Recording and reproducing apparatus, and variable speed reproducing method using same

• US 20020118951A1
• Filed: 10/29/2001
• Published: 08/29/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Satoshi, Morinaga, Takeo, Yamamoto, Iwao
• Granted Patent: US 7,058,281 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/68
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/783 Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction

Abstract

When a variable speed reproduction of a low-time speed like an overtaking reproduction is executed by using an MPEG2 stream, deterioration in picture quality is prevented and low costs are realized. An arrival time of an input TS packet is added by an input counter and the resultant TS packet is recorded onto an HDD. When the TS packet is reproduced from the HDD, the arrival time is extracted from the reproduced TS packet. The arrival time is compared with an output time. When the arrival time reaches a time corresponding to the output time, the TS packet reproduced from the HDD is output. The time base of an output counter is fluctuated by a variable speed counter, thereby enabling the time base at the time of reading out the TS packet from the HDD to be slightly shifted from the time base at the time of recording the TS packet onto the HDD. Thus, a micro variable speed reproduction can be performed. The overtaking reproduction can be performed by such a micro variable speed reproduction.

Claims

1. A recording and reproducing apparatus for inputting, recording, reproducing and outputting a stream of TS packets, comprising:

an input counter operable to generate an arrival time for each of the TS packets input to the apparatus;

a time adder operable to add said arrival time to respective ones of the TS packets;

a recording medium;

a controller operable to control recording so that the TS packets to which said arrival time has been added are recorded onto said recording medium and to control reproduction so that the TS packets to which said arrival time has been added are reproduced from said recording medium;

an output counter operable to generate an output time for each of the TS packets reproduced from said recording medium;

a variable speed counter operable to fluctuate a time base of said output times generated by said output counter; and

an output controller operable to control reproduction so that, for each TS packet reproduced from said recording medium, said arrival time is extracted and compared with said output time, and when said arrival time reaches a time corresponding to said output time, the TS packet reproduced from said recording medium is output,

wherein a variable speed reproduction is executed by fluctuating said time base of said output times generated by said output counter.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said output counter is driven by a first clock and said variable speed counter is driven by a clock different from said first clock, and each time a counting operation of said variable speed counter is executed a predetermined number of times, a value of said output counter is shifted, thereby fluctuating said time base of said output times generated by said output counter.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said recording medium is a hard disk drive (HDD).

4. A method for inputting a stream of TS packets, recording the input stream of TS packets, reproducing the recorded stream of TS packets, and outputting the reproduced stream of TS packets, comprising:

adding an arrival time to each of the TS packets in the input stream;

recording the TS packets to which the arrival time has been added onto a recording medium;

generating an output time for each of the TS packets reproduced from the recording medium;

controlling reproduction so that, for each TS packet reproduced from the recording medium, the arrival time is extracted and compared with the output time, and when the arrival time reaches a time corresponding to the output time, the TS packet reproduced from the recording medium is output; and

executing a variable speed reproduction by fluctuating a time base of the output times.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the time base of the output times is fluctuated at predetermined intervals.

6. A receiving apparatus for receiving a digital broadcast signal including a stream of TS packets, recording the received digital broadcast signal, and thereafter, reproducing the recorded digital broadcast signal, comprising:

an input counter operable to generate an arrival time for each received TS packet in the digital broadcast signal;

a time adder operable to add said arrival time to respective ones of the received TS packets;

a recording medium;

a controller operable to control recording so that the TS packets to which said arrival time has been added are recorded onto said recording medium, and to control reproduction so that the TS packets to which said arrival time has been added are reproduced from said recording medium;

an output counter operable to generate an output time for each of the TS packets reproduced from said recording medium;

a variable speed counter operable to fluctuate a time base of said output times generated by said output counter; and

an output controller operable to control reproduction so that, for each TS packet reproduced from said recording medium, said arrival time is extracted and compared with said output time, and when said arrival time reaches a time corresponding to said output time, the TS packet reproduced from said recording medium is output,

wherein a variable speed reproduction is executed by fluctuating said time base of said output times generated by said output counter.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said output counter is driven by a first clock and said variable speed counter is driven by a clock different from said first clock, and each time a counting operation of said variable speed counter is executed a predetermined number of times, a value of said output counter is shifted, thereby fluctuating said time base of said output times generated by said output counter.