Recording apparatus, recording/reproducing apparatus and recording method

• US 6,259,859 B1
• Filed: 12/14/1998
• Issued: 07/10/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kawakami, Takashi, Katsuki, Shinji
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HUY THANH
• Application Number:
  US09/211,077
• Time in Patent Office: 939 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.5928, 386/46, 386/96, 386/104, 386/105, 386/106, 386/112, 386/107, 386/117, 386/109, 386/111, 386/98, 358/906, 358/909.1
• US Class Current: 386/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• 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 5/9267 using time division multiplex of the PCM audio and PCM video signals
• 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

Abstract

A recording apparatus for storing input video and audio data temporarily in a memory, reading out back the video and audio data from the memory and recording the video and audio data into a recording medium wherein a storage-size of the memory is found and video data to be stored in the memory is thinned in accordance with the storage-size so that audio data of a minimum required amount can be stored in the memory to prevent continuity of audio data recorded in the recording medium from becoming unsustainable.

Claims

1. A recording apparatus comprising:

a video compressing means for compressing input video data;

an audio compressing means for compressing input audio data;

a storage means for storing compressed video data generated by said video compressing means and compressed audio data produced by said audio compressing means;

a recording means for reading out compressed video data and compressed audio data temporarily stored in said storage means back from said storage means with predetermined timing and then recording said compressed video and audio data read out from said storage means into a recording medium;

a storage-size detecting means for finding a storage-size of said storage means; and

a storage-means control means for writing compressed audio data generated by said audio compressing means to be supplied to said storage means into said storage means at a priority higher than compressed video data produced by said video compressing means to be supplied to said storage means in accordance with a storage-size of said storage means found by said storage-size detecting means.

2. A recording apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said storage-size found by said storage-size detecting means is a size of a free area left in said storage means.

3. A recording apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said storage-size found by said storage-size detecting means is a size of an area already used for storing data in said storage means.

4. A recording apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said storage-means control means executes control to vary the compressibility of compressed video data produced by said video compressing means to be supplied to said storage means.

5. A recording apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said storage-means control means stores only still pictures of compressed video data produced by said video compressing means to be supplied to said storage means into said storage means.

6. A recording apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said storage-means control means stores only compressed audio data produced by said audio compressing means to be supplied to said storage means into said storage means.

7. A recording apparatus according to claim 1 capable of accommodating a plurality of recording mediums and replacing one of said recording mediums with another one selected among said recording mediums wherein said storage means compensates compressed video data and compressed audio data recorded in said recording mediums for recording interruptions generated during replacements of said recording mediums.

8. A recording and reproducing apparatus comprising:

a video compressing means for compressing input video data;

an audio compressing means for compressing input audio data;

a storage means for storing compressed video data generated by said video compressing means and compressed audio data produced by said audio compressing means;

a storage-size detecting means for finding a storage-size of said storage means;

a control means for controlling said video compressing means to thin compressed video data generated thereby in accordance with a storage-size of said storage means found by said storage-size detecting means so as to reserve an area in said storage means large enough for storing compressed audio data produced by said audio compressing means to be supplied to said storage means;

an identifier generating means for generating an identifier used for identifying a control state of said control means;

a recording means for reading out compressed video data, compressed audio data and said identifier generated by said identifier generating means to identify a control state of said control means temporarily stored in said storage means back from said storage means with predetermined timing and then recording said compressed video data, said compressed audio data and said identifier read out from said storage means into a recording medium;

a reproducing means for reproducing compressed video data, compressed audio data and said identifier used for identifying a control state of said control means from said recording medium;

a video decompressing means for decompressing compressed video data reproduced by said reproducing means;

an audio decompressing means for decompressing compressed audio data reproduced by said reproducing means; and

a video-decompressing-means control means for controlling decompression carried out by said video decompressing means in accordance with said identifier reproduced by said reproducing means.

9. A recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 8 wherein:

said identifier generated by said identifier generating means to identify a control state of said control means shows that the compressibility of compressed video data stored in said storage means is variable; and

said video decompressing means decompresses compressed video data at a decompressibility corresponding to said compressibility of said compressed video data indicated by said identifier reproduced from said recording medium.

10. A recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 8 wherein:

said identifier generated by said identifier generating means to identify a control state of said control means shows that compressed video data stored in said storage means is data of still pictures only; and

said video decompressing means decompresses said data of still pictures in accordance with said identifier reproduced from said recording medium.

11. A recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 8 wherein:

said identifier generated by said identifier generating means to identify a control state of said control means shows that only compressed audio data has been stored in said storage means; and

said video decompressing means halts decompression of compressed video data in accordance with said identifier reproduced from said recording medium.

12. A recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 8 wherein control of said video compressing means to thin compressed video data generated thereby is executed by said control means by varying said compressibility of said compressed video data.

13. A recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 8 wherein control of said video compressing means to thin compressed video data generated thereby is executed by said control means by storing video data of still pictures only in said storage means.

14. A recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 8 wherein control of said video compressing means to thin compressed video data generated thereby is executed by said control means by storing only audio data in said storage means.

15. A recording method comprising the steps of:

compressing input video data;

compressing input audio data;

storing compressed video data and compressed audio data in a memory;

finding a storage-size of said memory;

writing compressed audio data supplied to said memory into said memory at a priority higher than compressed video data supplied to said memory in accordance with said storage-size of said memory; and

reading out compressed video data and compressed audio data temporarily stored in said memory back from said memory with predetermined timing and then recording said compressed video and audio data read out from said memory into a recording medium.