WO1996027984A1

WO1996027984A1 - Moving image information recording/reproducing device

Info

Publication number: WO1996027984A1
Application number: PCT/JP1995/000377
Authority: WO
Inventors: Miho Gamachi; Atsushi Saito
Original assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
Priority date: 1995-03-08
Filing date: 1995-03-08
Publication date: 1996-09-12

Abstract

A moving image server which transmits moving image information to multiple user terminals and enables special reproduction (fast forwarding reproduction, fast rewinding reproduction, etc.) at a speed which is twice or more higher than the normal speed. The server manages a prescribed number or more of user terminals adaptable to special reproduction requests simultaneously made and manages as many user terminals adaptable to normal reproduction requests as possible. The server is provided with M groups of disk storage devices, each group being composed of N disk storage devices, control means which each control the N disk storage devices, and a control means which controls the M groups of disk storage devices.

Description

Description Title of Invention

Video information recording / reproducing device fe fe "minute ¾7

The present invention relates to a digital moving picture information recording / reproducing apparatus for realizing special reproduction such as fast forward reproduction and fast rewind reproduction at twice or more the normal reproduction speed. Background art

Fast forward playback for searching while looking at the screen (visual search) As a method of realizing fast reverse playback, the "High multiplex reading method for digital video information" issued by NTT Human Interface Laboratory (ITE Technii) 18, No. 20, PP. Factory 6, VIR, 94-13, CE'94-12 (Mar. 1994)).

In this example, the target moving image information is divided into a plurality of continuous segments for each data capacity corresponding to one second of image playback and display time on the user terminal, and distributed to n magnetic disk units. A storage method is proposed. The distributed storage method is as follows: the segment numbers 1 to n are sequentially stored in the magnetic disk unit numbers 1 to n, and the segment numbers (n + 1) to 2 x 11 are stored again in the magnetic disk unit. The process of sequentially storing numbers from number 1 to number π is repeated. When a request for normal playback is issued from a certain user terminal, this is handled by reading a segment having a segment number one larger than the segment number of the previously read segment. This reading is performed using π magnetic disks when the above-mentioned distributed storage method is used. Are sequentially read cyclically. At this time, the remaining (n-1) magnetic disk devices are independently reading asynchronously in response to read requests from other user terminals. Even when a fast forward playback request is issued from a certain user terminal, n magnetic disks are sequentially read cyclically, and even if the special playback is performed, the read does not overlap with a read request from another user terminal. For this purpose, a segment having a segment number larger than the segment number of the previously read segment by (an integer multiple of n + 1) is read out. Therefore, the feasible double speed number is limited to (integer multiple of n + 1) double speed. As described above, when the image playback display time of each segment is set to 1 second, if p is an integer, the segment information of (nxp) seconds will be skipped and played back. It will be. Disclosure of the invention

As described in the above-mentioned prior art, the minimum speed of fast-forward playback (or fast rewind playback) is n + 1 times, where n is the number of disk devices. Rewind playback) is not possible. In addition, the larger the number n of disk drives, the larger the minimum speed of fast-forward playback (or fast-rewind playback).

When handling video information such as movies and news, the amount of re-data that is different from the case of handling conventional code data is enormous, and the number of required disk units increases. However, as the number of disk drives increases, the number of skipped segments at which the minimum double speed of fast-forward playback (or fast-rewind playback) is increased also increases. In particular, in the case of a use form for searching or browsing while referring to the playback display screen, the continuity of the scene is lacking, and it is difficult to grasp the context of the scene. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a moving picture information reproducing apparatus capable of reducing the minimum double speed number to double speed independently of the number of disk devices.

In order to solve the above problems, a moving image information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention includes a disk device group having a plurality of disk devices, disk device control means for controlling the disk devices, and a disk for controlling the disk device group. It has a device group control means.

The moving image information is divided into image groups each consisting of several frames as one unit, and at least one screen of information in the image group is compressed using a compression method that can be decoded by itself, and is temporally shifted back and forth. The information is divided so as to include reference image frame information which can be reproduced and displayed without citing the image information located, and is stored in the disk device.

When a read request is issued from the user terminal to the moving image server to perform the normal speed reproduction display of the moving image information, the disk device group control means connected to the moving image server requests the moving image information. A read request is issued to the disk device control means for controlling the disk device in which the image group is stored. This read request is issued in one of two forms: one is to synchronize each disk device group and read image groups in parallel, and the other is to operate each disk device group asynchronously and read image groups independently. . Each disk device control unit that has issued the read request issues a read request to the disk device in which the requested image group is stored. The read request is issued in one of two forms: one is to synchronize each disk device and read image groups in parallel, and the other is to operate each disk device asynchronously and read image groups independently. The image group read from the disk device to the disk device control means in this way is transferred to the disk device group control means. Sa Further, the disk device group control means executes a transfer process to a higher-level information sending means for delivering the transferred image group to the user terminal.

If the request for reading the moving image information from the user terminal to the server is a special reproduction request, the disk device group control means controls the disk storing the reference image frame information in the image group necessary for performing the special reproduction. A read request is issued to the disk device control means for controlling the device. In this case, as in the case of the normal speed display described above, the disk device groups are synchronized and the reference image frame information in the image group is read out in parallel. Either of the modes of independently reading out the reference image frame information is used. Each disk device control unit that has issued the read request issues a read request to the disk device in which the reference image frame information in the image group necessary for executing the trick play is stored. The read request issuance mode is to synchronize each disk unit and read out the reference image frame information in the image group in parallel, and to operate each disk unit asynchronously and read out the reference image frame information in the image group independently. Use one of

A read control method in which a period for performing the read process for the trick play request is different from a period for the read process for the normal speed playback display, or all the disk devices in all the disk device groups are synchronized, and In the form of reading out in parallel, it is realized by one of the control methods of selectively reading out the reference image information without providing a separate processing period for such special reproduction.

By using one of the above two control methods, the reference image information corresponding to the desired special reproduction speed can be read from the disk device. Down to double speed It becomes possible. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Figure 1 is a block diagram of the configuration of the video server. Figure 2 is a timing diagram showing the principle of multiplex reading of moving image data. Figure 3 shows the configuration of the hierarchical RA ID. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a moving image information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing multiplex reading in the case of only normal reproduction in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a timing chart showing multiplex reading when performing special reproduction in the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a moving image information recording / reproducing apparatus according to a modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a timing chart showing multiplex reading when performing special reproduction in a modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a moving image information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a timing chart showing multiplex reading when only normal reproduction is performed in the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a timing chart showing multiplex reading when performing special reproduction in the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of a moving image information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a timing chart showing multiplex reading when only normal reproduction is performed in the third embodiment. FIG. 14 is a timing diagram showing multiplex reading when performing special reproduction in the third embodiment. FIG. 15 is a configuration diagram of a moving image information recording / reproducing device according to a modification of the third embodiment. FIG. 16 is a timing chart showing multiplex reading when performing special reproduction in a modification of the third embodiment. FIG. 17 is a configuration diagram of a moving image information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 18 is a timing chart showing multiplex reading in the case of only normal reproduction in the fourth embodiment. FIG. 19 is a timing chart showing multiplex reading when performing special reproduction in the fourth embodiment. FIG. 20 is a configuration diagram of a moving image information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 21 is a timing chart showing multiplex reading in the case of only normal reproduction in the first embodiment. FIG. 22 shows multiplex reading in the special reproduction in the first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 23 is a configuration diagram of an image information recording / reproducing apparatus according to a modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 24 is a timing chart showing multiplex reading when performing special reproduction in a modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 25 is a table showing calculation results in the first example. FIG. 26 is a table showing calculation results in a modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 27 is a table showing measurement results in the second example. FIG. 28 is a table showing measurement results in the third example. FIG. 29 is a table showing measurement results in a modified example of the third embodiment. FIG. 30 is a table showing measurement results in the fourth embodiment. FIG. 31 is a table showing measurement results in the fifth embodiment. FIG. 3 2 A table showing measurement results in a modification of the fifth embodiment. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(Example 1)

A disk array device that uses multiple small magnetic hard disks to dramatically improve capacity, transfer performance, I / O processing performance, and reliability is a moving image server that provides moving image information to multiple user terminals. It has attracted attention as a storage device. For details of the disk array system, see D. Patterson et al. i ve D i sks (RA ID)) (1988). In the above literature, disk arrays are called RAID (RAID) and are classified into five levels from 1 to 5. Among them, RA ID Rep 3 (hereinafter referred to as RA ID 3) is a method to improve the transfer performance by operating multiple magnetic hard disk drives in parallel and in particular to improve the transfer performance, and handle large volumes of data sequentially. Suitable for application. RAI D level 5 (hereinafter referred to as RAID5) is a type of multiple magnetic hard disk drives that operate independently to improve I / O processing capacity, and is suitable for applications such as online transaction processing that handles several KB data units. I have. The number of user terminals that can provide the auxiliary image information without interruption at the same time as the request is determined by the conditions such as the RA ID repel, the number of disks, and the data read size. The method of determining the maximum number of user terminals is described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram of a moving image server. Xun When displaying image information, it is essential to guarantee real-time performance. In other words, information equivalent to one second at the time of recording must be accurately displayed in one second when displaying at normal speed. Of course, interruptions in image display must also be avoided as a factor that hinders real-time performance. This real-time guarantee is not particularly conscious in conventional general code data, and is a unique problem in handling image information. This moving image information is stored in the storage means in the moving image information recording / reproducing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and is generally compressed by an image compression method such as MPEG. Here, a block when the moving image information is read from the storage means will be referred to as a data block.

Upon receiving the read request from the user terminal, the higher-level information transmitting means of the moving picture server reads out one data block at a time from the storage means in the moving picture information recording / reproducing apparatus and provides it to the user terminal. When the user terminal receives the data block, if the data block is image-compressed, the data block is decompressed and reproduced and displayed. If the data block is not image-compressed, only the reproduction display is performed. When a special reproduction request is issued from the user terminal, the higher-level information sending means of the moving image server sends a special reproduction command to the moving image information recording / reproducing device, and the control means reads out an image block corresponding to the command. In this way, special playback is realized.

The requirements for the moving image server are that the moving image information is reproduced and displayed on the user terminal without interruption, and that the number of user terminals on which the information is reproduced and displayed without interruption is increased.

Multiple reading when there are multiple user terminals issuing read requests Figure 2 shows the principle of picking. In the figure, the upper part is a time chart showing the reading state of the recording means in the moving picture information recording / reproducing apparatus. chm-dn (m and n are natural numbers) means that the n-th data packet is read from the recording means in the moving picture information recording / reproducing apparatus to be sent to the user terminal m. The left end of the rectangle surrounding chm-dn indicates the read start time from the convenient means, and the right end indicates the read end time. The other stages are time charts showing the playback display state of the user terminal mn is a natural number). The time indicated by the arrow indicates the time at which the read request from the user terminal m was sent. chm-pn (m and n are natural numbers) indicates that the π-th data block read from the storage means is reproduced and displayed on the user terminal m. The left end of the rectangle surrounding chm-pn indicates the reproduction display start time of the user terminal m, and the right end indicates the reproduction display end time.

In response to a read request from the user terminal 1 (read request 1), the moving image data reads the first data block from the storage means in the moving image information recording / reproducing device (chl-dl). Send to Thereafter, in response to a read request (read request 2) from the user terminal 2, the moving image server reads the first data block from the storage means in the moving image information recording / reproducing apparatus (ch2-dl) to the user terminal 2. send. In order for the playback display on the user terminal 1 to be performed without interruption, the data block to be read next before the time when the playback display (chl-pi) of the first data block on the user terminal 1 ends is completed. (Ch l -d2) needs to be read from the storage means in the moving picture information recording / reproducing apparatus and sent to the user terminal 1. Before the playback display of the first data block (ch2-pl) is completed, the data block to be read next (ch2-d2) must be read before the playback display of the first data block (ch2-pl) is completed. It needs to be read out from the storage means in the moving picture information recording / reproducing apparatus and sent to the user terminal 2. That is, in a certain user terminal, 1 The number of times the data block can be read out (eg, ch dl, ch 2-dl) from the storage means within the time (eg, ch pi) during which the data block is played back is displayed without interruption. This is the maximum number of user terminals that can be used. Assume that a read request (read request 3) from the user terminal 3 is issued at the time shown in FIG. If the data (ch3-dl) to be sent to the user terminal 3 is read immediately after this time, the data to be sent to the user terminals 1 and 2 that have already started reading (chl-d2, c h2-d2) is delayed, and the image playback display on user terminal 1 and user terminal 2 is interrupted. In order to avoid this, the reading of the data (ch3-dl) to be sent to the user terminal 3 is postponed as shown in the figure. As described above, there is a time difference between the time when the read request is sent and the reproduction / display start time of the image data, and this time difference is referred to as a response time.

When a disk array is used as the storage means, the time required to reproduce and display one data block (for example, cM-pi) and the moving image can be determined by the configuration of the disk array, such as the RAID class, the number of disks, and the data read size. The time (eg, ch dl) for reading a data block from the storage means in the information recording / reproducing apparatus is determined. Therefore, the maximum value of the number of user terminals at which the moving image server can continuously reproduce and display information is determined.

Moving image information differs from conventional code data in that the amount of data handled in a single process is enormous. In addition, high I / O processing capability is required to simultaneously provide arbitrary moving image data in response to requests from multiple users. To cope with this, it is conceivable to combine the features of RAID3 and RAID5 by using RAID hierarchically as a moving picture information recording and playback device. In the following, this is called hierarchical RAID. Figure 3 shows the configuration of hierarchical RAID. The function of the disk storage device group control means in the upper layer RA ID (31) is a control for recording and reproducing multiple lower layer RAIDs independently and asynchronously like RAID5, or RAI. Control such as D3 for synchronizing recording and playback of disk storage devices in parallel, I / O control with higher-level information transmission means, division of moving picture information to be recorded and played back into data blocks, For example, it controls the composition of moving image information and the control of data caching during recording and playback. The function of the disk storage device control means in the lower layer RAID (32) is a control to record and play back multiple disk storage devices asynchronously and independently, like RAID5, or a disk storage device like RAID3. Control for synchronous recording and playback in parallel, I / O control with disk storage device control means in upper layer RAID, division of recording / playback video information into data blocks, Fig. 4 (a) shows a method for reproducing moving image information according to the present invention, such as synthesizing moving image information, generating parity from data blocks, synthesizing data blocks from parity, and controlling data caching during recording and reproduction. 1 is a configuration diagram of a moving image information recording / reproducing apparatus to which the first embodiment of the present invention is applied. The upper layer disk storage device group control means controls the disk storage device group as RAID5 without parity drive (hereinafter referred to as RAID0), and handles multiple lower layer RAID asynchronously and independently. The function of the disk storage device group control means is to control the recording and reproduction of multiple lower layer RAIDs independently like RAID5, or to control the parallel recording and reproduction like RAID3 like RAID3, Control of I / O with the stage, division of moving picture information to be recorded and played back into data packs, synthesis of moving picture information from data tracks, control of data caching during recording and playback And so on. The lower disk storage device control means controls the disk storage device as RAID3, and synchronizes and drives a plurality of drives in the lower RAID in parallel. The function of the disk storage device control means is to control recording and reproduction of a plurality of disk storage devices independently like RAID5, or to record and reproduce data in parallel by synchronizing like RAID3. Control, I / O control with the disk convenient device control means in the upper layer RAID, record / playback 勋 Divide image information into detachable blocks, combine moving picture information from data blocks, data block Generating a parity from a data block Synthesizing a data block from a parity, and controlling data caching during recording and playback. All of the control means can be realized by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. This configuration is called RAID0-3. In Fig. 4 (a), the lower layer RAID is composed of three drives (one of which drives the parity), and the lower layer RA1 D3 constitutes the upper layer RAID. An appropriate number may be selected from the amount and the number of user terminals. In the present invention, a data storage unit when storing data in the storage device, that is, one data block is an image group including several frames. Further, at least one screen of information in one data block can be reproduced and displayed without quoting image information located before and after in time by using a compression method that can be decoded by itself. Include possible reference image frame information. Here, as an example, moving image information compressed by MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) is taken. The reference image frame information is called an I picture (Irura Picture). In FIG. 4, I-pictures are shown by diagonal lines. A11, A12, A13, A14, A15, A16, which is a further subdivision of the data block A1 in the temporally continuous video information A shown in Fig. 4 (b) A21 and A22 are stored in each drive in the order shown in Fig. 4. The parity indicated as P stores the parity that can be combined even if one drive fails. Hereinafter, a drive that is not a parity drive is referred to as a data drive.

Here, multiplex reading in the case of only normal reproduction will be described with reference to FIG. In Figure 5, each drive (drive 1 to drive 9) is This is a time chart showing which data block is being read in order to send the data block. chm-An (m and n are natural numbers) means to read out the nth data packet of the image information A for transmission to the mth user terminal. The left end of the rectangle surrounding chm-An indicates the read start time from the drive included in the height of the rectangle, and the right end indicates the read end time. When a certain user terminal (chl in Fig. 5) reads out the data block A1 in the moving image information A, the drive 1, the drive 2, and the drive 3 operate in synchronization and in parallel. Similarly, when ch2 reads data block A2, drive 4, drive 5, and drive 6 operate. When ch3 reads data block A3, drive 7, drive 8, and drive 9 operate synchronously and in parallel. That is, multiple reading to three user terminals is possible within the reading time of the data block A1. After reading out the removable packet A1 at time t0, the chl waits for the next one of the extended time of the removable packet or the response time specified in advance, whichever is shorter. If the data block is read, the moving image information can be reproduced and displayed without interruption. If the shorter of the one-time packet extension time and the predefined response time is hereinafter referred to as the read cycle, the next data is read at time tl when the read cycle elapses from time t0. All you have to do is read block A2. During the reading cycle, reading can be performed in response to a reading request from a different user terminal (from ch4 to chl2 in FIG. 5). In the next read cycle, each user terminal reads the next data block, and as a result, the lower layer RA IDs to be read are shifted in order, and the same number of user terminals (12 in Fig. 5) continues to be read. Done.

Next, multiplex reading when trick play is permitted will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 shows which data is read out from each drive (drive 1 to drive 9) and which data block to send to the user terminal, similarly to FIG. It is a time chart. chm-An (m and n are natural numbers) means that the n-th data block of image information A is read out to be sent to the m-th user terminal. The left end of the rectangle surrounding chm-An indicates the start time of reading from the drive included in the height of the rectangle, and the right end indicates the read end time. The hatched rectangle in the figure indicates that only the I-picture shown in FIG. 4 is read. The meaning of the left edge, right edge, and height is the same as other rectangles. The chm (m is a natural number) appended to the shaded rectangle means that the read was performed to send to the mth user terminal. FIG. 6 shows a case where ch3, ch4, and ch5 perform special reproduction. If there are user terminals that perform trick play, lower RA IDs that are read out do not necessarily shift in order as in the case of normal playback at all user terminals. Depending on the magnification of trick play, read requests may simultaneously overlap the same lower layer RAID. For this reason, the period during which normal playback is allocated and the period during which special playback is allocated must be determined in advance in the read cycle, and the upper limit of the number of user terminals that can perform special playback must be determined at the same time. The number of user terminals that can perform special reproduction at the same time is called the number of simultaneous special reproductions. The special playback period in Fig. 6 is set so that the number of simultaneous special playbacks issued at the same time can be secured. At this time, since the lower RA ID from which reading is performed differs depending on the magnification specification from the user terminal at that time, the number of simultaneous special reproductions is the number obtained by dividing the special reproduction period by the I-picture reading time. However, in the case of special playback, only one picture is read, so the read time for lch is shorter than in normal playback. It is necessary to secure a period for one user terminal in the normal playback period so that the terminal that is performing the special playback at a certain moment can always return to the normal playback at any time, while reading during the special playback period. Therefore, the number of user terminals that can be read during the normal playback period is read simultaneously by the present invention. This is the maximum number of user terminals that can be used. This number of user terminals is called the number of simultaneous accesses. In addition, when the number of user terminals that can access the same information at the same time is referred to as the number of simultaneous accesses to the same title, in this embodiment, one piece of moving image information (for example, moving image information A) is divided. Since it is stored in all drives, there is no restriction on reading the same information at the same time. Therefore, the number of simultaneous accesses is equal to the number of simultaneous accesses of the same title. For the same reason, the number of user terminals that can simultaneously perform trick play on the same information as the number of simultaneous trick plays (hereinafter referred to as the same title simultaneous trick play count) is equal.

Let's calculate using specific numerical values. Assume a system in which image information is stored for about 300 titles, with one title having a time of 5 minutes. The image compression method is MPEG1. It is assumed that the number of simultaneous accesses to the same title and the number of simultaneous trick plays must be 50% or more of the number of simultaneous accesses. The response time shall be less than Is. The hard disk is assumed to have a seek time of 10.4 ms, a rotation wait time of 6.7 ms, a transfer speed of 3.8 MB / s, and a capacity of 1.4 GB. The disk array consists of 6 data disks and 1 parity disk. A hierarchical array is constructed using two disk arrays to store 300 tiles. One data block is 128KB. A calculation example using the above assumptions is shown below. Since the image compression method is MPEG 1, the data transfer rate is 1.5 Mbps. Since the capacity of one data block is 128KB, the decompression time of one data block is 128KB I 1.5Mbps = 683ms. Since this is shorter than the response time of 1 s, the read cycle is 683 ms. The overhead when reading the capacity of one data block from the disk, that is, the sum of the seek time and the rotation wait time is 17. lms, and the read time is 33.7 ms. Since six drives read out one lower layer RA ID in parallel and synchronously, the read time of one data block required for one channel is 33.7 I 6 ms. Under two Layer RAID can read independently for sending to different channels asynchronously. The ratio of the normal playback period to the read cycle is 50¾! Then, the number of simultaneous access channels is calculated by the following equation.

Number of simultaneous access channels = 683 X 50 100 / (17.1 + 33.7 / 7/6) X 2

= 30 …… (rounded down)

In the case of this embodiment, one title is distributed and stored in all drives, so the number of simultaneous accesses of the same title is equal to the number of simultaneous access channels.

The read time of only I picture during special playback is 12.3 ms. In the case of special playback, only reading for sending to one channel can be performed at the same time. The number of simultaneous special reproductions is calculated by the following equation.

Simultaneous special playbacks = 683 X (1-50/100) / (17.1 + 12.3 / 6)

= 17 …… (rounded down)

In the case of this embodiment, one title is distributed and stored in all drives, so the same title simultaneous special playback number is equal to the simultaneous special playback number. The above calculation is performed while changing the ratio of the normal reproduction period to the read cycle. The upper limit of the ratio of the normal playback period to the read cycle is determined by the condition that the number of simultaneous accesses and the number of simultaneous special plays must be 50% or more of the number of simultaneous accesses. The lower limit of the ratio of the normal playback period to the read cycle is determined by the fact that the number of simultaneous accesses must be equal to or greater than the number of simultaneous special playbacks. Table 1 shows the calculation results. By changing the number of simultaneous special playbacks, seven combinations of the number of simultaneous accesses and the number of simultaneous special playbacks can be obtained.

(Modification 1 of Example 1)

In the first embodiment, k-speed playback (k is an arbitrary integer value of 2 or more) is possible for all user terminals that perform special playback, but the number of simultaneous special playbacks is generally large. There is also a disadvantage that it cannot be removed. Therefore, in this modified example, a method of increasing the number of simultaneous special reproductions instead of limiting the magnification of the special reproduction will be described.

The configuration of the moving picture information recording / reproducing apparatus and the method of storing data in each drive are shown in FIG. 7 and are the same as in the first embodiment. The difference from the first embodiment is that a special playback magnification is assigned to the lower layer RAID. In other words, it is determined in advance that one lower RAI D is dedicated to 2x speed and another lower RAI D is dedicated to 4x speed. Which lower-speed RAID is assigned how many times speed is determined as follows. The number of lower RAI D is n, and the number of each lower RAI D is R i (i is an integer from 1 to n). Assuming that the required double speed is expressed as a power of 2 such as 2, 4, 8, 16, etc.

i ¾ 2j = 2j-l is the remainder operator)

Find a positive integer j that satisfies and assign Ri for 2j speed. In the example of Fig. 7, Rl and R3 are assigned for 2x speed, and R2 is assigned for 4x speed. When other double speeds are required (for example, 3x, 9x, 27x, etc.), it is sufficient to assign the lower RAID used for the playback of different double speeds so that they are always different. In this case, an exact double speed number cannot be expressed depending on the number of lower layer RAIDs, but an almost desired double speed number can be expressed when the number of lower layer RAIDs increases.

With reference to FIG. 8, multiplex reading when trick play is permitted will be described. The meaning of each part in the figure is the same as in FIG. It is assumed that ch3 and ch5 are performing 2x speed playback and ch4 is performing 4x speed playback. ch3, ch5 and ch4 have different double speeds and read requests do not overlap at the same time in the same lower layer RAID.

For ch3 and ch5, in the next read cycle, ch3 reads from the lower layer RAID ID including drives 7, 8, and 9, and ch5 reads from the lower layer RAID including drives 1, 2, and 3. Read requests do not overlap at the same time. Therefore, reading to these three user terminals can always be performed simultaneously. As a result, when the same special reproduction period as in the first embodiment is taken, The number of simultaneous special reproductions can be increased. In other words, in order to obtain the same number of simultaneous special reproductions as in the first embodiment, the number of simultaneous accesses can be increased because the special reproduction period becomes shorter. For the same reason as in the first embodiment, the number of simultaneous accesses is equal to the number of simultaneous accesses to the same title, and the number of simultaneous special playbacks is equal to the number of simultaneous special playbacks to the same title.

Let's calculate using specific numerical values. Assume a system in which about 300 titles of video information are stored for 5 minutes in one title. The image compression method is MPEG1. It is assumed that the number of simultaneous accesses to the same title and the number of simultaneous trick plays must be 50 or more of the number of simultaneous accesses. The response time shall be less than Is. The hard disk is assumed to have a seek time of 10.4 ms, a rotation wait time of 6.7 ms, a transfer speed of 3.8 MB / s, and a capacity of 1.4 GB. The disk array consists of 6 data disks and 1 parity disk. A hierarchical array is configured using two disk arrays to store 300 titles. One data block is 128KB. Table 2 shows the total results when the above assumptions are used. By changing the number of simultaneous special reproductions, six combinations of the number of simultaneous accesses and the number of simultaneous special reproductions can be obtained.

(Example 2)

FIG. 9A is a configuration diagram of a moving image information recording / reproducing apparatus to which the second embodiment of the moving image information reproducing method according to the present invention is applied. The upper layer synchronizes multiple lower-layer RA IDs with RA ID3 and operates them in parallel, and the lower layer synchronizes multiple magnetic drives in the lower layer RA IDs with RAID3 and operates them in parallel. This configuration is called RAI D3-3. In the temporally continuous image information A shown in Fig. 9 (b), the subdivided data block A1 in the image information A is further subdivided and stored in all data drives. Similarly, A12, A13 ... are also subdivided and stored in all data drives.

Multiple reading in the case of normal reproduction will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure The meaning of each part is the same as in FIG. When a certain user terminal (chl in Fig. 10) reads out the Detached Hook A1 in the video information A, all the drives from drive 1 to drive 9 operate synchronously and in parallel. I do. That is, only the reading of one user terminal is performed within the reading time of the data block A1. By repeating this for the read cycle, multiplex reading is performed.

Multiple reading when special playback is permitted will be described with reference to FIG. 11 <The meaning of each part in the figure is the same as that in FIG. FIG. 11 shows a case where ch3, ch4, and ch5 perform special reproduction. In the case of this embodiment, since all drives read only for one user terminal at a time, even if there is a user terminal that performs special reproduction and the magnification of the special reproduction is arbitrary, other drives can be used. It does not occur at the same time as the terminal read request. Therefore, there is no need to divide the normal playback period from the special playback period, and the number of simultaneous accesses is the same as the number of simultaneous accesses when special playback is not performed. Since there is no special playback period, the number of simultaneous special playbacks is equal to the number of simultaneous accesses. In this embodiment, since one piece of moving image information (for example, moving image information A) is divided and stored in all drives, the number of simultaneous accesses of the same title is equal to the number of simultaneous accesses, and the same title simultaneous special reproduction is performed. The number is also equal to the number of simultaneous accesses.

Let's calculate using specific numerical values. Assume a system that stores about 300 titles of video information with a time capacity of 1 title and 5 minutes. The image compression method is MPEG1. It is assumed that the number of simultaneous accesses to the same title and the number of simultaneous trick plays must be 50% or more of the number of simultaneous accesses. The response time shall be less than Is. The hard disk is assumed to have a seek time of 10.4 ms, a rotation wait time of 6.7 ms, a transfer speed of 3.8 MB / s, and a capacity of 1.4 GB. The disk array consists of 6 data disks and 1 parity disk. 300 titles A hierarchical array is constructed using two disk arrays to store files. One data block is 128KB. Table 3 shows the total results when the above assumptions are used.

(Example 3)

FIG. 12A is a configuration diagram of a moving picture information recording / reproducing apparatus to which the third embodiment of the moving picture information reproducing method according to the present invention is applied. The upper layer is RAI D0, and multiple lower RAI D are handled asynchronously and independently. The lower layer is RAI D5, and handles multiple drives in the lower layer RAID asynchronously and independently. This configuration is called RA ID0-5. The data is stored in all the drives in units of the detachable pack (Al, A2 ...) in the temporally continuous moving image information A shown in Fig. 12 (b). In RAI D5, the drives that store parity are distributed, so that all drives can operate independently when reading.

Multiple reading in the case of normal reproduction will be described with reference to FIG. The meaning of each part in the figure is the same as in Fig. 5. When a certain user terminal (chl in FIG. 13) reads out the data block A1 in the image information A, only the drive 1 operates. Similarly, when ch2 reads data block A2, only drive 2 operates. Since all drives can operate independently asynchronously, reading to the same number of user terminals as the number of drives (9 in Fig. 13) is possible within the reading time of data block A1. During the read cycle, reading to a different user terminal can be performed. In the next read cycle, each user terminal reads the next data block. As a result, the drives that read data are shifted in order, and the same number of user terminals (27 in Fig. 13) continues to be read. It is done.

Next, multiplex reading when special reproduction is permitted will be described with reference to FIG. The meaning of each part in the figure is the same as in FIG. FIG. 14 shows a case where ch3, ch4, and ch5 perform special reproduction. There is a user terminal that performs trick play. In this case, the drives that read data do not move out of order as when all user terminals perform normal playback. Depending on the magnification of trick play, read requests to the same drive may occur at the same time. For this reason, the period during which normal reproduction is allocated and the period during which special reproduction is allocated must be determined in advance in the read cycle, and the upper limit of the number of simultaneous special reproductions must be determined. The special playback period in Fig. 14 is set so that the number of simultaneous special playbacks equal to or greater than the predetermined number of simultaneous special playbacks can be ensured. At this time, the drive from which data is read depends on the magnification specified by the user terminal at that time. The number of simultaneous special reproductions is the number obtained by dividing the special reproduction period by the I-picture reading time. However, in the case of special playback, only the I picture is read, so the read time per lch is shorter than in normal playback. It is necessary to secure a period for one user terminal in the normal playback period while reading out during the special playback period so that the user terminal performing the special playback can always return to the normal playback. Therefore, the number of user terminals that can be read during the normal playback period is the number of simultaneous accesses. Further, in the present embodiment, one piece of moving image information (for example, moving image information A) is divided and stored in all drives, so that there is no limitation on reading out the same information at the same time. Therefore, the number of simultaneous accesses is equal to the number of simultaneous accesses of the same title. For the same reason, the number of simultaneous special reproductions and the number of simultaneous special reproductions of the same title are equal.

Let's calculate using specific numerical values. Assume a system in which image information is stored for about 300 titles, with one title having a time of 5 minutes. The image compression method is MPEG1. It is assumed that the number of simultaneous accesses to the same title and the number of simultaneous trick plays must be 50% or more of the number of simultaneous accesses. The response time shall be less than Is. The hard disk is assumed to have a seek time of 10.4 ms, a rotation wait time of 6.7 ms, a transfer speed of 3.8 MB / s, and a capacity of 1.4 GB. Disk array The configuration consists of six data disks and one parity disk. A hierarchical array is configured using two disk arrays to store 300 titles. One data block is 128KB. Table 4 shows the calculation results when the above assumptions are used. By changing the number of simultaneous special reproductions, two combinations of the number of simultaneous accesses and the number of simultaneous special reproductions can be obtained.

(Modification 1 of Embodiment 3)

In the third embodiment, k-speed (k is an arbitrary integer of 2 or more) reproduction is possible at all user terminals that perform special reproduction, but there is a disadvantage that the number of simultaneous special reproductions cannot be sufficiently increased. Thus, in this modification, a method of increasing the number of simultaneous special reproductions instead of limiting the magnification of the special reproduction will be described.

The configuration of the moving picture information recording / reproducing apparatus and the method of storing data blocks in each drive are shown in FIG. 15, and are the same as those in the third embodiment. The difference from the third embodiment is that a special reproduction magnification is assigned to the drive. In other words, it is decided in advance that one drive is dedicated to 2x speed and another drive is dedicated to 4x speed. How many times speed is assigned to which drive is determined as follows. The number of drives is n, and the number of each drive is D i (i is an integer from 1 to n). Assuming that the required double speed is expressed as a power of 2 such as 2, 4, 8, 16, etc.

i% 2j = 2j-l is the remainder operator)

Then, a positive integer j that satisfies is obtained, and Di is assigned for 2j speed. In the example of Fig. 15, Dl, D3, D5, D7, and D9 are assigned for 2x speed, D2 and D6 for 4x speed, D4 for 8x speed, and D8 for 16x speed. Even when other double speeds are required (for example, 3x, 9x, 27x, etc.), the lower layer RA ID used for playback of different double speeds should be assigned so as to be always different. In this case, an accurate double speed number cannot be expressed depending on the number of drives, but an almost desired double speed number can be expressed when the number of drives increases. Multiple reading including trick play will be described with reference to FIG. The meaning of each part in the figure is the same as in FIG. It is assumed that ch3 and ch5 perform double-speed playback and ch4 performs quadruple-speed playback. ch3, ch5 and ch4 have different double speed numbers, and read requests to the same drive will not overlap at the same time.

Also, for ch3 and ch5, in the next read cycle, ch3 reads from drive 3 and ch5 reads from drive 5, so that read requests do not overlap at the same time. Therefore, reading to these three user terminals can always be performed simultaneously. As a result, when the same special reproduction period as in the third embodiment is taken, the number of simultaneous special reproductions can be increased. In other words, the number of simultaneous accesses can be increased because the trick play period is shortened in order to obtain the same number of simultaneous special plays as in the third embodiment. Further, as in the third embodiment, the number of simultaneous accesses is equal to the number of simultaneous accesses to the same title, and the number of simultaneous special reproductions is equal to the number of simultaneous special reproductions to the same title. Let's calculate using specific numerical values. Assume a system in which about 300 titles of video information are stored for 5 minutes in one title. The image compression method is MPEG1. It is assumed that the number of simultaneous accesses to the same title and the number of simultaneous trick plays must be 50% or more of the number of simultaneous accesses. The response time shall be less than Is. The hard disk is assumed to have a seek time of 10.4 ms, a rotation wait time of 6, 7 ms, a transfer speed of 3.8 MB / s, and a capacity of 1.4 GB. The disk array consists of 6 data disks and 1 parity disk. A hierarchical array is configured using two disk arrays to store 300 titles. One data block is 128KB. Table 5 shows the calculation results when the above assumptions are used. By changing the number of simultaneous special reproductions, four combinations of the number of simultaneous accesses and the number of simultaneous special reproductions can be obtained.

(Example 4)

In this embodiment, when a plurality of disk arrays are simply collected without being hierarchized, explain about. FIG. 17A is a configuration diagram of a storage system to which the fourth embodiment of the image information reproducing method according to the present invention is applied. Each disk layout is in RAI D3 configuration. All, A12, A13, A14, A15, A16 in which the data block A1 in the temporally continuous video information A shown in Fig. 17 (b) is further subdivided, and A21 in which the data block A2 is further subdivided , A22 ... are stored in one disk array as shown in FIG. 17 (a). Moving image information B and moving image information C, which are different information, are stored in different disk arrays from moving image information A, respectively. At least, the same moving picture information should not be stored across two disk arrays.

Multiple reading in the case of normal reproduction will be described with reference to FIG. The meaning of each part in the figure is the same as in Fig. 5. When a certain user terminal (chl in FIG. 18) reads data block A1 in video information A, drive 1, drive 2, and drive 3 operate in synchronization and in parallel. When different user terminals (ch2 in Fig. 18) read the removable package A2 in the same video information A, after reading ch1, drive 1, drive 2, and drive 3 are synchronized. Work in parallel. Furthermore, when different user terminals (ch5 in Fig. 18) read different moving image information B, drive 4, drive 5, and drive 6 operate in synchronization and in parallel. In other words, reading for different moving picture information can be read to three user terminals in one data block reading time, but reading for the same moving picture information is one in one data block reading time. Only reading to the user terminal is possible. Therefore, the number of simultaneous accesses is the same as the number of simultaneous accesses of the same title times the number of disk arrays. Next, referring to FIG. 19, multiplex reading when special playback is permitted will be described. The meaning of each part in the figure is the same as in FIG. FIG. 19 shows a case where ch3, ch4, and ch5 perform special reproduction. In the case of this embodiment, the same moving image information Is divided into all the drives in one disk array and stored. And, since all drives in this disk array perform reading only for one user terminal at a time, even if there is a user terminal that performs trick play and the magnification of trick play is arbitrary, other drives It does not occur at the same time as the read request of the user terminal. Therefore, there is no need to separate the normal playback period from the special playback period, and the number of simultaneous special playbacks is equal to the number of simultaneous accesses. For the same reason, the same title simultaneous special playback count is equal to the same title simultaneous access count.

Let's calculate using specific numerical values. Assume a system in which about 300 titles of video information are stored for 5 minutes in one title. The image compression method is MPEG1. It is assumed that the number of simultaneous accesses to the same title and the number of simultaneous trick plays must be 50% or more of the number of simultaneous accesses. The response time shall be less than Is. The hard disk is assumed to have a seek time of 10.4 ms, a rotation wait time of 6.7 ms, a transfer speed of 3.8 MB / s, and a capacity of 1.4 GB. The configuration of the disk array consists of six data disks and one knowledge disk. A hierarchical array is configured using two disk arrays to store 300 titles. One data block is 128KB. Table 6 shows the total results when the above assumptions are used.

When stored in this way, when moving image information needs to be added or deleted, there is an advantage that it is only necessary to add or delete moving image information to one disk array.

(Example 5)

In the present embodiment, as in the case of the fourth embodiment, a case where a plurality of disk arrays are simply collected without being hierarchized will be described. FIG. 20 (a) is a configuration diagram of a moving picture information recording / reproducing apparatus to which the fifth embodiment of the moving picture information reproducing method according to the present invention is applied. Each disk array has a RAID5 configuration. As shown in Fig. 20 (b) The data block in the continuous moving image information A is stored in one disk array as shown in FIG. The moving image information B and moving image information C, which are different information, are stored in different disk arrays from the moving image information A, respectively. At a minimum, the same image information should not be stored across two disk arrays.

Multiple reading in the case of normal reproduction will be described with reference to FIG. The meaning of each part in the figure is the same as in Fig. 5. When a certain user terminal (chl in FIG. 21) reads out the data block A1 in the moving image information A, only the drive 1 operates. Similarly, when ch2 reads data block A2 for the same moving image information A, only drive 2 operates, and when ch3 reads data block A3, only drive 3 operates. For the same moving image information, the number of drives in the disk array can be read to the user terminal in one data block read time. Similarly, for different moving image information B and C, the number of drives in the disk array can be read to the user terminals in the same data block read time, so the number of simultaneous accesses is the same. It is twice the number of arrays.

Next, multiplex reading when special reproduction is permitted will be described with reference to FIG. The meaning of each part in the figure is the same as in FIG. FIG. 22 shows a case where ch3, ch4, and ch5 perform special reproduction. In the case of this embodiment, the same image information is divided into all the drives in one disk array. If there is a user terminal that performs special playback for the same moving image information, the drives that perform reading as if all user terminals perform normal playback are shifted in order within one disk array Do not mean. Depending on the magnification of trick play for the same moving image information, read requests may overlap on the same drive. Therefore, during the read cycle, the period during which normal playback is allocated and the period during which special playback is allocated Must be determined in advance, and the upper limit of the number of simultaneous special playbacks of the same title must be determined. The special playback period shown in Fig. 22 is set so that a predetermined number of simultaneous special playbacks of the same title can be secured. The trick play period must be the read time of the I-picture multiplied by the number of trick plays for the same title at the same time. However, in the case of special playback, since only I pictures are read, the read time per channel is shorter than in normal playback. It is necessary to secure a period for one user terminal in the normal playback period, while performing reading in the special playback period so that the user terminal performing the trick playback can always return to the normal playback. Therefore, the number of user terminals that can read the same image information during the normal playback period is the number of simultaneous title simultaneous accesses. For different moving image information, even if there is a user terminal that performs special playback, different drives can always be accessed and read simultaneously, so the number of simultaneous special playbacks is the same as the number of simultaneous special playbacks for the same title. The number is multiplied by the number of disk arrays. For the same reason, the number of simultaneous accesses is the number of simultaneous accesses of the same title multiplied by the number of disk arrays.

Let's calculate using specific numerical values. Assume a system that stores about 300 titles of moving image information with a time capacity of 1 title and 5 minutes. The image compression method is MPEG1. It is assumed that the number of simultaneous accesses to the same title and the number of simultaneous trick play must be at least 50% of the number of simultaneous accesses. The response time shall be less than Is. The hard disk is assumed to have a seek time of 10.4 ms, a rotation wait time of 6.7 ms, a transfer speed of 3.8 MB / s, and a capacity of 1.4 GB. The disk array consists of 6 data disks and 1 parity disk. A hierarchical array is configured using two disk arrays to store 300 titles. One data block is 128KB. Table 7 shows the calculation results when the above assumptions are used. By changing the number of simultaneous special playback, simultaneous access You can get 5 combinations of the number of programs and the number of simultaneous special playbacks.

(Modification 1 of Embodiment 5)

In the fifth embodiment, k-speed (k is an arbitrary integer of 2 or more) reproduction is possible at all user terminals that perform special reproduction, but there is a disadvantage that the number of simultaneous special reproductions cannot be sufficiently increased. Thus, in this modification, a method of increasing the number of simultaneous special reproductions instead of limiting the magnification of the special reproduction will be described.

構成 The configuration of the image information recording / reproducing apparatus and the method of storing the data blocks in each drive are shown in FIG. The difference from the fifth embodiment is that a special playback magnification is allocated to a drive for each disk array. In other words, one drive in a disk array is pre-determined to be 2x speed only, and another drive is set to 4x speed only. Which speed is assigned to which drive is determined as follows. The number of drives in each disk array is n, and the number of each drive is D i (i is an integer from 1 to n). Assuming that the required double speed number is expressed in powers of 2, such as 2, 4, 8, 16, etc.

i ¾ 2j = 2j-l (! remainder operator)

Find a positive integer j that satisfies, and assign Di to 2j speed. In the example of Fig. 23, Dl and D3 of each disk array are assigned for 2x speed and D2 for 4x speed. If other double speeds are required (for example, 3x, 9x, 27x, etc.), the lower RAID used for playback of different double speeds must be assigned differently. In this case, an accurate double speed number cannot be expressed depending on the number of drives, but an almost desired double speed number can be expressed as the number of drives increases. Multiple reading including trick play will be described with reference to FIG. The meaning of each part in the figure is the same as in FIG. It is assumed that ch3 reproduces the moving image information A at 2x speed, ch5 reproduces the moving image information B at 2x speed, and ch4 reproduces the moving image information B at 4x speed. c h3, ch4, and ch5 have different moving picture information being accessed, and access to the same disc array does not overlap. Also, ch4 and ch5 have different double speeds, and access to the same drive will not overlap. Therefore, reading to these three user terminals can always be performed simultaneously. As a result, when the same special reproduction period as in the fifth embodiment is taken, the number of simultaneous special reproductions with the same title can be increased. In other words, in order to obtain the same title simultaneous special reproduction number as in the fifth embodiment, the special reproduction period becomes shorter, so that the same title simultaneous access number can be increased. Also, as in the fifth embodiment, the number of simultaneous special playbacks is the same title simultaneous special playback number multiplied by the number of disk arrays, and the number of simultaneous accesses is the same title simultaneous access number multiplied by the number of disk arrays. is there.

Let's calculate using specific numerical values. Assume a system in which about 300 titles of video information are stored for 5 minutes in one title. The image compression method is MPEG1. It is assumed that the number of simultaneous accesses to the same title and the number of simultaneous trick plays must be 50 or more of the number of simultaneous accesses. The response time shall be less than Is. The hard disk is assumed to have a seek time of 10.4 ms, a rotation wait time of 6.7 ms, a transfer speed of 3.8 MB / s, and a capacity of 1.4 GB. The disk array consists of 6 data disks and 1 parity disk. A hierarchical array is configured using two disk arrays to store 300 titles. One data block is 128KB. Table 8 shows the calculation results when the above assumptions are used. By changing the number of simultaneous special reproductions, five combinations of the number of simultaneous accesses and the number of simultaneous special reproductions can be obtained.

When stored in this way, it is necessary to add or delete video information There is also an advantage that when it occurs, moving image information is simply added or deleted from one disk array.

According to the present invention, when a plurality of pieces of moving image information are simultaneously delivered from a storage device for storing moving image information to a plurality of user terminals and reproduced and displayed, pseudo fast forward replay or pseudo fast rewind playback can be performed at 2 × speed or more. Can be realized. Further, it is possible to increase the number of user terminals capable of responding to the normal reproduction request while securing the number of user terminals capable of responding to the special reproduction request issued at the same time as the specified number or more.

FIG. 25 to FIG. 32 are diagrams showing calculation results of the embodiment of the present invention.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. An information storage and delivery system comprising at least one or more user terminals and a server for selectively delivering necessary information among information stored in advance based on a request from the user terminal via communication means. Storage means for storing the temporally continuous auxiliary image information in the server; and delivery of the moving image information based on a request from the user terminal, or input from the moving image information input means connected to the server. A control means for controlling writing to the storage means; a plurality of images as processing units for writing moving image information to the storage medium in the storage means and reading the moving image information from the storage medium; Image information sequences having frames are treated as one group, and in the processing unit, only image frame information is used to cite other temporally preceding and succeeding image frame information. Using an image format that includes at least one reference image frame for which information can be reproduced at least, the target image information can be displayed at a speed higher than the normal reproduction display speed, such as forward reproduction display or reverse reproduction display. A moving image information recording / reproducing apparatus characterized in that when performing special reproduction, only the reference image frame information is read out from the storage means and selectively delivered to a user terminal for reproduction and display.

2. In claim 1, the command for requesting the control means from the user terminal to deliver the moving picture information read from the storage means includes an instruction such as execution, non-execution, and double-speed number of special reproduction. A moving picture information recording / reproducing apparatus characterized in that the control means carries out a trick play when a read request for trick play is received from the host information means in the moving picture server and controlling exchange with the user terminal based on the command. apparatus.

3. The disk storage device according to claim 1, wherein the storage device has M disk storage device groups each including N disk storage devices, and the control device has N disk storage devices. And control means for controlling the M disk storage device groups. Arbitrary moving image information is divided into K image groups, the image groups are temporally continuous, and K is If it is less than M, it is stored in order from the first to the Kth of the disk storage device group.If K is larger than M, it is stored in order from the first to the Mth of the disk storage device group. After that, all the operations are sequentially repeated starting from the first disk storage device group, and all the images are stored. Further, the image group of the same moving image information is stored in the disk storage device of an arbitrary disk storage device group. The control means for controlling the M disk storage units, which are stored temporally and physically consecutively, operate each disk storage unit independently and asynchronously to read the image group. Features That video information recording and reproducing apparatus.

4. The control means for controlling the N disk storage devices constituting each disk storage device group according to claim 3, wherein the data is stored in N-1 disk storage devices and one disk storage device. The control means for synchronizing the N-1 disk storage devices storing data and operating them in parallel and controlling the M disk storage device groups reproduces the moving image information without interruption. For this purpose, a period of normal speed reproduction and a period of special reproduction such as fast forward reproduction or fast rewind reproduction are provided in the read cycle. A moving picture information recording / reproducing apparatus which performs a parallel operation in synchronization for a reproducing means.

5. In claim 4, the control means for controlling the M disk storage device groups assigns and stores an image group corresponding to a special reproduction magnification such as fast forward or fast rewind to all the disk storage device groups. The image information recording / reproducing device is characterized in that the M disk storage devices are operated independently and asynchronously even during special playback.

6. The system according to claim 3, wherein each of the disk storage device groups comprises N The control means for controlling the disk storage device operates each disk storage device independently and asynchronously, and the control means for controlling the M disk storage device groups operates at the normal speed within the read cycle of one information unit. A period for reading information contributing to reproduction and a period for reading information contributing to special reproduction such as fast forward reproduction or fast rewind reproduction are provided, and during special reproduction, all disk storage devices in the moving picture information recording / reproducing device are used. A moving picture information recording / reproducing apparatus characterized in that it is operated synchronously and in parallel.

7. In claim 6, the control means for controlling the group of M disk storage devices and the control means for controlling the N disk storage devices are configured to perform special playback such as fast forward or fast rewind to all the disk storage devices. By assigning and storing image groups corresponding to different magnifications, the M disk storage units and the N disk storage units in each disk storage unit are asynchronously and independently independent during special playback.勛 image information recording / reproducing device <

8. The storage device according to claim 1, wherein the storage means has M disk storage groups each including N disk storage devices, and the control means controls the N disk storage devices and the M disks. Control means for controlling the storage device group; arbitrary moving image information is divided into K small image groups obtained by further dividing the image group, wherein the small image groups are temporally continuous, and K is M or less. In the case, K is stored in order from the first to the Kth in the disk storage device group, and when K is larger than M, the data is stored in the order from the first to the Mth in the disk storage device group and then the first The operations stored in order from the disk storage device group are repeated and all are stored, and further, the small image groups of the same moving image information are temporally continuous in the disk storage devices of the arbitrary disk storage device group. Or The control means for controlling the M disk storage units physically and continuously stores the disk storage units in synchronization and operating them in parallel to read the small image groups collectively. Featured video Image information recording and reproducing device.

9. In claim 8, the control means for controlling the N disk storage devices constituting each disk storage device group stores data in N-1 disk storage devices and one disk storage device. The control means for storing parity in the storage device, operating the N-1 disk storage devices storing the data in synchronization and operating in parallel, and controlling the M disk storage device group is one information unit. Within the read cycle, only the period for reading information that contributes to normal speed playback is provided, and the period for reading information that contributes to special playback such as fast forward playback or fast rewind playback is not provided. A moving picture information recording / reproducing apparatus characterized in that all the disk recording devices in the apparatus are operated in parallel in synchronization.

10. The control means according to claim 1, wherein the storage means has M disk group of disk storage devices composed of N disk storage devices, and the control means controls the N disk storage devices. And control means for controlling the M disk storage device groups, and arbitrary moving image information is divided into K small image groups obtained by further dividing the image group, and the small image groups are temporally continuous. , Where K is less than or equal to N-1 One of the disk storage devices in one disk storage device group is stored in order from the first to the Kth, parity is stored in the Nth, and K is larger than N In some cases, the disk storage devices of one disk storage device group are stored in order from the first to the Nth-1st, and after the parity is stored in the Nth position, the parity is stored in order from the first disk storage device Repeated actions are all stored Further, an image group of the same moving image information is stored in a disk storage device of one disk storage device group in a temporally continuous and physically continuous manner, and is controlled to control N disk storage devices. The control means synchronizes the N-1 disk storage devices storing data and operates them in parallel, and the control means for controlling the M disk storage device group has one information. Only the information reading period that contributes to normal speed reproduction is provided within the reading period of each information unit, and the information reading period that contributes to special reproduction such as fast forward reproduction or fast rewind reproduction is not provided.N disk storage devices The control means for controlling the number of disk storage devices in the group of disk storage devices during the special playback synchronizes all the disk storage devices to operate in parallel, and the control means for controlling the group of M disk storage devices controls each disk storage device group. An image information recording / reproducing apparatus characterized in that it operates independently and asynchronously to read out an image dub.

11. The claim 1, wherein the storage means has M disk storage device groups each including N disk storage devices, and the control means controls the N disk storage devices and the M disk control devices. Control means for controlling a group of disk storage devices, wherein any moving image information is divided into K image groups, and the image groups are temporally continuous, and when K is N or less, It is stored in order from the first to the Kth disk storage device of the disk storage device group, and when K is larger than N, the first to the Nth disk storage device of one disk storage device group is stored. After being stored in order, all operations are sequentially repeated starting from the first disk storage device, and all are stored.In addition, the same moving image information image group is stored in the disk storage of one disk storage device group. Equipment The control means for controlling the N disk storage devices, which are stored continuously in time and physically continuously, operate the N disk storage devices asynchronously and independently, and form one information unit. In the read cycle, a period for reading information contributing to normal speed reproduction and a period for reading information contributing to special reproduction such as fast forward reproduction or fast rewind reproduction are provided. The control means for controlling all M disk storage units in synchronization with each other and operating the disk storage units in a synchronized manner operates each disk storage unit independently and asynchronously to read the image group. A moving image information recording / reproducing apparatus characterized by the following.

12. In claim 11, the control means for controlling the N disk storage devices constituting each disk storage device group assigns a magnification of trick play such as fast forward or fast rewind to all the disk storage devices. Thus, a moving picture information recording / reproducing apparatus characterized in that N disk storage devices are operated independently and asynchronously even during special reproduction.

13. The moving image information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein reference image frame information is arranged at least at a head of a processing unit.

14. In claim 3, claim 8, claim 10 and claim 11, when sequentially reproducing only the reference image frame information in order to perform special reproduction such as fast forward reproduction or fast rewind reproduction. The reproduction display of the first reference image frame information is held in the memory provided in the reproduction display means, and the period until the reproduction of the second reference image frame information to be reproduced next starts is the second period. A moving image information recording / reproducing apparatus characterized in that one reference image frame information is continuously displayed.