RU2380768C2 - Record medium, method and device for text caption streams decoding - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: information technologies.

SUBSTANCE: at least one text caption stream is recorded on record media. Each text caption stream contains dialog styles segment which determine style set of area and at least one dialog representations segment. Each dialog representations segment contains at least one dialog text area and is connected with at least one style from style set of the area. Dialog style segment additionally determines style set of user control for each style of the area.

EFFECT: each style of user control can be selected and configured to change one of area representation properties determined by relevant area style.

20 cl, 11 dwg

Description

Technical field

The present invention relates to a recording medium, a method and apparatus for decoding a text subtitle stream recorded on a recording medium.

State of the art

Optical discs are widely used as optical recording media for recording large data. Among a wide variety of optical discs, new high-density digital video discs (hereinafter referred to as HD-DVDs) such as Blu-ray discs (hereinafter referred to as BDs) for recording high-definition video and audio (AV) data are being developed . Currently, technical specifications of common standards are being developed as the requirements for next-generation optical recording, which will provide data that significantly exceeds the quality of traditional DVDs and many other digital devices.

Accordingly, optical playback devices are also being developed to which Blu-ray Disc (BD) standards apply. However, since the Blu-ray Disc (BD) standards are not yet complete, there are still many problems associated with the development of a complete optical playback device. In particular, in order to efficiently reproduce data from a Blu-ray disc (BD), not only the main AV data and various data required to provide convenience to the user, such as subtitle information as auxiliary, should be systematized and provided. data related to the main AV data, but also control information for reproducing the main data and subtitle data recorded on the optical disc.

However, in modern Blu-ray disc (BD) standards, since standards for auxiliary data, in particular those related to subtitle information, are not yet fully formed, there are many limitations to the full-scale development of an optical Blu-ray disc playback device ( BD). Such limitations cause problems in providing the user with auxiliary data, such as subtitles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a text subtitle decoder and to a method for decoding text subtitle streams recorded on a recording medium that substantially overcomes one or more problems caused by limitations and disadvantages inherent in the prior art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium comprising an interactive style segment defining a set of user control styles, each of which enables at least one of the region representation properties determined by the region style to be changed.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for decoding a text subtitle stream using a user control style that changes at least one of the region presentation properties determined by the region style.

Other advantages, objects, and features of the invention are presented in part in the following description and in part will be obvious to those skilled in the art based on the study of the presented description or may be obtained on the basis of a practical implementation of the invention. The goals and achieved benefits can be realized and achieved using the structure presented in the description and in the claims, as well as illustrated by the drawings.

To achieve these goals and obtain the indicated advantages, in accordance with the present invention, as it is embodied and described in a broad aspect, the recording medium comprises a data area storing at least one text subtitle stream, each of which contains a segment of dialogue styles defining a set of area styles to be applied to at least one area of dialogue text. Each text subtitle stream may further include at least one segment of dialogue representations, each of which contains at least one region of dialogue text and is associated with at least one of a set of region styles. The dialog style segment further defines a set of user management styles for each region style, wherein each user management style can be selected and configured to change at least one of the region presentation properties determined by the corresponding region style. For example, each user control style can determine the direction and magnitude of the change of at least one of the following: horizontal position of the region, vertical position of the region, horizontal position of the text, vertical position of the text, line spacing, font size, all of which are defined in the corresponding style area.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method and apparatus for decoding a text subtitle stream recorded on a recording medium. The subtitle download buffer downloads a text subtitle stream that includes a dialog style segment defining a set of region styles and at least one dialog presentation segment. Each representation of the dialogue contains at least one region of the text of the dialogue and is associated with at least one of the set of region styles. The dialog style segment further defines a set of user management styles for each region, each user management style can be selected and configured to change at least one of the region presentation properties determined by the corresponding region style. The text subtitle decoder can decode each segment of the dialogue views using the associated region style and one of the set of user control styles defined by the dialogue presentation segment.

Each user control style can determine the direction and magnitude of the change in the region presentation properties, determined by the corresponding region style. Region view properties include at least one of a region’s horizontal position, region’s vertical position, text’s horizontal position, text’s vertical position, line spacing, font size, all of which are defined in the corresponding region style.

It is understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are illustrative and are intended to further clarify the claimed invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are intended to illustrate the invention and are included in the application materials, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the present invention. The drawings show the following:

Figure 1 - file structure of data files recorded on an optical disc in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 - data storage area of an optical disk according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 is an illustration of a text subtitle and a main image displayed on a display screen when reproducing a text subtitle stream and a main AV data stream;

4 is a schematic diagram illustrating playback control of a main AV clip and text subtitle clips using a playlist;

5A is a dialogue presented on a display screen in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

5B is a dialog area in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

5C illustrates region styles and pluggable styles for dialog regions in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

6A is a presentation of text subtitle dialogs on a display screen at presentation time stamp (PTS) intervals;

FIG. 6B is an illustration of continuations between text subtitle dialogs presented on a display screen in PTS intervals; FIG.

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

FIG. 7B is an illustration of specific information contained in DPUs and DSUs included in a text subtitle stream in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

8 is a syntax for a text subtitle stream in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 9A is a syntax for a dialog style block in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

9B is a syntax for a set of dialog styles included in a dialog style block in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

9C is a syntax for a user-modifiable style sheet included in a dialog style set in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 10 is an example implementation of a device for decoding the main streams of AV data and text subtitle streams in accordance with the present invention;

11 is an example of a method for decoding a text subtitle stream recorded on an optical disc in accordance with the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Below are described in detail preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are presented in the accompanying drawings. Where, possibly, the same reference numbers indicate the same or similar elements in all the drawings.

In this detailed description, the main data represents audio / video (A / V) data that relates to a title (e.g., a movie title) recorded by an author on an optical disc. Basically, AV data is recorded in MPEG2 format and is often referred to as AV data streams or main AV data streams. In addition, the auxiliary data represents all other data required for reproducing the main data, examples of which are text subtitle streams, interactive graphic streams, presentation graphic streams and auxiliary audio data streams (for example, for viewing a slide show). These auxiliary data streams can be recorded in MPEG2 format or in any other data format. They can be multiplexed with streams of AV data or can exist as independent data files on an optical disk.

A subtitle represents caption information corresponding to reproduced video data (image), and may be reproduced in a predetermined language. For example, when a user selects the option of viewing one of a plurality of subtitles from a plurality of subtitles presented in different languages when viewing images on a display screen, label information corresponding to the selected subtitle is displayed in a preselected portion of the display screen. If the label information displayed is text data (i.e., characters), then the selected subtitle is often called a text subtitle. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a plurality of MPEG2 text subtitle streams can be recorded to an optical disc, and they can exist as a file of a plurality of independent streams. Each text subtitle stream file includes text data for a text subtitle and reproduction control data required for reproducing text data. According to another aspect of the present invention, only one MPEG2 text subtitle stream can be recorded on an optical disc.

Figure 1 illustrates the file structure of data files recorded on an optical disc, an example of which is a Blu-ray disc (hereinafter referred to as BD), in accordance with the present invention. According to figure 1, at least one directory BD (BDMV) is included in the root directory (root). Each BD directory includes an index file (index.bdmv) and an object file (MovieObject.bdmv), which are used to interact with one or more users. For example, an index file may contain data representing an index table having a plurality of selectable menus and movie titles. Each BD directory also includes four file directories, which include audio / video (A / V) data to be reproduced, and various data required for reproducing AV data.

The file directories included in each BD directory are: stream directory (STREAM), clip information directory (CLIPINF), playlist directory (PLAYLIST), and auxiliary data directory (AUX DATA). First of all, the stream directory (STREAM) includes audio / video (A / V) data stream files having a specific data format. For example, AV data stream files may be in the form of MPEG2 transport packets and may be referred to as “* .m2ts”, as shown in FIG. The stream directory may also include one or more subtitle text stream files, where each subtitle text stream file includes text data (e.g., characters) for text subtitles represented in a particular language, and text data playback control information. Subtitle text stream files exist as independent stream files in the stream directory and may be referred to as “* .m2ts” or “* .txtst”, as shown in FIG. An AV data stream file or a subtitle text stream file included in a stream directory is often referred to as a clip stream file.

Further, the clip information directory (CLIPINF) includes clip information files that correspond to stream files (AV data or text subtitles) included in the stream directory, respectively. Each clip information file contains information about the properties and timing of the playback for the corresponding stream file. For example, the clip A information file may include display information in which presentation time stamps (PTS) and source packet numbers (SPNs) are mapped in a one-to-one correspondence using a recording element map (EPM). Using the display information, the specific location of the stream file can be determined from the In-Time and Out-Time information of the time provided by the PlayItem and SubPlayItem elements, as described in more detail below. In the industry standard, each pair of a stream file and its corresponding clip information file is referred to as a clip. For example, the element 01000.dpi included in the CLIPINF file includes information about the properties and timing of the playback of the element 01000.m2ts included in the STREAM file, while the elements 01000.clpi and 01000.m2ts form a clip.

1, a playlist directory (PLAYLIST) includes one or more PlayList files of playlists (* .mpls), where each PlayIist file includes at least one PlayItem element that denotes at least , one main AV clip and playback time of the main AV clip. More specifically, the PlayItem element contains In-Time and Out-Time information that represents playback start time and playback end time for the main AV clip, designated in the PlayItem element as Clip_Information_File_Name (name of the clip information file). Therefore, the PlayList file represents basic playback control information for one or more basic AV clips. In addition, the PlayList file may further include a SubPlayItem element that represents basic reproduction control information for the subtitle text stream file. If the SubPlayItem element is included in the PlayList file to play one or more subtitle text stream files, then the SubPlayItem element is synchronized with the PlayItem element (s). On the other hand, if the SubPlayItem element is used to play the viewed slide show, then it may not be synchronized with the Playltem element (s). In accordance with the present invention, the main function of SubPlayItem is to control the playback of one or more subtitle text stream files.

Finally, the auxiliary data directory (AUX DATA) may include auxiliary data stream files, examples of which are font files (e.g. * .font or * .otf), pop-up menu files (not shown), sound files (e.g. Sound. bdmv) to generate the sound of choice. Text subtitle stream files may be included in the auxiliary data directory instead of the stream directory.

2 illustrates data storage areas of an optical disc according to the present invention. 2, an optical disk includes a file system information area occupying the innermost part of the disk volume, a stream region occupying the outermost part of the disk volume, and a database area located between the file system information region and the stream region. In the file system information area, system information for managing all the data files shown in FIG. 1 is stored. Then, the AV data streams and one or more text subtitle streams are stored in the stream area. Shared files, playlist files, and clip information files shown in FIG. 1 are stored in the database area of the disk volume. As described above, shared files include an index file and an object file, playlist files and clip information files include information necessary for reproducing AV data streams and text subtitle streams stored in the stream area. Using the information stored in the database area and / or stream area, the user can select a specific playback mode and play the main streams of AV data and text subtitle streams in the selected playback mode.

3 illustrates a text subtitle and a main image displayed on a display screen when reproducing a text subtitle stream and main AV data streams. The main image and the text subtitle are simultaneously displayed on the display screen when the main AV data stream and the corresponding text subtitle stream are reproduced synchronously.

4 is a schematic diagram illustrating playback control of a main AV clip and text subtitle clips using a playlist (PlayList). According to figure 4, the PlayList file contains at least one PlayItem element that controls the playback of at least one main AV clip, and a SubPlayItem element that controls the playback of multiple subtitle clips. One text subtitle clip 1 and text subtitle clip 2 shown in FIG. 4 for English and Korean text subtitles can be synchronized with the main AV clip, so that the main image and the corresponding text subtitle are displayed on the display screen at the same time at a specific presentation time. To display a text subtitle on a display screen, display control information (eg, position and size information) and presentation time information, examples of which are illustrated in FIGS. 5A-5C, are required.

FIG. 5A illustrates a dialog presented on a display screen according to the present invention. The dialog represents all the text subtitle data displayed on the display screen for a given presentation time. In general, the presentation time of a dialogue can be represented in presentation time stamps (PTS). For example, the presentation of the dialog shown in FIG. 5A starts at PTS (k) and ends at PTS (k + 1). Therefore, the dialog shown in FIG. 5A represents a complete block of text subtitle data that is displayed on the screen between the moments PTS (k) and PTS (k + 1). The dialog includes at least one line of subtitle text (characters). If there are two or more lines of subtitle text in the dialog, then all text data can be displayed according to the style defined for the dialog. The maximum number of characters included in the dialog can be limited to approximately 100.

In addition, FIG. 5B illustrates dialogue areas according to the present invention. The area represents the divided portion of the text data of the subtitle (dialogue) on the display screen for a given presentation time. In other words, the dialog includes at least one area, and each area may include at least one line of subtitle text. All subtitle text data representing the region can be displayed on the display screen in accordance with the region style (global style) assigned to this region. The maximum number of areas included in the dialogue should be determined based on the desired decoding speed of the subtitle data, since more areas, in General, leads to a lower decoding speed. For example, the maximum number of areas for dialogue may be limited to two in order to achieve an acceptably high decoding rate. However, for other purposes, the maximum number could be greater than two.

5C illustrates style information for dialog areas in accordance with the present invention. Style information is information that defines the properties required to display at least a portion of the area included in the dialog. Some of the examples of style information include position, area size, background color, text alignment, text fill information, and more. Style information can be classified into region style information (global style information) and pluggable style information (local style information). Area style information defines the area style (global style) that applies to the entire area of the dialog. For example, region style information may consist of at least one of the following: region position, region size, font color, background color, text fill, text alignment, line spacing, font name, font style and region font size. For example, two different region styles are applied to region 1 and region 2, as shown in FIG. 5C. The region style with position 1, size 1, with a blue background is applied to region 1, and another region style with position 2, size 2 and a red background will be applied to region 2.

On the other hand, pluggable style information defines a pluggable style (local style) that applies to a specific part of the text strings included in the area. For example, plugin style information may include at least one of a font type, font size, font style, and font color. A particular portion of text lines may be an entire line of text within an area or a specific portion of a text line. 5C, a particular plug-in style is applied to a portion of the mountain text included in region 1. In other words, at least one of the font type, font size, font style, and font color of the specific part of the text lines is different from the rest of the text lines in area 1.

6A illustrates representations of text subtitle dialogs on a display screen at presentation time stamp (PTS) intervals. There are four dialogs to display between PTS1 and PTS6. More specifically, dialog # 1 has only one area, and text # 1 is displayed in this area between PTS1 and PTS2. Dialog # 2 has only region 1 and region 2, and text # 1 and text # 2 are displayed in region 1 and region 2 respectively between PTS2 and PTS3. Then, dialog # 3 also has only one area, and text # 2 is displayed in this area between PTS3 and PTS4. There is no dialog for presentation between PTS4 and PTS5, and text # 3 is displayed in the dialog area # 4 between PTS5 and PTS6. The information defining the dialogue includes dialogue presentation time information and text dialogue data, including style information and text strings to be displayed in each area of the dialogue. An example of presentation time information is a set of a PTS start tag and a PTS end tag, and the style information contains (global) region style information and pluggable (local) style information, as described above. On figa shows that various sets of style information can be used for dialogue.

FIG. 6B illustrates the continuity between text subtitle dialogs presented on a display screen at intervals of PTS marks. 6B, the final presentation time of the dialogue # 1 is identical to the initial presentation time of the dialogue # 2. Therefore, there is a continuity between dialogue # 1 and dialogue # 2. The display of text # 1 in the dialog area # 1 is continuous with the display of text # 1 in the area 1 of dialog # 2. In other words, the PTS label spacing of both dialogs is continuous, and the same style information (regions and pluggable) is used when presenting text # 1 in both regions. Similarly, another continuity occurs between dialog # 2 and dialog # 3, since the display of text # 2 in area 2 of dialog # 2 is continuous with the display of text # 2 in area of dialogue # 3. To ensure continuity between two consecutive dialogs displaying the same subtitle text, the presentation time intervals (PTS mark intervals) of the dialogs should be continuous. In addition, the same region style information and included style information should be used when presenting the same text in regions, respectively. 6B, there is no continuity between dialog # 3 and dialog # 4, since their PTS label intervals are not continuous. An indicator (for example, continuous_view_flag) can be included in the presentation information of the current dialog to indicate whether the dialog is continuous with the previous dialog.

Fig. 7A illustrates a text subtitle stream file (e.g., 10001.m2ts shown in Fig. 1) according to the present invention. It can be formed from an MPEG2 transport stream including multiple transport packets (TPs), all of which have the same packet identifier (for example, PID = 0x18xx). When a disc player receives a plurality of input streams including a particular text subtitle stream, it finds all transport streams belonging to the text subtitle stream using their PID. 7A, each subset of the transport streams forms a packet elementary packet stream (PES). One of the PES packets shown in FIG. 7A corresponds to a dialog style unit (DSU) defining a region style group. The DSU is often referred to as the conversation style segment (DSS). All other PES packets correspond to dialog presentation units (DPUs), each of which includes presentation information for a dialogue having at least one region, and dialogue text data including a region style indicator, include style information and text strings for each area. Similarly, a DPU is also often referred to as a dialogue presentation segment (DPS).

FIG. 7B shows specific information contained in a DPU and a DSU included in a text subtitle stream according to the present invention. The DSU contains information sets defining a group of region styles, each of which is applicable to the corresponding dialog region. In addition, the DPU contains dialogue text data and dialog presentation information for the dialogue. Dialog text data includes text strings that must be included in each dialog area, style information to be applied to a particular part of the text string, and an area style identifier indicating the area style to apply to each dialog area. The region style identifier identifies one of the group of region styles defined in the DSU. On the other hand, presentation time information may include a start presentation time (e.g., PTS_start) and an end presentation time (e.g., PTS__end) for presenting a dialog on a display screen, and palette update information may include a pointer (e.g., palette update_ flag), indicating whether to update the display colors of the dialog and apply palette information (for example, a palette for updating) when updating display colors.

All data included in the text subtitle stream can be classified as three types of data based on their basic functions. For example, data may be classified as textual dialogue data, composition information, and visualization information, as shown in FIG. Dialog text data includes text strings, pluggable style information and an area style identifier for each dialog area. The composition information includes presentation time information, examples of which are the start and end presentation time, position information for the dialog area, and palette update information for the dialogue. Finally, the visualization information includes the information required to render the text strings as graphic data for presentation. 7B, the horizontal and vertical positions of each region included in the DSU are part of the composition information, and the region width, region height, font color, background color, fill text, text alignment, line spacing, font name, font style and font sizes included in the DSU represent visualization information.

The DSU includes a set of area style information (a set of dialog styles) that defines a limited number of area styles defined by the author, respectively. For example, the maximum number of region styles defined in a DSU can be limited to 60, and region styles can be identified by their region style identifiers (region_style_id). Therefore, the author saves the DSU, which defines only a limited number of region styles on the optical disk. Region styles are used by the disc player when playing back text subtitle streams recorded on an optical disc. Alternatively, the disc player may use other region styles defined by an additional set of style information that may be provided from an external source. An example of such a source is a local data memory included in a disc player. As a result, the subtitle regions reproduced from the text subtitle streams recorded on the optical disc can have various region styles.

FIG. 8 illustrates the syntax for a text subtitle stream (stream () _ text_subtitle) according to an embodiment of the present invention. As mentioned earlier, the text subtitle stream syntax includes syntax for a block of dialog styles (block () _ dialog_ styles) including a set of information defining a set of region styles, respectively, and syntax for a plurality of dialog presentation blocks (block () _ dialog_view), where the syntax of each DPU includes dialogue presentation information and at least one area of dialogue text. Each area of dialogue text includes an area style identifier, one or more text lines and pluggable style information, the area style identifier identifying one of a set of area styles defined in the DSU syntax.

FIG. 9A illustrates the syntax for a dialog style block (block () _ dialog_ styles) included in the text subtitle stream syntax shown in FIG. The syntax of the dialog style block includes the syntax for the set of dialog styles (set () of dialog styles), in which a set of region-defined styles is defined by the author. FIG. 9B illustrates the syntax for the set of dialog styles (set () _ dialog_ styles) included in the syntax of the dialog style block shown in FIG. 9A. The dialog style set syntax includes a set of area style information defining a set of area styles (style () _ area), respectively, and a data field or flag (player_styles_play_device_status flag) indicating whether the author allows the player to generate his own set of styles (player styles ) for text subtitles in addition to a set of styles defined by the author, defined in the style of () _ area. The dialog style set syntax also includes syntax for a user-modifiable set of styles (user-modifiable_ set () _ styles) defining a set of user control styles.

9B, region style identifiers (region_style_id) are assigned to a set of region styles (region () _ region), respectively, and each region style information represents global style information applicable to the entire portion of the dialog text area. The region style identifier included in the DPU for each region includes one of the region style identifiers. Therefore, the region style corresponding to the region style identifier is applied when reproducing at least one region of dialogue text contained in each DPU.

Below we consider in more detail the properties of the representation of a specific area defined in each style of the area (style () _ area). The horizontal position of the region (horizontal_region_position) defines the horizontal address of the upper left pixel of the region in the graphics region, and the vertical position of the region (vertical_position_ region) defines the vertical address of the upper left pixel of the region in the graphics region. In addition, the width of the region (region_width) determines the horizontal length of the rectangular region from the horizontal position of the region, and the height of the region (region_height) determines the vertical length of the rectangular region from the vertical position of the region. The background background color index (area_color_color_index) determines the value of the index indicating the background color of the area.

In addition, the horizontal position of the text (horizontal_text_position) defines the horizontal address of the beginning of the text in the region, and the vertical position of the text (vertical_text_position) defines the vertical address of the beginning of the text in the region. Text fill (text fill) defines at least one of the character advancement (left_right or right_left) and line advance (top_down or bottom__up) in the area. Text alignment (text alignment) determines the alignment (on the left side, center, right side) of the text to be rendered in the area. If the dialog has more than one area, then the same text fill can be applied to all areas to avoid misleading the user. According to Fig. 9B, the line spacing (line_interval) defines the distance between two adjacent lines of text in the area. Font identification (font_id) indicates the font identification specified in the clip information file. A font style (font_style) defines the font style for text in an area, examples of which are normal, bold, italics, and bold italics. The font size (font_size) determines the font size for the text in the area, an example of which is the vertical size of characters in a block of pixels. Finally, the font color index (font color_index) defines an index value indicating the color of the text in the area.

The player’s style flag (player_style_flag) shown in FIG. 9B indicates whether the author allows the player to generate and use his own set of styles (player styles) that can be previously stored in the local memory of the disk player for text subtitles, in addition to the author-defined area styles defined in the optical disc. For example, if the value of the style flag of the playing device is set to 1b, then the author allows you to generate and / or use your own set of styles of the playing device. On the other hand, if the value of the player’s style flag is set to 0b, then the author forbids the player to generate and / or use the player’s set of styles.

Fig. 9C illustrates the syntax for a user-modifiable style set (user-modifiable_set () styles) included in the dialog style set syntax shown in Fig. 9B. The element (user-modifiable_set () of styles) includes a set of user management information defining a set of user management styles (style () _ user_ management), where each user management style is configured to change at least one of the region presentation properties defined by the corresponding region style . By choosing one of a set of user management styles, the user can change the style of the area for each area in a very simple way. However, if all the properties defined by the style of the area are user-modifiable, then controlling the display of the dialog by the user can become very difficult. For this reason, region presentation properties that are changeable by a user control style may be limited to at least one of a region’s horizontal position, region’s vertical position, font size, horizontal text position, vertical text position, and line spacing.

According to FIGS. 9B and 9C, a set of user management styles is defined for each style of the region having a region style ID, and user style IDs (user_id_id) are assigned to the set of user management styles, respectively. The maximum number of user management styles defined for each region style can be limited to 25. Since the maximum number of region styles defined in the dialog style set is limited to 60, the total number of user-defined styles defined for the DPU must be less than or equal to 1500 .

According to Fig. 9C, for changing the horizontal position of the region, the user control style may include the direction of the horizontal position of the region (direction_horizontal_region_of_region_), which determines the direction of horizontal movement of the horizontal position of the region and the increment of the horizontal position of the region (delta_horizontal_position_of_region), which determines the number of horizontal movements in blocks of pixels. For example, horizontal movement may be in the right direction, if the horizontal position direction is set to 0, and may be in the left direction, if it is set to 1. To change the vertical position of the region, the user control style may include the direction of the vertical position of the region (vertical_region_region_position_direction) , which determines the direction of vertical movement of the horizontal position of the region and the increment of the vertical position of the region (delta_vertical_ olozheniya_oblasti) determining the number of vertical movement in blocks of pixels. For example, vertical movement may be downward if the vertical direction is set to 0, and may be upward if it is set to 1. In addition, to change the font size determined by the style of the area with the area style ID, the user control style may include the direction of changing the font size (font_inc_dec_font size), which determines the direction of changing the font size and the font size difference (delta_font_size), which determines the number of font size changes in blocks Ixelles. For example, the font size can be increased if (font_inc_dec_font_size) is set to 0, and can be reduced if it is set to 1.

Some characteristic features of a set of user-modifiable styles according to the present invention are as follows. First, a set of user management styles is defined for each of the set of region styles defined in the dialog style block, and the number constituting the set of management styles is fixed. Therefore, the number of user control styles defined by two different area styles is identical. The number that makes up the set of user management styles to be used when playing each area of the dialog text is fixed. Secondly, a set of user management styles is identified by different user style IDs, respectively. Thirdly, all changes in the properties of the area view are defined in a combination of a single user management style. For example, the horizontal position of the area and the font size are not changed separately through two different user control styles. They change in combination through a unified user management style. Fourth, a change in some property is represented by its direction and magnitude, instead of the actual value of the properties. The actual property value can be obtained by applying the magnitude (delta) and direction of change to the original property value defined in the style of the area.

In conclusion, if the author records the main streams of AV data on an optical disc, the author also records at least one stream of text subtitles. Each text subtitle stream includes a DSU unit defining a set of dialog styles and a plurality of DPUs. The region style set has different region style IDs. The DSU further defines a set of user management styles for each region style, wherein the user management styles have different user style IDs. Each user management style is configured to change at least one of the properties of the region defined by the view author, which are defined by the corresponding region style. In addition, the dialog style set includes a player device style flag indicating whether the author allows the player to generate and / or use his own player style set for text subtitles, in addition to the author-defined style set.

The following describes in detail a device for decoding the main streams of AV data and streams of text subtitles according to the present invention, an example of which is shown in Fig.10. The device comprises a packet identifier filter (PID) 5 for dividing input streams into video data streams, audio data streams, graphic data streams, text subtitle streams based on their packet identifiers, video streaming decoding unit 20, audio data decoding unit 10, graphic decoding unit 30 data and a text subtitle stream decoding unit 40 for decoding a text subtitle stream.

Text subtitle streams can be extracted from an optical disc or from an additional external source, as shown in FIG. 10. For this reason, the device further comprises a switch 6 that selects an input data source. Therefore, if the text subtitle streams are extracted from the optical disc, the switch 6 selects the data line A connected to the PID filter 5. On the other hand, if they are input from an external source, switch 6 selects line B connected to the external source.

10, the audio data stream decoding unit 10, the video data stream decoding unit 20 and the graphic data decoding unit 30 comprise transport buffers 11, 21, 31, respectively, for storing data of the stream to be decoded. The video matrix (VP) 23 and the graphic matrix 33 are included in the video stream decoding unit 20 and the graphic data decoding unit 30, respectively, for converting the decoded signals into displayed video and graphic images. The graphic data decoding unit 30 includes a color conversion table (CLUT) 34 for controlling color levels and transparency of the displayed graphic images.

When the text subtitle stream decoding unit 40 receives a text subtitle stream supporting one language from the switch 6, the entire part of the text subtitle stream can be preloaded into the subtitle preload buffer (SPB) 41 immediately. Alternatively, if there is more than one text subtitle to support multiple languages, all text subtitle streams can be preloaded into SPB 41 immediately. Therefore, the size of the SPB 41 buffer should be determined based on the total number of text subtitle stream files received from switch 6. For example, the size of the SPB 41 buffer should be greater than or equal to 0.5 MB to preload a 0.5 megabyte text subtitle stream file. In addition, to ensure a smooth presentation of text subtitles, when the user switches between two 0.5 megabyte text subtitle stream files, the size of the SPB 41 buffer must be greater than or equal to 1 MB. The size of the SPB 41 buffer must be large enough to immediately preload all the required text subtitle stream files.

The text subtitle stream decoding unit 40 shown in FIG. 10 further includes a font preload buffer (FPB) 410 for storing all associated font files that can be included in the sub data directory shown in FIG. 1. Similarly, the size of the FPB 410 buffer should be large enough to immediately preload all the required font files to ensure smooth presentation of text subtitles that support one or more languages. Once all available text subtitle stream files and their associated font files are preloaded, extracting and using the preloaded data can be done in a simple way. Also for this reason, managing the SPB 41 and the FPB 410 can be quite simple. The text subtitle stream decoding unit 40 further includes a text subtitle decoder 42 that decodes each text subtitle stream stored in the SPB 41, a graphics matrix 43 in which the decoded subtitle data is arranged as displayed subtitle images, and a color conversion table (CLUT) 44 to control at least one of the color and transparency levels of the converted subtitle images.

The text subtitle stream decoding unit 40 further includes a local data memory 45, which stores a set of player styles that defines a set of player styles that can be selectively used when playing a text subtitle stream previously loaded into the SPB 41. In addition, the local memory 45 data may further be stored by a user-modifiable set defining a set of user control styles for selective use in sproizvedenii text subtitle stream. This user-modifiable set may be similar to the user-modifiable set included in the DSU shown in FIG. 9C.

According to a first aspect of the invention, each player style represents a region style, a full set of region presentation properties for the dialog text area, examples of which are the horizontal position of the region, the vertical position of the region, the width of the region, the height of the region, the background color index of the region, the horizontal position of the text, the vertical position text, fill text, align text, line spacing, font identification, font style, font size and font color index. In this case, the player style set stored in the local data memory 45 is used regardless of the region style set defined in the DSU.

In a second aspect of the present invention, each player device style is configured to redefine at least one of the region presentation properties that are initially determined by the region style defined in the DSU. For example, if the region style defined in the DSU determines the full range of region representation properties, including font identification, and the player’s style overrides the font identification, then the redefined font identification and all other properties defined by the region style are used in combination.

In a third aspect of the present invention, each style of the player is configured to change at least one of the region presentation properties that are initially defined by the region style defined in the DSU. For example, the style of the playing device may determine the direction and magnitude of the change in the horizontal position of the area defined by the style of the area. In this case, the style set of the playing device is similar to a user-modifiable set, an example of which is shown in FIG. 9C.

11 illustrates a method for decoding a text subtitle stream recorded on an optical disc according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. After the text subtitle decoder 42 starts playing the text subtitle stream previously loaded into the SPB 41, it initially reads the player_style_flag flag included in the DSU to determine if the player style set stored in the local data memory 45 is allowed (S110) . For example, if the player_style_style_flag is set to 0b, then using the player’s style set is not allowed. In this case, the text subtitle decoder 42 must use the region-specific styles recorded by the author recorded on the optical disc (S111). On the other hand, if the player_style_style_flag is set to 1b, then the text subtitle decoder 42 is allowed to use the player style set stored in the local data memory 45. In this case, the text subtitle decoder 42 independently determines whether to use any one of the player style set defined in the player style set (S112). For example, the text subtitle decoder 42 may compare the set of player styles with the region styles defined in the text subtitle stream and use the result of this comparison to determine in step S112. If the player style set is not determined for use in step S112, then region styles recorded on the optical disc are used (S111). On the other hand, if the player’s style set is determined to be used in step S112, then the text subtitle decoder 42 may use them independently or in combination with the set of area styles recorded on the disc.

Furthermore, when the text subtitle decoder 42 decodes the DPU, it can use the region style identified by the region style identifier included in the DPU. If the user wants to change this area style, he can enter a command to change the area style. By selecting one of the set of user management styles that are defined by the set of user-modifiable styles defined in the DSU, at least one of the horizontal position of the region, the vertical position of the region, and the font size can be changed.

The device shown in FIG. 10 further comprises an image superposition unit 50, which performs a superposition of images output from the video data decoding unit 20, the graphic data decoding unit 30, and the text subtitle decoding unit 40. These combined images are displayed on a display screen as shown in FIG. 3. In general, video images outputted from VP 23 of the video decoding unit 20 can be displayed as a background on the display screen, and images outputted from the graphic data decoding unit 30 and / or the text subtitle decoding unit 40 can be superimposed on the video images in a predetermined order. For example, if the output images of the graphic data decoding unit 30 are graphic presentation images, then these images may initially be superimposed on the video using the first adder 52, and then the text subtitle images from the text subtitle decoding unit 40 may be superimposed on the video using the second adder 53. However, if the output images of the graphic data decoding unit 30 are interactive graphic images, then the images are text The new subtitles from the text subtitle decoding unit 40 may initially be superimposed on the video using the first adder 52. Then, the interactive graphic images can be further overlaid on the superimposed images using the second adder 53.

Finally, the device shown in FIG. 10 further comprises a system decoder 4 for decoding input transport streams (e.g., MPEG transport streams) and a microprocessor 3 for controlling the operations of all components of the above-described device.

Industrial applicability

Specialists in the art should understand that various modifications and alterations can be made in the present invention without deviating from the essence and scope of the invention. Thus, it should be borne in mind that the present invention covers all such modifications and modifications, provided that they are included in the scope of protection of the claims and their equivalents. In accordance with the present invention, a plurality of user control styles are defined for each area style defined in the dialog style segment. Each user management style is selected by the user and configured to change the region presentation properties defined by the corresponding region style. Therefore, the user may be able to select one of a variety of user control styles.

Claims (20)

1. A recording medium for storing a data structure, the data structure comprising:
at least one text subtitle stream including a style segment defining text region styles to be applied to at least one region, wherein the style segment further defines at least one set of user control styles for each region style wherein each set of user management styles can be selected and configured to change at least one of the region presentation properties defined by the corresponding region style,
wherein the style segment includes a player style flag indicating whether the player is allowed to generate its own set of player styles in addition to the region styles defined in the style segment. 2. The recording medium of claim 1, wherein the style segment includes a data field indicating the number of region styles. 3. The recording medium according to claim 2, in which the number of region styles is less than or equal to 60. 4. The recording medium of claim 1, wherein the style segment includes a data field indicating the number of a set of user control styles defined in the style segment for each style of the area. 5. The recording medium according to claim 4, in which the number of a set of user management styles defined for each style of the area is less than or equal to 25. 6. The recording medium according to claim 1, in which each set of user control styles determines the direction and magnitude of the change in at least one of the region presentation properties defined by the corresponding region style. 7. The recording medium according to claim 1, in which the properties of the representation of the area include at least one of the horizontal position of the region, the vertical position of the region, the horizontal position of the text, the vertical position of the text, the line spacing and font size. 8. The recording medium according to claim 1, in which each style of user control determines the direction and amount of change of at least one of the horizontal position of the region, the vertical position of the region, the horizontal position of the text, the vertical position of the text, the line spacing, font size, which defined in the appropriate area style. 9. A recording medium for reproducing text subtitle streams, comprising
a data region storing at least one text subtitle stream, each text subtitle stream contains a style segment defining text region styles and at least one presentation segment, each presentation segment containing at least one text region and associated with at least one of the styles of this area, the style segment additionally defines at least one set of user management styles for each style of the area, with each set of user styles systematic way can be selected and configured to change at least one of region presentation properties specified corresponding region style,
wherein the style segment includes a player style flag indicating whether the player is allowed to generate its own set of player styles in addition to the region styles defined in the style segment. 10. A method for decoding a text subtitle stream recorded on a recording medium, the method comprising
loading the text subtitle stream into the subtitle loading buffer, wherein the text subtitle stream includes a style segment defining styles of the text area and at least one presentation segment, wherein each presentation segment contains at least one area and is associated with, in at least one of the styles of this area, the style segment additionally defines at least one set of user management styles for each style of the area, with each set of user management styles et is selected and configured to change at least one property of a region representation defined by the corresponding region style; and
decoding each presentation segment using the associated region style and one of a set of user control styles,
wherein the style segment includes a player style flag indicating whether the player is allowed to generate its own set of player styles in addition to the region styles defined in the style segment. 11. The method according to claim 10, in which each style of user control determines the direction and magnitude of the change in at least one of the properties of the representation of the region defined by the corresponding style of the region. 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the region's presentation properties include at least one of a region’s horizontal position, region’s vertical position, text’s horizontal position, text’s vertical position, line spacing, and font size. 13. The method according to claim 10, in which each style of user control determines the direction and amount of change of at least one of the horizontal position of the region, vertical position of the region, horizontal position of the text, vertical position of the text, line spacing, font size, which are defined in the appropriate style of the area. 14. A device for decoding a text subtitle stream recorded on a recording medium containing
a subtitle loading buffer configured to load a text subtitle stream into a subtitle preload buffer, wherein the loaded text subtitle stream includes a style segment defining text region styles and at least one presentation segment, each presentation segment contains at least , one area and is associated with at least one of the styles of this area, the style segment additionally defines at least one set of user control styles for each style field, each set of user control styles can be selected and configured to change at least one of region presentation properties defined by the corresponding region style; and a text subtitle decoder configured to decode each presentation segment using the associated region style and one of the user control styles,
wherein the style segment includes a player style flag indicating whether the player is allowed to generate its own set of player styles in addition to the region styles defined in the style segment. 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the subtitle download buffer is configured to load a text subtitle stream including a style segment that includes a data field indicating the number of region styles. 16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the subtitle download buffer is configured to download a text subtitle stream including a style segment that includes a data field indicating a number of a set of user control styles defined in the style segment for each style of the area. 17. A method of recording a text subtitle stream, the method comprising:
recording at least one text subtitle stream including a style segment defining text region styles to be applied to at least one region, the style segment further defines at least one set of user control styles for each style area, and each set of user management styles can be selected and configured to change at least one of the properties of the representation of the area defined by the corresponding style of the area,
wherein the style segment includes a player style flag indicating whether the player is allowed to generate its own set of player styles in addition to the region styles defined in the style segment. 18. The method according to 17, in which each set of user control styles sets the direction and magnitude of the change in at least one of the region representation properties specified by the corresponding region style. 19. The method according to 17, in which the properties of the representation of the area include at least one of the horizontal position of the region, the vertical position of the region, the horizontal position of the text, the vertical position of the text, the horizontal line spacing and font size. 20. The method according to 17, in which each style of user control sets the direction and amount of change of at least one of the horizontal position of the region, the vertical position of the region, the horizontal position of the text, the vertical position of the text, the line spacing and font size that are set in the appropriate style of the area.

Images