Data structure representing both program and command data

• US 6,526,221 B1
• Filed: 09/07/2000
• Issued: 02/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Warner Bros Home Entertainment Incorporated (Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Time Warner Entertainment Company LP (Charter Communications Incorporated)
• Inventors: Ostrover, Lewis S., Cookson, Christopher J., Lieberfarb, Warren N.
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, THAI Q
• Application Number:
  US09/656,907
• Time in Patent Office: 901 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.576, H04/N.578, H04/N.5781, H04/N.5782, H04/N.5783, H04/N.979, H04/N.592, 386/29, 386/39, 386/45, 386/54, 386/75, 386/95, 386/107, 386/125, 386/126, 386/94, 386/96-106, 369/32.01, 369/44.28, 369/47.1, 369/52.1, 369/59.1, 369/124.07, 369/124.08, 369/124.09, 369/275.3, 360/32, 360/48
• US Class Current: 386/243
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/04 with audible presentation of the material to be studied sound recording or reproducing G11B
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/0041 in coded form
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 1/363 using optical disks, e.g. CD, CD-ROM, to store accompaniment information in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2210/056 for extraction or identification of individual instrumental parts, e.g. melody, chords, bass; Identification or separation of instrumental parts by their characteristic voices or timbres
• CPC Class Codes: G10H 2240/036 File multilingual, e.g. multilingual lyrics for karaoke
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/02 Control of operating function, e.g. switching from recording to reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/12 by sensing distinguishing features of or on records, e.g. diameter end mark
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00086 Circuits for prevention of unauthorised reproduction or copying, e.g. piracy indicating unauthorised use of record carriers in general G11B23/28; scrambling for television signal recording H04N5/913; network architectures or network protocols for network security H04L63/00; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00094 involving measures which result in a restriction to authorised record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00115 wherein the record carrier stores a unique medium identifier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00123 the record carrier being identified by recognising some of its unique characteristics, e.g. a unique defect pattern serving as a physical signature of the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00137 involving measures which result in a restriction to contents recorded on or reproduced from a record carrier to authorised users
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00144 involving a user identifier, e.g. a unique customer ID
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00159 Parental control systems
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/0021 involving encryption or decryption of contents recorded on or reproduced from a record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00557 wherein further management data is encrypted, e.g. sector headers, TOC or the lead-in or lead-out areas
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/0071 involving a purchase action
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10 Digital recording or reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10527 Audio or video recording; Data buffering arrangements G11B20/12 - G11B20/18 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/12 Formatting, e.g. arrangement of data block or words on the record carriers within interface between computers and data recorders G06F3/06
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1217 : on discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/1254 : for mixed data, i.e. continuous and discontinuous data
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 : DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2583 : wherein two standards are used on a single disc, e.g. one DVD section and one CD section
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/10 : Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 : of operating discs
• 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: G11B 7/0037 : with discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/013 : for discrete information, i.e. where each information unit is stored in a distinct discrete location , e.g. digital information formats within a data block or sector
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 : between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 : on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/913 : for scrambling ; for copy protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0122 : the input and the output signals having different aspect ratios
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/7925 : for more than one standard
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/802 : involving processing of the sound signal H04N9/806, H04N9/835 take precedence
• 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 9/8216 : using time division multiplex
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8222 : using frequency division multiplex
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8238 : for teletext
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8244 : involving the use of subcodes

Abstract

A system for playing a selected one of multiple audio tracks recorded in synchronized fashion with a motion picture on an optical disk. The optical disk has encoded on it a mixing master music and effects (“M&E”) track, or a switching master M&E track. Individual audio tracks are provided for language-specific versions of the same motion picture, but these tracks have data recorded in them only where there is dialog. In this way, for many a motion picture, all tracks but masters will have data recorded for well less than half of the running time of the motion picture. When a mixing master is used, it is mixed with a language-specific track when the latter has dialog; the mixing master contains no dialog. If a switching master is used, it may contain dialog recorded with the M&E; when a language-specific track has dialog recorded in it, it also contains M&E and the track is played to the exclusion of the switching master.

Claims

1. A data stream, to be processed by a compatible player, for representing a program containing audio and/or visual components;

said components being represented in the form of bit streams organized in a series of data blocks, with each data block containing bits of one or more bit streams and the number of bits of each bit stream within a data block being variable such that the bit-use rates of the bit streams are independent of each other, and with the bits in the bit streams being distributed in the data blocks such that, after being processed and buffered by a compatible player, bits are at all times available as required for proper reconstruction of the respective audio and/or visual components;

the same data blocks that contain bits representing said audio and/or visual components further containing commands interleaved therewith that specify how said player is to process said components, the bits in said bit streams and said commands having positions in the data blocks that are not predetermined and that may vary from one data block to another.

2. A data stream in accordance with claim 1 wherein said commands include commands for controlling the presentation of menus that allow a user of a player to choose from among options that determine how said audio and/or visual components are processed.

3. A method for processing a data stream that represents a program containing audio and/or visual components, said components being represented in the form of bit streams organized in a series of data blocks with each data block containing bits of one or more bit streams, the bits in the bit streams being distributed in the data blocks such that, after being processed and buffered by a compatible player, bits are at all times available as required for proper reconstruction of the respective audio and/or visual components, the same data blocks that contain bits representing said audio and/or visual components further containing commands interleaved therewith that specify how said player is to process said components;

the method comprising the steps of processing the data blocks and buffering the bits in each bit stream, generating the respective audio and/or visual components from the buffered bits, and operating on commands in said data blocks and processing the buffered bits in accordance therewith.

4. A method in accordance with claim 3 wherein the bits of each bit stream within a data block are variable such that the bit-use rates of the bit streams are independent of each other.

5. A method in accordance with claim 3 wherein the commands contained in said data stream include menu commands, and further including the step of processing said menu commands to control the presentation of menus that allow a user of said player to choose from among options that determine how said audio and/or visual components are processed.

6. A set of stored data, to be processed by a compatible system, for representing a program containing audio and/or visual components;

said components being represented in the form of bits organized in a series of data blocks, with each data block containing one or more bit streams representing respective audio and/or visual components and the number of bits of each bit stream within a data block being variable such that the bit-use rates of the bit streams are independent of each other, and with the bits in the bit streams being distributed in the data blocks such that, after being processed and buffered by a compatible system, bits are at all times available as required for proper reconstruction of the respective audio and/or visual components;

the same data blocks that contain bits representing said audio and/or visual components further containing commands interleaved therewith that specify how said system is to process said components, the bits in said bit streams and said commands having positions in the data blocks that are not predetermined and that may vary from one data block to another.

7. A set of stored data in accordance with claim 6 wherein said commands include commands for controlling the presentation of menus that allow a user of a system to choose from among options that determine how said audio and/or visual components are processed.

8. A method for processing data that represents a program containing audio and/or visual components, said components being represented in the form of bits organized in a series of data blocks with each data block containing one or more bit streams representing respective audio and/or visual components and the bits in the bit streams being distributed in the data blocks such that, after being processed and buffered by a compatible system, bits are at all times available as required for proper reconstruction of the respective audio and/or visual components, the same data blocks that contain bits representing said audio and/or visual components further containing commands interleaved therewith that specify how said system is to process said components;

the method comprising the steps of processing the data blocks and buffering the bits in each bit stream, generating the respective audio and/or visual components from the buffered bits, and operating on commands in said data blocks and processing the buffered bits in accordance therewith.

9. A method in accordance with claim 8 wherein the bits of each bit stream within a data block are variable such that the bit-use rates of the bit streams are independent of each other.

10. A method in accordance with claim 8 wherein the commands contained in said data stream include menu commands, and further including the step of processing said menu commands to control the presentation of menus that allow a user of said system to choose from among options that determine how said audio and/or visual components are processed.