Stream data generation method and partial erase processing...

Details Stream data generation method and partial erase processing... Stream data generation method and partial erase processing...

2001-03-15

2002-04-16

Edun, Muhammad (Department: 2651)

Dynamic information storage or retrieval

Binary pulse train information signal

Format arrangement processing for auxiliary information

C369S047210, C369S275400

Reexamination Certificate

active

06373803

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method of generating (or encoding) bitstream information of digital broadcast, etc., a method of generating (or encoding) stream data sent with a packet structure, a method of recording the encoded stream data on an information medium, a method of decoding the encoded stream data, or a method of partially erasing (including temporarily erasing/actually erasing) the recorded stream data.
In recent years, TV broadcast has come into the era of digital broadcast. Accordingly, an apparatus for saving digital data of digital TV broadcast as it is irrespective of their contents, i.e., a so-called streamer, has been demanded.
The current digital TV broadcast uses an MPEG transport stream. An MPEG transport stream will be used as a standard one in the field of digital broadcast using moving picture.
As a streamer for recording digital broadcast data, a home digital VCR such as D-VHS (digital VHS) or the like is currently commercially available. A streamer using D-VHS directly records a broadcasted bitstream on a tape. For this reason, a plurality of programs are multiplexed and recorded on a video tape.
Upon playback, all data are output from the VCR to a set-top box (digital TV receiver unit; to be abbreviated as an STB hereinafter) either when they are played back from the beginning or the middle of the tape. In this STB, a desired program is selected from the output data by user operation or the like. The selected program information is transferred from the STB to a digital TV receiver, and is played back (playback of video plus audio, etc).
Since the D-VHS streamer uses a tape as a recording medium, it cannot attain quick random access, and it is difficult to quickly jump to a desired position of a required program so as to play it back.
As a promising candidate that can combat such shortcoming (difficulty of random access) of the tape, a streamer that uses a large-capacity disc medium such as a DVD-RAM or the like has been proposed. In this case, management data must be inevitably recorded together with broadcast data in consideration of random access, special playback, and the like.
In general, when a DVD-RAM disc is used as an information storage medium, ECC blocks are formed in units of 16 sectors, and data in each ECC block are interleaved (re-arranged) and appended with an error correction code. For this reason, in order to erase, rewrite or additionally write only a specific sector in an ECC block, the following complicated process are required.
Namely, a process so-called “read-modify-write” is required. In this process, after all contents of data in an ECC block are read (READ) and are re-arranged in a buffer memory (deinterleaved), part of data for a specific sector(s) is erased or rewritten, and new data is additionally written (MODIFY). Then, the modified data is interleaved (re-arranged) again while appending a new error correction code, and the resultant data is recorded
This is a very time-consuming process, and recording or partial erase of stream data cannot be done in real time.
The present invention has been made to solve the aforementioned problem, and has as its object to provide a method that can easily record (or encode) and partially erase (temporarily erase/actually erase) stream data within a short period of time.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, stream data uses a recording data structure made up of stream blocks (or stream object units SOBU) which can be segmented at a predetermined data size, and data are recorded (or encoded) and partially erased in units of the stream blocks (SOBUs).
More specifically, in case of partial erase (actual erase), a method of the invention handles bitstream information (DVD bitstream) formed by a stream object (SOB) which includes a first data unit (transport packet/application packet; e.g., 188 bytes), a second data unit (sector/stream pack; e.g., 2,048 bytes or 2 kbytes) having one or more first data units (packets), and a third data unit (stream block/SOBU; e.g., 64 kbytes=32 sectors=2 ECC blocks) having one or more second data units (sectors/packs).
In this method, a portion (erase area
741
/
742
in
FIG. 15
,
FIG. 16
,
FIG. 22
, or
FIG. 24
) of bitstream information included in the stream object (SOB) is erased in units of third data units (stream blocks/SOBUs) (step S
22
in FIG.
17
).
Or, in case of partial erase (actual erase), a method of the invention handles bitstream information (DVD bitstream) formed by a stream object (SOB) which includes a first data unit (transport packet/application packet), a second data unit (sector/stream pack) having one or more first data units (packets), and a third data unit (stream block/SOBU) having one or more second data units (sectors/stream packs), and streamer information (STREAM.IFO
105
in
FIGS. 2 and 3
; STRI in
FIG. 27
) that manages the stream information (DVD bitstream). In this method,
the bitstream information (DVD bitstream) includes information (ORG_PGCI/UD_PGCIT in
FIG. 3
(
f
) or
FIG. 27
) of a program formed of one or more cells, and information of a program chain (PGC) indicating a sequence (playback order) of the program or a portion thereof,
the information (ORG_PGCI/UD_PGCIT in
FIG. 27
; PGCI#i in
FIG. 28
) of the program chain is included in the streamer information (STREAM.IFO/STRI),
the information (PGCI#I/SCI/SC_GI in
FIG. 28
) of the program chain includes start time information (
751
in
FIGS. 15 and 22
; SC_S_APAT in
FIGS. 21 and 28
) of the first data unit (application packet) including contents of the cell, and end time information (
757
in
FIGS. 15 and 22
; SC_E_APAT in
FIGS. 21 and 28
) of the first data unit (application packet) including the contents of the cell, and
an erase range of a portion (erase area
741
/
742
in
FIG. 22
or
FIG. 24
) of bitstream information included in the stream object (SOB) is designated by the start time information (SC_S_APAT) and the end time information (SC_E_APAT) (step S
21
in FIG.
17
).
On the other hand, in case of partial temporary erase, a method of the invention handles bitstream information (DVD bitstream) formed by a stream object (SOB) which includes a first data unit (transport packet/application packet), a second data unit (sector/stream pack) having one or more first data units (packets), and a third data unit (stream block/SOBU) having one or more second data units (sectors/stream packet.
In this method, a portion (temporary erase area
747
in
FIG. 23
or
FIG. 25
) of bitstream information included in the stream object (SOB) is set in a temporary erase state in units of third data units (stream blocks/SOBUs) (change “partial erase” or “erase” to read “temporary erase” in respective steps in FIG.
17
).
More specifically, in case of partial temporary erase, a method of the invention handles bitstream information (DVD bitstream) formed by a stream object (SOB) which includes a first data unit (transport packet/application packet), a second data unit (sector/stream pack) having one or more first data units (packets), and a third data unit (stream block/SOBU) having one or more second data units (sectors/stream packs), and streamer information (STREAM.IFO
105
in
FIGS. 2 and 3
; STRI in
FIG. 27
) that manages the stream information (DVD bitstream). In this method,
the bitstream information (DVD bitstream) includes information (ORG_PGCI/UD_PGCIT in
FIG. 3
(
f
) or
FIG. 27
) of a program formed of one or more cells, and information of a program chain (PGC) indicating a sequence (playback order) of the program or a portion thereof,
the information (ORG_PGCI/UD_PGCIT in
FIG. 27
; PGCI#i in
FIG. 28
) of the program chain is included in the streamer information (STREAM.IFO/STRI),
the information (PGCI#i/SCI/SC_GI in
FIG. 28
) of the program chain includes temporary erase start time information (ERA_S_APAT in
FIGS. 21
,
23
, and
28
) of the first data unit (application packet) including contents of the cell, a

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