Video signal recording and reproducing apparatus

• US 6,430,363 B2
• Filed: 01/16/2001
• Issued: 08/06/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Katou, Yoshikazu, Sasaki, Seishi
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Thai
• Assistant Examiner(s): ONUAKU, CHRISTOPHER O
• Application Number:
  US09/760,628
• Publication Number:
  US 20010002224A1
• Time in Patent Office: 567 Days
• Field of Search: 386/1, 386/4, 386/45-46, 386/52, 386/55, 386/64, 386/68, 386/83, 386/92, 386/95-96, 386/101, 386/108-109, 386/111-112, 386/125-126, 386/105, 360/32, 360/60, 360/39, 360/62, 360/64, 348/571, 348/714
• US Class Current: 386/328
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00007 Time or data compression or expansion audio compression based on psychoacoustics G10L19/00; data processing for reproducing audio data at different playback speeds G10L21/04; video compression H04N19/00; data compression per se H03M7/30
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10527 Audio or video recording; Data buffering arrangements G11B20/12 - G11B20/18 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10592 specifically adapted for recording or reproducing multichannel signals
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10916 Seeking data on the record carrier for preparing an access to a specific address
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10953 Concurrent recording or playback of different streams or files
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10962 wherein both recording and playback take place simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2516 Hard disks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/40 using video transcoding, i.e. partial or full decoding of a coded input stream followed by re-encoding of the decoded output stream
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/423 characterised by memory arrangements H04N19/433 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/428 Recompression, e.g. by spatial or temporal decimation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/587 involving temporal sub-sampling or interpolation, e.g. decimation or subsequent interpolation of pictures in a video sequence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/61 in combination with predictive coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/440281 by altering the temporal resolution, e.g. by frame skipping television signal recording using magnetic recording on tape for reproducing at a rate different from the recording rate H04N5/783
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47 End-user applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 : Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 : between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 : on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/782 : on tape
• 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 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 9/8227 : the additional signal being at least another television signal

Abstract

The video signal recording and reproducing apparatus of the invention includes: a receiving section for receiving a television signal; an image compression section for compressing an amount of information per unit time of the received continuous video signal; a writing section for intermittently writing a compressed video signal, obtained as an output of the image compression section, onto a hard disk apparatus via a magnetic head; a reading section for intermittently reading out the written compressed video signal from the hard disk apparatus via the magnetic head; a decoding section for restoring the read compressed video signal into an original video signal; a display section for displaying the restored video signal; and a control section for controlling the writing section and the reading section such that writing the video signal onto the hard disk apparatus and reading an arbitrary video signal, which was previously written onto the hard disk apparatus, from the hard disk apparatus are performed apparently simultaneously and continuously.

Claims

1. An apparatus for recording a signal onto a hard disk apparatus and reproducing the signal recorded onto the hard disk apparatus, comprising:

signal inputting means for inputting the signal;

time compression means for compressing the input signal along a time axis per a time T1 to obtain a unit of time compressed writing signal;

writing means for writing the unit of time compressed writing signal onto the hard disk apparatus via a magnetic head;

reading means for reading an arbitrary unit of time compressed writing signal which was previously written onto the hard disk apparatus, from the hard disk apparatus via the magnetic head to obtain a unit of time compressed reading signal;

time decompression means for decompressing the unit of time compressed reading signal along the time axis so as to obtain a decompressed signal for reproduction; and

control means for controlling the writing means and the reading means such that a period during which the unit of time compressed writing signal is written onto the hard disk does not overlap with a period during which the unit of time compressed reading signal is read from the hard disk apparatus,

wherein the time T1 is set to be longer than T, where the time T is defined as a sum of seek time required for moving the magnetic head to write the unit of time compressed writing signal onto the hard disk apparatus, time required for writing the unit of time compressed writing signal onto the hard disk apparatus, seek time required for moving the magnetic head to read the unit of time compressed reading signal from the hard disk apparatus, and time required for reading the unit of time compressed reading signal from the hard disk apparatus.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the signal is a digital broadcasting signal.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the unit of time compressed writing signal is written onto a portion of the hard disk apparatus having successive L sectors, where L is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising memory means to store a relationship between the address of the sectors and a time information of the unit of time compressed writing signal.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the signal inputting means inputs a plurality of signals.

6. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a signal output means, wherein the signal output means outputs an output signal including the decompressed signal for reproduction while the writing means simultaneously writes the unit of time compressed writing signal.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising trick play control means for controlling the control means so that the output signal is a signal obtained by trick play reproducing operation of the signal.

8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the trick play reproducing operation includes at least one of a fast-forward reproducing operation, a backward reproducing operation, a slow reproducing operation and a still reproducing operation.

9. An apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising display means for simultaneously displaying information represented by the signal input by the signal inputting means and information represented by the output signal output from the signal output means.

10. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the display means further displays a time difference between a time at which a signal which is being reproduced was recorded and a current time.

11. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the display means further displays a current time and a time at which a signal which is being reproduced was recorded.

12. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the unit of time compressed writing signal which was recorded at an earliest time is updated by a newly obtained unit of time compressed writing signal.

13. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the signal inputting means further inputs an audio signal.

14. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising instruction means for starting and/or finishing recording a signal onto the hard disk apparatus.

15. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the instruction means for starting recording a signal is activated manually.

16. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the instruction means for starting recording a signal is controlled by timer means.

17. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the instruction means for finishing recording a signal is controlled by timer means.

18. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising instruction means for starting and/or finishing reproducing the recorded signal from the hard disk apparatus.

19. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the unit of time compressed writing signal corresponds to at least one GOP.

20. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the unit of time compressed writing signal is written onto a portion of the hard disk apparatus having LL sectors, where LL is an integer greater than or equal to 1.