Information recording medium and apparatus and method for recording and reproducing information

• US 5,798,995 A
• Filed: 02/14/1997
• Issued: 08/25/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/1993
• 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: Inagaki, Masahiro, Fukushima, Yoshihisa, Azumatani, Yasushi, Hamasaka, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Edun, Muhammad N.
• Application Number:
  US08/800,848
• Time in Patent Office: 557 Days
• Field of Search: 369/59, 369/42, 369/48, 369/49, 369/50, 369/54, 369/58, 369/32, 369/132, 360/48, 360/51
• US Class Current: 386/328
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1254 for mixed data, i.e. continuous and discontinuous data
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/005 Reproducing at a different information rate from the information rate of recording for television signals H04N5/783
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/036 Insert-editing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/3027 used signal is digitally coded
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/3063 Subcodes
• 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 5/783 Adaptations for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/9265 with processing of the sound signal
• 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 9/8087 using time division multiplex of the PCM audio and PCM video signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8244 involving the use of subcodes

Abstract

The data recording/reproducing apparatus of the present invention efficiently performs a trickplay mode operation such as fast forward reproducing and rewind reproducing and a postrecording operation by using a data recording medium storing a variable-bitrate-compressed video data. Each AV file in the video data includes chapter data and first and second pointer data. Each GOP data in the chapter data includes one independent picture data and a plurality of dependent picture data. The first pointer data includes the location data of the independent picture data, and the second pointer data includes the location data of the first pointer data. Further, each GOP data includes an audio data interleaved with the picture data. The first pointer data includes the location data of the corresponding audio data, and the second pointer data includes the location data of the corresponding first pointer data. A hierarchical location data for retrieving the independent picture data and/or the audio data is formed by the first and second pointers.

Claims

1. A data recording/reproducing apparatus by using a data recording medium for recording and reproducing each unit with a fixed length of a data, the apparatus comprising:

video data generating means for generating a compressed picture data by variable-bitrate-compressing an externally input video signal in units of a picture;

audio data generating means for generating an audio data from an externally input audio signal;

interleaving means for generating GOP data by interleaving the compressed picture data and the audio data on the basis of each unit with the fixed length, the interleaving being performed in units of a picture group (GOP) including a predetermined number of pictures, and generating a chapter data including a plurality of the GOP data;

means for generating a plurality of first pointers, each first pointer being provided in a one-to-one correspondence to each of the audio data included in the chapter data so as to store location data of the corresponding audio data, and for generating a first pointer data by allocating the plurality of the first pointers in a predetermined order;

first pointer data storing means for temporarily storing the first pointer data;

means for generating a plurality of second pointers, each second pointer being provided in a one-to-one correspondence to each of the first pointer data so as to store location data of the corresponding first pointer data, and for generating a second pointer data by allocating the plurality of the second pointers in a predetermined order;

second pointer data storing means for temporarily storing the second pointers;

means for generating an AV file by alternately allocating the first pointer data and the chapter data and positioning the second pointer data at a predetermined location; and

means for recording the AV file on the data recording medium.

2. A data recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the second pointer data includes all the second pointers corresponding to the first pointer data included in the corresponding AV file, and

the means for generating the AV file allocating the second pointer data at top and/or end portions of each of the AV files.

3. A data recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the video data generating means and the audio data generating means add a data type code for discriminating the kind of data to be recorded to each unit with the fixed length.

4. A data recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the video data generating means and the audio data generating means add a padding data to each of the compressed picture data and the audio data, and add a valid data length for discriminating the padding data to each unit with the fixed length in the compressed picture data and the audio data.

5. A data recording/reproducing apparatus by using a data recording medium having a plurality of units with a fixed length for recording AV files each including the video data that is compressed in units of a picture on the variable-bitrate condition, each of the AV files including a plurality of chapter data including a plurality of GOP data, a plurality of first pointer data each having a plurality of first pointers, and at least one second pointer data each having a plurality of second pointers;

each of the GOP data including at least one picture data and at least one audio data;

each of the first pointers being provided in a one-to-one correspondence to each of the audio data and storing location data of the corresponding audio data;

each of the second pointers being provided in a one-to-one correspondence to each of the first pointer data and storing location data of the corresponding first pointer data, the apparatus comprising postrecording control means including;

means for reading the first and the second pointer data from the data recording medium;

means for detecting location of the audio data by using the read first and second pointer data; and

means for recording input audio data at the detected location.

6. A data recording/reproducing method by using a data recording medium for recording/reproducing each unit with a fixed length of data, the method comprising the steps of:

generating a compressed picture data by variable-bitrate-compressing an externally input video signal in units of a picture;

generating audio data from an externally input audio signal;

generating GOP data by interleaving the compressed picture data and the audio data on the basis of each unit with the fixed length, the interleaving being performed in units of a picture group (GOP) including a predetermined number of pictures;

generating a chapter data including a plurality of the GOP data;

generating a plurality of first pointers, each first pointer being provided in a one-to-one correspondence to each of the audio data included in the chapter data so as to store location data of the corresponding audio data and, generating a first pointer data by allocating the plurality of the first pointers in a predetermined order;

temporarily storing the first pointer data;

generating a plurality of second pointers, each second pointer being provided in a one-to-one correspondence to each of the first pointer data so as to store location data of the corresponding first pointer data, and generating a second pointer data by allocating the plurality of the second pointers in a predetermined order;

temporarily storing the second pointers;

generating an AV file by alternately allocating the first pointer data and the chapter data and positioning the second pointer data at a predetermined location; and

recording the AV file on the data recording medium.

7. A data recording/reproducing method by using a data recording medium having a plurality of units with a fixed length for recording AV files each including the video data that is compressed in units of a picture on the variable-bitrate condition, each of the AV files including a plurality of chapter data including a plurality of GOP data, a plurality of first pointer data each having a plurality of first pointers, and at least one second pointer data each having a plurality of second pointers;

each of the GOP data including at least one picture data and at least one audio data;

each of the first pointers being provided in a one-to-one correspondence to each of the audio data and storing location data of the corresponding audio data;

each of the second pointers being provided in a one-to-one correspondence to each of the first pointer data and storing location data of the corresponding first pointer data, the method comprising a postrecording control step including the steps of;

reading the first and the second pointer data from the data recording medium;

detecting location of the audio data by using the read first and second pointer data; and

recording an input audio data at the detected location.

8. A data recording/reproducing method according to claim 7, wherein the second pointer data includes all the second pointers corresponding to the first pointer data included in the corresponding AV file,

in the step of recording the AV file, the second pointer data is allocated at top and end portions of each AV file, and

the step of reading the second pointer data included in the postrecording control step further includes the step of reading the second pointer data recorded at the end portion of the AV file when the second pointer data recorded at the top portion of the AV file is unreadable.

9. A data recording/reproducing method according to claim 7,

wherein the audio pointers in the first pointer data include both prepointers storing the location data of the audio data included in one of the chapter data located immediately before the corresponding first pointer data and postpointers storing the location data of the audio data included in one of the chapter data located immediately after the corresponding first pointer data, and

the step of reading the first pointer data included in the postrecording control step comprises the step of:

reading the postpointers included in the nth first pointer data, and when the postpointers included in the nth first pointer data are unreadable, reading the prepointers included in the (n+1)th first pointer data.