Motion video signal processing for recording or reproducing – Local trick play processing – With randomly accessible medium
Reexamination Certificate
1997-08-29
2001-03-27
Chevalier, Robert (Department: 2615)
Motion video signal processing for recording or reproducing
Local trick play processing
With randomly accessible medium
C386S349000, C386S349000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06208801
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information reproducing apparatus for reading and reproducing information from an information recording medium, such as a DVD, and to an information recording medium for use in the information reproducing apparatus.
Recently, a DVD system has attracted attention as the key of the multimedia period. The DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) system, which is capable of recording/reproducing high quality image, audio and computer data on the broadcast level, is a multimedia recording/reproducing system expected to widely be applied to a multiplicity of fields including movies, music, games, computers and the like.
The DVD system, which is capable of reproducing the atmosphere of a movie theater because of the high quality image on the broadcast level and multichannel sound, is greatly expected to personally be used. To realize this, a variety conditions must be satisfied.
The most important factor is the price of the DVD system, which permits the system to be widely used. The manufacturing easiness and IC techniques must be considered to satisfactorily reduce the cost of the DVD system.
To reduce the cost of the DVD system, it might be feasible to record, on the DVD, sub-information, such as commercial information from an advertiser, in such a manner that the commercial is inserted into main information, such as a movie. However, simple insertion and recording of sub-information on main information has a problem in that sub-information can easily be skipped (by instructing fast forward movement) by a user when the reproduction of the commercial has been started and thus sub-information cannot reliably be presented to the user.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an information reproducing apparatus capable of reliably presenting important sub-information (for example, a commercial) for supplementing main information, such as a movie, recorded on an information recording medium or important information relating to a main sponsor when the information recording medium, such as a DVD, is reproduced whereby greatly contributing to wide use of the DVD system.
To achieve the above-mentioned object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information reproducing apparatus comprising:
reading means for reading main information, sub-information and a control code from an information recording medium on which the main information, the sub-information and the control code for distinguishing the main information and the sub-information from each other have been recorded;
reproducing means for reproducing the main information and sub-information read by the reading means; and
first inhibition means for inhibiting an interruption of sub-information reproduction by the reproducing means.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the information reproducing apparatus according to the first aspect has a structure such that the information recording medium is a DVD.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the information reproducing apparatus according to the first aspect has a structure such that
the first inhibition means comprises:
determination means for determining whether or not the control code read by the reading means indicates the sub-information;
first setting means for setting a skip flag to be a first value in a case where the determination means has determined that the control code indicates the sub-information; and
second inhibition means for inhibiting an interruption of sub-information reproduction in a case where the skip flag has been set to be the first value by the first setting means.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the information reproducing apparatus according to the third aspect further comprising:
second setting means for setting the skip flag to be a second value in a case where the determining means has determined that the control code indicates main information; and
means for fast-forward-moving main information which is being reproduced by the reproducing means in a case where fast forward movement has been instructed by a user and the skip flag has been set to be the second value by the second setting means.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the information reproducing apparatus according to the first aspect has a structure such that main information is information of described contents of a movie, and sub-information is information of described commercial from a sponsor of the movie.
The information reproducing apparatuses according to the first to fifth aspects enable instruction of fast forward movement of sub-information from a user to be ignored. Thus, important sub-information for supplementing main information or important information relating a main sponsor can reliably be presented to a user.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first storage medium having program code instructions stored thereon when executed by a processor, the instructions comprising:
means for causing the processor to read main information, sub-information and a control code from a second storage medium on which the main information, the sub-information and the control code for distinguishing the main information and the sub-information from each other have been recorded;
means for causing the processor to reproduce read main information and sub-information; and
means for causing the processor to inhibit an interruption of sub-information reproduction in a case where the sub-information is being reproduced.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information reproducing apparatus comprising:
reading means for reading main information, sub-information and control information from an information recording medium on which the main information, the sub-information and the control information including a condition under which reproduction of sub-information is started and a condition under which reproduction of sub-information is ended have been recorded;
first reproduction means for reproducing the main information read by the reading means;
recording means for recording the control information read by the reading means;
first determination means for determining whether or not the main information which is reproduced by the first reproducing means or contents of instruction from a user are adaptable to the condition under which reproduction of the sub-information is started; and
second reproducing means for reproducing the sub-information read by the reading means in a case where the first determination means has determined that the main information or the contents are adaptable to the condition under which reproduction of the sub-information is started.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the information reproducing apparatus according to the seventh aspect further comprising:
second determination means for determining whether or not the condition under which reproduction of sub-information recorded by the recording means is ended is satisfied during reproduction of sub-information by the second reproduction means; and
means for ending reproduction of sub-information by the second reproduction means in a case where the second determination means has determined that the condition under which reproduction of sub-information is ended is satisfied.
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the information reproducing apparatus according to the eighth aspect having a structure such that
the condition under which reproduction of sub-information is ended is time elapsed by a predetermined period of time after reproduction of sub-information has been started by the second reproducing means.
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the information reproducing apparatus according to the seventh aspect has a structure such that the information recording medium is a DVD.
According to an eleventh aspect of the present inven
Kambayashi Toru
Mizutani Hiroyuki
Chevalier Robert
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
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