MXPA01000700A - Digital video apparatus user interface - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for controlling a system for processing stored information on a storage medium, includes the following steps. Information on the storage medium is played back using one of a plurality of repeat modes during a play mode of operation. During the play mode of operation, a user is provided with an opportunity to select a repeat mode from among the plurality of repeat modes. The playback of the information on the storage medium is then changed to the selected repeat mode during the play mode of operation. Apparatus for processing information includes playback circuitry for retrieving information from the storage medium during a play mode of operation. A user control device is coupled to playback circuitry and receives user input. Control circuitry, coupled to user control device and the playback circuitry, conditions the playback circuitry to retrieve information in the play mode of operation using one of a plurality of repeat modes, select one of the plurality of repeat modes during the play mode of operation in response to the user input, and retrieve information using the repeat mode during the play mode of operation.

Description

USER INTERFACE OF DIGITAL VIDEO DEVICE The present invention relates to a user interface for a digital video apparatus and, in particular, a user interface for a digital video apparatus capable of processing a plurality of data blocks, in accordance with a sequence selected from the user. Video signal processing systems that use storage media that have digitally compressed video and audio information recorded therein, can give the user a large number of options for controlling the reproduction of a video title stored in those media. . One such system that is gaining rapid acceptance comprises a video disc player, adapted to process the information stored in accordance with the specification of the digital video disc (DVD). Information on a disk formatted as a DVD is recorded as discrete data packets, in accordance with applicable video and audio data compression standards, where the designated packets carry data associated with different data streams, such as video angles. alternatives, audio tracks, sub-image streams, and so on. You can control a disc player that reads a disc formatted as a DVD so that it visually displays certain data packets and passes through high others. In this way, the DVD system can be used to prevent unauthorized access to information on a particular disc, as well as to provide cleanly multiple variations of a video title, such as multiple camera angles and end of story, compliance with user commands. Another useful aspect of the DVD system is that it allows the user to play the disc content using one of a plurality of repeat modes. Discs formatted as DVDs are generally created to include one or more video titles, where each video title corresponds to a designated program unit, such as a movie or television episode. Each video title can, in turn, be divided into one or more part - of - the - title units, also called chapters, where each chapter corresponds to a predetermined portion of the video title. Using this format, a disc player can be configured to repeat the playback of the disc content, in one of a plurality of repeat modes. The available repeat modes usually include: 1) title, where the current title is repeated; 2) part - of - the title, where the part - of - the title (chapter) is repeated; 3) A / B, where the disc player repeats between points A and B selected by the user; and 4) OFF (OFF).

To change the setting of repeat mode of the disc player, ordinarily a user must stop playing the disc, call the appropriate player installation menu, make the necessary selections and restart the disc playback. Even if the user is not required to start and stop disc playback, the disc player automatically stops disc playback and reboots the disc when the user selects the playback mode. If the user wants to change the repeat modes frequently, the requirement to stop playing the disc and navigate the installation menu of the disc player can quickly become annoying. The present invention recognizes that it is desirable to provide a user interface, method and apparatus that allows a user to dynamically change the establishment of the repeat mode of the disc player, to avoid the inconvenience noted above. In accordance with the present invention, a user interface, method and apparatus is provided, to allow a user to dynamically change a repeating mode setting of a digital video apparatus, in particular a disc player adapted to process formatted discs as DVD. Conveniently, the present invention allows the user to dynamically change the establishment of the repeat mode of the player, without having to call and navigate through the player's installation menu. The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a block diagram of a digital video player suitable for implementing the dynamic repeat mode selection feature of the present invention. Figure 2 is a diagram of a data structure in accordance with the DVD specification. Figure 3 is a block diagram of a presentation structure in accordance with the DVD specification. Figure 4 is a screen display, suitable for use with the dynamic repeat mode selection feature of the present invention. Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating the steps for implementing the visual display of, and dynamic selection among, the particulars of a plurality of repeat modes in a DVD player for a disc Private DVD Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating another embodiment of the method for implementing visual display and dynamic selection between a particular one of a plurality of repeat modes in a DVD player for a disc Private DVD Although the exemplary embodiment is described with reference to a digital video apparatus adapted to read compressed video and audio data from a disk, and to process the data in accordance with the DVD specification, it will be understood that the present invention can be used in any digital video apparatus capable of processing digital video and audio data, wherein the data has been stored or received in different blocks of data, and the data blocks can be reproduced in accordance with a selected reproduction sequence. Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the basic elements of a digital video disc player, suitable for implementing the dynamic selection feature of the present invention. One of ordinary skill in the art knows the construction and operation of these elements and will not be described in detail herein. The disc player 24 comprises the motor and pickup assembly 26, which, under the control of the servo processor 29, rotates the disc and reads the information stored therein. The preamp 27 and the data processing unit DVD 28 translate the electrical pulses from the motor and pickup assembly 26 into digital data that can be further processed by means of the. digital audio / video decoder unit 30. The DVD processing unit 28 data typically performs functions such as demodulation, error correction and decoding of the raw data read from disk, so that the data is in a suitable format for decoder unit 30. The decoder unit 30 receives the demodulated data, corrected for errors and decoded, processes the data, and provides the appropriate video and audio signals to a visual display unit, such as a television set. The decoding unit 30 comprises the data stream demultiplexer 32 which demultiplexes the data from the data processing unit 28 to a plurality of separate data streams, including a video stream, an audio stream and a sub-picture stream, and provides the data streams to their respective data decoders. The video decoder 31 receives the video stream and provides a video signal to the mixer 33. The sub-picture decoder 34 receives the sub-picture stream and provides the data to the On-Screen Display Display (OSD) 35, which provides the OSD video signals to the mixer 33. The combined video signal from the mixer 33 is provided to the NTSC / PAL 42 encoder, which provides a video signal conforming to the appropriate video signal standard for a video visual display device . He audio decoder 36 receives the audio streams from the data stream demultiplexer 32, and provides the appropriate audio signals to an audio system. The microcontroller 40 controls the operation of the disc player 24. The microcontroller is coupled to the user control device 41, which may comprise IR remote control devices, front panel buttons or the like, and translates the data from the control device of the user 41 to control the operation of the different elements of the disc player 24 described above. The microcontroller 40 may include a memory, or it may be coupled to a memory to store different tables that are used, which control the presentation of the programs. Tables can be loaded from a disk, or they can be generated in response to user input. Typically, the microcontroller 40 is also configured to control different access features of the disc player 24 including, but not limited to, blocking of the parents, decrypting of encrypted discs, marking of remote controllers to obtain access to cryptographic discs. The microcontroller 40 may be incorporated in different forms, including, but not limited to, a dedicated integrated circuit, or a part of a decoder / controller unit. Figure 2 illustrates the structure of the program data and control data stored on a disc in accordance with the DVD specification, and suitable for use with the disc player 24. The data structure is hierarchical, wherein each block of Data is divided into blocks of component data, which are further divided into smaller component data blocks. Each set of video titles, corresponding to a designated program unit, for example, a movie or an episode of a television program, comprises sets of video objects, comprising a plurality of video objects. Each video object comprises a plurality of cells, which can be considered a data unit for presentation, which has a plurality of data unit types, such as video, audio, sub-picture, and so on, and corresponds to a segment of data. Program. Each cell comprises, in turn, a plurality of video object units (VOBUs). Each VOBU comprises a navigation packet (NAV_PACK) and a plurality of packets, which are subdivided into a plurality of packets. A VOBU generally corresponds to an MPEG-2 Group of Images (GOP) with an associated control data structure, the NAV_PACK. The NAV_PACK of each VOBU contains information such as sector addresses of the VOBUs relative to the one in progress (both forward and backward in order of temporary presentation), and the amount of time elapsed in the cell presentation corresponding to the current VOBU. The data stored in accordance with the DVD specification is also logically organized into a presentation structure, in order to provide flexibility in the way in which the data can be presented. Figure 3 illustrates the presentation structure in accordance with the DVD specification, and suitable for use with the disc player 24. This presentation structure is superimposed on the data structure of Figure 2. At the base level, the sequence of the presentation is defined by programs (PGs) 96, each of which comprises a linked list of pointers to cells. A plurality of PGs 96 may be combined to form a program chain information (PGCI) 94, a plurality of which may be combined, in turn, to form the program chain (PGC) 92. During presentation of titles of video, the disc player 24 selects the appropriate PGC to be loaded into a primary table, based on criteria such as the title selected by the user and the parent classification preference. After the same, the disc player 24 reads the data stored in the disk based on the linked list of pointers contained in the PGs. As is known, disc players generally use different overtaking algorithms, in order to read the data from the disk and store the data in a buffer area of the system before the presentation in progress, in order to provide a presentation clean As noted above, the present invention recognizes that it may cause discomfort and inconvenience if a user is forced to stop playing a disc, call the player menu, make the necessary selections, and restart disc playback, each once the user wants to change the setting of repeat mode of the disc player. Even if the user is not required to directly start and stop playing the disc, the disc player automatically interrupts disc playback and reboots the disc when the user selects the repeat mode. The present invention provides a user interface, method and apparatus for allowing a user to dynamically change the repeat mode setting of the disc player, such that the user is not forced to repeatedly perform the procedure detailed above. In Figure 4 a visual display 110 is shown suitable to implement the present user interface and allow the user to dynamically select a playback mode. The visual display 110 is generated and displayed to the user when the user selects the visual display selection repeat mode, for example, using any of the conventionally known methods for selecting an item on a visual display screen, such how to move a highlight by pressing the cursor control keys on a remote control device or keyboard. The selections of the visual display 110 can be made in a similar manner. The visual display 110 comprises the buttons 112, 114, 116, and 118 corresponding to the disc repeat modes, title, chapter, and A / B respectively. The button 120 can be selected to turn off the repeat modes. The pointer 126 points to the repeat mode in progress or to the repeat mode to be selected. The text block 122 provides a description of the selected repeat mode, and further instructs the user to set the points A and B in the A / B repeat mode. Button 124 allows the user to exit the visual display 110. In operation, the visual display 110 is generated by the microcontroller 40, and is displayed on a visual display portion of the video when the user selects the visual display mode selection of repetition. HE shows the visual display 110 and the options therein can be dynamically selected as the video title continues to be reproduced in another portion of the visual display of video. The visual display 110 shows the repeat mode in progress and the other repeat modes available. A non-available repeat mode can be indicated by graying the button icon associated with the non-available repeat mode. The user selects a new repeat mode by moving the pointer 126 under the desired play mode button, and pressing an "OK" key ("OK"), or any other suitable key on the remote control device 41 If the user selects the A / B repeat mode, the visual display 110 instructs the user to enter the points A and B. In Figure 9, a color change in the button 118 below "A" and the text block 122 indicates that the user can select point A by pressing the "OK" key on remote control device 41. After the user has selected point A, point 119 below "B" changes to a button shape and text block 122 indicates that the user can select point B by pressing the "OK" key. Once point B has been established, the disc player 24 will begin to repeat the reproduction between the selected points A and B. Alternatively, the visual display 110 may require that the user enters a request confirmation before starting the A / B repeat mode. As described above, interface, method and user apparatus is provided, to enable a user to dynamically change a repeating mode setting of a digital video apparatus, in particular a disc player adapted to process discs formatted as DVD. In this way, a unique feature added to the disc player is required, to avoid the inconvenience of stopping disc playback, navigating the disc player installation menu, and restarting when the user selects or changes the desired repeat mode. The repeat mode allows the user to play the contents of the disc in a disc player configured to repeat the playback of the disc content in one of a plurality of repeat modes. There are four repeat modes currently available: (1) Title, (2) Chapter, (3) A / B, and (4) OFF (OFF). The first repetition mode is title, where the current title is repeated. In this way you can repeat a movie over and over again. The following repeat mode is part - of - the title, where the current chapter is repeated. An example of this is a certain episode of recorded television, or a scene within a film, which is repeated and again. Another repeat mode is A / B, where the disc player repeats between points A and B selected by the user. A user may repeat between points available under the DVD 1.0 Specification, such as Title and Chapter, and those points not available under the DVD 1.0 Specification such as a part of a video in the middle of the title or scene. In this way, a user can mark two different points and repeat the reproduction between those two points continuously. The two points can be respective starts of titles, or chapters, or a selected location within a title or chapter, or a combination thereof. The default setting for the repeat mode is OFF. The biggest advantage of this dynamic change of repeat modes is not having to call and navigate through the player's installation menu. The disc player 24 may also include the feature of enabling and disabling this feature of dynamically changing a repeat mode setting of a disc player. For example, disable dynamic changes in such a way that you see all the video uninterrupted. The dynamic selection feature of the present invention can be implemented in the disc player 24 as follows. When the user selects a repeat mode, the disc player 24 establishes a varia- flag so that it indicates that a repeat mode has been selected. The disc player 24 verifies the flag variables associated with the different designated points of repeat modes of the display sequence, and adjusts the display sequence as necessary. In the case of the title repetition mode, the disc player 24 checks the setting of the title repetition mode variable after finishing the presentation of the title, and before the execution of the last subsequent command of the last PGCI . The subsequent command is located at the end of the PGCI. If the title repetition mode variable is set, the disc player 24 ignores the subsequent commands remaining in the title and returns to the beginning of the title, based on the navigation information loaded from the disc. In the case of a chapter repeat mode, the disc player checks to see if there is a chapter repeat mode variable associated with the last chapter cell. In this case, when the user selects a chapter repeat mode, the disc player 24 generates an auxiliary table that associates the variable of chapter repeat mode with a particular cell. During the presentation, as the disc player 24 looks forward to the cells to be presented, the disc player 24 also checks whether there is a variable of chapter repeat mode associated with the cells to come. If so, the disc player 24 returns to the beginning of the chapter immediately after the presentation of the last cell in the chapter. In the case of A / B repetition, where the disc player 24 repeats the presentation of the program material in the interval between point A and point B, the disc player 24 iments the repeat function by means of extending The resume function specified in the DVD specification. In accordance with the DVD specification, when a user stops the presentation, the disc player 24 stores different data associated with the stopping point, such as the nearest NAV_PACK, the chapter number, and the title number. When the user subsequently restarts the presentation, the disc player uses the stored information, including the navigation information, to start playing again from the point of stopping. In the present invention, the disc player 24 stores the different data associated with the stop and resume function, when the user specifies the points A and B. However, in this case, the disc player 24 does not stop and restart the presentation. Rather, the disc player stores the information as required by means of the stop function, and stores the information in an auxiliary table. The locations of the points A and B are associated with their respective cells in the auxiliary table. Again, during the presentation, the disc player 24 also determines whether the cells to come have an A or B point associated with them. If a next cell has a point B associated with it, and the repeat mode variable A / B is set, the disc player 24 plays the cell and then jumps the presentation to the cell associated with point A. You can see that the establishment of points A and B by storing data in a manner similar to the resumption mode effectively truncates a cell, so that any arbitrary point in the cell can be accessed. In all three cases, the selection of a particular repetition mode results in the disc player setting a mode flag variable, and capturing the necessary information at different points in the presentation, where the variable is checked during designated points. in the presentation of the program, in such a way that the selection of dynamic mode is possible. In Figure 5 there is shown a flow diagram illustrating the steps for imenting the visual display of, and the dynamic selection among the particulars of a plurality of repetition modes in a DVD player for a particular DVD disc. In step 127, the disc player 24 waits for the user to send a PLAY command (PLAY), and after receiving the PLAY command searches for the default settings of the disc player. In step 128 the user can press the button 86 of the visual information display 75 to select a repeat mode. In step 130, the disc player 24 determines all possible repetition modes with respect to the particular disc. In step 132, the disc player 24 will determine which repeat modes are available, i.e., those repeat modes with titles or chapters not blocked with a parent block, or those not enabled. In step 134, a visual display 110 is superimposed on the screen, in a known manner, on the visual display of video generated by the disc player 24, and allows the user to set the repeat mode while continuing to watch the title playback in a portion of the background of the visual display of video. The visual display of the menu distinguishes between those modes of present and available repetition, and those present and not available, in the manner described above. In step 136 the user is allowed to select among the available repeat modes. The visual display of the menu traces the user changes of the available repeat modes in a known manner. In step 137 the user can choose to exit the routine without changing the repeat mode in progress to any of a plurality of repetition modes. In step 138, the disc player 24 switches the repeat mode in progress to the new repeat mode, and plays the particular disc in accordance with the selected repeat mode. In step 140, after the disc player 24 switches and plays the new repeat mode, the visual display 110 on the screen is no longer superimposed on the visual display of video generated by the disc player 24, and the system Video signal processing returns to the normal visual display. Enabling / disabling the method to implement visual display and dynamic selection of a repeating mode can occur by selecting the desired mode in an installation option created by the visual display processor on the system's display, during a mode of installation of operation. You can activate the operation installation mode, which enables the control of different features such as video processing characteristics, sound characteristics, closed captioning, etc., in addition to higher repeat modes, by pressing a button of control in a remote control device. The desired features / modes / establishments are selected from the installation menu displayed visually, by using the buttons on the remote control, all of a known way. Figure 6 shows, in flow chart form, another embodiment of the method for implementing visual display and dynamic selection between a particular one of a plurality of repeat modes in a DVD player for a particular DVD disc in accordance with the principles of the invention. The steps in Figure 6, which are the same as those illustrated in Figure 5, have the same reference numbers as in Figure 5, and will not be described again here. The configuration illustrated in Figure 6 allows to selectively enable the mode of operation in which the user selects one of a plurality of different repetition modes. Specifically, Figure 6 includes step 144 after step 128, which tests to determine if access to the repeat mode is enabled. If access to the repeat mode is disabled, (A result "NO" in step 144), then step 144 is followed by step 142, which exits the routine without providing the user with an opportunity to change the repeat mode. . In this case, the change of the repeat mode must occur before the activation of the playback mode by means of navigating the usual installation menus described above if the user so wishes. Otherwise, the user is given the opportunity to dynamically change the repeat mode, by means of the deployment visual of a visual display, and the receipt of user information to make the selection. It is recognized herein that the present bookmark feature can be implemented using any of a number of conventionally known methods, or combination of methods, to control the operation of the disc player elements 24 described above, for example, by the use of software integrated in a microcontroller. In addition, the present bypass feature can be implemented for any signal processing system that can be configured to selectively restrict the content of the visual display, in response to the nominal capabilities, or other related information of the program, included with stored audio, video and sub-image data, for example, DVD-ROM systems, Laser Disc systems, and so on. Therefore, it will be understood that the present invention is intended to cover all modifications that would fall within the true scope and spirit of the present invention. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that while the present invention has been described in terms of an exemplary embodiment, modifications and changes may be made to the embodiment described without departing from the essence of the invention.

Claims (12)

1. A method for controlling a system for processing information stored in a storage medium, comprising the steps of: (A) reproducing the information in the storage medium using one of a plurality of repetition modes during a reproduction operation mode; (B) giving a user, during the playback operation mode, an opportunity to select a repeat mode from among the plurality of repeat modes responding to the user's input; (C) change to the reproduction of the information in the storage medium, using the repeat mode selected during the playback operation mode. The method of claim 1, wherein the storage means is a DVD disc, and wherein: the step of determining the maximum number of repetition modes comprises setting a previously determined number in accordance with the DVD specification; the step of determining the repeat modes available at that time for the particular DVD disc comprises evaluating the data related to the DVD disc in the non-volatile memory in the disc player. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein step (B) comprises the step of generating a visual screen display superimposed on a visual display of video, by means of the system that allows the user to select one of a plurality of repetition modes, while continuing to watch the program playback on a background portion of the visual display of video. The method of claim 3, wherein step (C) comprises the step of removing the visual display on the superimposed screen in the visual display of video. The method of claim 1, wherein step (B) is preceded by the step of determining whether an operation mode enabling the selection of one of the plurality of repetition modes during the reproduction operation mode is enabled.; and performing steps (B) and (C) only if the operating mode enabling the modification of the plurality of repetition modes during the playback operation mode is enabled. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of determining whether modification of the user of a repetition mode is enabled is preceded by the step of determining whether the system is in the reproduction operation mode. The method of claim 6, wherein the system comprises a DVD player, and the means of Storage comprises a DVD disc. The method of claim 1, wherein step (B) comprises the steps of: determining that the plurality of repetition modes are all possible repeats that can be associated with the storage medium; determining which of the maximum number of the plurality of repetition modes are available at that time for a particular storage medium; generate an on-screen menu that visually displays the available and unavailable repeat modes associated with a storage medium; Select one of the 4 available repeats. The method of claim 8, wherein step (B) also comprises, after the generation step, a step to allow a user to select from a plurality of repeat modes available at that time in the disc player for the storage medium. 10. An apparatus for processing the information stored in a storage medium, comprising: a storage medium data processor for accessing the information stored in the storage medium during a reproduction mode of the apparatus; Y a controller for: activating the reproduction operation mode, using one of a plurality of repetition modes, providing a user, during the reproduction operation mode, an opportunity to select a repetition mode from among the plurality of modes of reproduction; repetition by means of a visual display on the screen superimposed on the visual display of video, while continuing to watch the playback of the accessed information in a background portion of the visual video display that responds to the change of setting of a video repeat mode, and return the apparatus to the playback operation mode using the selected repeat mode . 11. An apparatus for processing information, comprising: a reproduction circuit system for recovering information from the storage medium during a reproduction operation mode; a user control device, coupled to the reproduction circuit system, to receive the user's input; a control circuit system, coupled to the user control device and the circuit system of reproduction, for conditioning the reproduction circuitry to recover the information in the reproduction operation mode, using one of a plurality of repetition modes, selecting one of the plurality of repetition modes during the reproduction operation mode in response to the user input, and change to retrieve the information using the repeat mode selected during the playback operation mode. 1

2. The apparatus of claim 11, characterized in that it also comprises: a control of visual display on the screen, coupled to the control circuit system, wherein: the control circuitry conditions in the visual display control on a screen visual display a menu representing the plurality of repeat modes before selecting; one of the plurality of repeat modes.