Record/play apparatus and method for extracting and searching index simultaneously

• US 20020006266A1
• Filed: 07/13/2001
• Published: 01/17/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Cheong, Chan Eui, Yoon, Kyoung Ro, Jun, Sung Bae, Lee, Ji Eun
• Application Number:
  US09/905,548
• Publication Number:
  US 20020006266A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/69
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440281 by altering the temporal resolution, e.g. by frame skipping television signal recording using magnetic recording on tape for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate H04N5/783
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording

Abstract

A client device (set-top box) allows to record and play simultaneously a multimedia stream transmitted from a broadcasting station or a video/radio server. The present invention enables to provide a user with a function of searching/filtering or browsing the previously-stored streams using structural/meaningful/summarized information to meet a user'"'"'s demand by installing an automatic indexing/search device in a client device, such as a Tivo, Replay TV or the like which enables the user to record and play sound/video synchronously and store index information in a storage device by extracting and indexing meaningful/structural/summary information of a multimedia stream automatically when video/sound recording of the multimedia stream is carried out.

Claims

1. A record/play apparatus for extracting and searching index information simultaneously from broadcast signals, comprising:

a tuner for selecting a demanded channel from received broadcast signals;

a record control part for controlling storage/play of a media stream of the selected channel;

an indexing engine for extracting index information from the media stream;

a storage device for storing the media stream inputted from the play control part and the index information extracted from the indexing engine;

a search/browsing engine for carrying out search/browsing in accordance with a nonlinear multimedia access demand from a user using the stored index information; and

a main control part for controlling an entire flow of data and a control signal by receiving a command/control of the user and producing a required control signal.

2. The record/play apparatus of claim 1, wherein the record control part further comprises:

an encoder for converting an analog stream or an uncompressed data stream into a compressed digital stream and outputting the compressed digital stream to the indexing engine; and

a storage control part for storing the compressed digital stream in the storage device.

3. The record/play apparatus of claim 1, wherein the main control part further comprises:

a input interface for receiving an input of the user;

a controller for processing the index information and producing a control signal for required part in accordance with the index information and the input of the user when index information is inputted from an external source;

a decoder for converting the compressed stream stored in the storage device into an uncompressed stream and outputting the uncompressed stream; and

a display control/interface for receiving the uncompressed stream and transferring the uncompressed stream to a display device.

4. The record/play apparatus of claim 3, wherein the main control part further comprises a separation module for separating the index data from the media stream when the index information is inputted from the tuner with the media stream.

5. The record/play apparatus of claim 1, wherein the main control part, when a partially-compressed stream is required for the indexing engine, controls the record control part in a manner that the indexing engine is provided with the partially-compressed stream.

6. The record/play apparatus of claim 1, wherein the main control part provides the indexing engine with an uncompressed stream by controlling the record control part.

7. The record/play apparatus of claim 1, wherein the index information extracted from the indexing engine is meaningful/structural/temporal information of multimedia content.

8. The record/play apparatus of claim 7, wherein the indexing engine, based on the extracted index information, stores summary information, key frame information, key region information in connection with the entire temporal information.

9. The record/play apparatus of claim 7, wherein the meaningful information of the multimedia content extracted from the indexing engine is described in a manner that appearance and disappearance of an object, occurrence and end of an event, variance of a setting, state change of the object are connected to the temporal information.

10. The record/play apparatus of claim 7, wherein the structural information of the multimedia content extracted from the indexing engine includes structural information of the multimedia stream such as scenes and shots.

11. The record/play apparatus of claim 7, wherein the search/browsing engine provides information required for the user to be able to select a part to be transferred in the multimedia content stored in the storage device based on the index information.

12. The record/play apparatus of claim 1, wherein the search/browsing engine provides summary information of the multimedia content selected by the user based on the index information stored in the storage device.

13. A method for extracting and searching index information simultaneously from broadcast signals, comprising:

selecting a demanded channel from received broadcast signals;

controlling storage/play of a media stream of the selected channel;

extracting index information from the media stream;

storing the media stream inputted from a play control part and the index information extracted from an indexing engine;

carrying out search/browsing in accordance with a non-linear multimedia access demand from a user using the stored index information; and

controlling an entire flow of data and a control signal by receiving a command/control of the user and producing a required control signal.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of controlling the storage/play of a media stream further comprises:

converting an analog stream or an uncompressed data stream into a compressed digital stream and outputting the compressed digital stream to the indexing engine; and

storing the compressed digital stream in the storage device.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of controlling an entire flow of data and a control signal further comprises:

receiving an input of the user;

processing the index information and producing a control signal for required part in accordance with the index information and the input of the user when index information is inputted from an external source;

converting the compressed stream stored in the storage device into an uncompressed stream and outputting the uncompressed stream to a display control/interface; and

transferring the uncompressed stream to a display device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of controlling an entire flow of data and a control signal further comprises separating the index data from the media stream when the index information is inputted from the tuner with the media stream.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

when a partially-compressed stream is required for the indexing engine, controlling the record control part in a manner that the indexing engine is provided with the partially-compressed stream.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of controlling an entire flow of data and a control signal further comprises providing the indexing engine with an uncompressed stream by controlling a record control part.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the index information extracted from the indexing engine is meaningful/structural/temporal information of multimedia content.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the indexing engine, based on the extracted index information, stores summary information, key frame information, key region information in connection with the entire temporal information.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the meaningful information of the multimedia content extracted from the indexing engine is described in a manner that appearance and disappearance of an object, occurrence and end of an event, variance of a setting, state change of the object are connected to the temporal information.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the structural information of the multimedia content extracted from the indexing engine includes structural information of the multimedia stream such as scenes and shots.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of carrying out search/browsing in accordance with a non-linear multimedia access demand from a user further comprises providing information required for the user to be able to select a part to be transferred in the multimedia content stored in the storage device based on the index information.

24. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of carrying out search/browsing in accordance with a non-linear multimedia access demand from a user further comprises providing summary information of the multimedia content selected by the user based on the index information stored in the storage device.