Method of editing multimedia data including graphic display of reproduction times

• US 5,481,752 A
• Filed: 11/07/1994
• Issued: 01/02/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kitagawa, Hidemasa, Suzuki, Kisoko, Mori, Yoshihiro, Endo, Koichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Geckil, Mehmet
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHAH, ALPESH
• Application Number:
  US08/336,239
• Time in Patent Office: 421 Days
• Field of Search: 395/800, 395/500, 395/162, 395/147, 395/146, 395/140, 395/100, 395/425, 395/325, 395/155, 395/153, 369/14, 369/47, 369/63, 369/83, 369/86, 369/19-34, 368/69, 368/70, 368/71, 368/89, 368/223, 360/1, 360/12, 360/13, 360/22, 360/23, 360/24, 360/27, 360/36.1, 360/37.1, 360/57, 360/19.1, 358/335, 358/337, 358/343, 364/188-192, 364/419.07, 364/419.17, 364/419.19
• US Class Current: 715/204
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/028 with computer assistance
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/974 Slider control as on-screen object in operator interface

Abstract

A data editing apparatus includes a mass storage device to edit multimedia data such as picture, audio, text and other data. By the visual graphic display of the time positions of the edited information, the user can easily grasp the reproduction time of the picture, text and audio data, thereby simplifying synchronization of plural media data. Graphic editing may be effected to facilitate multimedia data editing.

Claims

1. A method of editing multimedia data comprising the steps of (1) visually representing reproduction times of information data, (2) confirming a designation location of the information data, (3) inserting the designated location of the information data, (4) deleting the designated location of the information data, and (5) confirming edition of the information data;

wherein said step (1) of visually representing reproduction times of information data includes the steps of (a) calculating a reproduction time of each of a plurality of material information data stored in a data storage portion and a reproduction time destination information data corresponding to said material information data, and (b) displaying graphics arranged in parallel, using a display control portion, said graphics having respective areas proportional to the calculated respective reproduction times so as to visually represent the respective reproduction times indicative of said material information data and indicative of the corresponding destination information data;

wherein said step (2) of confirming the designated location of the data includes the steps of (a) designating an optional location of the graphics, using an input portion, said graphics corresponding to the plurality of material information data or the plurality of destination information data being displayed by said display control portion, where indication information data corresponding to the designated location including identification data for distinction of the designation information part on the designated location, address value of the designated location and indication of indicating reproduction of the designation information part on the designated location are transmitted to a control portion, (b) converting the address value included in the indication information data into a time address value represented in a unit of time basis in said control portion, which the time address value is transmitted to said display control portion, (c) digitally displaying the time address value using said display control portion, and (d) simultaneously reading, in said control portion, the information data of a predetermined data amount corresponding to the time address value of the corresponding plurality of material information data or the destination information data, from a data storage portion in accordance with the identification data for distinction included in the indication information data, which the read-out information data is transmitted to a synchronization control portion where the resultant information data is reproduced, thereby confirming the designated location of the information data;

wherein said step (3) of inserting the designated information data includes the steps of (a) designating an optional range of the graphics corresponding to the plurality of material information data and an optional location of the graphics corresponding to the destination information data which corresponds to the plurality of material information data being displayed by said display control portion, thereby supplying, to said control portion, a construction information indicative of the identification data for distinction and the address value within the designated range of the designated material information data and arrangement information including the identification data for distinction of the designated destination information part, address value of the designated location thereof and insertion indication of inserting the destination information data part into the designated location, (b) reading, using said control portion, the designated range of the designated material information part from said data storage portion based on the construction information, (c) inserting the read-out designation range of the designated material information part into the designated location of the designated destination information part in said data storage portion, and (d) simultaneously displaying graphics, using said display control portion, said graphics having their areas corresponding to the increased amount of the information part due to the insertion of the designated destination information part, thereby effecting the insertion of the information data;

wherein said step (4) of deleting the designated location of the information data includes the steps of (a) designating an optional range of the graphics, using the input portion, said graphics corresponding to the plurality of material information data or the plurality of destination information data being displayed by said display control portion, thereby transmitting to said control portion the arrangement information including the identification information for distinction of the designated information part, address value of the designated location and deletion indication of deleting the data part of the designated range, (b) deleting the designated range of the designation information part in said data storage portion on the basis of the construction information, and (c) simultaneously displaying graphics, in said display control portion, said graphics having their areas corresponding to the decreased data amount due to the deletion of the designated destination information part, thereby executing the deletion of the information data; and

wherein said step (5) of data edition confirming step includes the steps of (a) designating a location, using the input portion, said location corresponding to any same time address value of the graphics corresponding to the plurality of destination information data being displayed by said display control portion, whereby the address value of the designated location of the designated plurality of destination information data and indication information including indication of reproducing in synchronization the designated plurality of destination information data from the designated location are transmitted to said control portion, (b) converting the address value, using said control portion, said address value included in the designated designation information into the time address value corresponding to the designation location of the designated destination information part on the basis of the indication information, and (c) reading the respective information data contained in the designation location corresponding to the respective time address value corresponding to the designated designation information part from said data storage portion, which the read-out information is transmitted to said synchronization control portion where the respective information data are reproduced in synchronization, thereby executing the confirmation of editing data.

2. A method of editing multimedia data comprising the steps of (1) visually representing reproduction times of information data, (2) visually displaying the designated location of said plurality of material and destination information, (3) confirming a designated location of the information data, (4) inserting the designated location of the information data, (5) deleting the designated location of the information data, and (6) confirming edition of the information data;

wherein said step (1) of visually representing reproduction times of information data further includes the steps of (a) calculating a reproduction time of each of a plurality of material information data stored in a data storage portion and a reproduction time of each of a plurality of destination information data corresponding to said material information data, and (b) displaying graphics arranged in parallel, using a display control portion, said graphics having their areas proportional to the calculated respective reproduction times, so as to visually represent the respective reproduction times indicative of the material information data and indicative of the corresponding destination information data;

wherein said step (2) of visually displaying the designated location of said plurality of material and destination information data includes the step of displaying a plurality of markers, using said display control portion, said markers indicative of a predetermined time address value in superposition on a location according to the time address value corresponding to said markers of the graphics representing said plurality of material and destination information data, thereby visually displaying the designated location of the plurality of material and destination information data;

wherein said step (3) of confirming the designated data location includes the steps of (a) designating an optional location of the graphics, using an input portion, said graphics corresponding to the plurality of material information data or the plurality of destination information data being displayed by said display control portion, or designating the markers being displayed in superposition on the graphics corresponding to the plurality of material or destination information data, where indication information data corresponding to the designated location including identification data for distinction of the designation information part on the designated location, address value of the designated location and indication of indicating reproduction of the designation information part on the designated location are transmitted to a control portion, (b) converting the address value included in the indication information data into a time address value represented in a unit of time basis using said control portion, said address value, which the time address value is transmitted to said display control portion, (c) digitally displaying the time address value using said display control portion, and (d) simultaneously reading-out the information data of a predetermined data amount, using said control portion, said information data of a predetermined data amount corresponding to the time address value of the corresponding plurality of material information data or the destination information data, from a data storage portion in accordance with the identification data for distinction included in the indication information data, which the read-out information data is transmitted to a synchronization control portion where the resultant information data is reproduced, thereby confirming the designated location of the information data;

wherein said step (4) of inserting the designated information data includes the steps of (a) designating an optional range of the plurality of material information data by directly designating the graphics corresponding to the plurality of material information data being displayed by said display control portion or by designating the markers displayed in superposition on the graphics corresponding to the plurality of material information data, and designating an optional location of the destination information data by directly designating the graphics corresponding to the destination information data which corresponds to the plurality of material information data or by designating the markers displayed in superposition on the graphics corresponding to the destination information data, thereby supplying, to said control portion, construction information indicative of the identification data for distinction and the address value within the designated range of the designated material information data and arrangement information including the identification data for distinction of the designated destination information part, address value of the designated location thereof and insertion indication of inserting the destination information data part into the designated location, (b) reading-out the designated range of the designated material information part, using said control portion, from said data storage portion based on the construction information, (c) inserting the read-out designation range of the designated material information part into the designated location of the designated destination information part in said data storage portion, and (d) simultaneously displaying graphics, using said display control portion, said graphics having their areas corresponding to the increased amount of the information part due to the insertion of the designated destination information part, thereby executing the insertion of the information data;

wherein said step (5) of deleting the designated location of the information data includes the steps of (a) designating an optional range of the plurality of material or destination information data by directly designating the graphics corresponding to the plurality of material information data or the plurality of destination information data being displayed by said display control portion or by designating the markers displayed in superposition on the graphics corresponding to said plurality of material or destination information data, using the input portion, thereby transmitting to said control portion the arrangement information including the identification information for distinction of the designated information part, address value of the designated location and deletion indication of deleting the data part of the designated range, (b) deleting the designated range of the designation information part in said data storage portion on the basis of the construction information, and (c) simultaneously displaying graphics, in said display control portion, said graphics having their areas corresponding to the decreased data amount due to the deletion of the designated destination information part, thereby effecting the deletion of the information data; and

wherein said step (6) of confirmation edition of the information data includes the steps of (a) designating a location, using the input portion, said location corresponding to any same time address value of the graphics corresponding to the plurality of destination information data being displayed by said display control portion or designating one of the plurality of markers displayed in superposition on the graphics corresponding to the plurality of destination information data, whereby the address value of the designated location of the designated plurality of destination information data and indication information including indication of reproducing in synchronization the designated plurality of destination information data from the designated location are transmitted to said control portion, (b) converting the address value included in the designated designation information into a time address value corresponding to the designation location of the designated destination information part on the basis of the indication information using said control portion, and (c) reading out the respective information data contained in the designation location corresponding to the respective time address value corresponding to the designated designation information part from said data storage portion, which the read-out information is transmitted to said synchronization control portion where the respective information data are reproduced in synchronization, thereby executing the confirmation of editing data.