RU2367036C2 - Recording medium with data structure for managing text subtitles, and recording and displaying methods and devices - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: physics; computer engineering.

SUBSTANCE: recording medium is proposed, as well as a recording and displaying method and device for such a medium. The recording medium has a data structure for managing text subtitles. The structure has a dialog presentation segment, which includes subtitle data for each text subtitle. The dialog presentation segment provides for the starting time mark and end time mark of the presentation time.

EFFECT: determination of the presentation time interval such that, the presentation time interval does not lie in the presentation time of another presentation dialogue segment.

35 cl, 11 dwg

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to high density recording media such as read-only Blu-ray discs (BD-ROMs).

State of the art

Optical discs are widely used as an optical recording medium. Now, among optical discs, a new high-density optical recording medium (HD-DVD, universal purpose high-density digital disc), such as a Blu-ray disc (hereinafter referred to as BD), for recording and storing a large amount of high-resolution audio and video data, is under development.

The global standard Blu-ray Disc (BD) technical specifications are currently being set, the next generation of high-density versatile digital disc (HD-DVD) technologies as the next generation of optical recording solution that can store data amounts that are significantly superior to those of an existing digital disc universal purpose (DVD).

In this regard, the development of optical reproducing devices for the Blu-ray Disc (BD) standard has also begun. However, the Blu-ray Disc (BD) standard is not yet complete, and there was difficulty in developing a complete optical playback device.

In particular, to efficiently reproduce data from a Blu-ray Disc (BD), in addition to the main audiovisual (AV) data, various kinds of other data can be reproduced for the convenience of the user, such as additional or additional data (for example, interactive graphic data, subtitle data etc.) related to the main audiovisual data. Accordingly, control information should be provided to control the reproduction of the main data and additional data. However, in the existing Blu-ray Disc (BD) standard, since the combined standards for managing various data, especially additional data, have not yet been completed, there are many restrictions on the development of an optical Blu-ray Disc (BD) disc player.

Disclosure of the invention

A recording medium in accordance with the present invention includes a data structure for controlling reproduction of text subtitles.

In one embodiment, the recording medium stores a dialogue presentation segment that includes text subtitle data of each text subtitle for presentation during a presentation time interval. The dialogue presentation segment provides the start time of the presentation time stamp and the end time of the presentation time stamp defining the presentation time interval so that the presentation time interval does not overlap the presentation time interval of the other dialogue presentation segment.

In an embodiment, the dialog presentation segment defines a plurality of zones, and each zone provides text subtitle data. Text subtitle data can be either text string data or style data.

In another embodiment, the dialog presentation segment refers to the zone style for each zone, and the zone style referenced determines the position and size of the zone.

In a further embodiment, the dialogue presentation segment includes continuous presentation information for each zone indicating whether the zone should be played back continuously from the previous dialogue presentation segment. In this embodiment, the start time of the presentation time stamp of the dialogue presentation segment is equal to the end time of the dialogue presentation time stamp of the previous dialogue presentation segment, when the continuous area presentation information in the dialogue presentation segment indicates continuous playback.

In another embodiment, the recording medium stores a text subtitle stream. The text subtitle stream includes a dialog style segment followed by one or more dialog presentation segments. A dialog style segment defines one or more styles. Each dialogue presentation segment includes text subtitle data of each text subtitle for presentation during the presentation time interval, and each dialogue presentation segment refers to at least one of the styles in the dialogue style segment.

The present invention also provides devices and methods for recording and reproducing a data structure in accordance with the present invention.

List of drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are attached to provide a better understanding of the invention, and are an integral part of this application, illustrate the embodiment (s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention.

In the drawings:

1 is a file structure for managing various data on a disk in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an illustrative embodiment of a disc volume for a Blu-ray read-only disc (BD-ROM) in accordance with the present invention; FIG.

3 is a diagram of a display image of a text subtitle stream on a display screen in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a graphical illustration of a data structure and a method for reproducing / managing text subtitles in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

5A-5C are text subtitle playback control information recorded in a text subtitle stream in accordance with the present invention, where dialogue information, area information, and style information (Style Info), respectively, are explained.

6A and FIG. 6B show a data structure and method for providing text subtitles using dialog, zone, and style information as text subtitle playback / control information;

7 is a structural diagram of a text subtitle stream file in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 8, 9A-9C, and FIGS. 10A-10C are syntax diagrams of data structures of a text subtitle stream in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; and

11 is a block diagram of an optical recording / reproducing apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or similar parts.

Although the words used in the present invention are selected from commonly used common words, there are words that the applicant has chosen at his own discretion, and the detailed meanings of these words are described in the relevant parts of the description of the present invention. Also, the present invention should be understood by the meanings of the words provided in the disclosure.

Referring to the terms associated with the present invention, 'master data' is information (e.g., title information (the largest data composition element on a medium)) recorded on a recording medium (e.g., optical disc), such as video and voice data provided user by author. The 'master data' is generally recorded in MPEG2 format and may be called the 'main audio-visual stream'.

'Auxiliary or additional data' is data associated with the 'master data' and is provided to the user for ease of reproduction of the 'master data'. For example, additional data includes subtitle information, an interactive graphics stream, a graphic presentation stream, audio information, auxiliary audio data for slides available for viewing, etc. In accordance with the characteristics of the respective auxiliary data, the 'auxiliary data' may be recorded in MPEG2 format and multiplexed with the main audio-visual stream, or may be recorded in a stream file independent of the main audio-visual stream in MPEG2 or other format.

'Subtitle', as ancillary data, is a type of information labels. 'Subtitle' means information displayed on one side of the screen if a user who intends to view the currently playing video (main audio-visual data) with captions in a particular language selects one of the subtitles supported by the recording medium for a particular language. Therefore, 'subtitle' can be provided in various ways. In particular, a “subtitle” recorded as text data is called a “text subtitle”.

In the following illustrative embodiments of the present invention, for example, 'text subtitles' are configured in MPEG2 format and recorded as a stream file independent of the 'master data'.

A format for recording master data and additional data on a recording medium such as a BD disc, and file structures for managing data will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

1 shows a file structure for managing various data on a disk in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. As shown, at least one Blu-ray Disc (BD) BDMV directory exists under one root directory. In the BDMV directory of a Blu-ray Disc (BD), the index.bdmv index file and the MovieObject.bdmv object file are included as general file (upper file) information to protect user interaction. In addition, the PLAYLIST directory of the playlist, the CLIPINF directory of clip information, the stream stream directory and the auxiliary data directory AUXDATA are included in the BMDV directory of the Blu-ray disc (BD).

Files for video and audio streams, which are called the 'main audio-visual stream', are recorded on the disc in accordance with the specified formats, and an auxiliary stream, such as text subtitles (hereinafter referred to as text subtitle stream), exists independently in the stream's STREAM directory. Since text subtitle stream files and audio-visual stream files are recorded in MPEG2 format (for example, MPEG2 transport packets), the extension name '* .m2ts' is used for each stream file (for example, 01000.m2ts, 02000.m2ts and 10001.m2ts). Alternatively, in the case of a text subtitle stream file, '* .txtst' can be used as the name of the file extension, since the text subtitle stream, for example, has auxiliary data functionality different from the functionality of the main audio-visual stream.

In BD specifications, an audio-visual stream may be referred to as a clip stream file. Regarding the present invention, the text subtitle data will exist as a file separate from the audio-visual stream file. For example, in FIG. 1, text subtitle data exists as a file 10001.m2ts or 10001.txtst of a text subtitle stream. The CLIPINF clip information directory includes clip information or clip information * .clpi files, each of which has a one-to-one correspondence with a stream file. The clip information * .clpi file has attribute information and timing information of the corresponding stream file, and serves as a control file. More specifically, the information in the clip information file includes correspondence information that allows correspondence of presentation time stamps (PTS) to the source packet number (SPN) of the source packet in the corresponding stream file. This correspondence is referred to as an entry point map or "EP_map".

The stream file and the corresponding clip information file together can be called a “clip”. Accordingly, the file "01000.clpi" in the clip information directory CLIPINF has attribute information and timing information regarding the file "01000.m2ts" in the stream's STREAM directory, and the files "01000.clpi * and" 01000.m2ts "form a clip.

The playlist PLAYLIST directory includes * .mpls playlist files, each of which has at least one playlist item PlayItem defining a play interval of a particular clip. The PlayItem element of the playlist includes timing information regarding the In-Time of the start of the playback and the Out-Time of the end of the playback of the specific clip for playback, and identifies the clip by providing the name of the clip information file in the Clip_Information_File_name field. Using the presentation time stamp (PTS) information in the In-Time information of the start of playback and the Out-Time of the end of the playback, the map of the entry points (EP) of the named clip information file allows you to search and obtain a specific stream address or position (for example, the source packet number (SPN)) of the corresponding stream file so that reproduction of a playlist item results in a clip being played.

A playlist * .mpls file serves as a base control file for playing back a desired clip by providing at least one PlayItem of a playlist. In addition, the playlist * .mpls file may also provide a subplayitem SubPlayItem for controlling playback, for example, additional data that can be played synchronized or not in sync with the PlayItem of the playlist. For example, if a playlist sub-element SubPlayItem is included for playing text subtitles, the corresponding playlist sub-element SubPlayItem is synchronized with the playlist element PlayItem to reproduce the data. However, if a playlist sub-element SubPlayItem is included to play audio data for the slides available for viewing, the corresponding playlist sub-element SubPlayItem is not synchronized with the playlist element PlayItem.

In the present invention, auxiliary data, including text subtitles, are managed, for example, by sub-elements of a Playlist SubPlayItem, which will be explained in detail below.

The AUXDATA directory of auxiliary data is an area for separately recording auxiliary data files for playback. For example, in order to support user-friendly playback, a Sound.bmdv sound file is recorded there to provide a click sound, a font * .font or * .otf file used for playing text subtitles, etc.

Accordingly, the text subtitle stream 10001.m2ts, which is a kind of auxiliary data, can be recorded in the auxiliary data directory AUXDATA.

In addition, in the BDMV directory of the Blu-ray Disc (BD) explained above, there is an index file index.bdmv and an object file MovieObject.bdmv as common files for protecting user interaction. The index.bdmv index file has an index table providing menu information and header information that the user can select. MovieObject.bdmv provides navigation commands for, for example, executing a playlist, and can be called up based on a selection made in the index table.

As shown in FIG. 2, a read-only Blu-ray disc volume (BD-ROM) is organized into a file system information area, a database area, and a stream area. The file system information area stores system information for managing a disk. The database area includes a shared file area and a playlist and clip information area. The shared files area stores shared files, such as index.bdmv and MovieObject.bdmv. The playlist and clip information area stores the PLAYLIST directory and the CLIPINF directory. Master data and additional data (STREAM AND AUXDATA directories) are recorded in the Stream Area. Accordingly, the reproducing apparatus determines the main data and the additional data that it is desired to reproduce using the file information in the database area and / or the flow control information in the stream area.

Therefore, through the information about the files in the database area and / or the flow control information in the stream file area (stream area), the user decides to reproduce the main and auxiliary data and how to reproduce them.

In the following description, data structures of control information for controlling reproduction of text subtitles will be described, and methods for recording and reproducing control information and text subtitles using the recorded control information will be explained.

Figure 3 shows that the text subtitle data and the main data are simultaneously displayed on the display screen in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, in which the text subtitles are synchronized in time with the main data.

4 graphically shows a data structure and a method for reproducing / managing text subtitles in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown, at least one PlayItem element of the playlist for playing / managing the main audiovisual clip exists in the playlist file. When there are text subtitles associated with the main audiovisual data, the text subtitle is controlled by a subitem SubPlayItem of the playlist. More specifically, a single sub-item of a Playlist SubPlayItem controls a plurality of text subtitle clips. Accordingly, the sub-item SubPlayItem of the playlist provides the same play interval (for example, the In-Time of the start of playback and the Out-Time of the end of the play) for each clip.

For example, clip 1 for text subtitles in English and clip 2 for text subtitles in Korean exist separately. The corresponding clip 1 and clip 2 of the text subtitle are synchronized with the main audio-visual data in time and will be displayed on the screen along with the main audio-visual data at the desired presentation time.

Therefore, in order to reproduce text subtitles, information comprising the reproduction presentation time, position and size on the screen is provided as control information. The data structure and the recording method of various kinds of control information for reproducing text subtitles as file information on the recording medium are explained in detail below.

5A-5C show text subtitle playback control information recorded in a text subtitle stream in accordance with the present invention, where dialogue information, area information, and style information (Style Info), respectively, are explained.

FIG. 5A shows Dialog information as information for reproducing / managing text subtitles of the present invention, in which “dialogue” means control information for managing at least one text subtitle data existing within a certain presentation time.

Namely, the presentation time control for informing about the playback time on the screen is usually performed using the 'presentation time stamp (PTS)' and all text subtitles displayed during the predetermined presentation time stamp interval (PTS) are defined as a 'dialogue', thus expanding convenience for playback / control.

For example, the text subtitle data displayed during the time between the PTS (k) mark of the presentation time and the PTS (k + 1) mark of the presentation time is constructed in two lines, according to which it can be noticed that all the text subtitle data is defined by one and the same the same dialogue. And it’s enough that the condition for the number of lines of text subtitle data included in the dialog is at least one line.

Fig. 5B shows control text subtitles as zones where 'zone' means a zone to which style information is applied (Style Info, more specifically, 'global style information'), explained in detail below, to a text subtitle in a zone during a dialog presentation time . In one embodiment, a maximum of two zones may be allowed to exist within the same dialog. Namely, the dialogue can control one zone or two zones. And the line number of the text subtitle data included in the zone can be defined as at least one line.

In this embodiment of the present invention, a maximum of two zones can be resolved within the same dialog, which takes into account the decoding load when playing text subtitles. However, a maximum of n zones, where n≥2, can be determined to exist within the same dialog in alternative implementations.

Fig. 5C shows Style Information (Style Info) as information for controlling reproduction of text subtitles in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 'Style Info' is information for determining how text subtitle data is displayed on the screen. For example, style information (Style Info) includes the position on the screen, size, background color, etc. Additionally, various types of information, such as text alignment, text wrapping, etc., can be provided as style information (Style Info). A detailed explanation of this Style Info will be given with reference to FIGS. 9A-10C below.

As shown below, style information (Style Info) can be divided into 'global style information (Global Style Info)' and 'local style information (Local Style Info)'. This allows greater flexibility in displaying text subtitle data. 'Global Style Info' is style information applicable to the entire associated area, such as position, size, etc. This global style information can also be called 'region style information (region_styles)'. Fig. 5C shows an example that two zones (zone # 1 and zone # 2) have different 'region style information (region_styles)', respectively. Zone 1 (zone # 1) has region style information region_styles 'position1, size1, color = blue', while zone 2 (zone # 2) has region style information region_styles 'position2, size2, color = red'. 'Region style information (region_styles)' will be explained in detail with respect to FIG.

'Local Style Info' is style information applied to a data line or text data within a zone, and may also be called 'inline_styles' information. For example, FIG. 5C shows an example that inline style information (inline_styles) is applied within zone # 1, in which inline style information (inline_styles) other than the rest of the text is applied to a portion of text data related to the word 'mountain'. The inline style information (inline_styles) will be explained in detail with respect to FIG. 10C.

6A and 6B show data structures and methods for providing text subtitles using dialogue, a zone, and style information as text subtitle playback / control information.

6A shows a data structure and a text subtitle management method in which each presentation time stamp interval (PTS) is controlled through dialogue. As shown, dialog # 1 is displayed between presentation timestamps PTS1 ~ PTS2. Dialog # 1 includes text subtitles 'Text # 1' of one zone as text data. Dialog # 2 is displayed between the presentation timestamps PTS2 ~ PTS3 and has two text subtitle zones Zone1 and Zone2 of text subtitles 'Text # 1' and 'Text # 2' respectively. Thus, the subtitles 'Text # 1' in zone1 and the subtitles 'Text # 2' in zone2 are displayed as text data during the timestamp interval PTS2 ~ PTS3. Dialog # 3 is displayed between the PTS3 ~ PTS4 presentation timestamps and includes the subtitles 'Text # 2' as text data. Dialog # 4 is displayed between the PTS5 ~ PTS6 presentation timestamps and includes subtitles 'Text # 3' as text data. Between PTS4 ~ PTS5 presentation time stamps, no text subtitle data exists.

As will be understood from FIG. 6A, the dialogs do not overlap. Stated differently, the intervals of presentation timestamps for each respective dialog do not overlap in this embodiment.

The above method for determining each dialogue information is explained in more detail below. First of all, each dialog provides time information (a set of presentation time stamps (PTS)) for displaying the corresponding dialog, style information (Style Info) and information for valid text data (called 'Dialog Data').

The time information (set of presentation time stamps (PTS)) is recorded as information of the 'start of presentation time stamp (PTS)' and the information of 'end of presentation time stamp (PTS)' in the dialog data structure discussed in more detail below. For example, the presentation time stamp (PTS) start information for dialog # 1 is the presentation time stamp PTS # 1 and the presentation time stamp (PTS) end information for dialog # 1 is the presentation time stamp PTS # 2.

Style information (Style Info) includes' global style information (Global Style Info) 'and local style information (Local Style Info)', recorded as' zone style information (region_styles) 'and' inline style information (inline_styles) 'respectively , in the data structure of the dialogue, as discussed in detail below. The text data that is actually displayed is recorded as 'dialog data' in the dialog data structure.

Returning to FIG. 6A, since the dialogue # 2 includes two zones, zone1 and zone2, Style Info and dialogue data are respectively recorded in connection with each of the zones, zone1 and zone2. Namely, style information for these two zones can be independent of each other and can be independent of other dialogs.

6B shows a data structure and method for continuously reproducing text subtitles between two adjacent dialogs. For example, dialogue # 1 and the first zone zone1 of dialogue # 2 are played back continuously and the second zone zone2 of dialogue # 2 and dialogue # 3 are played back continuously.

The example shown in FIG. 6B is the same example as shown in FIG. 6A except that 1) Text # 1 subtitles are continuously played by Dialogs Dialog # 1 and Dialog # 2, and subtitles Text # 2 are continuously played by dialogs Dialog # 2 and Dialog # 3, 2) style information for subtitles Text # 1 in dialogs Dialog # 1 and Dialog # 2 is the same and 3) style information for subtitles Text # 2 in dialogs Dialog # 2 and Dialog # 3 is one and the same.

For continuous playback, the presentation time stamp (PTS) intervals of the dialogs are continuous. As shown in FIG. 6B, although dialogs or their presentation timestamp intervals are not superimposed, the end time of the first dialog in time and the start time of the second dialog in time are the same. For example, the PTS2 presentation timestamp is the end time of Dialog # 1 and the Dialog # 2 start time and the PTS3 presentation time stamp is the end time of Dialog # 2 and the start time of Dialog # 3. Also, for continuous playback, Style Info information for text subtitles continuous in dialogs should be identical. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 6B, style information for subtitles Text # 1 in Dialog # 1 and in zone 1 of Dialog # 2 is the same (that is, Style # 1) and style information for subtitles Text # 2 in zone 2 of Dialog # 2 and in Dialog # 3 is the same (i.e., Style # 2).

In addition, for continuous playback, flag information (continuous_present_flag) for indicating whether the dialogue provides continuous playback from a previous dialogue is included in the dialogue data structure. Namely, the current dialogue information includes a continuity flag indicating whether this dialogue requires continuous playback from the previous dialogue. This data structure will be explained in more detail below with respect to FIG. 10A. Accordingly, in the example of FIG. 6B, the second and third dialogs # 2 and # 3 include flag information indicating that these dialogs require continuous playback from the previous dialog.

FIG. 7 shows the structure of a text subtitle stream file in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, in which, for example, the recording form of the text subtitle stream file 10001.m2ts of FIG. 1 is illustrated.

As shown, the text subtitle stream is configured in MPEG2 transport streams. The same packet identifier (PID), for example, 'PID = 0x18xx', is given to each transport packet (TP) that forms the stream. Therefore, the optical recording / reproducing device (for example, the device of FIG. 11) reads transport packets having the packet identifier 'PID = 0x18xx' from the stream to read text subtitles, thereby realizing reading only the text subtitle stream.

As shown below, multiple transport packets (TPs) form one elementary packet stream (PES) packet. In one embodiment of the present invention, one 'elementary packet stream packet (PES)' packet forms each dialog, thereby facilitating dialog playback.

As also shown below, a 'conversation style unit (DSU)' (or alternatively referred to as a conversation style segment (DSS)) is recorded as the first 'packet elementary packet stream (PES)' packet in a text subtitle stream. The Dialogue Style Unit (DSU) is a data structure for providing Style Info. The remaining elementary packet stream (PES) packets are 'dialog presentation units (DPUs)' (or alternatively called dialog presentation units (DPS)). The dialogue presentation unit (DPU) is recorded therein as a valid dialogue data recording unit. Therefore, the dialog presentation units (DPUs) may refer to the dialog style unit (DSUs) for style information when reproducing text subtitle data. Namely, in the structure of the text subtitle stream of FIG. 7, Style Info style information in each dialog, such as defined in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, there may be information for associating zone text subtitles with one of the different sets of style information defined in dialog style unit (DSU).

Next, the data structure syntax for the dialog style unit (DSU) and the dialog presentation unit (DPU) in accordance with embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIGS. 8-10C.

FIG. 8 shows a data structure syntax of a text subtitle stream 'Text_subtitle_stream ()' in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As mentioned in the previous description of FIG. 7 and shown in FIG. 8, the data structure 'Text_subtitle_stream ()' of the present invention includes one data structure 'dialog_style_unit ()' defining a set of Style Information and a plurality of data structures 'dialog_presentation_unit ()' where the actual dialogue information is recorded. The field 'num_of_dialog_units' indicates the number of data structures 'dialog_presentation_unit ()' in the text subtitle stream. In addition, the text subtitle stream indicates the video format of the text subtitle stream in the data structure 'video_format ()'.

9A-9C show a data structure of 'dialog_style_unit ()' in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 10A-10C show a data structure of 'dialog_presentation_unit ()' in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9A shows a cumulative or high-level data structure of 'dialog_style_unit ()'. As shown, the data structure of 'dialog_style_unit ()' includes a 'unit_type' field that identifies this unit (or segment) as a dialog style unit (DSU) (or a dialogue style segment (DSS)), and a 'unit_length' field indicating dialog style block (DSU) length.

The dialog style unit (DSU) is divided into data structures 'dialog_styleset ()' (Fig. 9B) defining a set of different types of Style Info style information used in dialogs and data structures 'user_control_styleset ()' (Fig. 9C) defining a set Style Info style information that can be customized by the user.

Fig. 9B shows the syntax of the data structure 'dialog_styleset ()' in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The data structure 'dialog_styleset ()' provides 'global style information (Global Style Info)' defined for a zone, or alternatively called 'global style information (Global Style Info)', as discussed above. As shown in FIG. 9B, the data structure 'dialog_styleset ()' includes a field 'num_of_region_styles' indicating the number of zone styles provided by this data structure 'dialog_styleset ()'. Each zone style is sequentially referenced by the identifier 'region_style_id', limited by the number of zone styles.

Therefore, as discussed in more detail below, the dialog will indicate style information that should be applied to the dialog, indicating the style identifier of the region 'region_style_id', and the recording / reproducing device reproduces the corresponding dialog using style information having the same identifier 'region_style_id' in the structure data 'dialog_styleset ()'.

For each identifier 'region_style_id', the data structure 'dialog_styleset ()' provides the fields 'region_horizontal_position', 'region_vertical_position', 'region_width' and 'region_height' as information that determines the position and size of the corresponding area on the display screen. The fields 'text_horizontal_position' and 'text_vertical_position' are also provided as information defining the initial position of the text in the corresponding zone. And the information of the 'region_bg_color_index' field is also provided, indicating the background color for the corresponding zone.

Then the field 'text_flow' is defined, which determines the direction of writing the text (from right to left, left to right, from top to bottom), and the field 'text_alignment', which determines the direction of alignment of the text (left, center, right). For the 'text_flow' field in one embodiment, if there are many zones in the dialog, it is determined that each zone in the corresponding dialog has the same value of the 'text_flow' field. This should prevent confusion for the user when viewing subtitles.

Individual style information may also be included in the style information set. For example, FIG. 9B shows the provision of 'line_space' information for determining the spacing between lines in a zone and font information for valid text data, such as font type information 'font_type', 'font_style' font style, 'font_size' font size and 'font_color' about font color.

Fig. 9C shows a data structure of 'user_changeable_styleset ()' in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The data structure 'user_changeable_styleset ()' is information that the user can change to make substitutions in text subtitle data style information. However, if you allow the user to modify the style information explained above, the user may be more confused. Therefore, in accordance with this embodiment of the present invention, only the information 'font_size' and 'region_horizontal / vertical_position' is defined as user-modifiable style information.

As shown, the syntax of the data structure 'user_control_styleset ()' includes a field 'num_of_font_sizes' indicating the number of font sizes provided for in the data structure 'user_control_styleset ()'. For each font size, the data structure 'user_control_styleset ()' includes the information 'font_size_variation' defining the variable range of the variable field 'font_size'. The data structure 'user_control_styleset ()' also includes a field 'num_of_region_positions' indicating the number of zone positions provided for in the data structure 'user_control_styleset ()'. For each position of the zone, the data structure 'user_control_styleset ()' includes the information 'region_horizontal_position_variation' and 'region_vertical_position_variation', which defines the variable range of the variable field 'region_horizontal / vertical_position'.

10A shows an aggregate high-level data structure of 'dialog_presentation_unit ()' in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the data structure of 'dialog_presentation_unit ()' includes a 'unit_type' field that identifies this unit (or segment) as a dialog presentation unit (DPU) (or dialogue presentation segment (DPS)), and a 'unit_length' field indicating dialog style block (DSU) length.

The dialog style unit (DSU) also includes the information 'dialog_start_PTS' and 'dialog_end_PTS' defining the interval of timestamps of the presentation of the corresponding dialog defined in the data structure of the 'dialog_presentation_unit'.

The color change information applied to the corresponding dialog is defined in the syntax of the data structure 'dialog_presentation_unit ()' using the syntax of the data structure 'dialog_paletteset ()', which is described in more detail below with respect to FIG. 10C.

As discussed above, in this embodiment of the present invention, the dialog may have one or two zones, which is indicated by the 'num_of_regions' field in the dialog presentation unit (DPU). For each zone, the syntax of the data structure 'dialog_region ()' defines the zone information in the dialog presentation unit (DPU). Each zone 'dialog_region ()' is indexed by the sequential identifier 'region_id', the sequence is limited by the number of zones specified in the field 'num_of_regions'. As shown, the zone information for each zone includes a field of 'continuous_present_fiag', a field of 'region_style_id' and a field of 'region_subtitle'.

The continuity flag 'continuous_present_flag' indicates whether this dialog presentation unit (DPU) requires continuous playback from the previous dialogue presentation unit (DPU). The 'region_style_id' field identifies one of the zone styles defined by the 'dialog_styleset ()' data structure discussed above with respect to Fig. 9B. This identified zone style will be applied to the subtitle data for that zone during playback. The syntax of the data structure 'region_subtitle ()' defines the text data and / or local style information (Local Style Info) included in this dialog area and is described in detail below with respect to FIG. 10B.

As just mentioned, FIG. 10B shows the data structure syntax for the data structure 'region_subtitle ()' defined within the syntax of the data structure 'dialog_presentation_unit ()'. As shown, the data structure 'region_subtitle ()' includes a field 'region_subtitle_length' indicating the length of the data structure 'region_subtitle ()' and a field 'escape_code' that provides the control code. The data structure 'region_subtitle ()' also includes the data structure 'inline_style ()' and the field 'text_string'.

The 'text_string' field is the text data recorded in the data structure of the 'region_subtitle ()'. The data structure 'inline.style ()' includes the field 'num_of_inline_styles' indicating the number of inline styles defined by this data structure. For each sequentially indexed in-line style, limited by the number of in-line styles, the 'inline_style_type' field and the 'inline_style_value' field are provided, since local style information is applied to the specific 'text_string' field in the 'region_subtitle ()' data structure.

For example, the word 'mountain' among text data corresponding to zone # 1 in Fig. 5C is described as a single field 'text_string' ('text_string = mountain'). The font size (Font_size) of the corresponding field 'text_string = mountain' can then be set to (xxx) by setting 'inline_style_type = Font Size' and 'inline_style_value () = xxx' as local style information (Local Style Info).

The 'inline_style_type' field, applicable to each 'text_string' field, can be a font type (Font Type), font style (Font Style), font size (Font Size), font color (Font Color), etc. Accordingly, it should be obvious that various kinds of style information can be defined as necessary.

10C shows the syntax of the data structure 'dialog_paletteset ()' in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The syntax of the data structure 'dialog_paletteset ()' provides color change information for text subtitle data recorded in the dialog. As shown, the data structure 'dialog_paletteset ()' includes the field 'num_of_palettes' indicating the number of palettes defined in this data structure 'dialog_paletteset ()' and the field 'pallette_update_interval', which determines the effect of the gradual appearance / disappearance of the text data image.

For each number of palettes, the data structure 'dialog_paletteset ()' includes the data structure 'dialog palette ()', indexed by the sequential identifier palette_id, limited by the number of palettes. Each data structure 'dialog palette ()' includes a field 'num_of_palette_entries' indicating the number of data structures 'palette entry ()' in the dialog palette. For each data structure 'palette entry ()', the data structure 'dialog palette ()' provides a field 'palette_entry_id', a field 'Y_value', a field 'Cr_value', a field 'Cb_value' and a field 'T_value'. Field 'ralette_entry_id' provides an identifier for this data structure 'palette_entry ()'. The 'Y_value' field provides luminance value, while the 'Cr_value' and 'Cb_value' fields provide color information values to create luminance and color for text data. The 'T_value' field is information provided to indicate transparency of text data.

Therefore, in text subtitle data, the color can be determined by global style information or local style information, and information for varying and / or color transparency can be provided by the syntax of the data structure 'dialog_paletteset ()'.

11 is a block diagram of an optical recording / reproducing apparatus for reproducing a text subtitle stream in accordance with the present invention. As shown, the device includes a head module 11 for reading basic data, a text subtitle stream, and associated playback / control information recorded on the optical disc; a servo mechanism 14 that controls the operation of the head 11; a signal processing unit 13, restoring a playback signal received from the head 11 to a desired signal value or modulating an input signal into a signal to be recorded on an optical disc; a memory 15 storing information required for the operation of the system (for example, playback control information, such as discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1-10C); and a microcomputer 16 controlling the operation of the servo mechanism 14, the signal processing module 13, and the memory 15.

As also shown, the audio-visual data and text subtitle decoder 17 decodes the output from the signal processing unit 13 after being buffered by the buffer 19. The buffer 19 buffers (i.e., stores) the text subtitle stream to decode the text subtitle data.

In order to perform the function of recording a signal to an optical disk, the audio-visual data encoder 18 converts the input signal into a specific formatted signal, such as the MPEG2 transport stream, under the control of the control unit 12 and provides the converted signal to the signal processing unit 13.

The control unit 12 controls the entire operation of the optical recording / reproducing device. As soon as the command to play text subtitles in a given language is entered through a user interface functionally connected to the control unit 12, the control unit 12 instructs the device to preload the corresponding text subtitle stream into the buffer 19. The control unit 12 then controls the decoder 17, referring to the information explained above dialogue, zone information, style information (Style Info), etc. among the text subtitle stream information stored in the buffer 19, so that the actual text data is displayed at a specific position on a screen with a specific size. For recording, the control unit 12 directs, by means of instructions received from the user interface, the encoder 18 of the audiovisual data to encode the input audiovisual data. The control unit 12 also instructs the signal processing unit 13 to process the encoded data and command data from the control unit 12 to write data structures to the recording medium, as discussed above with respect to FIGS. 1-10C.

Industrial applicability

Although the invention has been disclosed with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having the benefit of this disclosure, will understand its many modifications and variations. For example, although the present invention has been described with respect to a read-only Blu-ray disc (Blu-ray ROM) in several cases, the present invention is not limited to this optical disc standard or optical discs. This implies that all such modifications and variations are within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (35)

1. The recording medium having a data structure for controlling the playback of text subtitles, containing
a recording area storing a text subtitle stream including a dialogue style segment and at least one dialogue presentation segment, wherein the dialogue style segment defines at least one style, each dialogue presentation segment including text subtitle data of each text subtitle for presentation during the presentation time interval, wherein the dialogue presentation segment refers to at least one of the mentioned styles in the dialogue style segment and provides a start time etki the submission and the end time tag representation of time determined by the time interval representation in such a way that the time interval representation is imposed on the amount of time submitting another dialog presentation segment. 2. The recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the dialogue presentation segment defines a plurality of zones, each of which provides text subtitle data. 3. The recording medium according to claim 2, in which the text subtitle data is either text string data or style data. 4. The recording medium according to claim 2, in which the dialogue presentation segment defines no more than two zones. 5. The recording medium according to claim 2, in which the dialogue presentation segment refers to the zone style for each zone, and the style of the referenced zone determines the position and size of the zone. 6. The recording medium according to claim 5, in which the recording area stores a dialogue style segment associated with the dialogue presentation segment, and the dialogue style segment defines one or more zone styles. 7. The recording medium according to claim 2, in which the dialogue presentation segment includes, for each zone, continuous presentation information indicating whether this zone should be played back continuously from the previous dialogue presentation segment. 8. The recording medium according to claim 7, in which the continuous presentation information for each zone is a flag. 9. The recording medium according to claim 7, in which the start time of the presentation time stamp of the dialogue presentation segment is equal to the end time of the dialogue presentation presentation time stamp of the previous dialogue presentation segment, when the zone continuous presentation information in the dialogue presentation segment shows continuous playback. 10. The recording medium according to claim 9, in which the dialogue presentation segment refers to the zone style for each zone, wherein the referenced zone style determines the position and size of the zone, and when the zone of the dialogue presentation segment includes continuous presentation information, showing a continuous view, the style of the referenced zone for the zone is the same zone style that the zone refers to in the previous segment of the dialog presentation. 11. The recording medium according to claim 1, in which the dialogue presentation segment includes continuous presentation information indicating whether the dialogue presentation segment should be continuously played back from the previous dialogue presentation segment. 12. The recording medium of claim 11, wherein the continuous presentation information for each zone is a flag. 13. The recording medium according to claim 11, in which the start time of the presentation time stamp of the dialogue presentation segment is equal to the end time of the dialogue presentation time stamp of the previous dialogue presentation segment, when the continuous presentation information in the dialogue presentation segment shows continuous playback. 14. The recording medium according to item 13, in which the dialogue presentation segment and the previous dialogue presentation segment refer to the same style information when the continuous presentation information in the dialogue presentation segment shows continuous playback. 15. The recording medium according to claim 1, in which the recording area stores the dialogue presentation segment as one elementary packet stream. 16. The recording medium according to claim 1, in which the dialogue presentation segment includes a type indicator indicating that the dialogue presentation segment is a dialogue presentation segment. 17. The recording medium according to claim 1, in which each dialogue presentation segment defines a plurality of zones, each of which provides text subtitle data, and the dialogue presentation segment refers to a style from a dialogue style segment for each zone, wherein the referenced style is determines the position and size of the zone. 18. The recording medium according to claim 1, in which each dialogue presentation segment defines a plurality of zones, each of which provides text subtitle data, and each dialogue presentation segment includes continuous presentation information for each zone indicating whether this zone should be reproduced continuously from the previous segment of the dialogue presentation. 19. The recording medium according to claim 1, in which the recording area stores a dialogue style segment and each dialogue presentation segment as one elementary packet stream. 20. A method of reproducing a data structure for managing text subtitles from a recording medium, comprising the step of:
reproducing a text subtitle stream including a dialogue style segment and at least one dialogue presentation segment, wherein the dialogue style segment defines at least one style, each dialogue presentation segment including text subtitle data of each text subtitle for presentation during a presentation time interval, wherein the dialogue presentation segment refers to at least one of the mentioned styles in the dialogue style segment and provides a timestamp start time no presentation and end time mark presentation time, defining the time interval representation in such a way that the time interval representation is imposed on the amount of time submitting another dialog presentation segment. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the dialogue presentation segment defines a plurality of zones, each of which provides text subtitle data. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the dialogue presentation segment includes, for each zone, continuous presentation information indicating whether this zone should be continuously played back from the previous dialogue presentation segment. 23. The method according to item 22, in which the start time of the presentation time stamp of the dialogue presentation segment is equal to the end time of the presentation time stamp of the previous dialogue presentation segment, when the zone continuous presentation information in the dialogue presentation segment shows continuous playback. 24. A method of recording a data structure for managing text subtitles on a recording medium, comprising the step of:
recording a text subtitle stream including a dialogue style segment and at least one dialogue presentation segment, wherein the dialogue style segment defines at least one style, each dialogue presentation segment including text subtitle data of each text subtitle for presentation during a presentation time interval, wherein the dialogue presentation segment refers to at least one of the mentioned styles in the dialogue style segment and provides a timestamp start time the presentation and the end time of the presentation timestamp, defining the presentation time interval so that the presentation time interval does not overlap the presentation time interval of another dialog presentation segment. 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the dialogue presentation segment defines a plurality of zones, each of which provides text subtitle data. 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the dialogue presentation segment includes, for each zone, continuous presentation information indicating whether this zone should be continuously played back from the previous dialogue presentation segment. 27. The method of claim 26, wherein the start time of the presentation time stamp of the dialogue presentation segment is equal to the end time of the presentation time stamp of the previous dialogue presentation segment, when the zone continuous presentation information in the dialogue presentation segment shows continuous playback. 28. A device for reproducing a data structure for managing text subtitles from a recording medium containing
a drive device configured to drive an optical playback device for reproducing data recorded on a recording medium; and
a microcomputer configured to control a drive device for reproducing a text subtitle stream including a dialogue style segment and at least one dialogue presentation segment, wherein the dialogue style segment defines at least one style, and each dialogue presentation segment includes data text subtitles of each text subtitle for presentation during the presentation time interval, wherein the dialogue presentation segment refers to at least one of these styles in the dialog style segment and provides the start presentation time stamp and the time of the end mark presentation time determining the time interval representation in such a way that the time interval representation is imposed on the amount of time submitting another dialog presentation segment. 29. The device according to p. 28, in which the microcomputer is configured to control a drive device for reproducing a stream of text subtitles, including a segment of the presentation of the dialogue that defines many zones, each of which provides text subtitle data. 30. The device according to clause 29, in which the microcomputer is configured to control a drive device for reproducing a text subtitle stream including a dialogue presentation segment including continuous presentation information for each zone indicating whether this zone should be played back continuously from previous segment presentation dialogue. 31. The device according to clause 30, in which the microcomputer is configured to control a drive device for reproducing a text subtitle stream including a dialogue presentation segment, the start time of the presentation time stamp of this dialogue presentation segment being equal to the end time of the presentation time stamp of the previous dialogue presentation segment when the zone continuous presentation information in said dialogue presentation segment shows continuous playback. 32. A device for recording a data structure for managing text subtitles on a recording medium containing
a drive device configured to drive an optical recording device for recording data on a recording medium;
a microcomputer configured to control a drive device for recording a text subtitle stream including a dialogue style segment and at least one dialogue presentation segment, wherein the dialogue style segment defines at least one style, and each dialogue presentation segment includes data text subtitles of each text subtitle for presentation during the presentation time interval, wherein the dialogue presentation segment refers to at least one of the mentioned utyh styles in the dialog style segment and provides the start presentation time stamp and the time of the end mark presentation time determining the time interval representation in such a way that the time interval representation is imposed on the amount of time submitting another dialog presentation segment. 33. The device according to p, in which the microcomputer is configured to control a drive device for recording a text subtitle stream, including a dialogue presentation segment defining a plurality of zones, each of which provides text subtitle data. 34. The device according to p. 33, in which the microcomputer is configured to control a drive device for recording a text subtitle stream, including a dialogue presentation segment, including continuous presentation information for each zone, indicating whether this zone should be played back continuously from previous segment presentation dialogue. 35. The device according to clause 34, in which the microcomputer is configured to control a drive device for recording a text subtitle stream including a dialogue presentation segment, the start time of the presentation time stamp of this dialogue presentation segment being equal to the end time of the presentation time stamp of the previous dialogue presentation segment when the zone continuous presentation information in said dialogue presentation segment shows continuous playback.

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