KR20020093756A - Disc recording media adapting to generate a thumbnail image for menu screen - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A disc recording medium adapted for preparing a thumbnail video for a menu screen is provided to enable a user to prepare a thumbnail video closely related to a subject of a program by obtaining a thumbnail video for a program from a corresponding program(moving picture or still image program) or a thumbnail file having prepared many thumbnail videos. CONSTITUTION: A thumbnail(32) expresses contents of a still image title. A thumbnail(34) expresses contents of a movie title. A thumbnail(36) expresses contents of a thumbnail VOB(Video OBject). The reference number(30) expresses a background screen. In the case that a thumbnail video is prepared from still images(32), the thumbnail video is prepared by compressing one image out of a still VOB. In the case that a thumbnail is prepared from a movie(34), the thumbnail video is prepared by compressing a screen(generally, intra screen) included in a movie VOB. In the case that a thumbnail is prepared from a thumbnail VOB(36), the thumbnail is one image out of images recorded in a thumbnail VOB recorded by a user or a recording device. A thumbnail video identifier necessary for obtaining a thumbnail video from a VOB is stored in a program chain information table. A menu control unit obtains the thumbnail video identifier stored in the program chain information table for loading a corresponding program or a thumbnail video of a chapter. The thumbnail video identifier is connected to the VOB by a thumbnail manager.

Description

Disc recording media adapting to generate a thumbnail image for menu screen}

The present invention relates to a disc recording medium suitable for producing a thumbnail image displayed on a menu screen.

In a video reproducing apparatus using a recording medium capable of random access, such as a disc, it is possible to quickly move to a desired point for playback by a user. For example, if two dramas are recorded on a videotape and a disc, respectively, the videotape can be played after the desired scene has been rolled up to the recorded position, but the disc can be accessed by playing the desired point.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a menu screen for guiding a user to play from an arbitrary position in a video reproducing apparatus using a disc. That is, it is preferable that the user can use the menu screen to quickly reproduce the image regardless of where the desired image is located on the recording medium.

Such a menu screen preferably includes a thumbnail image for properly representing the content of a program to be reproduced at a position to be indexed. In such a menu method, when a user selects one of the thumbnail images displayed on the menu screen, a program or chapter related thereto is played.

Here, it is important to make the thumbnail image closely correlate with the program to be randomly accessed. That is, as the created thumbnail image visually appropriately expresses the target program, the menu function can be used more smoothly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a disc recording medium suitable for producing a thumbnail image having high correlation with the contents of a program to be indexed, which is designed to meet the above requirements.

1 is a view showing an embodiment of a menu screen created by a thumbnail image creation method applied to a disk according to the present invention.

2 is a diagram showing the relationship between a program and a thumbnail image in a playback apparatus using a conventional disc.

3 is a view showing another embodiment of a menu screen created by a thumbnail image creation method applied to a disc according to the present invention.

4 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a program and a thumbnail image in the menu screen illustrated in FIG. 3.

5 shows a structure of management information for accessing a thumbnail image stored in a thumbnail file in a disc according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is shown to show details of the thumbnail file information table shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is shown to show details of the thumbnail file information shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is shown to show details of the thumbnail file general information shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the detailed configuration of the thumbnail group information shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the thumbnail group general information shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the thumbnail video stream shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the thumbnail group map shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the thumbnail image map illustrated in FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the detailed configuration of the thumbnail manager shown in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the detailed configuration of the thumbnail information table shown in FIG.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the thumbnail search pointer shown in FIG. 14.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the detailed configuration of the thumbnail information shown in FIG.

Disc recording medium according to the present invention for achieving the above object is

An information storage medium having management information for managing video and / or audio data,

A program chain information table area in which a program chain information table having information on index numbers assigned to video objects to be indexed and information on thumbnail image identification symbols is recorded; And

And a thumbnail manager area in which thumbnail managers having pointers for matching the thumbnail image identification symbols with position information of corresponding video objects are recorded.

In creating a thumbnail image for a video object to be indexed, obtain a thumbnail image identification symbol for an indexing number with reference to the program chain information table, and refer to the thumbnail manager to position information of a video object corresponding to the thumbnail image identification symbol. And obtain a thumbnail image from the video object corresponding to the location information.

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

1 is a view showing an embodiment of a menu screen created by a thumbnail image creation method applied to a disk according to the present invention. The menu screen shown in FIG. 1 includes a thumbnail image 14 for expressing a subject of a moving image program and a thumbnail image 12 for expressing a subject in a still image program.

The thumbnail image is a form in which one frame of a corresponding movie program (movie VOB) is reduced. In the case of a still image, one image of still images included in a still VOB is reduced. Here, when the moving picture program is encoded by the MPEG method, the thumbnail picture is preferably created from an intra picture serving as a reference screen of a group of picture (GOP) serving as a unit of random access.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a program and a thumbnail image in the menu screen illustrated in FIG. 1. Thumbnail image identification information necessary for obtaining a thumbnail image from a video object (VOB) recorded on a disc is stored in a program chain information table 20.

In order to display a thumbnail image of a corresponding program or chapter on a menu screen, a menu controller (not shown) acquires a thumbnail image identification symbol stored in the program chain information table 20. The thumbnail image identification symbol and the VOB are connected by the thumbnail manager 22.

The thumbnail manager 22 has, in the form of a pointer, a relation between a thumbnail image identification symbol and an intra frame file of a video, for example, a video, which is actually located in a VOB. The menu control unit obtains an image located in the VOB by the pointer recorded in the thumbnail manager 22. The image thus obtained is down sampled to create a thumbnail image, which is displayed on a menu screen.

In the case of thumbnail images obtained from moving images, the pointer has a program or chapter number and a presentation time. In the case of thumbnail images obtained from still images, the pointer has a number of still images.

When a thumbnail image is selected on the menu screen as shown in FIG. 1, the corresponding moving image program still image file is played.

The thumbnail images shown in FIGS. 1-2 are obtained from the VOB. In other words, it is difficult for a user to obtain thumbnail images from images that are not in the VOB. For example, when the content of a program is a birthday party, a user may want to use a thumbnail image instead of a picture of a program recording a birthday party or a picture of a cake or a hat picture used at a birthday party. However, the program that recorded the birthday party does not have such a picture, so the user's desire is difficult to satisfy.

In this case, if a user can select and use one of several thumbnail images prepared in advance instead of the screen recorded in the VOB, the user can express a thumbnail image of a program recording a birthday party by using a cake picture or a hat picture.

On the other hand, there may be a method of storing a cake image or a hat image in a still image file and designating it as a thumbnail image. However, in order to obtain a thumbnail image from a still image, the image must be down-sampled and reduced to process the thumbnail image. The time can be long. Therefore, it is preferable to use a thumbnail file having only thumbnail images.

3 is a view showing another embodiment of a menu screen created by a thumbnail image creation method applied to a disc according to the present invention. In Fig. 3, reference numeral 30 denotes a background screen, reference numeral 32 denotes a thumbnail representing the contents of a still picture title, reference numeral 34 denotes a thumbnail expressing the contents of a moving picture title, and reference numeral 36 Shows thumbnails that represent the contents of the thumbnail file.

When the thumbnail image is created from still images (reference numeral 32), it is created by compressing one image of the still image file (still VOB). When a thumbnail is created from a video (reference numeral 34), it is created by compressing a screen (usually an intra screen) belonging to a video program (movie VOB). When the thumbnail is created from a thumbnail file (reference numeral 36), this becomes one of the images recorded in the thumbnail file (thumbnail VOB) recorded by the user or the recording device.

4 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a program and a thumbnail image in the menu screen illustrated in FIG. 3. The thumbnail image identification symbols necessary for obtaining the thumbnail image from the VOB are stored in the program chain information table 40. In order to display a thumbnail image of a corresponding program or chapter on a menu screen, a menu controller (not shown) acquires a thumbnail image identification symbol stored in the program chain information table 40. The thumbnail image identification symbol and the VOB are connected by the thumbnail manager 42.

The thumbnail manager 42 has, in the form of a pointer, a relationship between the thumbnail image identification symbol and an intra frame file of an image, for example, a movie VOB, which is actually located in the VOB. The menu control unit obtains an image located in the VOB by the pointer recorded in the thumbnail manager 42. The image thus obtained is down sampled to create a thumbnail image, which is displayed on a menu screen.

In the case of thumbnail images obtained from moving images, the pointer has a program or chapter number and a presentation time. In the case of thumbnail images obtained from still images, they have the number of still images. In the case of a thumbnail image obtained from a thumbnail file, the pointer has a thumbnail file number and a thumbnail image number. When a thumbnail image is selected on the menu screen as shown in FIG. 3, the corresponding program or chapter is played.

The thumbnail images stored in the thumbnail file can be created by various methods. For example, it may be obtained by down sampling an intra picture in a moving picture program, or may be obtained by down sampling an image in a still picture program. Preferably, the image created by the graphic program is created by recording on a disc.

5 shows a structure of management information for accessing a thumbnail image stored in a thumbnail file in a disc according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the disc according to the present invention provides a thumbnail file information table 50 and a thumbnail manager 52 to provide thumbnail images. The thumbnail file information table 50 has information about thumbnail files storing thumbnail images.

FIG. 6 is shown to show details of the thumbnail file information table 50 shown in FIG. 6 may be classified into two types. One is information about the entire thumbnail file, and the other is information about the group.

Here, a group refers to a group of thumbnail images, which are grouped together to form a thumbnail file. In practice, thumbnail images can be accessed simply by video number. If thumbnail images are arranged in numerical order in the thumbnail file, the menu controller calculates an address where the corresponding thumbnail image is located by sequentially adding size information of each thumbnail image from the first position.

However, if there are many thumbnail images stored in the thumbnail file, and the sequence number of the designated thumbnail image is very large, the access time becomes long because the menu control unit needs to perform many operations to obtain the head address of the designated thumbnail image.

In this case, it is convenient to process the thumbnail images stored in the thumbnail file into several groups. That is, when the group information and the order information in the group are used to designate the thumbnail image, the designated thumbnail image can be accessed more quickly. Therefore, in the present invention, the thumbnail image is accessed by the group information and the order information in the group.

Alternative information about the thumbnail file is recorded in the thumbnail file information 60, thumbnail file general information 62, and information about the group is recorded in the thumbnail group information 64, ..., 66.

The thumbnail file information 60 indicates the number and end addresses of the thumbnail files. In the example of the present invention, a case of one thumbnail file is given, but may be expanded to several.

FIG. 7 is shown to show details of the thumbnail file information 50 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the thumbnail file information 60 includes thumbnail file number information 70 and a thumbnail file end address 72.

The thumbnail file number information 70 records the number of thumbnail files recorded on the disk, and the thumbnail file end address 72 indicates the end address from the first byte of the thumbnail file end address 72 as a relative address. In the example shown in Fig. 6, the number of thumbnail files is 1, and the value is “0” or “1.” A value of “0” indicates that no thumbnail file exists.

FIG. 8 is shown to show details of the thumbnail file general information 62 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the thumbnail file general information 62 is composed of thumbnail group number information 80 indicating the number of thumbnail image groups. The thumbnail group number information 80 indicates the number of groups constituting the thumbnail file.

FIG. 9 is shown to show the detailed configuration of the thumbnail group information 64 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, thumbnail group information 64 includes thumbnail group general information 90, thumbnail group stream information 92, and thumbnail group map 94. As shown in FIG.

The thumbnail group general information 90 has identification symbols, sizes, group start information, and the like of the thumbnail group. The thumbnail group stream information 92 indicates the attribute of the thumbnail image. The thumbnail group map 94 has data of thumbnail images.

FIG. 10 is shown to show the detailed configuration of the thumbnail group general information 90 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, each thumbnail group general information 90 includes a thumbnail group identifier 100, a thumbnail group size 102, a thumbnail group start address 104, and a thumbnail image number 106.

The thumbnail group identification symbol 100 represents an identification symbol of the thumbnail group. The thumbnail group size 102 represents the size of the thumbnail group. The thumbnail group start address 104 indicates an address measured in sector units from the start address of the thumbnail file.

The thumbnail image number 106 indicates the number of thumbnail images included in the thumbnail group.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the detailed configuration of the thumbnail video stream information 92 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, the thumbnail image stream information 92 includes a thumbnail video attribute 110. The thumbnail video attribute 110 represents an attribute of a thumbnail group and describes coding modes (MPEG1 / MPEG2) and the like.

12 is a diagram showing the detailed configuration of the thumbnail group map 94 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, the thumbnail group map 94 includes a plurality of thumbnail image maps 120, and 122. Each thumbnail image map includes data for a thumbnail image, and also includes information for indicating the state and size of the thumbnail image.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of the thumbnail image map illustrated in FIG. 12. As shown in FIG. 13, each thumbnail image map includes a pause flag 130 and a size 132. The pause flag 130 indicates a temporary erased state of each thumbnail image, and a "00h" indicates a normal state, and a "01h" indicates a pause state.

If the thumbnail image is erased from time to time, a large number of pieces in which information is not recorded in the disc are generated, and the overall use efficiency of the recording area is reduced. In the present invention, to prevent this, the erase operation is performed in units of groups. That is, when the thumbnail file is deleted, only the temporary erase flag 130 is set without immediately deleting the corresponding thumbnail image in the actual VOB. The menu controller (not shown) determines whether the thumbnail image is accessible by referring to the state of the pause flag 130.

When all thumbnail images belonging to the group are erased, that is, when the temporary erase flag 130 of all the thumbnail images is set, the thumbnail images stored in the VOB are deleted. In this case, since the erase operation is performed in units of groups having a larger recording capacity than the thumbnail image, the disk recording capacity can be used more efficiently.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the detailed configuration of the thumbnail manager 62 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 14, the thumbnail manager 62 includes a thumbnail information table 140, a plurality of thumbnail search pointers 142, 144, and a plurality of thumbnail information 146, 148. The thumbnail information table 140 shows the number of thumbnail search pointers and the size of the thumbnail manager 62. The thumbnail search pointer indicates the start address of the thumbnail file information table 60.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the detailed configuration of the thumbnail information table 140 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 14, the thumbnail information table 140 includes a thumbnail search pointer number 150 and a thumbnail manager end address 152. The thumbnail search pointer number 150 indicates the number of thumbnail search pointers. The thumbnail manager end address 152 indicates the end address from the first byte of the thumbnail manager 62 to the relative address.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the configuration of the thumbnail search pointer 142 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 16, the thumbnail search pointer 142 has a thumbnail information start address 160. The thumbnail information start address 160 indicates the address where the thumbnail information starts from the thumbnail manager 62 as a relative address from the start position.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the detailed configuration of the thumbnail information 146 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 17, the thumbnail information includes a thumbnail type 170 and a thumbnail pointer 172. The thumbnail type 170 indicates the type of thumbnail pointer. For example, if the value of the thumbnail type 170 is "00000000b", it indicates that it is a pointer of a moving picture file, "00000001b" indicates that it is a pointer of a still image file, and if it is "00000010b", it indicates that it is a pointer of a thumbnail file.

Thumbnail pointer 172 describes the thumbnail pointer. For example, when the value of the thumbnail type 170 is "0000000b", two bytes of the thumbnail pointer 172 represent a program number of a program chain, and the remaining four bytes indicate a presentation time (PTM).

When the value of the thumbnail type 170 is "0000001b", two bytes of the thumbnail pointer 172 indicate a still image group identification symbol, and two bytes indicate a sequence number in the still image group.

When the value of the thumbnail type 172 is "0000010b", two bytes of the thumbnail pointer 170 represent an identification symbol of a thumbnail group in the thumbnail file table, and two bytes indicate an order number of thumbnail images in the group. The sequence number of the thumbnail image is a value increasing from zero.

As shown in Fig. 3, it can be seen that a thumbnail image is created from a moving image program, a still image program, and a thumbnail file. Preferably, a thumbnail image created by down sampling from a moving image program or a still image program is stored in a thumbnail file and indexed.

According to the present invention as described above, according to the present invention, a user can obtain a thumbnail image for a program from a corresponding program (movie or still image program) or from a thumbnail file having a plurality of thumbnail images prepared in advance. This makes it possible to create thumbnail images that are closely related to the theme of.

Claims (2)

An information storage medium having management information for managing video and / or audio data, A program chain information table area in which a program chain information table having information on index numbers assigned to video objects to be indexed and information on thumbnail image identification symbols is recorded; And And a thumbnail manager area in which thumbnail managers having pointers for matching the thumbnail image identification symbols with position information of corresponding video objects are recorded. In creating a thumbnail image for a video object to be indexed, obtain a thumbnail image identifier for an indexing number with reference to the program chain information table, and refer to the thumbnail manager to locate position information of a video object corresponding to the thumbnail image identifier. And obtain a thumbnail image from the video object corresponding to the location information. The method of claim 1, And a thumbnail file information table area in which a plurality of thumbnail images that can be provided for creating thumbnail images and a thumbnail file information table having management information of the thumbnail images are recorded. And the thumbnail manager matches the thumbnail image identification symbol with corresponding thumbnail file information.