Device and method for edition of moving picture data

• US 20050235335A1
• Filed: 09/01/2004
• Published: 10/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Tsuda, Munetaka, Morita, Toru
• Granted Patent: US 7,830,570 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/133
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/216 Rewritable discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2545 CDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/031 Electronic editing of digitised analogue information signals, e.g. audio or video signals
• 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

Abstract

When a predetermined operation is made of a remote commander while moving picture data read from a storage unit and decoded is being displayed on a display screen, a thumbnail of a reproduced image being displayed on the display screen and a plurality of thumbnails near the reproduced image displayed on the display screen are displayed being superposed on the reproduced image. Information on edit points indicating the position of image data corresponding to ones, designated by the remote commander, of the plurality of thumbnails displayed on the display screen is added to the moving picture data, and the data is stored into the storage unit. Thus, it is possible to set IN and OUT points as edit points elaborately and easily for edition of moving picture data.

Claims

1. A multisystem network comprising:

a command input unit that accepts an operation command entered by the user;

a storage unit that stores moving picture data;

a decoding means for decoding the moving picture data read from the storage unit into display image data;

a thumbnail generating means for generating a thumbnail of a portion, appearing at every predetermined time, of an image formed from the moving picture data;

a display image generation/output unit that outputs the display image data from the decoding means to a display unit, and reproduces the image on the latter, and generates image data so that a thumbnail of the reproduced image being displayed on the screen of the display unit and a plurality of thumbnails near the reproduced image are displayed being superposed on the reproduced image when a predetermined operation is made of the command input unit and outputs the image data to the display unit; and

a means for adding, to the moving picture data, information on edit points indicating image data positions corresponding to ones, designated by the command input unit, of the plurality of thumbnails displayed on the screen of the display unit, and storing the data into the storage unit.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein:

before stored in the storage unit, the moving picture data has been subjected to motion compensation and divided into image groups each of a plurality of images and at least one image in one image group has been compressed with an image compression technique of providing a complete image in one screen; and

the thumbnail generating means generates the thumbnail by minifying the image, compressed with the image compression technique of providing the complete image in one screen, in each image group of the compressed moving picture data.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined operation made of the command input unit is to enter a command for starting edit-point setting by the command input unit while the reproduced image is being displayed on the screen of the display unit.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined operation made of the command input unit is to enter a command for starting edit-point setting by the command input unit while the reproduced image is being displayed on the screen of the display unit in the edition mode.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined operation made of the command input unit is to suspend the replay.

6. The device according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of thumbnails displayed when the operation for setting edit points has been done are a thumbnail of a reproduced image being displayed on the screen of the display unit and thumbnails of images before and after the reproduced image being displayed.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein the display image generation/output unit operates to:

set the plurality of thumbnails in a linear or curvilinear array on the screen of the display unit; and

generate an image in which the plurality of thumbnails displayed on the screen of the display unit is scrolled in a direction toward the past or future relative to a position of a reproduced image having been displayed on the screen of the display unit when the command for starting the edit-point setting was entered and corresponding to a directional command entered from the command input unit.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein of the plurality of thumbnails displayed on the screen of the display unit, one in a predetermined fixed position on the screen is taken as a thumbnail of interest selected for setting the edit points.

9. The device according to claim 7, wherein:

in response to a first command entered by the command input unit, the thumbnails are scrolled one by one; and

in response to a second command entered by the command input unit, the thumbnails are scrolled at every several pieces.

10. The device according to claim 9, wherein the command input unit is a video game controller and the first and second command input buttons are assigned to predetermined buttons, respectively, on the video game controller.

11. The device according to claim 1, wherein the edit points are start and end points of an image portion which is not to be reproduced.

12. A moving picture data editing method, comprising:

a reproduction step in which moving picture data read from a storage unit is decoded and displayed on a display screen;

a thumbnail superposed-displaying step in which when a predetermined operation is made of a command input unit in the reproduction step, a thumbnail of the reproduced image being displayed on the screen of the display unit and a plurality of thumbnails near the reproduced image are displayed being superposed on the reproduced image; and

a step in which information on edit points indicating image data positions corresponding to ones, designated by the command input unit, of the plurality of thumbnails displayed on the screen of the display unit in the thumbnail superposed displaying step is added to the moving picture data and the data into the storage unit.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein:

before stored in the storage unit, the moving picture data has been subjected to motion compensation and divided into image groups each of a plurality of images and at least one image in one image group has been compressed with an image compression technique of providing a complete image in one screen; and

the thumbnail is an image formed by minifying the image, compressed with the image compression technique of providing the complete image in one screen, in each image group of the compressed moving picture data.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the predetermined operation made of the command input unit is to enter a command for starting edit-point setting by the command input unit while the reproduced image is being displayed on the screen of the display unit.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein the predetermined operation made of the command input unit is to enter a command for starting edit-point setting by the command input unit while the reproduced image is being displayed on the screen of the display unit in the edition mode.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the predetermined operation made of the command input unit is to suspend the replay.

17. The method according to claim 14, wherein the plurality of thumbnails displayed when the operation for setting edit points has been done are a thumbnail of a reproduced image being displayed on the screen of the display unit and thumbnails of images before and after the reproduced image being displayed.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising a step of:

setting the plurality of thumbnails in a linear or curvilinear array on the screen of the display unit; and

generating an image in which the plurality of thumbnails displayed on the screen of the display unit is scrolled in a direction toward the past or future relative to a position of a reproduced image having been displayed on the screen of the display unit when the command for starting the edit-point setting was entered and corresponding to a directional command entered from the command input unit.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein of the plurality of thumbnails displayed on the screen of the display unit, one in a predetermined fixed position on the screen is taken as a thumbnail of interest selected for setting the edit points.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein:

in response to a first command entered by the command input unit, the thumbnails are scrolled one by one; and

in response to a second command entered by the command input unit, the thumbnails are scrolled at every several pieces.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the command input unit is a video game controller and the first and second command input buttons are assigned to predetermined buttons, respectively, on the video game controller.

22. The method according to claim 12, wherein the edit points are start and end points of an image portion which is not to be reproduced.

23. A multisystem network comprising:

a command input unit that accepts an operation command entered by the user;

a storage unit that stores moving picture data;

a decoder for decoding the moving picture data read from the storage unit into display image data;

a thumbnail generator for generating a thumbnail of a portion, appearing at every predetermined time, of an image formed from the moving picture data;

a display image generation/output unit that outputs the display image data from the decoder to a display unit, and reproduces the image on the latter, and generates image data so that a thumbnail of the reproduced image being displayed on the screen of the display unit and a plurality of thumbnails near the reproduced image are displayed being superposed on the reproduced image when a predetermined operation is made of the command input unit and outputs the image data to the display unit; and

a unit for adding, to the moving picture data, information on edit points indicating image data positions corresponding to ones, designated by the command input unit, of the plurality of thumbnails displayed on the screen of the display unit, and storing the data into the storage unit.