JP2006074586A - Video / audio recording and playback device - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a video / audio recording / reproducing apparatus in which a user can sequentially reproduce and watch continuous dramas recorded on a recording medium in a simple operation.
When a playback unit finishes playback, a continuous playback control unit records the date and time recorded closest to the currently played video and audio, with the same program title as the video and audio that has just been played back. The recorded program information management unit searches the recorded program information management unit for a video and audio whose date and time is later than the currently reproduced video and audio, and if it exists, instructs the playback program selection unit to send the video and audio to the playback unit for playback. This solves the problem.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a video / audio recording apparatus such as a DVD recorder that records / reproduces digital video / audio information to / from a digital recording medium such as a recordable DVD (digital versatile disc) or HDD (hard disk drive).

  In recent years, the demand for DVD recorders has increased rapidly, and among them, a built-in HDD type capable of recording and storing many TV programs has been in the spotlight. The capacity of the built-in HDD has been increasing year by year, and it has become possible to store hundreds of TV programs.

  A conventional video / audio recording / reproducing apparatus will be described below. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conventional video / audio recording / reproducing apparatus. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 25 denotes a recorded program storage unit for recording and storing video and audio on a recording medium. Reference numeral 21 denotes a recorded program information management unit for managing management information including recorded date and time, program title, and position on a storage medium, which is information accompanying video and audio stored in the recorded program storage unit 25. A display unit 22 displays management information of the recorded program information management unit 21. Reference numeral 23 denotes an operation unit that performs operations for displaying management information on the display unit 22 and selecting video / audio to be reproduced from the displayed management information. 24 obtains management information from the recorded program information management unit 21, searches for a portion of the recording medium of the recorded program storage unit 25 in which the video and audio selected by the operation unit 23 are recorded, and searches the searched video and audio. This is a reproduction program selection unit that instructs the recorded program storage unit 25 to send to the reproduction unit 26. Reference numeral 26 denotes a reproduction unit that reproduces the video and audio transmitted from the recorded program storage unit 25.

  The operation of the conventional video / audio recording / reproducing apparatus configured as described above will be described below.

  Many of the recording media of the recorded program storage unit 25 use a hard disk, and the capacity thereof is increasing to 250 G to 400 G bytes. Therefore, several hundreds of recorded video / audio information (hereinafter referred to as a program) can be recorded and stored in the recorded program storage unit 25. To select a program that the user wants to play back, recorded program information management is performed. A part of the accompanying information (recorded date and time, program title) recorded at the same time when the program is recorded on the unit 21 is displayed on the TV screen or the like by the display unit 22, and the operation unit 23 displays the screen. Select the program you want to play from.

  The program selected by the operation unit 23 is sent to the reproduction program selection unit 24, and the reproduction selection unit 24 obtains accompanying information of the selected program from the recorded program storage unit 25 and is selected by the operation unit 23. The recorded program storage unit 25 is instructed to search in which part of the recording medium the recorded program storage unit 25 is recorded, and to send the searched program to the reproduction unit 26. The playback unit 26 plays back the program sent from the recorded program storage unit 25.

  When the reproduction is finished, the accompanying information regarding the program to be reproduced next is displayed on the television screen by the display unit 22, and the operation unit 23 repeatedly selects the program to be reproduced from the screen.

As described above, the user can easily select and reproduce the program he / she wants to watch from among hundreds of recorded programs.
JP 2001-266457 A

  However, in the video / audio recording / reproducing apparatus described above, when a continuous program such as a serial drama broadcast every week on a recording medium is recorded and stored several times (several episodes) and later played back together, The operation of selecting while watching the program-accompanying information displayed on the television screen has to be repeated again and again, and there is a problem that the operation is very inconvenient.

  In order to deal with such problems, conventionally (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-266457), each time a program is recorded, information (UTC information) in the recorded program information management unit 21 is sorted by program name or the like. The result is rewritten as information (UTC information) in the recorded program information management unit 21. In this case, when rewriting the information in the recorded program information unit 21, a sudden power failure or the like may occur. It has been a subject to shorten the life of the media by destroying information or rewriting the media with a small number of rewritable times such as DVD-RW many times.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention does not rewrite the information in the recorded program information management unit 21, while watching the program accompanying information displayed on the TV screen, It is an object of the present invention to provide a video / audio recording / reproducing apparatus capable of automatically reproducing a program having the same title in the order in which it is recorded simply by selecting the first part of a continuous program to be viewed and instructing continuous reproduction.

  To achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a recorded program storage unit for recording and storing a program on a recording medium, and a recorded date and time, which is information accompanying the program stored in the recorded program storage unit. A recorded program information management unit for managing management information including a program title and a position on a storage medium, a display unit for displaying a part of the management information of the recorded program information management unit, and display the management information on the display unit Or an operation unit for selecting a video / audio to be reproduced from the displayed management information, and a program selected by the operation unit is obtained from the recorded program information management unit. The program sent from the playback program selection unit and the recorded program storage unit is instructed to the recorded program storage unit to search to which part of the recording medium is recorded, and to send the searched program to the playback unit And playback unit When the playback unit detects the end of playback, the recorded title is the closest to the currently played video and audio with the same program title as the video and audio that has just been played, and the recorded date and time is now played. A continuous playback control unit that instructs the recorded program information management unit to search the recorded program information management unit for video and audio later than the recorded video and audio, and to instruct the playback program selection unit to send the video and audio to the playback unit if present It has a configuration.

  With this configuration, the user can select the first part of the program to be viewed while viewing the program accompanying information displayed on the TV screen, and instruct the continuous playback. The effect that it can reproduce | regenerate automatically and can be seen can be acquired.

  As described above, the present invention of claim 1 is excellent in that a program having the same title can be reproduced and viewed in the order in which the programs were recorded continuously from a specified portion of the program to be viewed with a simple user operation. An effect is obtained.

  According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, a recorded program storage unit that records and stores a program on a recording medium, and a recorded date and time that is information accompanying the program stored in the recorded program storage unit A recorded program information management unit for managing management information including a program title and a position on a storage medium, a display unit for displaying a part of the management information of the recorded program information management unit, and display the management information on the display unit Management information is acquired from the recorded program information management unit, and the program selected by the operation unit is recorded in the recorded program storage unit. It searches which part of the medium is recorded, reproduces the program sent from the recorded program storage unit, and a reproduction program selection unit that instructs the recorded program storage unit to send the searched program to the reproduction unit Playback unit and playback unit playback Detecting the end of the program, the same program title as the program that has just been played back, the recorded date and time is closest to the program that has just been played, and the recorded date and time is later than the program that has just been played A recording program information management unit is searched for a certain program, and if it exists, a continuous playback control unit that instructs the playback program selection unit to send the program to the playback unit is provided.

  As a result, the continuous playback control unit gives the playback program selection unit the same program title as the program that has just been played and the recorded date and time the same as the program that has just been played, every time one program has been played. Specify the program you want to watch by searching for a program that is closest and the recorded date and time is later than the program that was just played, and sending it to the playback unit if it exists and instructing it to play it. It has an effect that a program having the same title can be automatically reproduced and viewed in accordance with the recorded order continuously from the portion.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a video / audio recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 shows an example of the contents of the recorded program management information part, and FIG. 4 shows an example of the program recording state on the recording medium of the recorded program storage part.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 15 denotes a recorded program storage unit for recording and storing a program input to the apparatus on a recording medium, and is composed of a disk drive, a signal processing circuit, and the like that actually record the video / audio signal of the program. The recording medium to be used is assumed to be an HDD or the like for the DVD, but is not limited to this. The program video / audio signal may be input from a broadcast signal from an antenna, or may be connected to another playback device and input by an external input.

  Reference numeral 11 denotes a recorded program information management unit that manages information associated with programs stored in the recorded program storage unit 15 and includes management information including recorded date and time, program title, and position on the storage medium.

  A display unit 12 displays a part of management information of the recorded program information management unit 11 and corresponds to, for example, a television receiver. When displaying on the screen of a television receiver, it is conceivable to display information using character information or character information using, for example, OSD (on-screen display) means. Note that the display device is not limited to a television receiver.

  Reference numeral 13 denotes an operation unit that performs operations for displaying management information on the display unit 12 and selecting a program to be reproduced from the displayed contents, and is operated by the user. The operation unit corresponds to, for example, various operation buttons provided on the front panel of the apparatus main body (DVD recorder or the like), or a remote control capable of remotely operating the apparatus main body.

  14 obtains management information from the recorded program information management unit 11, searches for a part of the recording medium of the recorded program storage unit 15 where the program selected by the operation unit 13 is recorded, and reproduces the searched program A reproduction program selection unit that instructs the recorded program storage unit 15 to send to the unit 16.

  Reference numeral 16 denotes a reproduction unit that reproduces a program sent from the recorded program storage unit 15.

  Reference numeral 17 indicates that the playback unit 16 detects that the playback has ended, and the recorded title is the closest to the program that has just been played back with the same program title as the video and audio that has just been played back. A continuous playback control unit that causes the recorded program information management unit 11 to search for a program that is later than the currently played program, and instructs the playback program selection unit 14 to send the program to the playback unit 16 if it exists. is there.

  The operation of the video / audio recording / reproducing apparatus configured as described above will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  For the sake of specific explanation, the contents shown in FIG. 3 are stored in the recording management information management unit, the recording medium in the recording program storage unit is a hard disk drive, and the program is stored as shown in FIG. It shall be recorded. FIG. 3 shows a list of programs recorded on the hard disk. When the program list is displayed on the display unit 12, only the recording date and time and the program title in the figure are displayed. The “position on the storage medium” at the right end in the figure is information that associates the recording area on the hard disk with each program. FIG. 4 schematically shows a recording area in the hard disk, and A to T indicate areas (tracks or sectors) in which video and audio signals are recorded.

  For example, when a user attempts to play back a program (such as a continuous drama) that has been recorded on the hard disk in the past and stored without being deleted, it is recorded in the recorded program information management unit 11 using the operation unit 13. When the display unit 12 is instructed to display the recorded information, the display unit 12 displays a list of programs recorded in the recorded program storage unit 15 (No, recording date and time, program title portion in FIG. 3). It is displayed on a television screen or the like (step S1 in FIG. 5).

  Next, when the user selects the continuous drama “Lake Trivia” on the first line of the display using the operation unit 13 and instructs “continuous playback” (step S2 in FIG. 5), the playback program selection unit 14 searches the recorded program storage unit 15 for the location (the portion A to B on the hard disk in FIG. 4) where the “trivia lake” in the first row is recorded. When the recording location is found by the search, the video / audio signal recorded at the recording location is read out and sent to the reproducing unit 16. The playback unit 16 starts playback of “Lake of Trivia” recorded on October 11 by performing playback processing of the video and audio signals sent (step S3 in FIG. 5).

  When the reproduction of the “trivia lake” recorded on October 11 is finished, the reproduction unit 16 notifies the continuous reproduction control unit 17 of the reproduction. In response to this, the continuous playback control unit 17 searches for a program recorded with the same title name, the recording date and time closest to each other, and a program recorded after the program that has just been played back. If there is a program, the reproduction program selection unit 14 is instructed to reproduce the program. Specifically, the playback program selection unit 14 has a title of “Lake Trivia” from the recorded program storage unit 15 and the recording date and time is closest to October 11th, and moreover than the program that has just been played back. It is searched whether there is a program recorded later (that is, after October 12). If the corresponding program can be found by the search (L to M on the hard disk in FIG. 4), the video / audio signal recorded at the recording location is read out and sent to the reproducing unit 16. The playback unit 16 performs playback processing of the transmitted video / audio signal to start playback of the “Trivia Lake” recorded on October 18 (the above corresponds to steps S4 to S8 in FIG. 5). .

  When the reproduction of the “trivia lake” recorded on October 18 is completed, the reproduction unit 16 notifies the continuous reproduction control unit 17 of the reproduction. In response to this, the continuous playback control unit 17 receives the same title name (trivia lake) and the recording date and time is closest to October 18, and after the program that has just been played back (October). It is searched whether there is any program recorded on or after 19th. If it exists, the reproduction program selection unit 14 is instructed to reproduce it. Then, in the same procedure as described above, the reproduction of “Trivia Lake” recorded on October 25 in the list of FIG. 3 is started.

  When the reproduction of the “trivia lake” on the eighth line is completed, the reproduction unit 16 notifies the continuous reproduction control unit 17 of the reproduction. In response to this, the continuous playback control unit 17 receives the same title name, the recording date and time is closest, and if there is a program recorded after the program that has just been played back, Is instructed to be reproduced to be reproduced.

  The playback program selection unit 14 determines whether there is a program recorded from the recorded program storage unit 15 with the title “Lake Trivia”, the recording date and time closest, and after the program that has just been played back. However, since it is no longer found in the list of FIG. 3, the reproduction operation is terminated (step S9 of FIG. 5).

  In the above example, when “Trivia Lake” in the fifth line (recorded on October 18) of the list of programs recorded at the beginning is selected, the same operation is performed. It is easy to understand that after finishing “Trivia Lake” on the line (recorded on October 25), the process ends.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, a program recorded with the same title name on a recording medium such as a hard disk can be automatically and continuously reproduced. Therefore, continuous programs recorded and stored in a recording medium (continuous dramas, weekly recorded programs, etc.) can be automatically and continuously played in a state sorted by recording date and time, so it is troublesome to manually search for the program you want to watch. Can be omitted. In addition, in the case of a continuous drama, it can be viewed while maintaining the story. Therefore, usability and operability can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, it is necessary to set a program title for a program recorded on a recording medium, and the program title may be arbitrarily input by a user, or an EPG (Electronic Program Guide) is stored. Since the program title is automatically set when it is used for recording, it may be used.

  Further, when searching for a program title, the search may be made possible not only by searching for a complete match of title character strings but also by partial matching. For example, in the list of FIG. 3, the search can be performed using the character string “trivia”, so that the program title can be searched even if it is set somewhat rough.

  In this embodiment, the search is based on the program title and the recording date and time. However, the search may be performed using other information. For example, there is “genre”.

  The present invention is effective when used for a device capable of recording a large number of programs such as a DVD recorder and an HD recorder, and a desired program can be continuously reproduced from the large number of programs. Is.

1 is a block diagram of a video / audio recording / reproducing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Block diagram of a conventional video / audio recording / reproducing apparatus Schematic diagram showing an example of the contents of the recorded program management information section Schematic diagram showing an example of a program recording state on a recording medium of a recorded program storage unit Operation flowchart according to the first embodiment of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Recorded program information management part 12 Display part 13 Operation part 14 Reproduction program selection part 15 Recorded program preservation | save part 16 Reproduction part 17 Continuous reproduction | regeneration control part

Claims (2)

A video / audio recording / reproducing apparatus capable of recording / reproducing a plurality of programs, wherein, when the program is reproduced, only a program satisfying a predetermined condition is continuously reproduced. Recorded program storage unit for recording and storing video and audio on a recording medium, and information associated with the video and audio stored in the recorded program storage unit of the previous term, recorded date and time, program title, and position on the storage medium A recorded program information management unit that manages management information, a display unit that displays management information of the recorded program information management unit, a part of the management information displayed on the display unit, and playback from the displayed management information An operation unit that performs an operation of selecting a video and audio to be performed, and management information is obtained from the recorded program information management unit, and the video and audio selected by the operation unit is a part of the recording medium of the previous program recording unit. Is recorded, and a playback program selection unit for instructing the previous program recording program storage unit to send the searched video and audio to the playback unit, and the video and audio sent from the previous program recording unit are played back. Re And the playback unit detects that the playback has ended, and the recorded date and time is the closest to the currently played video and audio, with the same program title as the video and audio that has just been played back. The recorded program information management unit searches the recorded program information management unit for a video / audio whose date and time is later than the currently reproduced video / audio, and if it exists, instructs the previous program reproduction unit to send the video / audio to the previous playback unit. A video / audio recording / reproducing apparatus comprising a continuous reproduction control unit.

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