Video recording and reproducing apparatus

• US 20020041752A1
• Filed: 03/26/2001
• Published: 04/11/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Kato, Hideo, Okada, Yoshiyuki, Abiko, Yukihiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,362,955 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/46
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• 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 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4332 by placing content in organized collections, e.g. local EPG data repository interfaces, Database management systems or updating for information retrieval G06F16/23; details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video database G06F16/739
• 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 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction

Abstract

A video recording and reproducing apparatus for simultaneously displaying a plurality of image contents recorded at given time points or images at a plurality of given portions within the same image contents is disclosed. A plurality of images read from a randomly accessible data storage unit for storing the images recorded by an image recording unit are synthesized into a single screen by an image synthesizer. An information processing unit reads from the image recording unit a plurality of image contents recorded at different time points or a group of images recorded at a plurality of different time points in a given one image content and causes the image synthesizer to display, by synthesizing the image contents or the images, as the case may be, on a single screen.

Claims

1. A video recording and reproducing apparatus comprising:

at least one image recording means for recording a video input;

randomly accessible data storage means for storing the images recorded in said image recording means;

image synthesizing means for synthesizing in one screen a plurality of images read out from said data storage means; and

information processing means for controlling said data storage means and said image synthesizing means;

wherein said information processing means controls said data storage means and said image synthesizing means in such a manner that a plurality of images recorded in said image recording means at different time points are read from said data storage means and synthesized and displayed in a single screen by said image synthesizing means.

2. A video recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of said images recorded at different time points are a plurality of image contents recorded at different time points or a plurality of images recorded at different time points in a given one image content.

3. A video recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising user interface means interposed between said information processing means and the user, wherein the special reproduction functions including at least selected one of rapid feed and pause are performed on the image contents selected arbitrarily through said user interface means.

4. A video recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising user interface means interposed between said information processing means and the user, wherein a plurality of the image contents stored in said data storage means are converted into a data base capable of being searched and sorted, and at least one of the image contents included in a group of image contents searched for and sorted from said data base and reproduced and synthesized at the same time is displayed in a single screen in accordance with the information input from said user interface means.

5. A video recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising user interface means interposed between said information processing means and the user, wherein the image contents selected through said user interface means are changed to other image contents and the resulting image contents are displayed in a single screen by being synthesized with the image contents under generation.

6. A video recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising sound select means and user interface means interposed between said information processing means and the user, wherein said sound select means outputs only the sound corresponding to the image contents reproduced in the reproduction display area selected by said user interface means.

7. A video recording and reproducing method comprising the steps of:

recording an image by at least one image recording means;

storing the image recorded by said image recording means in randomly accessible data storage means; and

reading a plurality of images recorded at different time points from said data storage means, and synthesizing and displaying said images in a single screen.

8. A video recording and reproducing method according to claim 7, wherein a plurality of said images recorded at different time points are a plurality of image contents recorded at different time points or a plurality of images recorded at different time points in a given one image content.

9. A video recording and reproducing method according to claim 7, wherein the special reproducing functions including at least one of rapid feed and pause are performed on the image contents selected arbitrarily through user interface means.

10. A video recording and reproducing method according to claim 7, wherein a plurality of the image contents stored in said data storage means are converted into a data base capable of being searched and sorted, at least one of the image contents included in a group of image contents searched for and sorted from said data base and reproduced and synthesized at the same time is displayed in a single screen in accordance with the information input from said user interface means.

11. A video recording and reproducing method according to claim 7, wherein the image contents selected through said user interface means are changed to other image contents and the resulting image contents are synthesized with the image contents under generation and displayed in a single screen.

12. A video recording and reproducing method according to claim 7, wherein only the sound corresponding to the image contents reproduced in the reproduction display area selected by said user interface means is output.

14. A recording medium according to claim 13, wherein a plurality of said images recorded at different time points are a plurality of image contents recorded at different time points or a plurality of images recorded at different time points in a given one image content.

15. A recording medium according to claim 13, wherein the special reproducing functions including at least one of rapid feed and pause is performed on the image contents selected arbitrarily by user interface means.

16. A recording medium according to claim 13, wherein a plurality of the image contents stored in said data storage means are converted into a data base capable of being searched and sorted, and at least one of the image contents included in a group of image contents searched for and sorted from said data base and reproduced and synthesized at the same time is displayed in a single screen in accordance with the information input from said user interface means.

17. A recording medium according to claim 13, wherein the image contents selected through said user interface means are changed to other image contents and the resulting image contents are synthesized with the generating image contents and displayed in a single screen.

18. A recording medium according to claim 13, wherein only the sound corresponding to the image contents reproduced in the reproduction display area selected by said user interface means is output.

13. A recording medium for storing a program readable by an information processing unit, wherein said program comprises the steps of:

recording an image by at least one image recording means;

storing the image recorded by said image recording means in randomly accessible data storage means; and

reading a plurality of images recorded at different time points from said data storage means, and synthesizing and displaying said images in a single screen.