Motion video signal processing for recording or reproducing – Local trick play processing – With randomly accessible medium
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-28
2003-11-11
Tran, Thai (Department: 2615)
Motion video signal processing for recording or reproducing
Local trick play processing
With randomly accessible medium
C386S349000, C386S349000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06647201
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to a video/audio signal recording and reproducing apparatus and its method in which when video/audio signals recorded on a recording medium are reproduced, even if a double-speed reproduction is performed, all of the audio signals can be read out from the recording medium.
BACKGROUND ART
There are many cases where a telephone call suddenly rings or someone suddenly comes while the user is enjoying a television broadcasting program, so that he overlooks a broadcasting program. If the user overlooked a television broadcasting, this program can never be seen except for a program that is rebroadcasted. It is a rare case that the program is rebroadcasted in a short period of time. A news program and a sports program are not rebroadcasted in most cases. In many cases, therefore, if the user overlooked a television broadcasting program, this program cannot be seen forever.
There is a case where a scene such as good scene of a movie or a drama, interview of an important person, highlight scene of a sports program, or the like which the user wants to preserve suddenly starts during the watching of a broadcasting program. In such a case, even if the user immediately sets a VTR, he misses such a scene and he often cannot record the scene.
Therefore, a television receiver such that while the user is watching a broadcasting-program, such a program is always recorded on a recording medium is considered. In such a television receiver, even if there is a sudden telephone call or someone suddenly comes, such a program can be traced back and reproduced and he does not overlook the program. Such a program can be easily preserved and even if a program which the user wants to record suddenly starts, it is possible to cope with it.
As a recording medium in the television receiver such that a program is always recorded onto a recording medium as mentioned above, a hard disk drive can be used. Hitherto, as a recording medium for recording a video signal, a magnetic tape is widely used. However, an accessing speed of the magnetic tape is slow and it is difficult to use it as a recording medium that is used in such a television receiver. Although the use of a semiconductor memory is considered, the semiconductor memory of a large capacity is very expensive. In the semiconductor memory, if a power source is turned off, the preserved program is erased, so that it is inconvenient in case of preserving a program for a long time. On the other hand, in the hard disk drive, a capacity is large and an accessing speed is also high enough.
FIG. 6
shows an example of a construction of a video/audio recording and reproducing apparatus which is used in a television receiver such that a program is always recorded on a recording medium. For example, a video signal obtained on the basis of a received television broadcasting (real-time broadcasting) radio wave is supplied to a terminal
200
. An audio signal is supplied to a terminal
201
. The video signal supplied to the terminal
200
is converted into a digital signal by an A/D converting circuit
202
and is subjected to a decimation, a compression encoding, and the like in a video compressing circuit
203
. In this example, a decimation ratio is set to 1/4. Video data outputted from the video compressing circuit
203
is temporarily stored in a buffer memory
204
.
Similarly, the audio signal supplied to the terminal
201
is converted into a digital signal by an A/D converting circuit
208
and is compressed and encoded by an audio compressing circuit
209
. A decimation on a field unit basis is not performed to the audio signal. Audio data outputted from the audio compressing circuit
209
is temporarily stored into a buffer memory
210
.
On the basis of a control of a recording/reproduction controller
207
, the video data and audio data temporarily stored in the buffer memories
204
and
210
are read out and are written into a hard disk drive
206
through a bus
205
.
The video data and audio data written into the hard disk drive
206
are read out on the basis of the control of the recording/reproduction controller
207
. The video data is temporarily stored into a buffer memory
211
and the audio data is temporarily stored into a buffer memory
216
.
The compression and encoding of the video data read out from the buffer memory
211
is released by a video decompressing circuit
212
and the resultant video data is converted into an analog signal by a D/A converting circuit
213
. The video signal outputted from the D/A converting circuit
213
is supplied to a terminal
214
A of a switching circuit
214
. Similarly, the compression and encoding of the audio data read out from the buffer memory
216
are released by an audio decompressing circuit
217
and the resultant audio data is converted into an analog signal by a D/A converting circuit
218
. The audio signal outputted from the D/A converting circuit
218
is supplied to a terminal
219
A of a switching circuit
219
.
The video signal is supplied from the input terminal
200
to a terminal
214
B of the switching circuit
214
. The audio signal is supplied from the input terminal
201
to a terminal
219
B of the switching circuit
219
. The switching operations of the switching circuits
214
and
219
are controlled by the recording/reproduction controller
207
. The signals by the real-time broadcasting supplied from the input terminals
200
and
201
and the reproduction signal read out from the hard disk drive
206
are selectively switched. Outputs of the switching circuits
214
and
219
are led to output terminals
215
and
220
and are reproduced by a CRT monitor apparatus and a speaker, respectively.
The writing operation of the data to the hard disk drive
206
is executed on a unit basis of one set of data in which the video data of one field and the audio data corresponding to four continuous fields in which the video data is set to the head are combined.
FIG. 7
shows an example of one set of data comprising the audio data and the video data. The audio data of four continuous fields is stored to the head and, after that, the corresponding video data of one field is stored. The data of each set is time-sequentially continuously arranged for addresses in the hard disk drive
206
, respectively.
The writing and reading operations of the data to/from the hard disk drive
206
are executed as follows.
FIG. 8
shows an example of a disk accessing method in a one-time speed reproducing mode. As shown in
FIGS. 8A and 8B
, the video and audio signals are supplied to the terminals
200
and
201
, respectively. Each delimiter corresponds to one field. The supplied video and audio signals are converted into the video data and audio data through the foregoing predetermined processes. The video data is written into the buffer memory
204
and the audio data is written into the buffer memory
210
.
When time corresponding to four fields of signals a
0
to a
3
elapses, as shown in an example in
FIG. 8C
, the audio data (collectively, referred to as audio data e
0
) obtained by compressing and encoding audio signals b
0
to b
3
corresponding to first four fields of the input audio signal is written into a predetermined area on the disk
206
. Video data a
0
based on first one field in a period of time of the signals a
0
to a
3
of the corresponding input video signal of four fields is written into a subsequent address. Consequently, one set of data comprising the audio data and the video data is written.
Similarly, the writing of the next one set of data is performed with the elapse of time of four fields of signals a
4
to a
7
. In this example, the writing of the next one set of data is executed subsequently to the address of the video data a
0
.
In the case where the terminals
214
B and
219
B are selected by the switching circuits
214
and
219
, respectively, only the video and audio signals by the real-time broadcasting are transferred to the output terminals
215
and
220
and are reproduced by the monitor apparatus and speaker, respectiv
Nakamura Hitoshi
Suenaga Shinichi
Yoshimura Kosuke
Frommer William S.
Frommer & Lawrence & Haug LLP
Polito Bruno
Sony Corporation
Tran Thai
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