KR100481502B1 - Image recording/reproducing apparatus having multi-cluster function - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a multi-cluster function of an HDD video recording / reproducing apparatus which can efficiently use a space of a hard disk drive. An image recording / reproducing apparatus having a hard disk drive capable of storing a plurality of files includes a display device unit for outputting an auxiliary screen for selecting a cluster size to a display device and a size of a cluster selected by a user in the auxiliary screen. A cluster forming unit for formatting the hard disk drive, a cluster selecting unit for selecting a file for storage from among a plurality of clusters of the formatted hard disk drive, and a file recording unit for recording the file in the selected cluster; It consists of. In addition, the recording method includes an output step of outputting a sub-screen for selecting a plurality of format standards for formatting a hard disk drive by selecting a cluster size for each extension and a format specification selected in the output step. A plurality of clusters by comparing an extension information retrieval step of retrieving the extension information of the file from a format step of formatting the hard disk drive with a plurality of cluster sizes according to the plurality of cluster sizes; And a cluster selecting step of selecting a cluster to store the file among clusters of the formatted hard disk drive, and a file recording step of recording the file in the selected cluster.

Therefore, the hard disk drive video recording / reproducing apparatus of the above structure can divide the hard disk drive into clusters having a plurality of sizes and record them in an appropriate cluster according to the type of file, thereby enabling efficient data management. It is.

Description

Image recording / reproducing apparatus having multi-cluster function

The present invention relates to a hard disk drive video recording / playback apparatus, and more particularly, to a multi-cluster function of a video recording / playback apparatus having a hard disk drive capable of efficiently storing and managing files on a hard disk drive. It is about.

Background Art A video recording / reproducing apparatus capable of reproducing a broadcast signal recorded on a recording medium and reproducing the broadcast signal has expanded its function according to the development of digitalization and compression technology of the broadcast signal. Recently, a video recording / reproducing apparatus has been adopted a hard disk driver which is a large capacity storage device. Such image recording / reproducing apparatuses are being developed to support the use of various image sources such as satellite broadcasting signals, cable broadcasting, and network broadcasting through the Internet.

Meanwhile, such a video recording / reproducing apparatus has been introduced in a combination type product in which a first device and a second device, each of which performs independent functions, are combined, and have a function of reproducing A / V signals. As such, a product in which the first device and the second device are combined into one is referred to as a combination system or combo.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing a DVD / HDD combo system.

As shown, the DVD / HDD video recording / reproducing apparatus 10 includes a DVD ROM 12 for reproducing data recorded on a recording medium in one case, and a hard disk drive for recording and reproducing data. HDD "14 are combined. At this time, the DVD ROM 12 and the HDD 14 each have an interface capable of transmitting and receiving data to each other while performing independent functions. In general, the DVD ROM 12 plays back data recorded on an optical disc recording medium such as a DVD, an audio CD, a video CD, and an MP3 CD.

The DVD / HDD video recording / reproducing apparatus 10 may receive a broadcast signal from the outside and record or output data to the HDD 14. In addition, the DVD / HDD video recording / reproducing apparatus 10 may output a broadcast signal received from the outside, data reproduced from the DVD ROM 12, and data reproduced from the HDD 14 to an external device. The DVD / HDD video recording / reproducing apparatus 10 outputs broadcast signals and data to the audio amplifier 15, the TV 17, and the camcorder 19 according to their output characteristics. In addition, the DVD / HDD video recording / reproducing apparatus 10 can record the data input from the audio amplifier 15, the TV 17, and the camcorder 19 to the HDD 14.

In general, the hard disk drive 14 is configured to have a cluster structure used in a personal computer (PC). 2 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement of clusters generally used in a PC. Here, in the storage technology aspect of a PC, a cluster is a logical unit for storing files on a hard disk and is managed by a computer operating system. When a file is stored on a hard disk, it occupies at least one cluster. A very large file can span multiple clusters. However, even if a file is divided into several clusters, these clusters do not always have to be contiguous, and they can be scattered around the hard disk. In this case, the location of multiple clusters associated with a file is maintained in the file allocation table (FAT) of the hard disk, and from the user's point of view, which cluster is stored in the file or divided? You do not need to know at all. However, complicated file layout tables can cause a lot of errors and slow down the read speed.

In addition, even if a file having a small amount of data occupies all one cluster, there is a problem that there is a wasteful component of the cluster. For example, if you set the size of one cluster to 2,048 bytes, even a 10-byte file consumes 2,048 bytes.

In other words, the efficiency of using data is inferior because a single cluster unit is used without considering file characteristics.

The present invention is to solve the above problems, it is possible to divide the hard disk drive into a cluster having a plurality of sizes and to write to the appropriate cluster according to the type of file multi-cluster function that can perform efficient data management It is an object of the present invention to provide an HDD video recording / playback apparatus and a method thereof.

In order to achieve the above object, an HDD video recording / reproducing apparatus having a multi-cluster function according to the present invention provides a method for selecting a cluster size in a video recording / reproducing apparatus having a hard disk drive capable of storing a plurality of files. A plurality of clusters of the formatted hard disk drive; a display device unit for outputting a sub screen to a display device; a cluster forming unit for formatting the hard disk drive to a size of a cluster selected by the user on the sub screen; And a file recorder for recording the file in the selected cluster.

The sub-screen includes a screen for selecting a plurality of hard disk partitioning methods in which cluster sizes are designated for each extension.

The cluster selecting unit includes an extension search unit for searching for an extension of a file from information of a file to be stored, and an extension comparison unit for selecting a cluster having an extension by comparing the searched extension information with the extension information of the cluster.

Preferably, the cluster forming unit outputs a guide screen for selecting whether to proceed with formatting before formatting the hard disk drive with the size of the cluster selected in the sub-screen to the display device unit, and only when the user selects the format progress. You can do this by formatting the drive.

HDD image recording method having a multi-cluster function according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a display device for selecting a plurality of format standards that can format the hard disk drive by selecting the size of the cluster by extension An output step of formatting the hard disk drive in a plurality of cluster sizes according to the format standard selected in the output step and an extension information retrieval step of retrieving the extension information of the file from the attribute information of the file to be recorded; A cluster selection step of selecting a cluster to store the file among a plurality of the clusters from among clusters of the formatted hard disk drive by comparing extension information of the searched file with a file recording step of recording the file in the selected cluster; including Is done.

In the format step, the hard disk drive is formatted only when the user selects the format progress by outputting a guide screen for selecting whether to proceed with formatting before formatting the hard disk drive with the size of the cluster selected in the sub screen. It is desirable to.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the present invention.

3 is a block diagram for explaining a DVD / HDD video recording / playback apparatus.

Referring to the drawings, the DVD / HDD video recording / reproducing apparatus includes a signal processing unit 100, a DVD ROM 300, a hard disk drive (HDD) 400, a power supply unit 520, and a power control unit 540. Equipped.

The signal processor 100 controls operations of data recording and reproduction of the DVD ROM 300 and the hard disk drive 400 under the control of the main controller 200, and encodes and decodes data transmitted from the outside.

The DVD ROM 300 plays back data recorded on an optical disc recording medium such as a DVD, an audio CD, a video CD, and an MP3 CD. In addition, the DVD ROM 300 may record data input from the outside to an optical disc recording medium.

The hard disk drive 400 records data input from the outside and reproduces the recorded data.

The power supply unit 520 converts the power required for the operation of the DVD ROM 300, the hard disk drive 400, and the signal processing unit 100 to a predetermined level from the input power and supplies them.

The power control unit 540 blocks the power supply operation of the power supply unit 520 by controlling the power supply unit 520 when a reset command for restarting the DVD / HDD image recording / reproducing apparatus is transmitted from the main control unit 200. After resupply.

Meanwhile, the signal processing unit 100 includes a tuner 110, a switching unit 120, an A / V decoder 142, an A / V encoder 144, an MPEG encoder 146, a data management unit 148, and a main controller. 200.

The tuner 110 adjusts a reception channel so that a broadcast signal of a channel requested by the input / output controller 130 controlled by the main controller 200 can be tuned.

The switching unit 120 is controlled by the input / output control unit 130 to control the input / output terminals (not shown) connected to the external A / V input / output device to be selectively connected to each other.

The A / V decoder 142 is controlled by the main controller 200 to decode the audio / video signal received through the switching unit 120 and output the MPEG encoder 146.

The A / V encoder 144 encodes the data decoded by the MPEG decoder 220 of the main controller 200 and the audio / video signal decoded by the A / V decoder 142 and outputs the encoded data to the switching unit 120. .

The MPEG encoder 146 is controlled by the main control unit 200 to encode the audio signal and the video signal output from the A / V decoder 142 by a predetermined compression format method, and a mass storage device for the recording target data. In the hard disk drive 400. Preferably, the MPEG encoder 146 encodes by the MPEG-2 compression method. Reference numeral 146a denotes an SDRAM applied as a memory used in the encoding process in the MPEG encoder 146.

The data management unit 148 manages the reproduction and recording of data recorded on the hard disk drive 400 and / or the DVD ROM 300. That is, the data management unit 148 stores the data recorded on the DVD ROM 300 to the hard disk drive 400 or the data recorded on the hard disk drive 400 to the DVD ROM 300 and the MPEG encoder ( The storage of the data encoded in 146 to the hard disk drive 400 is controlled and managed by the main controller 200.

The key input unit 152 is applied as an interface and is provided with operation keys for the user to select a corresponding command, and outputs a user operation signal selected by the user to the main control unit 200. In addition, the light receiver 154 is applied as an interface and receives a user operation signal transmitted from a remote controller such as a remote controller, which is an external input device, and outputs the signal to the main controller 200.

The main controller 200 processes user manipulation signals received through the key input unit 152 and the light receiving unit 154, and controls each element. The main control unit 200 is an IC of a single chip type by combining an MPEG decoder 220 and a central processing unit (CPU) to decode the compressed signal by the MPEG method.

The operation program of the main controller 200 is recorded in the flash memory 200a. The flash memory 200a is provided with a menu guide / processing unit that performs a process for displaying a list of menu guides on a screen of a display device, and performs a function of displaying an auxiliary screen for selecting a size of a cluster according to the present invention. . Reference numeral 200b denotes an SDRAM used by the main controller 200 as a temporary storage location.

In the DVD / HDD video recording / reproducing apparatus, the main controller 200 loads a program mounted on the flash memory 200a at startup to receive various functions supported by the key input unit 152 and the light receiving unit 154. In response to the operation process.

The DVD ROM 300 plays back moving picture data recorded on an optical disc recording medium. The hard disk drive 400 records the video data output from the MPEG encoder 146 and the DVD ROM 300 under the control of the data management unit 148 and reproduces the recorded video data. Typically, the storage space of the hard disk drive 400 has a data recording area and a user recording area. The data recording area is an area in which moving picture data is recorded and includes a data attribute information area. The data attribute information area is an area in which attribute information such as data recording date, file size, extension, and the like is recorded. When data is recorded on the hard disk drive 400, the main controller 200 searches for attribute information of data included in the data itself and records the attribute information in the data attribute information area.

The user recording area is an area in which additional information edited by the user is recorded on the moving picture data. The information recorded in the user recording area includes, for example, the name of the data, the directory, and the like.

The hard disk drive 400 preferably records the backup data corresponding to the additional information when recording the additional information in the user recording area. In addition, the hard disk drive 400 may additionally record error check information for error checking on the additional data and the backup data recorded when the additional information and the backup data are recorded in the user recording area.

In addition, the DVD / HDD video recording / reproducing apparatus includes a malfunction detection unit 160 for determining whether the system is malfunctioning. The malfunction detection unit 160 determines whether an error occurs in the recording operation of the hard disk drive 400 while the moving picture data is recorded in the data recording area by the hard disk drive 400, and the result is displayed in the main controller 200. To transmit.

If it is determined that an error operation of the hard disk drive 400 occurs, the main controller 200 controls the power supply unit 520 for supplying power to the DVD / HDD video recording / playback apparatus, thereby controlling the DVD ROM 300 and the hard disk. The power controller 540 is controlled to re-drive the DVD / HDD image recording / reproducing apparatus including the drive 400. Accordingly, the power control unit 540 controls the power supply unit 520 according to the system restart command transmitted from the main control unit 200 to cut off the power and supply the power again.

4 is a block diagram schematically showing an HDD video recording / reproducing apparatus for explaining a multi-cluster function according to the present invention. Referring to the figure, the HDD video recording / reproducing apparatus includes a cluster forming unit 401, an extension searching unit 403, a cluster selecting unit 405, a file recording unit 407, and a display device unit 500.

The display device 500 displays an auxiliary screen for dividing the HDD into clusters of various sizes when the HDD is to be formatted.

5A illustrates an example of such an auxiliary screen. When the HDD is formatted as shown in the figure, a subscreen for selecting the size of each cluster is displayed so that the user can easily select the format type through key operation. As shown in the screen, when the user moves the selection window 510 and selects item "1", the capacity for recording MPEG-related video can be recorded for 40 hours, and the capacity for storing MP3-related files is 250. For example, Picture-related files are selected to be formatted by partitioning the HDD so that 10,000 files can be stored.

The cluster forming unit 401 forms a plurality of clusters having different sizes when formatting the hard disk drive 400. Clusters are formed for each size according to the HDD partitioning option determined by the display apparatus 500. At this time, the cluster to store the MPEG is composed of a large supercluster composed of a plurality of general clusters, not a general cluster, and MP3 and Picture-related clusters are assigned to the general cluster to perform the format (see FIG. 5C).

 The arrangement of the cluster formed by the cluster forming unit 401 is as shown in FIG. 5C. FIG. 5C illustrates an arrangement of clusters formed according to the present invention. As shown in the drawing, clusters may be formed in various stages according to sizes, and a plurality of clusters may be formed in each stage size. In addition, in order to classify a storage location of data (files) to be stored, that is, to be recorded in a predetermined area, an extension classification table as shown in Table 1 below is stored.

Extension classification table division Type of extension Video file WVV, VBS, MPV, DAT, VOB, MPG, MOV, etc. Still image file JPG, JPE, TIF, PSD, WMF, CLP, etc. Sound files WAV, MP3, MMP, AC3, DTS, DMC, ABX, MPA, WMA, ASF, etc.

As shown in [Table 1], all files with extension names such as '* .mpg' and '* .dat' are defined as video files and are stored in the video area formatted as a super cluster. All files with extensions of '* .jpg', '* .tif', etc. are defined as still image files and stored in the still image area formatted as a general cluster. In addition, all files such as '* .mp3', '* .ac3', etc. are defined as sound files and stored in the sound area.

6A is a flowchart for describing a method for dividing and formatting a cluster, and FIG. 6B is a flowchart for describing a method for storing a file in a divided cluster. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the video recording method of FIG. 4. Referring to the drawings, a method of dividing and formatting a cluster and storing a file will be described in more detail.

If the hard disk drive 400 is to be formatted (step S600), the display apparatus 500 outputs a sub-screen for selecting a cluster having a different size for dividing the hard disk drive (S610). When the user selects a specific hard disk drive partitioning method in the sub screen (step S620), the cluster forming unit 401 forms the hard disk drives into a plurality of clusters having different sizes according to the selected specific size (S630 and S631). For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the division method designated by “1” is selected, the MPEG-related video is allocated a capacity for recording 40 hours, and the MP3-related file has a capacity for storing 250 images. Is selected to format the HDDs separately so that they can hold 10,000. In addition, it is preferable that the cluster to store MPEG is composed of a large supercluster composed of a plurality of general clusters, not a general cluster, and the MP3 and Picture-related clusters are assigned to the general cluster to format. Further, before proceeding with the format, it is more preferable to output a screen inquiring whether the user finally proceeds with the format so that a case of accidentally erasing recorded data does not occur (step S650). That is, as shown in FIG. 5B, the cluster forming unit 401 outputs the screen asking whether the format proceeds to the display apparatus 500 (step S660), and the user determines the format progress through the key input unit 152 or the light receiving unit 154. In this case, the hard disk drive 400 is divided into the corresponding clusters and the format is executed (step S670). At this time, the screen asking whether the format proceeds is displayed so that the selection window 520 is located in the "NO" window by default so that the user can proceed with the format with clear intention. If the user wants to format the key input unit 152 or the light receiving unit, It is preferable to allow the selection window 520 to be moved to "YES" through 154.

When the file is to be stored in the hard disk drive 400 formatted as described above (step S700), as shown in FIG. 6B, the extension search unit 403 may extend the file from the attribute information included in the file itself for recording. Search for information (S710).

When the extension information of the file to be recorded is searched by the extension searching unit 403, the cluster selecting unit 405 compares the extension information of the searched file with the extension classification table stored in the cluster forming unit 401, and the matching extension is found. The cluster belonging to the search is searched, and the file recording unit 407 records the file in the cluster of the appropriate size searched by the cluster search unit 405 (steps S720 and S730).

As described above, the file recording unit 407 records the file in the cluster having the same extension by the cluster selecting unit 405, thereby optimizing the space of the hard disk drive 400. Large video files can be stored in a small number of clusters by storing them in a super cluster while small still image files and sound files can be stored in a general cluster. It can prevent.

While the invention has been described in detail only with respect to the described embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations are possible within the spirit of the invention, and such modifications and variations belong to the appended claims.

The hard disk drive image recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention has the effect of enabling efficient data management by dividing the hard disk drive into clusters having a plurality of sizes and recording them in appropriate clusters according to file types. will be.

1 is a block diagram briefly showing a DVD / HDD combo system;

2 is a diagram showing an arrangement of clusters generally used in a PC;

3 is a block diagram illustrating a DVD / HDD combo system;

4 is a block diagram schematically showing a hard disk drive video recording / reproducing apparatus for explaining a multi-cluster function according to the present invention;

5A is a diagram illustrating an example of an auxiliary screen;

5b is an auxiliary screen for selecting whether to proceed with the format of the HDD,

5c shows an arrangement of clusters formed in accordance with the present invention;

6A is a flowchart illustrating a method of dividing and formatting a cluster;

6B is a flowchart illustrating a method for storing a file in a divided cluster.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

401 cluster forming unit 403 extension search unit

405: cluster selection unit 405: file recording unit

500: display device

Claims (6)

In a video recording / playback apparatus having a hard disk drive capable of storing a plurality of files, A display device unit configured to output a sub-screen for selecting a size of a cluster to a display device; A cluster forming unit for formatting the hard disk drive to a size of a cluster selected by a user on the sub screen; A cluster selecting unit which selects a file for storing from a plurality of clusters of the formatted hard disk drive; And And a file recorder for recording the file in the selected cluster. The method of claim 1, And the auxiliary screen is a screen for selecting a plurality of hard disk partitioning methods in which cluster sizes are designated for each extension. The method of claim 2, The cluster selecting unit comprises: an extension searching unit searching for an extension of a file from information of a file to be stored; and an extension comparing unit for selecting a cluster having an extension matching the searched extension information and extension information of the cluster; Hard disk drive video recording / playback device. The method of claim 1, The cluster forming unit outputs a guide screen for selecting whether to proceed with formatting before formatting the hard disk drive to the size of the cluster selected in the sub screen to the display device unit to format the hard disk drive only when the user selects the format progress. Hard disk drive image recording / playback apparatus, characterized in that. An output step of outputting an auxiliary screen for selecting a plurality of format standards capable of formatting a hard disk drive by selecting a cluster size for each extension to a display device; A format step of formatting the hard disk drive in a plurality of cluster sizes according to the format standard selected in the output step; An extension information retrieval step of retrieving extension information of the file from attribute information of a file for recording; A cluster selecting step of selecting a cluster to store the file among a plurality of clusters from among clusters of the formatted hard disk drive by comparing extension information of the searched file; And And a file recording step of recording the file in the selected cluster. The method of claim 5, In the format step, the hard disk drive is formatted only when the user selects the format progress by outputting a guide screen for selecting whether to proceed with formatting before formatting the hard disk drive with the size of the cluster selected in the sub screen. Hard disk drive video recording method characterized in that.