Image recording/reproducing apparatus

• US 6,275,646 B1
• Filed: 05/15/1998
• Issued: 08/14/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Maxell Limited (Maxell, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Nishijima, Hideo, Tada, Yukinobu, Kijima, Masayuki, Okamoto, Kaneyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Garber, Wendy R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Boccio, Vincent F.
• Application Number:
  US09/079,456
• Time in Patent Office: 1,187 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.576, 386/46, 386/80, 386/81, 386/1, 386/4, 386/45, 386/52, 386/55, 386/94, 358/908, 360/5, 348/460, 348/571
• US Class Current: 386/249
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/65 wherein solid state memory is used for storing indexing information or metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/90 Tape-like record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/107 of operating tapes
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/11 by using information not detectable on the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/22 Means responsive to presence or absence of recorded information signals
• 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 27/324 Duty cycle modulation of control pulses, e.g. VHS-CTL-coding systems, RAPID-time code, VASS- or VISS-cue signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 on tape
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 358/908 Pause control, i.e. "commercial killers"

Abstract

A video recording/reproducing apparatus capable of discriminating commercial message portions even when a broadcasting mode is the same. A magnetic head records television broadcasting signals to a magnetic tape and reproduces the television broadcasting signals from this magnetic tape. When the television broadcasting signals are reduced by recording/reproducing apparatus, an audio-free portion detector detects audio-free portions from audio signals in the television broadcasting signals. Commercial message (CM) portion detector detects the commercial message portions in the television broadcasting signals by the time intervals among a plurality of audio-free portions detected by the audio-free portion detector, and a CM information memory circuit stores the information of the recording positions of the commercial message portions detected by this commercial message portion detector to the magnetic tape. When the television broadcasting signals are reproduced from the magnetic tape, reproduction is carried out while the commercial message portions are skipped, at the recording positions of the commercial message portions to the magnetic tape, on the basis of the information of the recording positions of the commercial message portions to the magnetic tape that are stored in the memory circuit.

Claims

1. Apparatus for recording/reproducing program material including audio and video signals on a tape recording medium, said apparatus comprising:

a control pulse read/write unit which writes a pulse signal at a constant preset interval on a control track along a longitudinal direction of the tape recording medium, and reads recorded pulse signals from said control track;

a recording/reproducing device coupled to receive said program material and to record and reproduce said program materials and tape position information indicative of a position on said tape recording medium, to and from oblique tracks on said tape recording medium; and

a memory which stores therein recorded position information concerning a position of a commercial message portion along said longitudinal direction of said recording medium, and from which recorded position information can be read out and

a control unit which, in reproduction of said program materials, controls said recording/reproducing device to start a skip of commercial message portion at a tape speed which is higher than a normal reproduction speed, based on said recorded position information read out from said memory and said tape position information reproduced from said oblique tracks on said tape recording medium, and to stop said skip in accordance with a number of control pulses read out from said control pulse read/write unit, to return to said normal reproduction speed.

2. Apparatus for recording/reproducing program material according to claim 1 wherein said

control unit controls said recording/reproducing device to skip over portions of said program material wherein time intervals between at least a pair of changing points of said audio or video signals correspond to a predetermined time interval, and occur at least two times consecutively.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said changing points are points at which said audio and video signals change coincidentally.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said changing points are points at which the audio signal level is lower than a predetermined level.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said changing points are points at which the audio signal level is approximately zero.

6. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said changing points are points at which the video signal level changes substantially.

7. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein there is at least one changing point between said at least a pair of changing points.

8. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said control unit controls said recording/reproducing device to reproduce portions of said program material at a standard reproduction speed wherein time intervals between changing points of said audio or video signal correspond to a predetermined time interval, and occur alone.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control unit controls said recording/reproducing device to skip said commercial message portion in a fast forward or fast play mode.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said memory is a semiconductor memory.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said semiconductor memory comprises one of an EEPROM and a RAM.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said tape position information is a time code.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said tape position information is encoded and written into a vertical blanking portion of the video signal on an oblique track in said tape recording medium.

14. A method for recording/reproducing program material including audio and video signals on a tape recording medium, said method comprising:

recording said program material and tape position information indicative of a position on said tape recording medium to oblique tracks on said tape recording medium;

recording control pulses at a constant preset interval on a control track along a longitudinal direction of said tape recording medium together with said program material;

detecting commercial message portions during recording of said program material and storing recorded tape position information corresponding to said commercial portions, in a memory;

during reproduction of recorded program material from said tape recording medium,

reading position information recorded in said tape recording medium from said oblique tracks

reading recorded position information of said commercial portions from said memory; and

controlling said reproduction to start a skip of a commercial message portion at a tape speed which is higher than a normal reproduction speed, based on said stored position information read out from said memory and said tape position information read from said oblique tracks on said recording medium, and to stop said skip in accordance with a number of control pulses read out form said tape recording medium, to return to said normal reproduction speed.

15. A method for recording/reproducing program material according to claim 14, wherein said step of controlling said reproduction comprises controlling said reproduction to skip over portions of said program material wherein time intervals between at least a pair of changing points of said audio or video signals correspond to a predetermined time interval, and occur at least two times consecutively.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein said changing points are points at which said audio and video signals change coincidentally.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein said changing points are points at which the audio signal level is lower than a predetermined level.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein said changing points are points at which an audio signal level of the program material is approximately zero.

19. The method according to claim 15, wherein said changing points are points at which a video signal level of the program material changes substantially.

20. The method according to claim 15, wherein there is one changing point between said at least a pair of changing points.

21. The method according to claim 15, wherein said step of controlling reproduction includes reproducing portions of said program material at said normal reproduction speed wherein time intervals between changing points of said audio or video signal correspond to a predetermined time interval, and occur alone.