Information recording and reproducing apparatus

• US 20020037154A1
• Filed: 09/13/2001
• Published: 03/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JVC Kenwood Corporation
• Original Assignee: Victor Company of Japan Limited (JVC Kenwood Corporation)
• Inventors: Fukutsu, Noriaki, Goto, Nobuyuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,239,796 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/52
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/41 Flat as opposed to hierarchical combination, e.g. library of tapes or discs, CD changer, or groups of record carriers that together store one title
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/455 said record carriers being in one device and being used as primary and secondary/backup media, e.g. HDD-DVD combo device, or as source and target media, e.g. PC and portable player
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/90 Tape-like record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/024 on tapes G11B27/028, G11B27/029 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/031 Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/032 on tapes G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• 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 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/329 on a disc [VTOC]
• 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: G11B 27/36 Monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing for digital recording G11B20/00 and s.gr.; for monitoring, testing or measuring of TV recorders of the type covered by H04N5/76 and subgroups, see H04N17/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4112 having fewer capabilities than the client, e.g. thin client having less processing power or no tuning capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47214 for content reservation or setting reminders; for requesting event notification, e.g. of sport results or stock market stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services over packet-switching network H04L12/1859; notification of incoming messages in packet switching networks H04L51/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/488 Data services, e.g. news ticker systems specially adapted for using meteorological information in broadcast systems H04H60/71
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape

Abstract

In an information recording and reproducing apparatus, information representative of first video contents is recorded on a recording medium. A decision is made as to whether or not a remaining usable capacity in the recording medium corresponds to longer than a predetermined time during the recording of the first video-contents information on the recording medium. When it is decided that the remaining usable capacity in the recording medium does not correspond to longer than the predetermined time, recorded information representative of second video contents is erased from the recording medium to increase the remaining usable capacity in the recording medium. Continuing the recording of the first video-contents information on the recording medium is enabled due to the erasing of the second video-contents information from the recording medium.

Claims

1. An information recording and reproducing apparatus comprising:

first means for recording information representative of first video contents on a recording medium;

second means for deciding whether or not a remaining usable capacity in the recording medium corresponds to longer than a predetermined time during the recording of the first video-contents information on the recording medium by the first means;

third means for, when the second means decides that the remaining usable capacity in the recording medium does not correspond to longer than the predetermined time, erasing recorded information representative of second video contents from the recording medium to increase the remaining usable capacity in the recording medium; and

fourth means for enabling the first means to continue the recording of the first video-contents information on the recording medium due to the erasing of the second video-contents information from the recording medium by the third means.

2. An information recording and reproducing apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the second video-contents information comprises information which has already been played back.

3. An information recording and reproducing apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the second video-contents information comprises oldest recorded information in the recording medium.

5. An information recording and reproducing apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising fifth means for deciding whether or not the remaining usable capacity in the recording medium corresponds to longer than a prescribed time during the recording of the first video-contents information on the recording medium by the first means, the prescribed time being longer than the predetermined time, and sixth means for, when the fifth means decides that the remaining usable capacity in the recording medium does not correspond to longer than the prescribed time, warning a user of a shortage of the remaining usable capacity in the recording medium.

4. An information recording and reproducing apparatus comprising:

first means for recording information representative of video contents on a first recording medium;

second means for deciding whether or not a remaining usable capacity in the first recording medium corresponds to longer than a predetermined time during the recording of the video-contents information on the first recording medium by the first means; and

third means for, when the second means decides that the remaining usable capacity in the first recording medium does not correspond to longer than the predetermined time, implementing a change from the first recording medium to a second recording medium and recording the video-contents information on the second recording medium instead of the first recording medium.

6. A program-signal recording and reproducing apparatus comprising:

first means for accepting a reservation about recording of a designated program;

second means for calculating a recording capacity necessary for the recording of the designated program;

third means for detecting an unoccupied recording capacity in a recording medium;

fourth means for subtracting the recording capacity calculated by the second means from the unoccupied recording capacity detected by the third means;

fifth means for setting a result of the subtracting by the fourth means as a limit recording capacity;

sixth means for recording the designated program on the recording medium; and

seventh means for inhibiting signal recording on the recording medium to an extent beyond the limit recording capacity set by the fifth means before the sixth means starts recording the designated program on the recording medium.

7. A program-signal recording and reproducing apparatus as recited in claim 6, further comprising eighth means for canceling the subtracting by the fourth means to reset the limit recording capacity immediately before the sixth means starts recording the designated program on the recording medium.

8. A program-signal recording and reproducing apparatus comprising:

first means for accepting a reservation about recording of a designated program broadcasted in a same time range of a designated day of every week;

second means for detecting whether or not the designated program broadcasted on the designated day of a previous week is present on a recording medium as a recorded program;

third means for, in cases where the second means detects that the designated program broadcasted on the designated day of a previous week is not present on the recording medium as a recorded program, (1) calculating a recording capacity necessary for the recording of the designated program, (2) detecting an unoccupied recording capacity in the recording medium, (3) subtracting the calculated recording capacity from the detected unoccupied recording capacity, and (4) setting a result of the subtracting as a limit recording capacity;

fourth means for recording the designated program in a current week on the recording medium in cases where the second means detects that the designated program broadcasted on the designated day of a previous week is not present on the recording medium as a recorded program;

fifth means for inhibiting signal recording on the recording medium to an extent beyond the limit recording capacity set by the third means before the fourth means starts recording the designated program on the recording medium; and

sixth means for, in cases where the second means detects that the designated program broadcasted on the designated day of a previous week is present on the recording medium as a recorded program, (1) releasing an area of the recording medium which stores the recorded program and adding the released area to the unoccupied recording capacity in the recording medium 104, and then (2) recording the designated program in a current week on the recording medium;

wherein the sixth means implements releasing the area and adding the released area at a stage immediately preceding the execution of the recording of the designated program in the current week.