Video capture device, video recording/playing apparatus having the video capture device attached thereto, and video input device

• US 5,899,575 A
• Filed: 12/13/1996
• Issued: 05/04/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Maxell Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Kohiyama, Tomohisa, Harada, Yoshihiro, Okayama, Masataka, Tanaka, Kazuaki, Kondo, Nobukazu, Katoh, Kazutoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Chevalier, Robert
• Application Number:
  US08/750,826
• Time in Patent Office: 872 Days
• Field of Search: 386/46, 386/107, 386/117, 386/109, 386/111, 386/112, 386/118, 386/1, 386/38
• US Class Current: 386/200
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 9/007 Transform coding, e.g. discrete cosine transform
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• 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 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• 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 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8045 using predictive coding

Abstract

An object is to provide a video recording/playing apparatus for facilitating recording/playing of motion pictures. The configuration is provided with, at least, a video input device for inputting analog motion pictures (video), a video capture device for digitizing the motion pictures inputted through the video input device and recording the digitized motion pictures and, at the same time, for converting the motion pictures inputted through the video input device into compressed motion pictures capable of being played in a high compression ratio and in a high picture quality and recording the compressed motion pictures, an information extracting device for extracting arbitrary information from the non-compressed motion pictures captured by the video capture device, a correspondence information generating device for associating the information extracted by the information extracting device with the compressed motion pictures captured by the video capture device, an input device for designating a result of the correspondence, and a compressed video playing device for playing the compressed motion pictures.

Claims

1. A video recording/playing apparatus comprising:

a main storage device;

a display device; and

a video capture device including a motion picture compressing portion for compressing digitized motion pictures to generate compressed motion pictures, and a motion picture input interface portion for transferring the digitized motion pictures to said main storage device and said display device and, transferring the compressed motion pictures outputted from said motion picture compressing portion to said main storage device;

wherein;

said motion picture input interface portion separates the digitized motion pictures into two field signals in an interlace signal, transfers one field signal to said main storage device and the other field signal to said display device and, transfers the compressed motion pictures to said main storage device;

said display device displays motion pictures on the basis of the field signal transferred from said motion picture input interface portion; and

said main storage device stores the field signal transferred from said motion picture input interface portion as said display device displays the motion picture.

2. A video recording/playing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said video capture device includes a video decoder for receiving motion pictures as an analog input signal and digitizing the input motion pictures.

3. A video recording/playing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said motion picture input interface portion transfers said two field signals with different resolutions and different color formats.

4. A video recording/playing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said motion picture input interface portion transfers the compressed motion pictures in preference to the digitized motion pictures.

5. A video recording/playing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said apparatus further comprises:

a frame memory for receiving motion pictures digitized by said video decoder as an input signal through said motion picture input interface portion and holding at least one scene data of the input motion pictures; and

a video compressing portion for compressing the motion pictures digitized by said video decoder; and

wherein;

said motion picture input interface portion includes a video signal input/output portion for time-serially receiving, as an input signal, odd-numbered fields and even-numbered fields constituting the digitized motion pictures outputted from said video decoder and giving the odd-numbered fields and even-numbered fields as an output signal to said frame memory, a scaling portion for picking out data of the odd-numbered fields and even-numbered fields successively from said frame memory and scaling the data to a predetermined size, a color conversion portion for converting the scaled motion picture data outputted from said scaling portion into data of a predetermined color format, a DMA transfer control portion for DMA-transferring the motion picture data color-converted by said color conversion portion and the motion picture data compressed by said motion picture compressing portion while giving the first priority to the compressed motion picture data, and a bus input/output portion for performing data transfer between a bus to which said main storage device is connected and said DMA transfer control portion.

6. A video recording/playing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said apparatus further comprises a correspondence information generating means for receiving the motion picture data digitized by said video decoder through said motion picture input interface portion, analyzing the input non-compressed motion pictures, acquiring a point of time of a change in scene in the non-compressed motion pictures from the point of time of the start of capturing of the motion pictures when any change in scene is detected in the input motion pictures as a result of the analysis, specifying a motion picture data from the motion picture data compressed by said motion picture compressing portion correspondingly to the point of time of the change in scene acquired from said non-compressed image and generating information indicating the correspondence between the specified motion picture data and the non-compressed image at the point of time of the change in scene.