Recorded contents protection scheme for digital recording/reproducing system

• US 6,577,811 B1
• Filed: 12/11/1998
• Issued: 06/10/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Ito, Yuji, Ando, Hideo, Otomo, Hitoshi, Mimura, Hideki, Kikuchi, Shinichi, Taira, Kazuhiko, Seita, Takahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Christensen, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHIEU, PO LIN
• Application Number:
  US09/209,474
• Time in Patent Office: 1,642 Days
• Field of Search: 386/1, 386/45, 386/94, 386/95, 386/111-112, 386/125-126, 360/60, 380/201-203
• US Class Current: 386/246
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/04 Arrangements for preventing, inhibiting, or warning against double recording on the same blank or against other recording or reproducing malfunctions
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/216 Rewritable discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/218 Write-once discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2516 Hard disks
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2575 DVD-RAMs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/41 Flat as opposed to hierarchical combination, e.g. library of tapes or discs, CD changer, or groups of record carriers that together store one title
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/455 said record carriers being in one device and being used as primary and secondary/backup media, e.g. HDD-DVD combo device, or as source and target media, e.g. PC and portable player
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/65 wherein solid state memory is used for storing indexing information or metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/002 Programmed access in sequence to a plurality of record carriers or indexed parts, e.g. tracks, thereof, e.g. for editing; transfer of record carriers from magazine G11B15/68, G11B17/10; G11B17/22
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/005 Reproducing at a different information rate from the information rate of recording for television signals H04N5/783
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• 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 27/3027 used signal is digitally coded
• 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: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• 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

An erase prohibition setting unit sets erase prohibition in accordance with an instruction. When the range is not set in units of cells of the current cell, the current cell is divided by a cell separator to set a sequence of advanced cells. A reconstruction part reconstructs management information for playing back the advanced cells and current cell, and appends erase prohibition information to the management information for playing back the advanced cells that belong to the range.

Claims

1. A digital information recording medium, comprising:

a management information recording area including management information, wherein the management information includes program chain information, the program chain information representing a total presentation of a program chain; and

a contents recording area having;

a plurality of data units each having data packs;

at least one of said data units comprises one or more audio packs configured to store a primary audio stream;

at least one of said data units includes one or more dummy packs configured to record a secondary audio stream comprising after-recorded audio data, said primary audio stream being recorded prior to recording said second audio stream;

said contents recording area further managed by a program configured in units of information cells, the contents recording area including recorded data corresponding to or being referred by at least one of the information cells, wherein at least one of the information cells correspond or belong to the program chain and wherein the program chain information includes an erase prohibition flag applied to the program.

2. A recording apparatus using a digital information recording medium, the medium having a management information recording area including management information, wherein the management information includes program chain information and wherein the program chain information represents a total presentation of a program chain, and a contents recording area having a plurality of data units each having data packs, at least one of said data units comprises one or more audio packs configured to store a primary audio stream, at least one of said data units includes one or more dummy packs configured to record a secondary audio stream comprising after-recorded audio data, said primary audio stream being recorded prior to recording said second audio stream, said contents recording area further includes a program recorded in units of information cells, the contents recording area including recorded data corresponding to at least one of the information cells, wherein at least one of the information cells correspond to the program chain and wherein the program chain information includes type information applied to a group by the information cells and indicating a state of data to be erasable or unerasable, the recording apparatus comprising:

means for setting the state of said type information;

means for preparing data to be recorded; and

means for recording the prepared data according to the type information on the medium.

3. A reproducing apparatus using a digital information recording medium, the medium having a management information recording area including management information, wherein the management information includes program chain information and wherein the program chain information represents a total presentation of a program chain, and a contents recording area having a plurality of data units each having data packs, at least one of said data units comprises one or more audio packs configured to store a primary audio stream, at least one of said data units includes one or more dummy packs configured to record a secondary audio stream comprising after-recorded audio data, said primary audio stream being recorded prior to recording said second audio stream, said contents recording area further includes a program recorded in units of information cells, the contents recording area including recorded data corresponding to at least one of the information cells, wherein at least one of the information cells correspond to the program chain and wherein the program chain information includes type information applied to a group by the information cells and indicating a state of data to be erasable or unerasable, the reproducing apparatus comprising:

means for setting an area of data to be reproduced from the medium; and

means for reproducing the data from the medium.

4. A method for recording using a digital information recording medium, the medium having a management information recording area including management information, wherein the management information includes program chain information and wherein the program chain information represents a total presentation of a program chain, and a contents recording area having a plurality of data units each having data packs, at least one of said data units comprises one or more audio packs configured to store a primary audio stream, at least one of said data units includes one or more dummy packs configured to record a secondary audio stream comprising after-recorded audio data, said primary audio stream being recorded prior to recording said second audio stream, said contents recording area further includes a program recorded in units of information cells, the contents recording area including recorded data corresponding to at least one of the information cells, wherein at least one of the information cells correspond to the program chain and wherein the program chain information includes type information applied to a group by the information cells and indicating a state of data to be erasable or unerasable, the method comprising the steps of

setting the state of said type information;

and

recording or erasing data of the data packs according to the type information on or from the medium.

5. A method of reproducing using a digital information recording medium, the medium having a management information recording area including management information, wherein the management information includes program chain information and wherein the program chain information represents a total presentation of a program chain, and a contents recording area having a plurality of data units each having data packs, at least one of said data units comprises one or more audio packs configured to store a primary audio stream, at least one of said data units includes one or more dummy packs configured to record a secondary audio stream comprising after-recorded audio data, said primary audio stream being recorded prior to recording said second audio stream, said contents recording area further includes a program recorded in units of information cells, the contents recording area including recorded data corresponding to at least one of the information cells, wherein at least one of the information cells correspond to the program chain and wherein the program chain information includes type information applied to a group by the information cells and indicating a state of data to be erasable or unerasable, the method comprising the steps of:

setting an area of data to be reproduced from the medium; and

reproducing the data from the medium.