JPH11298860A - Image recording and reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate an input operation of a title and to accurately select a desired program by reading recorded cut image data and recording start position data from a recording medium and performing the selection and search of a program to be reproduced. SOLUTION: When an optical disk is mounted on a recording and reproducing device and is started, system CPU 17 reads the recorded contents of the optical disk and retrieves a cut image file and a recording start position file which are registered on the optical disk in a directory structure when they are recorded. Then, the CPU 17 displays the all cut image files registered on the optical disk as a user's selection menu in images on a monitor. After that, when a user selects a desired cut image by operating e.g. an arrow key or a numeric key, etc., of a key inputting part 41 and decides it with the operation of an enter key, etc., the CPU 17 reproduces a program that corresponds to the cut image selected by the user from a start position described on the recording start position file and finishes it.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing image data on / from a recording medium capable of recording a large amount of data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, in recent years, optical disks have been widely used in various fields as recording media for digital information. The capacity of this optical disk has been increasing due to the improvement of the performance of the optical pickup due to the development of laser light with a short wavelength, and the progress of high-density recording technology and data compression technology. The amount of information that can be recorded has increased dramatically.

For example, in a CD (Compact Disk), about 650 MB (Mega Bytes) of digital information is recorded on a disk having a diameter of 12 cm by using a laser beam having a wavelength of 780 nm. Using a laser beam with a wavelength of 650 nm on a disk of the same size as a CD, about 4.7 GB, which is about 7 times the size of a CD in one layer on one side.
(Giga Bytes) of digital information.

[0004] The amount of information recorded on such an optical disk is further increased by the MPEG (Moving Picture Image Coding), an international standard for media-integrated moving image compression.
Experts Group), etc., the data compression technique based on 2 etc. is used, so that the amount of moving image data and audio data corresponding to a movie for about 2 hours and the sub-image data representing subtitles etc. are recorded on one layer. doing.

[0005] The optical disk is not limited to a read-only optical disk.
Devices that can write data, such as Access Memory), have also been developed. For this reason, in the future,
A recording / reproducing apparatus using an optical disk of this type as a recording medium,
Current VCR (Video Cass
ette Recorder) is also expected.

As described above, the time required for data search can be greatly shortened by replacing the sequential access tape with the random access disk as the recording medium. That is, generally, in a VCR, a VISS flag is recorded on a tape at the time of recording, and the tape is reproduced at a high speed so that the
Searching for the S flag realizes cueing.

For this reason, the VCR sometimes searches from one end of the tape to the other end, and it takes a considerably long time to reach the target position. Further, when VISS flags are recorded at a plurality of locations on one tape, each VISS flag is sequentially searched to find the target position, so that a long time is required for the search.

On the other hand, on an optical disk, data is recorded in units of sectors, and addresses of sectors that can be target positions are registered in a TOC (Table of Contents) area. Therefore, the optical disc recording / reproducing apparatus can perform a quick search by moving the optical pickup in the radial direction of the optical disc toward the target position while reading the address.

In this type of recording / reproducing apparatus, even if a plurality of addresses of the target position are registered in the TOC area of the optical disc, if the user selects the address of the predetermined target position, the other target position is selected. , It is possible to search only the target position selected by the user, and also in such a point, a quick search can be realized.

In a conventional recording / reproducing apparatus having a search function for an optical disk as described above, a user inputs, for example, a title of a recorded program in a character code as search information. At the time of search, by selecting a desired title from a plurality of titles displayed on the screen, an address of a desired destination position registered in the TOC area is selected.

However, in the conventional recording / reproducing apparatus,
Since all the titles to be used at the time of the search must be input by the user using character codes, there is a problem that the input operation becomes complicated when the number of titles increases. Further, since all the titles are displayed in the form of characters, even if the user records a plurality of programs such as a movie or a drama from the television broadcast on an optical disc and sets a title for search in each program, for example. However, it is difficult to accurately select a target program from a title display using only characters, and there is a disadvantage that erroneous selection is likely to occur.

[0012]

As described above, in the conventional recording / reproducing apparatus, since the user must input the title for search each time, the input operation becomes complicated when the number of titles increases. have. Further, since the title is set only by characters, it is not suitable for the user to select a program mainly composed of images, and there is a problem that the selection is likely to be erroneous.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and detects a cut from an image recorded on a recording medium, automatically sets the cut as a search title, and looks at the title based on the cut image to obtain a desired title. It is an object of the present invention to provide an excellent image recording / reproducing apparatus which facilitates the input operation of a title by enabling the user to select a desired program, and which enables a user to accurately select a desired program. I do.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An image recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention is intended for recording and reproducing a plurality of image data each constituting a program on a recording medium. A recording start position holding unit for holding data indicating a recording start position of the image data constituting the program on the recording medium; and a cut detected from the image data constituting the program, and image data corresponding to the detected cut. A cut detection and holding unit for holding the cut image data held by the cut detection and holding unit and a recording start position data held by the recording start position holding unit, There is provided a reproducing means for reading the cut image data and the recording start position data recorded by the recording means from the recording medium and selecting and searching for a program to be reproduced based on the data.

According to the above arrangement, a cut is detected from the image data constituting the program, the image data corresponding to the detected cut, and the recording start position of the image data constituting the program on the recording medium. Is recorded on a recording medium in association with the data, and during reproduction, a program to be reproduced is selected and searched based on cut image data and recording start position data read from the recording medium.

That is, a cut is detected from an image recorded on a recording medium and automatically set as a title for search, and a desired program can be selected by looking at the title based on the cut image. Even if the medium has a large capacity and a large number of programs are recorded, it is easy to input a title, and the user can accurately select a desired program.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes an optical head, which has a function of writing and reading data on an optical disk (not shown). First, reproduction of an optical disk will be described.
The data read from the optical disk by the optical head 11 is supplied to a data processor circuit 12, subjected to demodulation and error correction processing, and then supplied to a separation circuit 13.

The output of the data processor circuit 12 is
As will be described in detail later, as shown in FIG. 2, the data stream is a pack-format data string that constitutes a time-division multiplexed MPEG2 program stream. And the separation circuit 13
Divides an input data string into four parts: a main image pack composed of main image data, a sub image pack composed of sub image data, an audio pack composed of audio data, and a control pack composed of control data. I have.

After that, the separation circuit 13 generates a transfer time and an ID (Identifier) indicating the type of data included in each of the main image, sub-image, audio and control data.
With reference to the data, the main image, sub-image, and audio data are transferred to the main image decoder 14, the sub-image decoder 15, and the audio decoder 16, respectively, and the control data is transferred to a system CPU (Central Processing Unit) 17
Are transferred to the memory 18 which can be referred to.

The main image decoder 14 decodes the input main image data and outputs the decoded data to the image processing circuit 19. The sub-image decoder 15
Performs decoding processing on the input sub-image data and outputs the result to the image processing circuit 19. This image processing circuit 19
Generates image data obtained by mixing the main image data decoded by the main image decoder 14 and the sub image data decoded by the sub image decoder 15.

The image data generated by the image processing circuit 19 is converted into an analog signal by a D / A (Digital / Analogue) conversion circuit 20 and supplied to a monitor (not shown) via an output terminal 21. Provided for display. Also,
The audio decoder 16 performs a decoding process on the input audio data. Then, the audio data decoded by the audio decoder 16 is converted into an analog signal by the D / A conversion circuit 22, and then supplied to a speaker (not shown) via the output terminal 23 to be played.

Next, data recording on the optical disk will be described. That is, the signals corresponding to the main image, audio, and sub-image to be recorded on the optical disk are obtained from an external television receiver, video camera, or the like (not shown), and are input through input terminals 24, 25, and 26, respectively.
/ D (Analogue / Digital) conversion circuits 27, 28 and 29. These A / D conversion circuits 27, 28, 29
Respectively digitizes a signal input through the input terminals 24, 25, and 26 or data of a program selected by the television tuner 30.

The main image data output from the A / D conversion circuit 27 is encoded by a main image encoder 31 and supplied to a multiplexing circuit 32. A /
The audio data output from the D conversion circuit 28 is encoded by an audio encoder 33 and supplied to a multiplexing circuit 32. Further, the A / D conversion circuit 29
Is output from the sub-image encoder 34
Are encoded and supplied to the multiplexing circuit 32.

The multiplexing circuit 32 converts the data of the main image, audio and sub-image encoded by the main image encoder 31, audio encoder 33 and sub-image encoder 34 into packets and packs, respectively. The audio pack and the sub-picture pack are time-division multiplexed to form an MPEG2 program stream.

The data string output from the multiplexing circuit 32 is supplied to a file formatter 35,
After being converted into a file conforming to a file structure that can be recorded and reproduced by the recording / reproducing device, it is supplied to a volume formatter 36 and formed into a data format conforming to a volume structure recordable / reproducible by the recording / reproducing device. Here, the volume formatter 36 adds, to the data filed by the file formatter 35, reproduction control information for reproducing the data, and the like.

Thereafter, the volume formatter 36
Is output to the disk formatter 37 and is converted from a logical formatter in the file formatter 35 and the volume formatter 36 to a physical formatter for recording on the optical disk,
The data is written on the optical disk via the optical head 11.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 38 denotes a time counting circuit which counts date data such as year, month, day, hour, minute, second and day of the week. Reference numeral 39 denotes a cut image holding circuit.
It holds image data of a scene (cut) in which an image changes greatly between successive screens, and outputs cut image data to the file formatter 35 when executing a logical formatter process. The cut image holding circuit 39 can also hold the image data of the cut designated by the user.

Further, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 40 denotes a recording start position holding circuit, which temporarily holds information indicating the position where the recording of the program was started on the optical disk. The recording start position data is output to the formatter 35. In addition,
Reference numeral 41 denotes a key input unit operated by the user.

FIG. 2 shows a data stream in a pack format which is output after the data recorded on the optical disk is read by the optical head 11 and subjected to demodulation and error correction processing by the data processor circuit 12. . The pack sequence includes a control pack, a main image pack (main image packet) including main image data, an audio pack (audio packet) including audio data, a sub image pack (sub image packet) including sub image data, and menu data. And a menu pack including a playback position pointer.

Then, among these packs, other than the control pack, when the pack size is less than the specified pack size,
A padding packet for complementing the pack is added. The control pack includes a DSI (Data Search Info) including search information used for data search and the like.
rmation) packet and a PCI (Presentation Control Information) packet including control information for reproduction data.

FIG. 3 shows the details of the main image encoder 31. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 42 is an input terminal.
Main image data output from the A / D conversion circuit 27 is supplied. The main image data supplied to the input terminal 42 is subjected to an encoding process for compressing the data amount in an encoding circuit 43, a compressed data format is generated in a multiplexing circuit 44, and Processing is performed so that the transmission data amount is kept constant,
After the insertion of the dummy bit and the addition of the error correction code in 6, the signal is output to the multiplexing circuit 32 through the output terminal 47.

FIG. 4 shows the details of the encoding circuit 43. That is, the main image data supplied to the input terminal 42 is supplied to the subtraction circuit 48 and the cut detection circuit 49, respectively. The subtraction circuit 48 performs a subtraction process described later, and outputs the result to the orthogonal transformation circuit 5.
The data is compression-encoded by a zero and quantization circuit 51 and supplied to the multiplexing circuit 44 via an output terminal 52. In addition,
The orthogonal transformation circuit 50 and the quantization circuit 51 are controlled by an encoding control circuit 53.

The output of the quantization circuit 51 is returned to the image data before the orthogonal transformation by the inverse quantization circuit 54 and the inverse orthogonal transformation circuit 55, and then subtracted through the prediction memory 56 and the filter 57 in the loop. Input terminal 4 by circuit 48
2 is subtracted from the second main image data, and the difference is supplied to the orthogonal transformation circuit 50, whereby an inter-frame encoding process is performed.

Further, the image data read from the prediction memory 56 is supplied to the cut detection circuit 49. The cut detection circuit 49 detects a cut screen by comparing the main image data supplied to the input terminal 42 with the image data read from the prediction memory 56, and outputs the cut image data to the output terminal 58. The data is output to the memory 18 via the memory 18.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the recording operation of the cut image in the recording / reproducing apparatus shown in FIG. This recording / reproducing apparatus is equipped with a recordable / reproducible optical disk.
Reference numeral 7 indicates that the recorded content of the optical disc and the start position of the unrecorded area have been acquired in advance when the power is turned on or the optical disc is mounted.

First, when a recording request from the user is generated and started (step S1), the system CPU
In step S2, data indicating the unrecorded area start position on the optical disk or the recording start position specified by the user is stored in the recording start position holding circuit 40 in step S2.

Thereafter, the system CPU 17 obtains channel data from the television tuner 30 at the start of recording of the television program in step S3. Each data encoded by the main image encoder 31, the audio encoder 33, and the sub image encoder 34 is:
The pack / package as shown in FIG.
It is converted to a packet format, and a data string is created by time division multiplexing.

Next, the system CPU 17 determines in step S
4, one or more main image packs including the cut image [I picture (intra-frame coded image)] automatically detected by the main image encoder 31 are stored in a VOBU (Video Object Unit) as shown in FIG. ) Format, and stores this in the cut image holding circuit 39 as cut image data.

In this case, the cut image data includes one or more VOs whose reproduction unit is about 0.5 seconds during normal reproduction.
Created as BU. This VOBU is configured by arranging a control pack at the head, followed by arranging a plurality of main image packs and one or more sub-image packs.

Then, the control pack, as described above,
DSI including search information used for data search, etc.
PCI including control information for packets and playback data
It consists of packets. In addition, the main image pack always includes an I picture, which is an intra-frame coded image constituting the cut image.

Next, in step S5, the cut image data previously stored in the cut image holding circuit 39 is converted by the file formatter 35 into "TITLE_01.PIC" as shown in FIG.
And so on. In step S6, the recording start position data stored in the recording start position holding circuit 40 in step S2 is stored in the file formatter 35.
Is converted into a file such as "TITLE_01.PTR" as shown in FIG. Further, in step S7, the data sequence time-division multiplexed by the multiplexing circuit 32 in step S3 is converted by the file formatter 35 into "VTS_01_1.V" as shown in FIG.
It is converted to a title data file such as "OB".

Then, in step S8, the data filed by the file formatter 35 is formed into a directory structure as shown in FIG. 7 by the volume formatter 36, and is logically formatted so as to be compatible with the recording / reproducing apparatus. . Thereafter, in step S9, the data logically formatted by the volume formatter 36 is converted into a physical format by the disk formatter 37, recorded on the optical disk via the optical head 11, and the process is terminated (step S10).

Here, automatic detection of a cut image in the cut detection circuit 49 will be described. That is, in the image as shown in FIG. 8, 8 × 8 or 16 × 1
6 macro blocks are set, and a difference value of each pixel is calculated between the original image data and the image data of the previous frame. D (x, y) = Σ _{i, j = 1} ^{N, N} | Original image data−Previous image data | (The range is i = 1 to N in the horizontal direction and j = 1 to N in the vertical direction.
, N = 8 or 16) Further, in each image, a difference value in the entire image is calculated.

AD = Σ ₁ ^ND (x, y) Here, when the value of AD is larger than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the scene has changed greatly in the preceding and succeeding images, and the image data is used as the cut image. It is stored in the holding circuit 39.

Note that, depending on the threshold value, the number of change points may be too large or too small, so that the threshold value can be set by the user. Further, the threshold value can be automatically changed so as to be a certain number of change points within a fixed time.

Next, FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the reproducing operation of the optical disk on which the cut image is recorded as a file as described above. That is,
An optical disk is mounted on the recording / reproducing apparatus shown in FIG.
When started (step S11), the system CPU 17
Reads the recorded contents of the optical disc in step S12, and records the cut image file (TI) registered on the optical disc in a directory structure as shown in FIG. 7 at the time of recording.
TLE_01.PIC etc.) and recording start position file (TITLE_01.PTR)
Etc.) and search.

Then, in step S13, the system CPU 17 displays all cut image files registered on the optical disc on the monitor as a user selection menu. In this case, the system CPU 17 thins out the cut image data and reduces the display size to a size suitable for multi-screen display on a monitor.

If a large number of cut image files exist and cannot be accommodated in one screen even when displaying multiple screens, for example, as shown in FIG.
A plurality of screens contained in the screen are generated, and the menu is configured to switch and display each screen.

Then, in step S14, when the user operates the arrow keys or the number keys of the key input unit 41 to select a desired cut image and determines the desired cut image by operating the enter key or the like, the system CPU 17 Step S15
Then, the program corresponding to the cut image selected and determined by the user is reproduced from the start position described in the recording start position file, and is ended (step S16).

Now, the directory structure shown in FIG. 7 will be described.
There are three directories, "VIDEO_TS", "TITLE_PIC", and "TITLE_PTR". And “VIDEO_TS”
In the directory, there are an information file “VIDEO_TS.IFO” recording control information and the like regarding the entire information file recorded on the optical disc, and an information file “VTS_01_0.IFO” recording control information and the like for each file. ,
Playback data “VTS_01_1.VOB” or “VTS_01_2.VOB”
Etc. are included.

The "TITLE_PIC" directory contains cut image data files "TITLE_01.PIC" and "TITLE_02.PIC" which are cut image data registered by the recording / reproducing apparatus. In addition, the above “TI
In the "TLE_PTR" directory, the above "TITLE_PIC"
A recording start position data file "TITL" describing the recording start position of each cut image registered in the directory
E_01.PTR ”and“ TITLE_02.PTR ”.

Further, in FIG. 7, the PIC file in the “TITLE_PIC” directory and the PTR file in the “TITLE_PTR” directory have a one-to-one correspondence, and the file name is “TITLE_01. “TITLE_
02.PIC ”,“ TITLE_03.PIC ”, and the corresponding PTR file has the same rules as“ TITLE_03.PIC ”.
File names such as “01.PTR”, “TITLE_02.PTR”, and “TITLE_03.PTR” are given.

When displaying a menu screen in which a plurality of cut images are combined during reproduction, PIC files are sequentially taken out from the "TITLE_PIC" directory and displayed on the screen. When the user instructs a reduced screen of the cut image to be reproduced by, for example, a remote controller or the like,
The PTR file corresponding to the PIC file is “TITLE_PT
R "directory, and starts reproduction from the designated cut image according to the time information in the directory.

FIG. 10 shows an example in which four cut images are displayed as a menu on the same screen. In this case, the four cut image files “TITLE_01.PIC” to “TITLE_04.PIC” shown in FIG. 7 are respectively a car 1 shown in FIG. 10, an airplane 2, a bullet train 3 and a bullet 4 Each image of the character cut is registered on the optical disc.

When this optical disk is loaded into the system CP
By searching in U17, the number of recorded files (cuts) is confirmed, and the numerical data is stored in the memory 18 via the data processor circuit 12. afterwards,
After the main image pack and the sub image pack output from the separation circuit 13 are decoded by the main image decoder 14 and the sub image decoder 15, respectively, the data is thinned out to a frame memory or the like built in the image processing circuit 19. As a result, the menu screen shown in FIG. 10 is displayed on the monitor.

Also, without using the cut image file (TITLE_01.PIC etc.) registered in the directory structure as shown in FIG. 7, only the recording start position file (TITLE_01.PTR etc.) Is searched, and I-picture still image or VOBU unit same-image reproduction is executed,
The new screen shown in FIG. 10 can be displayed on the monitor in the same manner as described above. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0057]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
Detecting a cut from the image recorded on the recording medium and automatically setting it as a title for search, and enabling the user to select a desired program by looking at the title based on the cut image, facilitates the input operation of the title, Moreover, it is possible to provide an extremely good image recording / reproducing apparatus which enables a user to select a desired program accurately.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an image recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary view for explaining a data string in a pack format output from a data processor circuit according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing details of a main image encoder according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing details of an encoding circuit in the main image encoder.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a cut image recording operation according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary view for explaining cut image data converted into the VOBU format according to the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary view for explaining a directory structure of data recorded on the optical disc in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining automatic detection of a cut image in the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart shown to explain a cut image reproducing operation in the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a view for explaining an example of a menu screen in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Optical head, 12 ... Data processor circuit, 13 ... Separation circuit, 14 ... Main image decoder, 15 ... Sub-image decoder, 16 ... Audio decoder, 17 ... System CPU, 18 ... Memory, 19 ... Image processing circuit, 20 ... D / A conversion circuit, 21 ... output terminal, 22 ... D / A conversion circuit, 23 ... output terminal, 24-26 ... input terminal, 27-29 ... A / D conversion circuit, 30 ... television tuner, 31 ... Main image encoder, 32: multiplex circuit, 33: audio encoder, 34: sub-image encoder, 35: file formatter, 36: volume formatter, 37: disk formatter, 38: clock circuit, 39: cut image holding circuit, 40: recording Start position holding circuit, 41: key input unit, 42: input terminal, 43: encoding circuit, 4 .. Multiplexing circuit, 45 transmission buffer, 46 transmission code circuit, 47 output terminal, 48 subtraction circuit, 49 cut detection circuit, 50 orthogonal transform circuit, 51 quantization circuit, 52 output terminal, 53 ... an encoding control circuit, 54 ... an inverse quantization circuit, 55 ... an inverse orthogonal transformation circuit, 56 ... a prediction memory, 57 a filter in a loop, 58 ... an output terminal.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An image recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing a plurality of image data each constituting a program on a recording medium, comprising: data indicating a recording start position of the image data constituting the program on the recording medium. Recording start position holding means for holding the cut, cut detection from the image data constituting the program, and cut detection and holding means for holding image data corresponding to the detected cut, held in the cut detection and holding means Recording means for recording the cut image data and the recording start position data held by the recording start position holding means on the recording medium, and the cut image data and the recording start position recorded by the recording means A data reproducing device that reads data from the recording medium and selects and searches a program to be reproduced based on the data. Image recording and reproducing apparatus characterized by comprising; and a stage. 2. The image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cut detection and holding means detects a cut when performing a compression encoding process on image data constituting said program. 3. The cut detection and holding means calculates a difference between successive frames of image data constituting the program, and detects a cut based on a result of comparing the difference value with a predetermined threshold value. The image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The image recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said cut detection and holding means is capable of changing said threshold value in accordance with an inter-frame difference value of image data constituting said program. Playback device. 5. A display means for displaying a plurality of cuts detected by the cut detection and holding means on a screen as a menu for program selection based on cut image data read from the recording medium. Selecting means for selecting a desired cut by an external operation from the plurality of cuts displayed on the display means, and corresponding to the cut selected by the selecting means based on recording start position data read from the recording medium. 2. The image recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: searching means for searching a recording start position of the program to be recorded on the recording medium.