encoding by 2 is performed, it is possible to record a moving image of 15 minutes to 17 minutes in time, depending on the bit rate of the encoded data. Also, assuming that only audio signal data is recorded, the ATR
When a compression process using AC (Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding) 2 is performed, recording can be performed for about 10 hours.

2. 6A, 6B, and 6C are a side view, a plan view, and a rear view showing an example of the appearance of the video camera of this example. As shown in these figures, the main body 200 of the video camera of the present embodiment includes:
A camera lens 201 provided with an imaging lens and a diaphragm for taking a picture is provided so as to be exposed. A pair of left and right microphones 202 is provided. That is, in this video camera, recording of an image taken by the camera lens 201 and
It is possible to record stereo sound collected by the microphone 202.

The display unit 6 is provided on the side of the main body 200.
A, a speaker 205 and an indicator 206 are provided. The display unit 6A is a part that displays and outputs a captured image, an image reproduced by an internal recording and reproducing device, and the like. The display device actually used as the display unit 6A is not particularly limited here,
For example, a liquid crystal display or the like may be used. Also,
The display unit 6A also displays a message such as characters or characters for notifying the user of a required message in accordance with the operation of the device. Speaker 20
5 reproduces the recorded voice when reproducing the recorded voice, and also outputs a required message voice such as a beep sound. The indicator 206 emits light during a recording operation, for example, to indicate to the user that the video camera is performing a recording operation.

A viewfinder 204 is provided on the rear side of the main body 200, and displays an image taken from the camera lens 201, a character image, and the like during a recording operation and a standby state. The user can shoot while looking at the viewfinder 204. Further, the disc slot 203, the video output terminal T
1. A headphone / line terminal T2 and an I / F terminal T3 are provided. The disk slot 203 is a slot portion for inserting or ejecting a disk as a recording medium corresponding to the video camera of this example. The video output terminal T1 is a terminal for outputting a reproduced image signal or the like to an external video device, and the headphone / line terminal T2 is a terminal for outputting a reproduced audio signal to an external audio device or headphones. The I / F terminal T3 is, for example, an input / output terminal of an interface for performing data transmission with an external data device.

Further, various controls (300302 and 304) for user operation are provided on each part of the main body 200.
313) are provided. The main dial 300 is an operator for setting on / off of the video camera, recording operation, and reproduction operation. As the main dial shows,
When it is at the position of “FF”, the power is turned off and “S
By turning to the position of “TBY”, the power is turned on and the recording operation is in a standby state. Further, by turning to the position of “PB”, the power is turned on and a standby state of the reproducing operation is set.

The release key 301 functions as a recording start or recording shutter operator when in a recording standby state.

In a modified example described later, the release key 301 is configured to be able to sense the pressing strength (pressing level). Variable so that the data rate is high.

A zoom key 304 is an operator for operating a zoom state (tele side to wide side) regarding image shooting. The eject key 305 is
This is an operator for ejecting the disc loaded in the inside. Play / pause key 306, stop key 307,
Search keys 308 and 309 are prepared for various operations during reproduction with respect to the disc.

The important designation key 302 is used, for example, when the user is recording while shooting.
The key is used to perform a pressing operation when a subject that the user considers important is obtained. By operating this key, the data rate of the compressed image data to be subsequently recorded as the recording data is increased, and recording with high image quality is performed accordingly.

The thumbnail display key 310 is used for an operation for displaying a thumbnail for searching for a file recorded on the disc. The cross key 311 is used, for example, by the user to move a pointer or the like in the left, right, up, and down directions on the thumbnail display screen.
Reference numeral 12 is used for performing a predetermined selection operation or an enter operation on a thumbnail display screen or the like.

The display switching key 313 is used to display thumbnail images of all files designated by the user, such as “all file display” and “all file display”, as described later. Is provided to switch the display to “important file limited display” in which only the thumbnail images to which the important designation mark is attached are displayed.

Note that the appearance of the video camera shown in FIG. 6 is merely an example, and may be changed as appropriate in accordance with the use conditions and the like actually required for the video camera of this embodiment. Of course, various types of operation elements, operation methods, and connection terminals with external devices can be considered.

3. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the video camera of the present embodiment. The lens block 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes, for example, an optical system 11 actually including an imaging lens and a diaphragm. The camera lens 201 shown in FIG. 6 is included in the optical system 11. The lens block 1 includes a focus motor for causing the optical system 11 to perform an autofocus operation, a zoom motor for moving the zoom lens based on the operation of the zoom key 304, and the like.
Provided as

The camera block 2 is provided with a circuit section for mainly converting image light photographed by the lens block 1 into a digital image signal. For the CCD (Charge Coupled Device) 21 of the camera block 2,
An optical image of the subject transmitted through the optical system 11 is provided. C
In the CD 21, an image pickup signal is generated by performing photoelectric conversion on the optical image, and a sample hold / AGC (A
utomatic Gain Control) circuit 22. The sample hold / AGC circuit 22 adjusts the gain of the imaging signal output from the CCD 21 and performs waveform shaping by performing sample hold processing. The output of the sample hold / AGC circuit 2 is a video A / D
By being supplied to the converter 23, it is converted into digital image signal data.

The above CCD 21, sample hold / AG
Signal processing timing in the C circuit 22 and the video A / D converter 23 is controlled by a timing signal generated by a timing generator 24. The timing generator 24 receives a clock used for signal processing in a data processing / system control circuit 31 (in the video signal processing circuit 3) described later and generates a required timing signal based on the clock. Is done. Thereby, the signal processing timing in the camera block 2 is synchronized with the processing timing in the video signal processing unit 3. Camera controller 2
Reference numeral 5 is for performing necessary control so that each of the functional circuit units provided in the camera block 2 operates properly, and for performing autofocus, automatic exposure adjustment, aperture adjustment, zooming, and the like on the lens block 1. Is controlled. For example, in the case of auto-focus control, the camera controller 25 performs, based on focus control information obtained in accordance with a predetermined
Controls the rotation angle of the focus motor. As a result, the imaging lens is driven to be in the just-focused state.

At the time of recording, the video signal processing unit 3 performs a compression process on the digital image signal supplied from the camera block 2 and the digital audio signal obtained by collecting sound by the microphone 202, and compresses the compressed data. The data is supplied to the subsequent media drive unit 4 as user recording data. Further, an image generated from the digital image signal and the character image supplied from the camera block 2 is supplied to the viewfinder drive unit 207 and displayed on the viewfinder 204. Further, at the time of reproduction, demodulation processing is performed on user reproduction data (data read from the disk 51) supplied from the media drive unit 4, that is, image signal data and audio signal data that have been subjected to compression processing, and these are reproduced. , And output as a reproduced audio signal.

In this example, as a compression / expansion processing method of image signal data (image data), MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) 2 is adopted for moving images, and JPEG (Joint Photographic) is used for still images.
Coding Experts Group). The audio signal data compression / expansion processing method includes ATR
AC (Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding) 2 shall be adopted.

The data processing / system control circuit 31 of the video signal processing section 3 mainly performs control processing relating to compression / expansion processing of image signal data and audio signal data in the video signal processing section 3 and video signal processing section 3. Executes the process for controlling the input and output of data passing through. The data processing / system control circuit 31
The control processing for the entire video signal processing unit 3 including
The video controller 38 is made to execute. The video controller 38 includes, for example, a microcomputer and the like, and can communicate with the camera controller 25 of the camera block 2 and a driver controller 46 of the media drive unit 4 described later via, for example, a bus line (not shown). Have been.

As a basic operation at the time of recording in the video signal processing unit 3, the image signal data supplied from the video A / D converter 23 of the camera block 2 is input to the data processing / system control circuit 31. The data processing / system control circuit 31 supplies the input image signal data to, for example, the motion detection circuit 35. The motion detection circuit 35 performs image processing such as motion compensation on the input image signal data while using the memory 36 as a work area, and then supplies the processed image signal data to the MPEG2 video signal processing circuit 33.

In the MPEG2 video signal processing circuit 33, for example, while using the memory 34 as a work area, the input image signal data is subjected to a compression process in accordance with the MPEG2 format, and a compressed data bit stream (MPEG2 Bit stream). In the MPEG2 video signal processing circuit 33, for example, when extracting image data as a still image from image signal data as a moving image and performing compression processing on the extracted image data, the compressed image data as a still image in accordance with the JPEG format is used. Is configured to generate It should be noted that JPEG was not adopted and MPEG
As compressed image data in the second format, an I picture (Intra Picture), which is regular image data, may be treated as still image data. MPEG
The image signal data (compressed image data) compressed and encoded by the two-video signal processing circuit 33 is written into the buffer memory 32 at a predetermined transfer rate and temporarily stored. In the MPEG2 format, as is well known, a so-called encoding bit rate (data rate) is used as a constant bit rate (CBR).
ate) and a variable bit rate (VBR), and the video signal processing unit 3 can cope with these.

For example, when performing image compression processing using VBR, for example, the motion detection circuit 35 performs motion detection on the image data within a range of several tens to several hundreds of frames before and after on a macroblock basis to determine that there is motion. Then, the detection result is transmitted to the MPEG2 video signal processing circuit 33 as motion vector information. In the MPEG2 video signal processing circuit 33, the quantization coefficient for each macroblock is calculated by using the required information such as the motion vector information so that the image data after the compression and encoding has a certain required data rate. It will be decided.

The audio compression encoder / decoder 37 includes:
A / D converter 64 (display / image / audio input / output unit 6)
For example, the sound collected by the microphone 202 is input as digital sound signal data. The audio compression encoder / decoder 37 performs compression processing on the input audio signal data in accordance with the ATRAC2 format as described above. This compressed audio signal data is also written into the buffer memory 32 by the data processing / system control circuit 31 at a predetermined transfer rate, and is temporarily stored here.

As described above, the compressed image data and the compressed audio signal data can be stored in the buffer memory 32. The buffer memory 32 mainly absorbs a speed difference between the data transfer rate between the camera block 2 or the display / image / audio input / output unit 6 and the buffer memory 32 and the data transfer rate between the buffer memory 32 and the media drive unit 4. Has a function for Buffer memory 3
The compressed image data and the compressed audio signal data stored in 2 are read out sequentially at a predetermined timing during recording, and transmitted to the MD-DATA2 encoder / decoder 41 of the media drive unit 4. However, for example, during the reproduction, the reading of the data stored in the buffer memory 32 and the operation of recording the read data from the media drive unit 4 to the disk 51 via the deck unit 5 are performed intermittently. No problem. Such control of writing and reading data to and from the buffer memory 32 is executed by, for example, the data processing / system control circuit 31.

The operation at the time of reproduction in the video signal processing section 3 is roughly as follows. At the time of reproduction, compressed image data and compressed audio signal data (user reproduction data) read from the disk 51 and decoded according to the MD-DATA2 format by the processing of the MD-DATA2 encoder / decoder 41 (in the media drive unit 4) Data processing / system control circuit 31
Will be transmitted. The data processing / system control circuit 31 temporarily stores the input compressed image data and compressed audio signal data in the buffer memory 32, for example. Then, the compressed image data and the compressed audio signal data are read from the buffer memory 32 at a required timing and at a transfer rate at which the reproduction time axis can be matched.
The compressed audio signal data is supplied to the video signal processing circuit 33, and the compressed audio signal data is supplied to the audio compression encoder / decoder 37.

In the MPEG2 video signal processing circuit 33,
Decompresses the input compressed image data,
It is transmitted to the data processing / system control circuit 31. In the data processing / system control circuit 31,
The expanded image signal data is supplied to the video D / A converter 61 (in the display / image / audio input / output unit 6). The audio compression encoder / decoder 37 performs an expansion process on the input compressed audio signal data,
/ A converter 65 (in display / image / audio input / output unit 6)
To supply.

In the display / image / audio input / output unit 6,
The image signal data input to the video D / A converter 61 is converted into an analog image signal here, and is branched and input to the display controller 62 and the composite signal processing circuit 63. The display controller 62 drives the display unit 6A based on the input image signal. As a result, a reproduced image is displayed on the display unit 6A. Further, in the display unit 6A, not only an image obtained by reproducing from the disk 51 but also a captured image obtained by photographing with a camera part including the lens block 1 and the camera block 2 is naturally displayed. It is possible to display and output almost in real time. Further, in addition to the reproduced image and the captured image, as described above, a message display such as a character or a character for notifying the user of a required message in accordance with the operation of the device is also performed. Such a message display should be output from the data processing / system control circuit 31 to the video D / A converter 61 so that required characters, characters, and the like are displayed at predetermined positions under the control of the video controller 38, for example. Processing for synthesizing image signal data of required characters, characters, and the like may be performed on the image signal data.

The composite signal processing circuit 63 converts the analog image signal supplied from the video D / A converter 61 into a composite signal and outputs it to the video output terminal T1. For example, if a connection is made to an external monitor device or the like via the video output terminal T1, an image reproduced by the video camera can be displayed on the external monitor device.

In the display / image / audio input / output section 6, the audio signal data input from the audio compression encoder / decoder 37 to the D / A converter 65 is converted into an analog audio signal here, and the signals are supplied to a headphone / line terminal. T
2 is output. In addition, the analog audio signal output from the D / A converter 65 is also branched and output to the speaker SP via the amplifier 66, whereby the reproduced audio and the like are output from the speaker SP. Become.

The media drive unit 4 mainly encodes recording data according to the MD-DATA2 format so as to conform to the disc recording and transmits the encoded data to the deck unit 5 at the time of recording. By performing decoding processing on the read data, reproduction data is obtained and transmitted to the video signal processing unit 3.

The MD-DAT of the media drive unit 4
When recording, the A2 encoder / decoder 41
Recording data (compressed image data + compressed audio signal data) is input from the data processing / system control circuit 31, the recording data is subjected to a predetermined encoding process in accordance with the MD-DATA2 format, and the encoded data is temporarily stored. The data is stored in the buffer memory 42. Then, the data is transmitted to the deck unit 5 while being read at a required timing.

At the time of reproduction, the digital reproduction signal read from the disk 51 and input via the RF signal processing circuit 44 and the binarization circuit 43 is subjected to MD-DAT.
A decoding process according to the A2 format is performed, and the data is transmitted to the data processing / system control circuit 31 of the video signal processing unit 3 as reproduction data. Also at this time, if necessary, the reproduced data is temporarily stored in the buffer memory 42, and the data read therefrom at a required timing is transmitted to the data processing / system control circuit 31 for output. Such writing / reading control for the buffer memory 42 is performed by the driver controller 46. Note that, for example, when the servo is disengaged due to disturbance or the like during reproduction of the disk 51 and reading of a signal from the disk becomes impossible, the read data is stored in the buffer memory 42 during the period during which the read data is accumulated. If the reproduction operation for the disc is resumed, the chronological continuity as the reproduction data can be maintained.

The RF signal processing circuit 44 includes a disk 51
By performing the required processing on the read signal from
For example, it generates an RF signal as reproduction data, a servo control signal such as a focus error signal and a tracking error signal for servo control of the deck unit 5, and the like. RF
The signal is binarized by the binarization circuit 43 as described above, and input to the MD-DATA2 encoder / decoder 41 as digital signal data. The generated various servo control signals are supplied to the servo circuit 45. In the servo circuit 45, based on the input servo control signal,
The required servo control in the deck section 5 is executed.

In this example, MD-DATA1
An encoder / decoder 47 corresponding to the format is provided. The encoder / decoder 47 encodes the recording data supplied from the video signal processing unit 3 in accordance with the MD-DATA1 format and records the encoded data on the disk 51. It is also possible to perform decoding processing on data encoded in accordance with the MD-DATA1 format, and transmit and output it to the video signal processing unit 3. That is, as the video camera of this example, the MD-DATA2 format and the MD-DATA2 format are used.
It is configured to obtain compatibility with the DATA1 format. The driver controller 46 is a functional circuit unit for controlling the media drive unit 4 as a whole.

The deck section 5 is a part comprising a mechanism for driving the disk 51. Although not shown here, in the deck section 5, the disk 5 to be loaded is
1 is detachable and has a mechanism (disc slot 203 (see FIG. 6)) that can be replaced by a user's work. Further, it is assumed that the disk 51 here is a magneto-optical disk corresponding to the MD-DATA2 format or the MD-DATA1 format.

In the deck section 5, a spindle motor 5 for rotating the loaded disk 51 by CLV is used.
2 is driven to rotate by the CLV. The optical head 53 irradiates the disk 51 with laser light during recording / reproduction. The optical head 53 performs high-level laser output for heating the recording track to the Curie temperature during recording, and performs relatively low-level laser output for detecting data from reflected light by the magnetic Kerr effect during reproduction. . Therefore, the optical head 53
Although not shown in detail here, a laser diode as a laser output unit, an optical system including a polarizing beam splitter and an objective lens, and a detector for detecting reflected light are mounted. The objective lens provided in the optical head 53 is held by a biaxial mechanism so as to be displaceable in a radial direction of the disk and in a direction of coming and coming from the disk.

The optical head 5 with the disk 51 interposed
A magnetic head 54 is arranged at a position facing 3. The magnetic head 54 performs an operation of applying a magnetic field modulated by recording data to the disk 51. Although not shown, the thread motor 55
And a thread mechanism driven by the thread mechanism. By driving the sled mechanism, the entire optical head 53 and the magnetic head 54 can be moved in the disk radial direction.

The operation unit 7 is provided with each of the operators 300 to 300 shown in FIG.
310, etc., and various operation information of the user by these operators is supplied to, for example, the video controller 38. The video controller 38 supplies, to the camera controller 25 and the driver controller 46, operation information and control information for causing each unit to execute necessary operations according to a user operation.

The external interface 8 is provided so that data can be mutually transmitted between the video camera and the external device. For example, as shown in the figure, the external interface 8 is provided between the I / F terminal T3 and the video signal processing unit. Can be The external interface 8 is not particularly limited here, but may be, for example, IEEE 1394 or the like. For example, when an external digital imaging device and the video camera of this embodiment are connected via the I / F terminal T3, it becomes possible to record an image (audio) captured by the video camera on the external digital imaging device. . In addition, image (sound) data reproduced by an external digital image device or the like is captured via the external interface 8 so that MD-
It is also possible to record on the disk 51 in accordance with the DATA2 (or MD-DATA1) format.

The power supply block 9 supplies a required level of power supply voltage to each functional circuit unit using a DC power supply obtained from a built-in battery or a DC power supply generated from a commercial AC power supply. The power supply on / off by the power supply block 9 is controlled by the video controller 38 in accordance with the operation of the main dial 300 described above. During the recording operation, the video controller 38 causes the indicator 206 to emit light.

4. Configuration of Media Drive Unit Next, as the configuration of the media drive unit 4 shown in FIG. 4, a detailed configuration in which a functional circuit unit corresponding to MD-DATA2 is extracted will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. In FIG. 5, the deck unit 5 is shown together with the media drive unit 4. However, since the internal configuration of the deck unit 5 has been described with reference to FIG. 4, the same reference numerals as in FIG. I do. In the media drive unit 4 shown in FIG. 5, the same reference numerals are given to the ranges corresponding to the blocks in FIG.

Information detected by data reading operation of the optical head 53 from the disk 51 (photocurrent obtained by detecting laser reflected light by a photodetector)
Is supplied to the RF amplifier 101 in the RF signal processing circuit 44. The RF amplifier 101 generates a reproduction RF signal as a reproduction signal from the input detection information and supplies the reproduction RF signal to the binarization circuit 43. The binarization circuit 43 binarizes the input reproduction RF signal to obtain a digital reproduction RF signal (binary RF signal). This binarized RF signal is supplied to the MD-DATA2 encoder / decoder 41, and first, the AGC / clamp circuit 103
Are input to the equalizer / PLL circuit 104 after gain adjustment, clamp processing, and the like have been performed. The equalizer / PLL circuit 104 performs an equalizing process on the input binary RF signal, and
5 is output. In addition, binarization R after equalizing processing
By inputting the F signal to the PLL circuit, the binarized RF
Clock C synchronized with signal (RLL (1,7) code string)
Extract LK.

The frequency of the clock CLK corresponds to the current disk rotation speed. Therefore, the CLV processor 11
1, the clock C is output from the equalizer / PLL circuit 104.
LK is input, error information is obtained by comparing with a reference value corresponding to a predetermined CLV speed (see FIG. 3), and this error information is used as a signal component for generating a spindle error signal SPE. Further, the clock CLK includes, for example, the RLL (1, 7) demodulation circuit 106 and the like.
It is used as a clock for processing in a required signal processing circuit system.

The Viterbi decoder 105 has an equalizer / P
The binary RF signal input from the LL circuit 104 is subjected to a decoding process according to a so-called Viterbi decoding method. As a result, reproduced data as an RLL (1, 7) code string is obtained. This reproduced data is RLL (1,
7) The signal is input to the demodulation circuit 106, where RLL (1,
7) The data stream is subjected to demodulation.

The data stream obtained by the demodulation processing in the RLL (1, 7) demodulation circuit 106 is written to the buffer memory 42 via the data bus 114, and is developed on the buffer memory 42. The data stream expanded on the buffer memory 42 in this manner is first subjected to error correction processing in error correction block units according to the RS-PC system by the ECC processing circuit 116, and further descramble / E
The DC decoding circuit 117 performs a descrambling process and an EDC decoding process (error detection process). The data processed so far is the reproduction data DA
TAp. The reproduction data DATAp is transmitted at a transfer rate according to the transfer clock generated by the transfer clock generation circuit 121, for example, from the descrambling / EDC decoding circuit 117 to the data processing / processing of the video signal processing unit 3.
The data is transmitted to the system control circuit 31.

The transfer clock generation circuit 121 includes, for example,
When a crystal clock is used for data transmission between the media drive unit 4 and the video signal processing unit 3 and data transmission between functional circuit units in the media drive unit 4,
It is a part for generating a transfer clock (data transfer rate) having a frequency appropriately determined. Further, it generates a clock of a required frequency to be supplied to each functional circuit unit of the media drive unit 4 and the video signal processing unit 3 according to the operation state of the video camera.

The detection information (photocurrent) read from the disk 51 by the optical head 53 is transmitted to the matrix amplifier 1
07 is also supplied. The matrix amplifier 107 performs required arithmetic processing on the input detection information, thereby obtaining a tracking error signal TE, a focus error signal FE, and groove information (absolute address information recorded as a wobbled groove WG on the disk 51) GFM. Are supplied to the servo circuit 45. That is, the extracted tracking error signal TE and focus error signal FE are supplied to the servo processor 112, and the groove information GFM is stored in the ADIP bandpass filter 108.
Supplied to

The groove information GFM band-limited by the ADIP band-pass filter 108 is supplied to an A / B track detection circuit 109, an ADIP decoder 110, and a CLV.
It is supplied to the processor 111. In the A / B track detecting circuit 109, based on the input groove information GFM, for example, the track currently being traced is determined based on the method described with reference to FIG.
A, TR or B is determined, and the track determination information is transmitted to the driver controller 46.
Output to The ADIP decoder 110 decodes the input groove information GFM to extract an ADIP signal, which is absolute address information on the disk, and outputs the signal to the driver controller 46. The driver controller 46 executes necessary control processing based on the track identification information and the ADIP signal.

The CLV processor 111 receives the clock CLK from the equalizer / PLL circuit 104 and the groove information GFM via the ADIP band pass filter 108. The CLV processor 111 generates a spindle error signal SPE for CLV servo control based on, for example, an error signal obtained by integrating a phase error between the groove information GFM and the clock CLK, and outputs the spindle error signal SPE to the servo processor 112. The required operation to be executed by the CLV processor 111 is controlled by the driver controller 46.

The servo processor 112 receives various servo control signals based on the tracking error signal TE, focus error signal FE, spindle error signal SPE, track jump command and access command from the driver controller 46 input as described above. (A tracking control signal, a focus control signal, a thread control signal, a spindle control signal, and the like) are generated and output to the servo driver 113. In the servo driver 113,
A required servo drive signal is generated based on the servo control signal supplied from the servo processor 112. Here, the servo drive signal includes a two-axis drive signal (two types of focus direction and tracking direction) for driving the two-axis mechanism, a sled motor drive signal for driving the sled mechanism, and a spindle motor drive signal for driving the spindle motor 52. Becomes By supplying such a servo drive signal to the deck section 5, focus control and tracking control on the disk 51 and CLV control on the spindle motor 52 are performed.

When the recording operation is performed on the disk 51, for example, the data processing /
Scramble / ED from system control circuit 31
The recording data DATAR for the C encoding circuit 115
Will be input. This user record data DAT
Ar is input in synchronization with a transfer clock (data transfer rate) generated by the transfer clock generation circuit 121, for example.

Scramble / EDC encoding circuit 11
In step 5, for example, the recording data DATAR is written into the buffer memory 42 and developed,
DC encoding processing (addition processing of an error detection code by a predetermined method) is performed. After this processing, for example, the ECC processing circuit 116 adds an error correction code according to the RS-PC method to the recording data DATAR developed in the buffer memory 42. The recording data DATAR that has been processed up to this point is read from the buffer memory 42 and transmitted to the RL via the data bus 114.
The signal is supplied to the L (1, 7) modulation circuit 118.

In the RLL (1, 7) modulation circuit 118, RLL (1, 7) is applied to the input recording data DATAR.
7) A modulation process is performed, and the recording data as the RLL (1, 7) code string is output to the magnetic head drive circuit 119.

Incidentally, the MD-DATA2 format employs a so-called laser strobe magnetic field modulation system as a recording system for a disk. The laser strobe magnetic field modulation method refers to a recording method in which a magnetic field modulated by recording data is applied to a recording surface of a disk, and a laser beam to be irradiated on the disk is pulsed in synchronization with the recording data. In such a laser strobe magnetic field modulation method, the process of forming a pit edge recorded on a disk does not depend on transient characteristics such as the reversal speed of a magnetic field, but is determined by the laser pulse irradiation timing. For this reason, the laser strobe magnetic field modulation method is compared with, for example, a simple magnetic field modulation method (a method in which a laser beam is constantly irradiated onto a disk and a magnetic field modulated by recording data is applied to a disk recording surface). In this case, it is possible to make the jitter of the recording pit extremely small. That is, the laser strobe magnetic field modulation method is a recording method advantageous for high-density recording.

The magnetic head drive circuit 119 of the media drive unit 4 operates so that a magnetic field modulated by the input recording data is applied from the magnetic head 54 to the disk 51. Further, the RLL (1, 7) modulation circuit 118 outputs a clock synchronized with the recording data to the laser driver 120. The laser driver 120 controls the optical head 5 so that the disk is irradiated with a laser pulse synchronized with recording data generated as a magnetic field by the magnetic head 54 based on the input clock.
The third laser diode is driven. At this time, the laser pulse emitted and output from the laser diode is based on a required laser power suitable for recording. In this way, the recording operation as the laser strobe magnetic field modulation method is enabled by the media drive unit 4 of the present embodiment.

5. Next, a description will be given of an example of the structure of a disk 51 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 conceptually shows an example of an area structure of a disk 51 which is assumed to correspond to the present embodiment. Note that the physical format of the disk 51 shown in this figure is as described above with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the magneto-optical recording area where the magneto-optical recording and reproduction can be performed on the disk 51, a management area is first provided for a section of a predetermined size at the innermost circumference. This management area is, for example, U
Required management information called TOC (user TOC), which is required for management of recording and reproduction of data recorded on the disc, is mainly recorded. For example, in the case of this example, management information for performing recording / reproduction on a file basis as data recorded on the disc, identification information for identifying a file designated as important as described later, The data indicating the image data position designated to be displayed as a thumbnail image for each is stored as a U-TOC. The contents of the U-TOC in the management area are sequentially rewritten in accordance with, for example, the results of data recording on the disc and the results of editing processing such as file deletion.

A data area is provided on the outer peripheral side of the management area. For example, image data (including audio data) mainly recorded by the user is recorded in this data area. Here, it is assumed that the data recorded in the data area is recorded in a form managed on a file basis. The recording and reproduction of data for each file is managed based on the U-TOC stored in the management area as described above.

The U-TOC of this management area is, for example,
The data is read out when the disc is loaded, and is held in a predetermined area of the buffer memory 42 (or the buffer memory 32) of the media drive unit 4, for example. At the time of data recording or editing, the U-TOC stored in the buffer memory is rewritten according to the recording result or the editing result. U-
The U-TOC of the disk 51 is rewritten (updated) based on the contents of the TOC.

Note that the example of the disk structure shown in this figure is merely an example, and the physical positional relationship of each area in the disk radial direction may be changed according to actual use conditions and the like. Further, if necessary, an area for storing another predetermined type of data may be additionally provided.

6. Recording operation of the present embodiment 6-1. Example of Recording Operation of Recorded File Next, an example of the recording operation of the recorded file will be described as the recording operation of the video camera device according to the present embodiment having the configuration described above. The recording file here is
For example, the user operates the release key 301 to start recording a captured image, and thereafter, collects a set of moving image data (actually, At the same time includes voice data collected and recorded by the microphone). In addition, hereinafter, a recorded file may be simply referred to as a “file”.

As described above, in the MPEG2 format, CBR (constant speed), VB
R (variable speed) is supported, but in the recording operation of the recording file described below,
It is assumed that the VBR mode is used.

FIG. 8 shows an operation for recording a recording file in accordance with a user operation procedure.
Also, in this figure, the compressed moving image data indicated by hatched portions is obtained by compressing moving image data photographed by the user in the MPEG2 format. The horizontal axis (width) direction of the compressed moving image data indicates the recording time, and the vertical axis (height) direction indicates the data rate that is variable by VBR. It should be noted that, at the time of recording a photographed image, usually, the sound collected by the microphone is also recorded as a recorded file together with the photographed image.

Here, assuming that the user operates the release key 301 in the recording standby state at time point t0 in FIG. 8, recording of the captured image is started from this time point. That is, an image captured by the video camera according to the present embodiment is processed as compressed moving image data according to MPEG2 and recorded on the disk 51.

In the recording operation after the recording start time at the time point t0, a predetermined standard speed is usually set as the data rate of the compressed moving image data (hereinafter, also simply referred to as “compressed image data rate”). Shall be performed.
In other words, in a state in which recording is performed normally without performing the important designation described later, moving image data is consequently obtained at a certain standard level of image quality corresponding to the standard speed data rate. Will be recorded.

For example, the variable range of the data rate as VBR of MPEG2 is, for example, 4 Mbit to 6 Mbit.
And a disk driver (media drive unit 4, media drive unit 4,
The standard data transfer rate in the deck section 5) is 4.7M
In consideration of these facts, the actual standard rate of the data rate is 4.
It is only necessary to set a speed within 7 Mbps and close to this value.

Then, for example, suppose that a subject that the user considers to be particularly important is obtained at time t1 after a certain time has elapsed after time t0. At this time, the user may, for example, select the important designation key 30
2 is pressed once.

In response to this operation, after time t1, compression encoding of moving image data is performed at a predetermined data rate higher than the standard data rate. In response to the high-speed change of the compressed moving image data rate, the transfer rate is also increased in the disk driver (media drive unit 4 and deck unit 5). In other words, the data transfer rate in the disk driver is increased in accordance with the compressed moving image data rate, and the CLV speed of the disk 51 is set high so that data can be recorded on the disk 51 at this data transfer rate. To be. As a result, the captured image recorded after time t1 is
Higher image quality than the standard level can be obtained.
In this embodiment, the important designation key 302
The image portion recorded at the high-speed compressed moving image data rate corresponding to the operation of (1) is also referred to as “important designated image”.

In the present embodiment, a thumbnail display for searching for a recorded file recorded on the disk 51 can be performed as described later.
When the important designation key 302 is operated during the recording of a certain recording file as described above, it is determined that the image was taken corresponding to the time when the important designation key 302 was operated (time t1 in FIG. 8). Processing for registering screen data (that is, still image data (eg, field image or frame image data) at the head of an important designated image) as, for example, a thumbnail image of the recorded file is also performed.
It is supposed to be executed. In other words, in the file, by extracting a thumbnail image from an image portion determined to be important by the user, an image that is more impressive to the user can be obtained as a thumbnail. Thus, even at the time of a search using the thumbnail display, the user can easily follow the storage at the time of recording, and the search may be made easier accordingly. On the other hand, during recording, the important designation key 3
For files for which 02 has not been operated, in principle, the captured image at the start of recording is registered as a thumbnail.

Here, it is assumed that the above-described recording operation corresponding to the operation of the important designation key 302 is executed for a predetermined time set in advance as the “important designation image recording period”. After the “important image designated image recording period” has elapsed as shown at time t2 in FIG.
Again, the operation returns to the recording operation of the compressed moving image data at the standard data rate. At this time, the data transfer rate and the disk rotation speed in the disk driver are also returned to the standard speed.

In this case, at time t3 after a certain time has elapsed from time t2, the release key 301 is again pressed.
Is operated. Thus, the video camera performs a recording end operation. That is, the recording of the compressed moving image data (and the compressed audio data) on the disk 51 up to this point is ended, and the management area of the disk 51 (see FIG. 7) according to the recording result so far.
Update of the U-TOC recorded in. U-TOC
Is updated by rewriting file management information for managing data recorded by the recording operation so far as one file, and registering screen data set as a thumbnail image at time t1 as a thumbnail image. Information indicating that the screen data has been recorded is recorded in a predetermined area on the U-TOC together with the data position (or the absolute address on the disk) of the file in which the screen data is recorded.

Further, as in the case of FIG. 8, a process for registering a file containing an "important designated image" as an "important file" is also performed. In this registration process, in the U-TOC, an area for storing “important file identification information” indicating whether or not an important file is set for each file is set, and this area is set as “important file”. May be stored.

When the recorded file recorded as shown in FIG. 8 is reproduced and displayed for output, the portion recorded as the important designated image is reproduced with high image quality, and the remaining preceding and succeeding portions are reproduced. Will be reproduced with the standard image quality.

By performing the recording operation as described above, usually, recording is performed at a standard compressed image data rate, and a recording time length for the disk 51 is secured to some extent. High quality images can be obtained by recording important subjects at a high-speed compressed image data rate. That is, as in the conventional case, when recording with high image quality is desired, the recording mode (data rate) is fixed, thereby eliminating the problem of the redundancy of the recording data, and the recording time (data capacity) of the disk. Can be used effectively. Moreover, in the present embodiment, by changing the compressed image data rate in accordance with the operation of the user, the change in the image quality of the recorded image can substantially correspond to the content grade determined by the user. .

Also, when recording at a variable compressed image data rate during one recording operation, for example, when a tape-shaped recording medium is used, data is recorded physically continuously on the tape. Therefore, for example, during reproduction, an image or the like is likely to be disturbed at a break position on data at which a data rate is switched, and a technique for solving this problem is required.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, a randomly accessible disk is adopted as a recording medium,
For example, the buffer memory 32 and the buffer memory 42 are provided with means for temporarily storing the recording / reproducing data, and then the signal processing is performed. For this reason, even if the compressed image data rate is dynamically changed during the recording operation, the image is not disturbed at the portion where the data rate is switched during reproduction.

In the above description, the recording operation of the important designated image has been described as being performed for a predetermined time set as the “important designated image recording period”.
After the important designation key 302 is operated and recording of the important designation image is started, when the important designation key 302 is operated again, the recording of the important designation image is ended. It is also possible to configure such that all / ends are left to the manual operation by the user.

Further, in the operation example of FIG. 8, the recording operation of the important designation image is performed only once during the period t1 to t2. If so, depending on the operation,
Each time, an operation of recording an important designated image may be performed. That is, a single file may include a plurality of important designated images. In this case, if one thumbnail image is selected for one file,
There is a problem as to which of the important designated images is to be selected, but there are various conceivable methods such as selecting from the first (or last) important specified image. It is also conceivable that the user can arbitrarily select a file by an editing operation after recording the file.

6-2. Processing Operation Next, a processing operation for realizing the recording operation of the recording file according to the present embodiment as shown in FIG. 8 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. In addition,
The processing operation shown in this figure is based on the overall operation control by the video controller 38, mainly controlling each part in the video signal processing unit 3 by the data processing / system control circuit 31 and the control by the driver controller 46 in the media drive unit 4. Are realized by the control of the respective units. Further, on the premise that the signal processing operation in each functional circuit unit is executed as described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, detailed description will be omitted here, and only characteristic operations will be supplementarily described. It shall be.

In the processing shown in FIG. 9, first, in step S1
In step 01, while in the recording standby state, the operation waits for operation of the release key 301 for starting recording, and if it is determined that the release key 301 has been operated, the process proceeds to step S102. move on.

In step S102, a control process for starting a recording operation is executed. That is, the imaging signal data output from the camera block 2 is encoded by the video signal processing unit 3 into compressed moving image data in the VBR mode of the MPEG2 format. At the same time, the sound picked up by the microphone 202 is also compression-coded in the ATRAC2 format in the video signal processing unit 3. Then, the compressed moving image data data and the compressed audio data are arranged as time-series data according to a predetermined format. You.

At the start of the recording, as shown in the next step S103, a control process for performing the recording at the compressed moving image data rate of the standard speed is executed. That is, control is performed so that the MPEG2 video signal processing circuit 33 executes signal processing for generating compressed moving image data at a data rate at a standard speed. The transfer clock generation circuit 121 (see FIG. 5) may be used to obtain a data transfer rate from the video signal processing unit 3 to the media drive unit 4 at the standard data rate. The clock frequency to be given to each functional circuit unit is controlled. Further, the servo circuit 45 controls the rotation speed of the spindle motor 52 so that a standard disk rotation speed corresponding to this is obtained.

After the recording operation at the compressed moving image data rate at the standard speed is started in this way, it is determined in step S104 whether or not the important designation key 302 has been operated. By proceeding to step S105, it is determined whether or not the release key 301 has been operated to end recording. If it is determined in step S105 that the release key 301 has not been operated, the process returns to step S104 described above. Thus, after step S103, the important designation key 302 and the release key 301 are released. If there is no operation, the recording operation at the compressed moving image data rate at the standard speed is continued.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S104 that the important designation key 302 has been operated, the process proceeds to step S106 and thereafter to shift to a recording operation corresponding to the important designation key operation. I do.

In step S106, the important designation key 30
A process of setting screen data (for example, field image data based on an I picture or the like extracted as a still image) assumed to have been shot at the time point of the operation 2 as a thumbnail image corresponding to this file is executed. More specifically, the position (address) of the screen data set as the thumbnail image on the file is detected, and information indicating that the screen data recorded at this address is set as the thumbnail image is set when the disc is loaded. Is written to the U-TOC read from the disk 51 and stored in the buffer memory 42 (or the buffer memory 32).

In the following step S107, the MPEG2 signal processing circuit 33 sets the required data rate higher than the standard as the compressed moving image data rate.
Is controlled. At the same time, the next step S10
As shown in the process 8, control is performed so that the data transfer rate and the disk rotation speed in the media drive unit 4 are increased in accordance with the compressed moving image data rate set in step S <b> 107. I do.

In the disk rotation speed control (CLV speed control) in the servo circuit 45, for example, the spindle motor 52 is controlled so that an error between the target value set corresponding to the reference CLV speed and the current disk rotation speed is eliminated. By controlling the rotation speed, control is performed such that a required disk rotation speed by CLV is obtained. For this reason, in changing the disk rotation speed as the process in step S108, the target value may be changed in accordance with the increased compressed moving image data rate.

When the recording operation of the recording data at the compressed moving image data rate higher than the standard is started by the processing in step S108, in the subsequent step S109, the "important designated image recording period" shown in FIG. The elapse of the predetermined time set as is determined in step S110.
And waits while determining whether or not the release key 301 has been operated to end recording.

If it is determined in step S109 that the predetermined time has elapsed, the process returns to step S103. Thus, as shown as an operation at time point t2 in FIG. 8, for example, from the operation of recording compressed moving image data by increasing the data rate as an important designated image, the compressed moving image data is recorded at a standard data rate. It will return to operation.

If it is determined in step S105 or S110 that the release key 301 has been operated, the flow shifts to step S111. The case where a positive result is obtained in step S105 is the case where the release key 301 is operated during recording at the standard compressed moving image data rate, and the case where the positive result is obtained in step S110. It is assumed that the release key 301 is operated during recording at a compressed moving image data rate higher than the standard.

In step S111, step S111
During the recording period of the recording file started from 102 and thereafter, it is determined whether or not the important designation key 302 has been operated. That is, it is determined whether or not the important designated image exists in the data as the recording file. Here, if it is determined in step S111 that the operation of the important designation key 302 has been performed during the recording period,
Proceeding to step S112, control for performing the recording end operation is performed after treating the recorded file recorded by the previous recording operation as an "important file".

That is, in step S112, control is performed so that the recording end operation described as being performed at time t3 in FIG. 8 is realized. At this time, for example, the video signal processing unit 3 controls the data processing / system control circuit 33 to control the MPEG2
The compression processing by the video signal processing circuit 33 and the audio compression encoder / decoder 37 is stopped, and under the control of the driver controller 46, the recording operation of the recorded data on the disk 51 is also ended. After the recording operation of the recording data on the disk 51 is completed, the U-TOC stored in the buffer memory 42 (or the buffer memory 32) is written to the management area of the disk 51, thereby recording on the disk 51. The contents of the U-TOC to be updated are updated. Thus, the file recorded on the disk 51 by the recording operation up to now is
The file is managed on the U-TOC as an important file, and the thumbnail image corresponding to this file is also managed so that the top screen data of the important specified image in this file is specified.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S111 that the operation of the important designation key 302 has not been performed in the past, the process proceeds to step S113, and the recording file recorded by the recording operation up to now is referred to as a “normal file ( (File not specified)) and execute the recording end operation. Also in this case, the data processing / system control circuit 33 and the driver controller 46
The compression processing of the moving image data and the audio data in the video signal processing unit 3 is stopped by the control of the video signal processing unit 3, the recording of the recording data on the disk 51 is ended, and the buffer memory updated according to the recording result of the recording data. The control processing for writing the U-TOC in the disk 51 into the management area of the disk 51 is the same as in step S112. However, when the processing of step S113 is followed, this recorded file is managed as a “normal file” and is not treated as an important file. Further, for example, the screen data positioned at the head of the file corresponding to the start of recording is managed so as to be set as a thumbnail image.

Note that. As the recording file described so far, moving image data is recorded as compressed image data. However, a file in which still image data is recorded as compressed image data may be used as a recording file. As a case where still image data is recorded as a recording file, a case where the video camera according to the present embodiment is used as a still camera can be considered. In this case, for example, the video camera of the present embodiment is set to a still image recording mode by a required operation, and the release key 301 is operated as a shutter so that a captured image as a still image is What is necessary is just to comprise so that it may be recorded. Then, even when such still image data is recorded as a recording file, it is possible to obtain still image data with higher image quality than during standard shooting by designating it as an important file.

In the case of adopting such a configuration, the still picture data is compressed and encoded in the VBR mode of the MPEG2 format instead of the JPEG format. Then, for example, when the user operates the important designation key 302 before releasing the shutter with the release key 301, compressed still image data with a data rate higher than the standard is obtained, and the important designation key 302 is not operated. When the shutter is released, compressed still image data at a standard data rate may be obtained as recording data.

7. 7. Thumbnail display of present embodiment 7-1. Example of Thumbnail Display Form Next, a thumbnail display according to the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, when a plurality of recorded files are recorded on one disk, there is a high possibility that important files and normal files are mixed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is preferable to adopt a form of file search in which even when important files and normal files are mixed in such a manner, recognition of these file types can be easily performed visually. Thus, in the present embodiment, a user interface based on thumbnail display is adopted for file search, and the following display form is adopted.

FIG. 10A shows an example of a thumbnail display according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, such a thumbnail display is performed on the display unit 6A. Alternatively, it is also possible to display on an external monitor or the like connected via the video output terminal T1.

For example, when a user performs thumbnail display in order to search recorded contents of a certain disk, first, the user loads a disk 51 to be searched into a video camera, and displays a thumbnail display key 310 (see FIG. 6). To be operated.

When the thumbnail display key 310 is operated, a thumbnail is displayed on the display screen 6A, for example, as shown in FIG. Here, nine thumbnail images SN (A) to SN (I) are displayed as arranged as shown in the figure as thumbnail images corresponding to the recorded files recorded on the disk.

Here, for simplicity of explanation,
When the operation of the thumbnail display key 310 is performed,
Thumbnail display is performed for all files recorded on the disk 51. For example, actually, thumbnail display is performed only for a file arbitrarily selected by the user from files recorded on the disk. It may be configured so that a selection designation operation for setting can be performed. In any case, the thumbnail display shown in FIG. 10A functions as a search screen for presenting the contents of the recorded file currently recorded on the disc with a reduced representative image.

In the present embodiment, among the files displayed as thumbnail images, those managed as important files are as shown in FIG.
An important designation mark M indicating an important file is displayed in the thumbnail image. In this drawing, for the sake of convenience, the important designation mark M is indicated by a simple white circle, but is not limited to this.
The form of the design or the like may be changed according to the actual use conditions or the like.

By displaying the important designation mark M in this way, the user can easily grasp the distinction between the normal file and the important file, and the search can be easily performed accordingly. In particular, in a limited display area, a thumbnail image displayed as an image on a reduced screen has a low image quality and its display content is often difficult to understand, so that such important designation mark M enables file identification. That is valid.

In the present embodiment, FIG.
When the display switching key 313 is operated in the thumbnail display state shown in FIG. 10A, it is possible to switch to the thumbnail display as shown in FIG. That is, a thumbnail display in which only important files are displayed as thumbnail images from among the thumbnail images shown in FIG. 10A can be performed.

For example, as a matter of course, for a user, a file designated as an important file is likely to have a higher priority than a normal file, and the frequency of actual reproduction and appreciation of the important file is high. Is expected to be higher. For this reason, if a function of displaying only important files as thumbnail images as shown in FIG. 10B is provided, it is possible to reduce the number of search candidates while preferentially retaining files with high priority for the user. This also improves the usability at the time of search. At this time, for example, if the size of the thumbnail image is increased by the image processing so that the number of thumbnail images is reduced and the display area is left, the resolution of the thumbnail image is increased and the contents thereof are easily viewed,
Further, usability is improved.

Various operations using the thumbnail display shown in FIG. 10 as a user interface are conceivable. Here, as a typical operation example, an operation in a case where a file is reproduced by selecting a thumbnail image will be briefly described. Will be described.

The user can operate the cross key 311 while a thumbnail image as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B is displayed. At this time, the pointer P is displayed on the thumbnail display screen.
NT is displayed on the thumbnail display screen, and, for example, the pointer PNT can be moved on the thumbnail image according to the direction specified by the operation of the cross key 311.

Then, for example, after the pointer PNT is placed on the thumbnail image that the user wants to reproduce, when the click key 312 is pressed, the reproduction of the file corresponding to the thumbnail image clicked by the user is performed. To be done. At this time, the data of the designated recording file is read out again from the disk 51, and the full-size display reproduction is performed on the display screen of the display unit 6A by normal reproduction signal processing.

7-2. Processing Operation Next, a processing operation for realizing the thumbnail display according to the present embodiment as described above will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG. In the processing shown in this figure, too, the data processing / system control circuit 31 and the driver controller 46 appropriately control the necessary functional circuit units based on the video controller 38 controlling the overall operation. It is realized by. Also, here, the description will be given on the assumption that all the thumbnail images displayed on the thumbnail display screen are still images.

In the processing shown in FIG. 11, for example, when the user operates the thumbnail display key 310, the thumbnail display mode is set in step S201, and the flow advances to step S202.
In step S202, a process of generating thumbnail images corresponding to all specified files is executed.

[0137] Here, "all the specified files" means a recording file specified by this operation if the user has performed an operation to select a file to be displayed as a thumbnail. In other words, when there is no operation for selecting and selecting a file, it indicates all the recorded files recorded on the disk 51.

The basic operation of the thumbnail image generation processing in step S202 is as follows, for example.

As described above, the U-TOC data recorded on the disk 51 is read out at a predetermined timing such as when the disk is loaded, and the driver controller 46
Is controlled to be stored in the buffer memory 42 (or the buffer memory 32).

The driver controller 46 refers to, for example, the U-TOC stored in the buffer memory 42 to obtain the address on the disk where the screen data set as the thumbnail image is recorded for each file. By accessing this address and performing a read operation on the disc, screen data of a thumbnail image is obtained. These screen data are sequentially transmitted from the media drive unit 4 to the video signal processing unit 3.
Data processing / system control circuit 3
1 is supplied.

The data processing / system control circuit 31 first controls the MPEG2 video signal processing circuit for the supplied screen data,
Decompression processing is performed according to the two formats, and data decoded to the level of image data in field image units is obtained.

For example, at the stage of image data decoded to the level of the field image unit, usually,
The data is data having an image size (number of pixels) enough to be displayed in a substantially full size on the display screen. Therefore,
After the full-size image data in the unit of the field image is obtained, the reduction processing is performed on the full-size image data so that the actual required thumbnail image size can be obtained. Become. In order to reduce the image size, for example, the original full-size image data is sampled at appropriate timing with respect to the pixel data, and a signal is generated to reconstruct the image data using the sampled pixel data. What is necessary is just to perform a process.

In step S202, the signal processing as described above is performed for each screen data read from each file to generate a required number of thumbnail images.

In step S202, after the thumbnail images corresponding to the respective files are generated as described above, the thumbnail images corresponding to the files designated as important files are marked with the important designation mark described in FIG. Image processing for adding M is performed. This processing uses the on-screen display function of the data processing / system control circuit 31 to perform processing on required thumbnail image data.
What is necessary is just to implement | achieve by the signal processing which maps the image data as the important designation mark M. The thumbnail images for each file generated in this way are written and stored in, for example, the buffer memory 32.

In the following step S203, a layout process is performed on the thumbnail images generated as described above so as to obtain a display form as a thumbnail display, using, for example, the buffer memory 32 as a work area. Then, in the subsequent step S204, a thumbnail is displayed by outputting and displaying the image data based on the image data after the layout processing created in the above step S203. Step S2
Since the thumbnail images are generated for all the files specified in the process of step S02, the thumbnail display by the processing operation in step S204 includes the thumbnails of all the specified files as shown in FIG. A state in which an image is displayed is obtained.

After starting the thumbnail display by the process of step S204, it is determined in step S205 whether or not the operation for reproducing the recorded file has been performed as described above, and a negative result is obtained here. If it is obtained, the process proceeds to step S208, and it is determined whether the display switching key 311 is further operated. here,
If a negative result is obtained also in step S208, the process returns to step S205. As a result, if the operation for reproducing the recorded file or the operation of the display switching key 311 is not performed after the process of step S204, it corresponds to all the designated recorded files shown in FIG. The thumbnail display showing the thumbnail image to be displayed is continued.

On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained in step S208, for example, step S209
The thumbnail display that has been displayed and output so far was to display all specified files (all file display) or to display only important files only (important file limited display). Is determined.

If it is determined in step S209 that all files have been displayed, the flow advances to step S211 to execute display control for switching the thumbnail display to the important file limited display. For example,
From the image data of all files displayed in the buffer memory, the thumbnail image (thumbnail image with the important designation mark) corresponding to the file designated as the important file is taken out, and only the important file is displayed. The layout processing is executed again so that the thumbnail display image data is obtained. Then, after erasing the display of all the files so far, an important file limited display may be displayed and output.

Note that such thumbnail display image data generation processing for the important file limited display may be performed when the process first proceeds to step S210. In other words, at least in the thumbnail display mode, the thumbnail display image data for the important file limited display obtained by the processing of the first step S210 is stored in the buffer memory 32, and thereafter, the display switching key 3
When the operation 11 is performed several times and the process returns to step S210, the thumbnail display image data for the limited display of important files stored in the buffer memory 32 may be reproduced and output.

If it is determined in step S209 that the thumbnail display so far is an important file limited display, the process proceeds to step S211.
The display control for switching to the display of all files is executed. In this case, the image data for displaying all the files, which is generated in step S202 and stored in the buffer memory 32, is reproduced and output.

The above step S210 or step S21
After the execution of the first process, the process returns to step S205.

If it is determined in step S205 that an operation for reproducing a file has been performed, the process proceeds to step S206, where the thumbnail display mode is temporarily terminated. As a result, the previous thumbnail display image is deleted. Then, in the subsequent step S207, control is performed to reproduce the recorded file specified by the file reproducing operation. In step S207, the recording file specified by the file playback operation is
And performs normal reproduction signal processing. As a result, the image data to be reproduced and output is displayed in full size.

In the above description, a still image is displayed as a thumbnail image. However, if the image data of a recording file is a moving image, a thumbnail image is displayed by displaying a moving image. It is also possible to In this case, the moving image data recorded on the disc as a recording file is read out, and the
At the time of decompression processing by EG2, data is extracted for each field image at a required timing. Then, image reduction processing suitable for the thumbnail image size is performed for each of the extracted field image data, and thumbnail display image data is generated so that the field image data subjected to the image reduction processing is sequentially displayed as time elapses. Then, the display output may be performed.

8. Modification Example Next, a modification example of the present embodiment will be described. In a modified example, the release key 301 does not simply perform a pressing operation, but outputs operation information corresponding to the strength of the pressed force as “press level information”. Then, the data rate of the compressed moving image data at the time of recording the recording file is varied according to the pressing level information.

FIG. 12 shows a setting example of a relationship between a pressing level obtained by a pressing operation performed on the release key 301 and a moving image data rate. In this case, the release key 301 has a mechanism for obtaining a click interval when the release key 301 exceeds a pressing operation position corresponding to a certain predetermined pressing level. Then release key 3
01 has been released, that is,
When the pressing level is "0", the recording operation is turned off. Then, when a pressing operation on the release key 301 is performed to obtain a pressing level larger than, for example, “0” (in practice, it is preferable to have a certain amount of play), the data rate at the standard speed is used. It is made to start recording.

Then, for example, if the user finds an important subject for himself, the pressing force on the release key 301 is increased to obtain a pressing state at least beyond the click position. After obtaining this pressed state, the user can arbitrarily control the pressing force on the release key 301 in a range from the click position to a predetermined stop position. As a result, as shown in the figure, in the range from the click position to the stop position, the compressed moving image data rate is varied so as to increase in speed as the pressing level increases.

The release key 3 as shown in FIG.
In order to realize the relationship between the pressing level of 01 and the compressed moving image data rate, at the time of recording a recorded file, according to the pressing level information output from the release key 301,
For example, the data processing / system control circuit 32
Control may be performed so that the compressed moving image data rate obtained in the MPEG2 video signal processing circuit 33 is varied.

According to such a configuration, when the user recognizes that a certain subject is important, the user only needs to press the release key 301 strongly beyond the click position. This makes it possible to record moving image data of higher quality than the standard as an important designated image. At this time, under the pressing state beyond the click position, if the pressing force is increased in accordance with the importance of the subject determined during the shooting by the user, the compressed moving image recorded correspondingly Image data is also recorded with high image quality. That is, in this modified example,
The user can dynamically control the image quality during recording of the recorded file according to the importance of the subject or the like.

For example, when it is desired to cancel the recording of the important designated image as described above, the pressing operation on the release key 301 may be weakened so that the pressing position falls within the range within the clicking position. Thereby, the recording of the important designated image is released, and the recording at the standard compressed moving image data rate is restarted. Also, regardless of whether or not the click position is exceeded, release key 3
When the pressing operation is released from the state where the pressing operation is being performed on 01, the recording operation itself is ended. According to such an operation mode, the important designation key 302 used as a trigger for recording the important designated image in the embodiment described on the left may be unnecessary in this modification.

The recording operation based on the operation mode as this modification can be realized by following the processing operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 9 earlier. However, in this case, in step S104, the important designation key 30
Release key 3
It is determined whether 01 has been pressed beyond the click position. Then, steps S107 and S1
In step 08, the data rate is varied according to the pressing level information output from the release key 301, and the control is performed so that the transfer data rate and the disk rotation speed of the media drive unit 4 are adjusted accordingly. Will be. At this time, in step S109, instead of waiting for a certain time to elapse, it is determined whether or not the pressing level of the release key 301 corresponds to within the click position. Further, instead of determining whether or not the release key 301 has been operated again in steps S105 and S110, it is determined whether or not the operation of the release key 301 has been released. In addition, as the determination processing in step S111, it is determined whether or not the release key 301 has been pressed beyond the click position during the recording of the recorded file so far.

It should be noted that the setting of the relationship between the pressing level of the release key 301 and the compressed moving image data rate shown in FIG. 12 as a modification is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. That is, in FIG.
Although the description has been made with an image in which the compressed moving image data rate is continuously varied in accordance with the pressing level for 2, for example, a compressed moving image with a predetermined number of steps corresponding to the pressing level information output from the release key 302 The configuration may be such that variable control of the image data rate is performed.

The operation mode for recording an important designated image, the processing operation for recording, and the like described in each of the above embodiments may be appropriately changed according to actual use conditions and the like. In addition, the display format related to the thumbnail display,
The control processing for thumbnail display is not limited to the configuration described in each drawing.

The configuration for recording an important designated image can be applied to, for example, a single recording device that can only record data on a disk.

Further, as the video camera of the present embodiment, a disk recording / reproducing device based on MD-DATA2 is used as a video recording / reproducing portion. However, the video recording / reproducing portion has a configuration other than that of this embodiment. Alternatively, the recording / reproducing apparatus may be a recording / reproducing apparatus compatible with other types of disc-shaped recording media. Further, in the present embodiment, the description has been made on the assumption that the MPEG2 system is employed for compressing the moving image data. However, for example, a system capable of compressing and encoding other moving image data may be employed. Also, the compression method for still image data and audio data need not be particularly limited to those exemplified as the present embodiment (JPEG, ATRAC2, etc.).

[0165]

As described above, according to the present invention, when recording compressed image data on a disk at a variable data rate, for example, an important designation key is used while a user is performing recording or the like. When operated, the data rate of the compressed image data is changed so as to increase in accordance with the operation. Thereby, for example, as a recording operation, particularly when the subject is not important, the recording is performed at a low data rate at which a corresponding recording time length can be obtained,
When an important subject is obtained, high-quality recording can be performed at a data rate higher than usual. That is, it is possible to eliminate redundancy of recording data when recording at a fixed data rate as much as possible, and to achieve both a certain recording time and a high image quality of recording contents determined to be important by the user. It becomes possible. In the present invention,
Since the disk-shaped recording medium is used as the medium, it is much easier to change the data rate during the continuation of the recording operation while maintaining the quality of the reproduced image as compared with, for example, the case of using the tape-shaped recording medium. Can be realized.

Further, for example, the data rate of the compressed image data designated as important is changed in accordance with the strength of the pressing of the release key for continuing the recording operation, that is, the user presses the release key. If the quality of the recorded image is improved in accordance with the strength of the force, the quality of the recorded image data can be changed in accordance with the importance recognized by the user. It is possible to more precisely reflect the user's consciousness at the time of shooting in the image quality.

Then, by changing the disk rotation speed in accordance with the variable data rate of the compressed image data recorded on the disk as described above, for example,
Even if the compressed image data is temporarily stored in a buffer memory, etc., and the data transfer rate to the disk driver is not adjusted, the data is recorded on the disk at the data transfer rate according to the data rate of the compressed image data. Will be performed. As a result, when the data rate of the compressed image data is specified as important and the data rate is increased, it is not necessary to seriously consider a countermeasure for the overflow of the data storage amount in the buffer memory, and the reliability in data recording is improved accordingly. It is also possible to reduce the circuit scale.

In performing thumbnail display for searching for a file composed of compressed image data recorded by the above-described configuration, a thumbnail image of a file for which an important designation operation has been performed at the time of recording is designated as an important designation. By displaying a mark indicating that the search has been performed, for example, at the time of a search, it is possible to easily search for a file that is considered to have a high priority for the user from among a plurality of files, and the user who is involved in the search accordingly Usability is improved. Furthermore, according to a user operation or the like, a thumbnail image corresponding to only a file for which a mark indicating that importance has been designated (that is, a file designated as important) among thumbnail images can be displayed. As a result, only files that are considered to have a high priority for the user are presented as search candidates, thereby improving the usability of the user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a track structure of a disc corresponding to a video camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a track portion of a disc corresponding to the video camera of the embodiment in an enlarged manner.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing specifications of a disc corresponding to the video camera of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an internal configuration of the video camera according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an internal configuration of a media drive unit of the video camera according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a side view, a plan view, and the like of the video camera according to the embodiment;
And a rear view.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a disk structure according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a recording operation of a recording file as an embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for realizing a recording operation of a recording file as an embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a display example of a thumbnail display according to the embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation for displaying a thumbnail according to the embodiment;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing, as a modified example of the embodiment, a relation setting example between a pressing level of a release key and a compressed moving image data rate that can be changed thereby.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 lens block, 2 camera block, 3 video signal processing section, 4 media drive section, 5 deck section,
6 display / image / audio input / output unit, 6A display unit, 7 operation unit, 8 external interface, 9 power supply block,
Reference Signs List 11 optical system, 12 motor unit, 22 sample hold / AGC circuit, 23 A / D converter, 24 timing generator, 25 camera controller, 31
Data processing / system control circuit, 32 buffer memory, 33 video signal processing circuit, 34 memory, 35 motion detection circuit, 36 memory, 37 audio compression encoder / decoder, 38 video controller,
41 MD-DATA2 encoder / decoder, 42
Buffer memory, 43 binarization circuit, 44 RF signal processing circuit, 45 servo circuit, 46 driver controller, 51 disk, 52 spindle motor, 53
Optical head, 54 magnetic head, 55 thread motor, 61 video D / A converter, 62 display controller, 63 composite signal processing circuit, 64 A /
D converter, 65 D / A converter, 66 amplifier, 101 RF amplifier, 103 AGC / clamp circuit, 104 equalizer / PLL circuit, 105 Viterbi decoder, 106 RLL (1, 7) demodulation circuit, 107
Matrix amplifier, 108 ADIP bandpass filter, 109 A / B track detection circuit, 110 ADI
P decoder, 111 CLV processor, 112 servo processor, 113 servo driver, 114 data bus, 115 scramble / EDC encode circuit, 116 ECC processing circuit, 117 descramble / EDC decode circuit, 118 RLL (1, 7) modulation circuit, 119 Magnetic head drive circuit, 120 laser driver, 121 transfer clock generation circuit, 201 camera lens, 202 microphone, 203 disk slot, 204 viewfinder, 205 speaker, 3
00 main dial, 301 release key, 302
Important designation key, 304 Zoom key, 305 Eject key, 306 Play key, 307 Stop key, 30
8,309 search key, 310 thumbnail display key, 311 cross key, 312 click key, 313
Display switching key, Ld land, NWG non-wobbled groove, WG wobbled groove, TrA, T
r ・ B truck

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. According to a predetermined disk-shaped recording medium,
In a recording / reproducing apparatus capable of recording or reproducing compressed image data compressed and encoded by a variable data rate, an important designation operating means capable of performing an important designation operation; and At the time of recording, recording control means capable of performing recording by changing the data rate to a required data rate higher than usual, as an important designation corresponding recording operation corresponding to the important designation operation, Recording / reproducing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The important designation operation means is configured to be capable of outputting pressure level information indicating the strength of a force with which the important designation operation means is pressed. 2. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data rate is varied based on level information. 3. The recording on a disk-shaped recording medium is performed at a transfer data rate based on the data rate changed by the important designation corresponding recording operation.
2. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a disk rotation speed control means for variably controlling the rotation speed of the disk-shaped recording medium. 4. A compressed image data file including data recorded by the important designation correspondence recording operation, wherein identification information indicating that important designation has been performed is recorded in a predetermined area of the recording medium. And display control means for displaying and outputting thumbnail images of all or some of the compressed image data files recorded on the disc-shaped recording medium. For the file containing the compressed image data on which the important designation correspondence recording operation has been performed based on the identification information read from, a thumbnail image is generated so that a predetermined display form indicating that the important designation has been made is obtained. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording / reproducing apparatus performs display output. 5. The display control means displays a thumbnail image of only a compressed image data file subjected to an important designation correspondence recording operation from among image data files to be displayed and output as thumbnail images. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the recording / reproducing apparatus is configured to be capable of outputting. 6. The display control means, for a file including compressed image data recorded by the important designation corresponding recording operation, a compression which is assumed to have been recorded within the important designation corresponding recording period at the time of recording the file. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the apparatus is configured to generate a thumbnail image based on the image data.