AV information reproducing system and a reproducing method applied to the same system

• US 20030152366A1
• Filed: 03/06/2003
• Published: 08/14/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/1997
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Kanazawa, Koji, Yasukawa, Sachiko
• Granted Patent: US 7,440,675 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 386/69
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/65 wherein solid state memory is used for storing indexing information or metadata
• 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: H04N 21/4143 embedded in a Personal Computer [PC]
• 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 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8586 by using a URL processing chained hypermedia data for information retrieval G06F16/94; information retrieval from the Internet by using URLs G06F16/955; URL in broadcast information H04H20/93; Web-based protocols H04L67/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/9206 the additional signal being a character code signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/79 Processing of colour television signals in connection with recording

Abstract

In a system for reproducing AV information from a recording medium, such as a DVD, not only are usual titles reproduced, but also related information relevant to specific stream information is acquired easily by making use of resources on a computer network. In a reproducing system with the function of reproducing the title information recorded on a DVD and displaying it on the screen of a display section, when the user clicks a Web mark on the screen, the CPU links to a Web server on the Internet via a modem and accesses the Web page related to the stream information on the screen. At that time, the related Web page is the selected information conforming to parental information, or attribute information, set in the system.

Claims

1. A reproducing apparatus comprising:

acquiring means for acquiring stream data received from a medium and access information associated with the stream data;

reproducing means for reproducing the acquired stream data;

input means for accepting an instruction from a user;

referring means for referring to an external information corresponding to the stream data acquired at a point when an input is accepted, on the basis of the access information associated with the stream data, in the case where there is such an input from the input means during the reproduction of the stream data; and

outputting means for outputting the external information referred by the referring means

2. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said medium is a digital video disk and said reproducing means reproduces stream data for the moving pictures recorded on the digital video disk.

3. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for outputting identification information for urging an acquisition of information and said stream data at the same time in the case where said external stream data can be acquired during said reproduction of the stream data.

4. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said acquisition means is composed of network communication means, which acquires said external information via a network on the basis of said related access information related to each stream data item on said medium.

5. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said external information includes the information recorded on a second medium after having been acquired by network communication and the information recorded on the areas on said medium excluding the stream data area.

6. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said access information is information which is related to each of said stream data items and indicates a different access destination.

7. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said access information is composed of a table provided separately from said stream data, the table being read before said reproducing means reproduces said stream data.

8. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said access information includes any one of a program chain number, a video title number, a cell number, and a chapter number complying with the DVD standard, and the stream data on said medium is specified on the basis of the information.

9. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said access information includes duration information to specify at least part of the stream data on said medium.

10. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said duration information is information to inform the user of the period during which said external information can be acquired.

11. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said access information contains information used for classifying external information obtained for each of regions obtained by dividing an image thereinto, in a display image of stream data displayed on a display.

12. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said information is information representing coordinates to determine the area of a display screen.

13. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising suspending means for suspending the reproduction of said stream data on the basis of an instruction from the user.

14. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said acquisition means accesses a specific server via a network on the basis of the access information recorded in a specific area on said medium after said suspending means has suspended the playback of the stream data and acquires said external information from the server.

15. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said output means outputs the stream data subjected to said suspending process and the external information acquired by said acquisition means simultaneously in the form of images after the suspending means has suspended the playback of the stream data.

16. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said output means superposes the external information acquired by said acquisition means on the stream data subjected to said suspending process and outputs the resulting data in the form of images, after said suspending means has suspended the playback of the stream data.

17. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said access information includes parental information to limit display according to parental levels.

18. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising means for reading the next piece of access information from said medium in advance.

19. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said access information is embedded in an empty area in the title information on said medium.

20. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein said empty area is an empty area in a navigation pack in the DVD standard.

21. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said empty area is DSI and PCI in a navigation pack in the DVD standard.

22. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said empty area is PGCI and PCI in a navigation pack in the DVD standard.

23. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said empty area includes URL information.

24. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said empty area includes ID information replaceable with URL information.

25. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 24, further comprising means for acquiring URL information on the basis of said ID information.

26. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 25, wherein more than one piece of URL information is correlated to said ID information.

27. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 25, further comprising selection means for selecting said URL information on the basis of date data, general parameters, nation codes, and parental levels.

28. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 24, wherein more than one URL is correlated to said empty area.

29. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 28, further comprising update means for updating said URL information on the basis of date data, general parameters, nation codes, and parental levels.

30. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said reproducing means is caused to suspend the playback of the stream data in response to an instruction by the user, and said output means outputs only the external information acquired by said acquisition means.

31. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 30, wherein said output means superposes the external information acquired by said acquisition means on the stream data subjected to the suspending process and outputs the resulting data in the form of images, after said suspending means has suspended the playback of the stream data.

32. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 30, further comprising storage means for storing the location and state of the stream data so that said reproducing means may resume the playback of the stream data after said suspending means has suspended the playback of the stream data.

33. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said reproducing means continues the playback of the stream data even after the user has given an instruction and outputs the playback signal produced by the reproducing means and a signal representing the external information acquired-by said acquisition means.

34. A reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said access information includes telephone number information to select WEB display related information.

35. A recording format for a recording medium comprising:

a field for title information; and

a field for an information management table composed of access information and a plurality of pieces of identification information to identify each stream in said title information.

36. A recording format for a recording medium according to claim 35, wherein said identification information includes at least one of information to identify a stream, including a program chain number, a video title number, a cell number, chapter number information complying with the DVD standard, information on information notice time, and coordinate information.

37. A recording format for a recording medium according to claim 35, wherein said access information is URL display related information including information representing parental levels.

38. A recording format for a recording-medium comprising:

a field for a volume file structure;

a DVD video zone;

a field for HTML files; and

a field for other files, wherein

the DVD video zone includes

a video manager(VMG) and

a plurality of DVD video title sets(VTS),

each video title set including video title set information(VISI),

program chain information(PCGI),

a video object set(VOBS) constituting a title,

 

the video object set including a navigation pack in which a plurality of URLs indicating the locations of the HTML contents related to an image of each scene in the title have been embedded and

 

a plurality of cells, and

video title set information(VTSI).