INFORMATION RECORDING AND REPLAYING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING SAME

• US 20020084999A1
• Filed: 12/28/1998
• Published: 07/04/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: SHIGA, TOMOHISA
• Granted Patent: US 6,496,196 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/418
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0007 Image acquisition

Abstract

An information recording and replaying apparatus and a method of controlling the same are provided for manipulating information provided in real time and the other kind of information in a unified manner. A CG image produced by a CG producing apparatus is transferred to an AV server in the form of graphics commands and stored in disk arrays as they are. To replay a CG image, graphics commands are executed in a graphics circuit provided in the AV server to draw a graphics image. As a result, the time required for sending the CG image from the CG producing apparatus to the AV server is substantially reduced. The CG producing apparatus does not require a large-capacity storage for retaining drawn CG image data. The AV server stores the received graphics commands in the disk arrays as they are without expanding to CG image data. As a result, a large portion of the storage space of the disk arrays is not occupied.

Claims

1. An information recording and replaying apparatus comprising:

a first information recording and replaying means for performing at least one of an operation of recording a first type of information provided in real time on a storage means for storing information and an operation of replaying the first type of information from the storage means; and

a second information recording and replaying means for performing at least one of an operation of recording a second type of information other than the first type of information on the storage means and an operation of replaying the second type of information from the storage means.

2. An information recording and replaying apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the second information recording and replaying means is capable of performing input and output of information in a form suitable for the second type of information.

3. An information recording and replaying apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the second type of information is a graphics command for drawing an image.

4. An information recording and replaying apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the second information recording and replaying means includes at least one graphics means capable of drawing an image based on a graphics command for drawing an image.

5. An information recording and replaying apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the second information recording and replaying means records the graphics command as it is in the storage means, performs graphics processing by the graphics means based on the graphics command read from the storage means, and outputs graphics image data generated by the graphics processing.

6. An information recording and replaying apparatus according to claim 4 wherein:

the second information recording and replaying means performs graphics processing by the graphics means based on the graphics command and records graphics image data thereby obtained in the storage means; and

the first information recording and replaying means reads the graphics image data from the storage means and outputs the data.

7. A method of controlling an information recording and replaying apparatus for recording information on a storage means for storing information and replaying information from the storage means, including the steps of:

having the apparatus perform at least one of an operation of recording a first type of information provided in real time on the storage means and an operation of replaying the first type of information from the storage means; and

having the apparatus perform at least one of an operation of recording a second type of information other than the first type of information on the storage means and an operation of replaying the second type of information from the storage means.

8. An information recording and replaying apparatus comprising:

a recording and replaying means for recording data including video and/or audio data on a recording medium to which nonlinear access is allowed and for replaying the data recorded on the medium;

a plurality of input/output processing means for processing the data inputted from an external source and supplying the processed data to the recording and replaying means, and for processing the data outputted from the recording and replaying means and outputting the processed data to outside the apparatus; and

a graphics processing means for receiving data for indicating a type of an image to be superimposed on the video data and supplying the data to the recording and replaying means and for outputting graphics data based on the data for indicating outputted from the recording and replaying means;

wherein

time slots are each allocated to the input/output processing means and the graphics processing means, respectively, and the input/output processing means and the graphics processing means each perform the processing within the allocated time slots.

9. An information recording and replaying apparatus according to claim 8, the recording medium having the configuration of redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID) wherein a plurality of hard disk drives are arranged in parallel.

10. An information recording and replaying apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the graphics processing means includes a conversion means for converting the data for indicating outputted from the recording and replaying means into data of two-dimensional coordinates and outputting the converted data;

and a graphics generating means for generating graphics data to be superimposed on the video data from the data of two-dimensional coordinates outputted from the conversion means and outputting the graphics data.

11. An information recording and replaying apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the video data outputted from the input/output processing means and the graphics data outputted from the graphics processing means are outputted to a superimposer connected to outside the apparatus and the graphics data is superimposed on the video data.

13. An information recording and replaying method according to claim 12, the recording medium having the configuration of redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID) wherein a plurality of hard disk drives are arranged in parallel.

14. An information recording and replaying method according to claim 12, the fourth step including the steps of:

converting the data for indicating outputted from the recording and replaying means into data of two-dimensional coordinates and outputting the converted data; and

generating graphics data to be superimposed on the video data from the data of two-dimensional coordinates converted in the step of converting and outputting the graphics data.

12. An information recording and replaying method, using an information recording and replaying means for recording data including video and/or audio data on a recording medium to which nonlinear access is allowed and for replaying the data recorded on the medium, including:

a first step of supplying the data inputted from an external source to the recording and replaying means within an allocated time slot;

a second step of outputting the data from the information recording and replaying means to outside the apparatus within the time slot;

a third step of receiving data for indicating a type of an image to be superimposed on the video data and supplying the data to the recording and replaying means within an allocated time slot; and

a fourth step of outputting the data for indicating from the recording and replaying means within the time slot, generating graphics data from the data for indicating and outputting the graphics data.