KR100460966B1 - Instant replay apparatus and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are an instant playback apparatus and method. The instant reproducing unit stores the received video signal and provides the stored video signal to the image reconstructing unit according to a temporary reproducing or repetitive reproducing command received from the user. The image restorer receives and decodes the received video signal and the stored video signal. The image synthesizer converts the size of the decoded image signals upon synthesis of the pause or repeat playback command and synthesizes them. Thus, upon request of the user, a video signal currently received and a video signal received before a predetermined time may be output through one screen.

Description

Instant replay apparatus and method

The present invention relates to a temporary playback apparatus and method for outputting a plurality of images, and more particularly, to a temporary playback apparatus and method for simultaneously outputting a video currently received and a video received before a predetermined time.

Video output devices such as TVs and monitors output video signals received in real time via wired or wireless. The configuration of the received video signal is determined by the video provider, and the user can re-view the already output video only when the received video signal is recorded on a separate storage medium such as a video tape. However, even when the user wants to see only a part of the program instead of the entire program, storing the entire program not only wastes the storage medium but also causes inconvenience to the user.

US Pat. No. 5,621,473 to Philips discloses an apparatus and method for automatically storing a portion of a received video signal and outputting it through an auxiliary screen upon a user's playback command to solve the above problem. Philips' patent has a configuration that selectively extracts non-consecutive image fields from received continuous image field strings, stores them in DRAM, and combines them with the image field being received when the user inputs a momentary playback command.

However, since the Philips patent adopts a configuration that reduces storage capacity by storing only some fields of a received image without compressing the image, there is a problem that the image quality of the image read and output from the DRAM is lower than that of the original image. In addition, the A / D conversion and D / A conversion process is required, and when combining the current image field and the image field read from the DRAM, there is a problem that a synchronization unit for synchronizing the two images must be provided. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a temporary playback apparatus and method capable of efficiently using a storage medium and simultaneously outputting a playback image without deterioration of image quality.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a temporary playback apparatus according to the present invention;

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of performing a temporary playback method according to the present invention;

3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of storing a bitstream in step S200 of FIG. 2, and

4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of performing the pause playback method according to the present invention when a pause playback or repeat playback command is input.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, a temporary playback apparatus according to the present invention includes: a temporary playback unit for storing a received video signal and outputting the video signal stored according to a playback command received from a user; A video restoring unit for decoding the video signal being received and the video signal received from the pause playback unit; And an image synthesizing unit converting the received video signal received from the video restoring unit and / or the video signal output from the temporary playback unit according to the playback command and then synthesizing the synthesized video signal.

The temporary playback unit may include a storage unit for storing the received video signal; A memory controller which controls a recording operation of the video signal to the storage unit and a reading operation of the video signal from the storage unit; And a reproducing control unit which checks a storage position of the video signal stored in the storage unit to control the recording operation of the memory control unit and controls the read operation of the memory control unit based on the reproducing command.

In the case where the playback command is a temporary playback command, the playback control section controls the memory control section to read from the video signal recorded first among the video signals stored. Further, when the playback command is a repeat playback command, the playback control section controls the memory control section to repeatedly read from the video signal recorded first among the video signals stored.

Preferably, when the playback control unit receives a playback command for a certain section from the user, the playback controller provides the memory controller with a start position and an end position of the video signal corresponding to the predetermined section among the video signals stored in the memory. The memory controller reads the image signal between the start position and the end position and provides the image signal to the image restoration unit.

The playback controller controls the memory controller to record the received video signal from a storage location where the first stored video signal is stored when there is no remaining storage capacity of the memory.

The image synthesizing unit has a plurality of scalers for converting the decoded received video signal and the video signal received from the pause playback unit into a first screen having a first size and a second screen having a second size.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for temporarily reproducing, by which a received video signal is bypassed and stored in a storage means; Reading the video signal from the storage means according to a playback command received from a user; Decoding the video signal read out from the storage means and the video signal bypassed; And converting the combined size of the video signal read out from the decoded storage means and the bypassed video signal.

The storing step records the video signal received when there is no remaining storage capacity of the storage means from a storage location where the first stored video signal is stored.

When the playback command is a temporary playback command, the reading step sequentially reads out the last recorded video signal from the first recorded video signal from the storage means. Further, in the case where the reproduction command is a repetitive reproduction command, the reading step sequentially reads out the last recorded image signal from the first recorded image signal from the storage means.

Preferably, when the playback command for a certain period is input from a user, the reading step is recorded at a start position and an end position of the video signal corresponding to the predetermined period among the video signals recorded in the storage means. Read the video signal present.

The image synthesizing step may include converting the video signal read out from the storage means and the bypassed video signal into a first screen having a first size and a second screen having a second size; And synthesizing the first screen and the second screen.

Thus, upon request of the user, the currently received video signal and the video signal received before a certain time can be output through a single screen, and the stored video signal does not undergo a separate compression process, thereby maintaining the original image quality. And the implementation of the device is simplified.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the instant playback apparatus and method according to the present invention.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a temporary playback apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the temporary playback apparatus 100 according to the present invention includes a temporary playback unit 110, an image restoring unit 120, an image synthesizing unit 130, and a switch unit 140.

The temporary play unit 110 stores the received video signal and provides the stored video signal to the image restorer 120 by the control signal input from the outside. The temporary playback unit 110 is composed of a playback controller 112, a memory controller 114, and a memory 116. The received bitstream is input to the image restoring unit 120 and to the temporary storage unit 110 at the same time.

The reproduction controller 112 detects the storage state of the memory 116 and controls data to be recorded from the next region after the region where the bitstream is last stored. In addition, if there is no recording space left in the memory 116, the reproduction control unit 112 controls to overwrite the newly received bitstream with the previously stored data from the start area of the memory 116. The operation of the reproduction control unit 112 is performed simultaneously with the reception of the video signal.

On the other hand, the playback controller 112 outputs a control signal to the memory controller 114 to read the bitstream stored in the memory 116 when a temporary playback command is input from the user. The operation of the reproduction control unit 112 is performed through a direct memory access (DMA) operation. If a repeat play command is input from the user, the play control unit 112 controls the memory controller 114 to read a bit stream corresponding to the repeat play time input by the user from the memory 116. This repeat playback is performed until a playback stop command is input from the user. In the temporary playback or the repeated playback, it is preferable that the storing operation of the received bitstream is not performed.

The reproduction control unit 112 performs the operation related to the reproduction command of the user, the reproduction unit 112-1, recording / reading to perform operations related to data writing to and reading data from the memory 116. The output unit 112-2 and the synchronization unit 112-3 for synchronizing synchronization when the signal input from the outside and the internal processing clock are inconsistent.

The memory controller 114 records the bitstream input according to the control signal of the playback controller 112 in the memory 116 or reads the bitstream from the memory 116 and outputs the bitstream to the image restorer 120. The memory 116 is preferably SDRAM.

The image restoring unit 120 includes first and second TS decoders 122 and 124. The first TS decoder 122 receives and decodes the received bitstream and outputs the decoded bitstream to the image synthesizer 130. The bitstream input to the first TS decoder 122 is a signal which is immediately bypassed at the receiving end without passing through the temporary storage unit 110. The second TS decoder 124 receives the bitstream from the temporary storage unit 110, decodes the bitstream, and outputs the decoded bitstream to the image synthesizer 130.

The image synthesizer 130 includes a scaling unit 132 and a multiplexing unit 134. The scaling unit 132 includes a first scaler 132-1, a second scaler 132-2, and a memory 132-3. The first scaler 132-1 converts the video signal input from the first TS decoder 122 into a size corresponding to the main screen and outputs the converted video signal. The second scaler 132-2 converts the video signal input from the second TS decoder 123 into a size corresponding to the sub picture and outputs the converted video signal. At this time, the size of the main screen and the sub-screen depends on the video output method such as PIP, double window, multi PIP. Meanwhile, the first scaler 132-1 and the second scaler 132-2 may output the sub screen and the main screen, respectively, according to a control signal input from the outside.

The memory 132-3 temporarily pauses the image generated from the second scaler 132-2 when the images generated from the first and second scalers 132-1 and 132-2 are not synchronized. After storing and synchronizing synchronization with the image generated from the first scaler 132-1, each image is output to the multiplexer 134.

The multiplexer 134 synthesizes the image signals input from the first scaler 132-1 and the second scaler 132-2 or outputs only one image according to a control signal input from the outside.

The switch unit 140 includes a first switch 142 and a second switch 144. The switching operation of the first switch 142 and the second switch 144 is controlled by a main / sub picture selection command input by the user. The first switch 142 and the second switch 144 respectively output bit streams output from the first TS decoder 122 and the second TS decoder 124 to the first scaler 132-1 and the second scaler 132-2. Switch to optional input with).

2 is a flowchart illustrating a process of performing a temporary playback method according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the received bitstream is input to the first TS decoder 122 and stored in the memory 116 provided in the temporary playback unit 110 (S200). The first TS decoder 122 decodes the input bitstream and outputs the decoded bitstream to the first scaler 132-1 (S210). The first scaler 132-1 converts the decoded bitstream into the size of the main picture or the sub picture according to the control signal input from the outside and outputs the decoded bitstream to the multiplexer 134 (S220). When the pause or repeat play command is not input (S230), the multiplexer 134 bypasses the bitstream input from the first scaler 132-1 (S240). On the contrary, when a pause or repeat play command is input (S230), the multiplexer 134 synthesizes and outputs bitstreams input from the first scaler 132-1 and the second scaler 132-2 (S250). .

3 is a flowchart illustrating a process of storing a bitstream in step S200 of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 3, when a bitstream is input to the pause playback unit 110 (S300), the playback control unit 112 checks the address of the memory 116 on which the previously input bitstream is recorded (S310). . If the confirmed address is the last region of the memory 116 (S320), the playback controller 112 controls to overwrite the newly input bitstream with the previously stored data from the start region of the memory 116 (S330). On the contrary, when the confirmed address is not the last area of the memory 116 (S320), the reproduction control unit 112 controls to record the input bitstream from the next area of the confirmed address (S340). On the other hand, the reproduction control unit 112 controls to perform step S330 when the last area of the memory 116 is reached during recording of the bitstream. Even if there is no more storage space in the memory 116 through the above operation, the new bitstream is overwritten on the earliest recorded data among the data recorded in the memory 116. Based on this, a predetermined amount of the previously received bitstream can be stored at all times. Operations such as checking the remaining capacity of the memory 116 and addressing the memory in which the bitstream is recorded are performed by a DMA unit (not shown in the figure) provided in the reproduction control unit 112. In addition, the memory controller 114 controls the write operation of the bitstream to the memory 116 according to the control signal of the reproduction controller 112.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of performing the pause playback method according to the present invention when a pause playback or repeat playback command is input.

Referring to FIG. 4, when a pause playback command is input from a user (S400), the playback controller 112 determines the address of an area in which the first received bitstream is stored among the bitstreams stored in the memory 116. And outputs (S410). The memory controller 114 sequentially reads the bit stream stored in the memory 116 from the bit stream stored at the corresponding address and provides the read bit stream to the second TS decoder 124 (S420). The second TS decoder 124 decodes the received bitstream and outputs the decoded bitstream to the second scaler 132-2 (S430). The second scaler 132-2 converts the received bitstream into a constant size and provides the converted bitstream to the multiplexer 134 (S440). At this time, the memory 132-3 provided in the scaling unit 130 matches the synchronization of the bitstream output from the first scaler 132-1 with the bitstream output from the second scaler 132-2. For this purpose, the bit stream output from the second scaler 132-2 is temporarily stored and then provided to the multiplexer 134. Alternatively, the memory 132-3 may temporarily store a bitstream input from the second TS decoder 124 to the second scaler 132-2 and provide the bit stream to the second scaler 132-2. The multiplexer 134 synthesizes and outputs an image signal received from the first scaler 132-1 and the second scaler 132-2 (S450).

If a repeat playback command is input from the user (S460), the above-described steps S410 to S450 are repeatedly performed until the playback stop command is input (S470). On the other hand, during the temporary playback or the repeated playback, the user may play back only the bitstream corresponding to a predetermined time among the bitstreams stored in the memory 116. In this case, the playback controller 112 controls the memory controller 114 to read only the bitstream corresponding to the time designated by the user. That is, when the user commands to play only the bitstream corresponding to the time from 10 minutes to 5 minutes ago on the basis of the time when the user requests the pause or repeat playback, the playback control unit 112 of the region in which the corresponding bit stream is stored The address is output to the memory controller 114.

According to the present invention, since the received video signal is stored in the memory even if the user's storage command is not input, the currently received video signal and the video signal received before a predetermined time can be output through a single screen if necessary. have. In addition, since the stored video signal does not undergo a separate compression process, it is possible to maintain the original image quality as it is and to simplify the implementation of the device.

Although the present invention has been described in detail through the representative embodiments, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can make various modifications without departing from the scope of the present invention with respect to the embodiments described above. Will understand. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined by the claims below and equivalents thereof.

Claims (13)

A temporary playback unit for continuously storing the received video signal in predetermined interval units and outputting the stored video signal according to a playback command received from a user; A first TS decoder to decode the video signal being received; A second TS decoder which decodes the stored video signal output from the pause playback unit; And And a video synthesizing unit configured to convert at least one of a video signal decoded by the first TS decoder and a video signal decoded by the second TS decoder according to the reproduction command, and then output the synthesized image. Temporary playback device. The method of claim 1, wherein the pause playback unit, A storage unit for storing the received video signal; A memory controller which controls a recording operation of the video signal in the storage unit and a reading operation of the video signal stored in the storage unit; And And a reproducing control unit which checks a storage position of the video signal stored in the storage unit to control the recording operation of the memory control unit and controls the read operation of the memory control unit based on the reproducing command. Temporary playback device. The method of claim 2, And the playback control section controls the memory control section to read from the video signal recorded first among the video signals stored in the memory when the playback command is a temporary playback command. The method of claim 2, And when the playback command is a repeat playback command, the playback control unit controls the memory control unit to repeatedly read from the video signal recorded first among the stored video signals. The method according to claim 3 or 4, The playback controller provides the memory controller with a start position and an end position of the video signal corresponding to the predetermined section among the video signals stored in the memory when receiving a playback command for a certain section from the user. And the memory controller reads out the video signal between the start position and the end position and provides the readout signal to the second decoder. The method of claim 2, And the playback control unit controls the memory control unit to record the received video signal from a storage location where the first stored video signal is stored when there is no remaining storage capacity of the memory. The method of claim 1, wherein the image synthesis unit, A first scaler for converting the video signal decoded by the first TS decoder into a first screen having a first size; And And a second scaler for converting the video signal decoded by the second TS decoder into a second screen having a second size. Bypassing the received video signal and storing the same in a storage means; Reading a stored video signal from the storage means according to a playback command received from a user; Decoding the video signal read out from the storage means and the bypassed video signal, respectively; And And converting the synthesized video signal read from the decoded storage means and the bypassed video signal, and then combining the converted video signal. The method of claim 8, And the storing step records the received video signal from a storage location where the first stored video signal is stored when there is no remaining storage capacity of the storage means. The method of claim 8, And when the reproducing command is a temporary reproducing command, the reading step sequentially reading the last recorded video signal from the first recorded video signal from the storage means. The method of claim 8, And wherein said reading step sequentially reads out the video signal recorded last from the video signal recorded first from said storage means in sequence, if said playback command is a repeat playback command. The method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein When the playback command for a certain section is received from a user, the reading step includes the video signal recorded at a start position and an end position of the video signal corresponding to the predetermined section among the video signals recorded in the storage means. Temporary playback method characterized in that the reading. The method of claim 8, The image synthesizing step may include converting the video signal read out from the storage means and the bypassed video signal into a first screen having a first size and a second screen having a second size; And And synthesizing the first screen and the second screen.