Digital recording system using variable recording rate

• US 20020186961A1
• Filed: 07/11/2002
• Published: 12/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hideki Mimura, Hideo Ando, Hitoshi Otomo, Kazuhiko Taira, Shinichi Kikuchi, Takahiro Seita, Yuji Ito
• Original Assignee: Hideki Mimura, Hideo Ando, Hitoshi Otomo, Kazuhiko Taira, Shinichi Kikuchi, Takahiro Seita, Yuji Ito
• Inventors: Ito, Yuji, Ando, Hideo, Otomo, Hitoshi, Mimura, Hideki, Kikuchi, Shinichi, Taira, Kazuhiko, Seita, Takahiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,289,723 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/98
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/04 Arrangements for preventing, inhibiting, or warning against double recording on the same blank or against other recording or reproducing malfunctions
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/216 Rewritable discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/218 Write-once discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2516 Hard disks
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2575 DVD-RAMs
• 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 2220/65 wherein solid state memory is used for storing indexing information or metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/002 Programmed access in sequence to a plurality of record carriers or indexed parts, e.g. tracks, thereof, e.g. for editing; transfer of record carriers from magazine G11B15/68, G11B17/10; G11B17/22
• 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 27/3027 used signal is digitally coded
• 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 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8063 using time division multiplex of the PCM audio and PCM video signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8227 : the additional signal being at least another television signal

Abstract

An erase prohibition setting unit sets erase prohibition in accordance with an instruction. When the range is not set in units of cells of the current cell, the current cell is divided by a cell separator to set a sequence of advanced cells. A reconstruction part reconstructs management information for playing, back the advanced cells and current cell, and appends erase prohibition information to the management information for playing back the advanced cells that belong to the range.

Claims

1. A digital information recording/playback system using a digital recording medium having a limited storage amount, wherein a remaining recordable time is informed or displayed upon digital recording with a variable recording rate.

2. A digital information recording/playback system using a digital recording medium having a limited storage amount, wherein a remaining recordable time is informed or displayed together with an average recording rate in use upon digital recording with a variable recording rate.

3. A variable,recording rate digital information recording/playback system using a digital recording medium, wherein a recording quality and a recordable time are adapted for the medium by changing a variable recording rate.

4. A variable recording rate digital information recording/playback system using a digital recording medium, wherein an average recording rate for recording programs with predetermined lengths of time is changed in accordance with a remaining amount of the recording medium in order to record all the programs.

5. A variable recording rate digital information recording/playback system using a digital recording medium, wherein an average recording rate for recording non-recorded programs with predetermined lengths of time is changed in accordance with a remaining amount of the recording medium, a number of non-recorded programs, and a total time of the non-recorded programs in order to record all the programs.

6. A digital recording medium having archive information which optionally specify a portion of information to be kept in recorded information.

7. A digital information recording/playback system using a digital recording medium having a limited storage amount, wherein a recordable time for the medium is extended by erasing recorded information appended with a flag indicating that the information is erasable.

8. A digital recording medium wherein digital moving picture information in a predetermined unit is recorded at a variable rate, and dummy information which can be used in editing recorded information is also recorded in a unit corresponding to the predetermined unit.

9. A digital information recording/playback system, wherein digital moving picture information is recorded on a recording medium at a variable rate, and dummy information which can be used in editing recorded information after recording is additionally recorded.

10. A system according to claim 9, wherein a recordable time of the digital moving picture information is extended by releasing a prospective dummy information recording portion as a new recording area by canceling or stopping recording of the dummy information, when the recordable amount becomes short upon recording the moving picture information on the digital recording medium whose storage amount is limited.

11. A remote controller used in a digital information recording/playback system, comprising an operation key for instructing to change a variable recording rate.

12. A remote controller comprising an operation key for informing or displaying a remaining recordable time when digital recording is done with the variable recording rate.

13. A computer readable program or processing method, comprising:

a process for, when a free space remaining on a medium having a limited storage amount becomes smaller than a predetermined value upon recording of information on the medium at a variable recording rate, calculating a remaining recordable time of the medium based on the free space and on the variable recording rate; and

a process for displaying or indicating the remaining recordable time at the variable recording rate together with the variable recording rate according to a result of the process for calculating the remaining recordable time.

14. A computer readable program or processing method, comprising:

a process for, when a recordable free space remaining on a medium which has a limited storage amount and is undergoing information recording at a variable recording rate, calculating an average recording rate for the medium based on the free space and on a length of information to be recorded on the medium; and

a process for setting the calculated average recording rate as a recording rate for the free space.

15. A computer readable program or processing method, comprising:

a process for, if a free space that remains on a medium having a limited storage amount is insufficient when recording of information for a predetermined period of time on the medium is performed at a variable recording rate, decreasing an average recording rate for the medium discontinuously or stepwise based on the free space and on the information recording time; and

a process for setting the decreased average recording rate as a recording rate for the free space.

16. A computer readable program or processing method, comprising:

a process for, when a remaining amount on a medium having a limited storage amount is not less than a predetermined value upon digital moving picture recording on the medium at a variable recording rate, performing the digital moving picture recording according to MPEG2; and

a process for, when the remaining amount of the medium is less than the predetermined value upon digital moving picture recording on the medium at a variable recording rate, performing the digital moving picture recording according to MPEG1.

17. A computer readable program or processing method, comprising:

a process for, when a remaining recordable amount of a medium having a limited storage amount is not less than a predetermined value, recording dummy information together with predetermined information to be recorded; and

a process for, when the remaining recordable amount of the medium is less than the predetermined value, canceling the recording of the dummy information.

18. A computer readable program or processing method, which is applied to a recording medium that stores a management area including archive information which can specify an information portion to be permanently kept of recorded information, comprising:

a process for setting the archive information corresponding to a specified information portion in a free state that does not indicate permanent keep.

19. A computer readable program or processing method, which is applied to a recording medium that stores a management area including archive information which can specify an information portion to be permanently kept of recorded information, comprising:

a process for setting the archive information corresponding to a specified information portion in a permanent keep state.

20. A digital information recording disc which is subjected to digital information recording premised on a variable recording rate, has a limited storage amount, and has at least one of non-rewritable information indicating a recordable free-space, and information indicating a recordable remaining amount, which remains after information recording.

21. An apparatus for recording MPEG-encoded moving picture information on a recordable optical disc, wherein the moving picture information to be recorded on the optical disc at a variable bit rate is stored in packs of the following data structure, in which:

(A) the optical disc has a lead-in area on an inner peripheral portion thereof, and includes a video area on an outer peripheral portion thereof;

(B) the video area includes at least one data file called a video title corresponding to a recorded program, and a data file called a video manager which stores information for managing the video title;

(C) the video title includes cell data which compose at least a portion of the recording program, and the cell data includes at least one data unit called a video object unit; and

(D) the video object unit includes at least one pack each having a predetermined data size, and at least one of the packs includes moving picture information recorded at the variable recording rate.

22. An apparatus according to claim 21, wherein the lead-in area includes physical format information written with at least free space information of the optical disc.

23. A method for recording an object and management information on a recording medium which has a data area, and a management area having management information used for playing back the object recorded in the data area as a set of cells, comprising the steps of:

setting an erase prohibition range for the object;

dividing a current cell to provide a sequence of advanced cells, when the erase prohibition range is not set in units of cells of the current cell which forms the object;

reconstructing new management information with which the advanced cells and the current cell can be played back and appending erase prohibition information to the new management information corresponding to the advanced cells which belongs to the erase prohibition range.

24. An apparatus for recording an object and management information on a recording medium which has a data area, and a management area having management information used for playing back the object recorded in the data area as a set of cells, comprising:

means for setting an erase prohibition range for the object;

cell divide means for, when the erase prohibition range is not set in units of cells of the current cell which forms the object, dividing the current cell to provide a sequence of advanced cells; and

means for reconstructing new management information with which the advanced cells and the current cell can be played back, and for appending erase prohibition information to the new management information corresponding to the advanced cells which belong to the erase prohibition range.

25. An apparatus for playing back contents of a recording medium which has a data area, and a management area having management information used for playing back the object recorded in the data area as a set of cells, wherein said playback apparatus has an erase prohibition range setting portion for setting an erase prohibition range for the object, said erase prohibition range setting portion comprising:

cell unit display means for enabling display of cell units of a required object based on the management information;

erase range setting means for setting the erase range in fine units being smaller than the cell units displayed by said cell unit display means, and for displaying a state of this setting on a display; and

means for, when the erase range set by said erase range setting means is determined, and a current cell is divided, making said cell unit display means display the cell units of the object as a sequence of new advanced cell units.