Information recording medium, motion-picture voice recording/reproducing apparatus, and motion-picture voice recording/reproducing method

• US 6,697,563 B1
• Filed: 10/27/1999
• Issued: 02/24/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Maxell, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Fukushima, Shinichiro, Kageyama, Masahiro, Komoda, Osamu, Hasegawa, Tsukasa, Ito, Tamotsu
• Primary Examiner(s): Boccio, Vincent
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fletcher, James A.
• Application Number:
  US09/427,628
• Time in Patent Office: 1,581 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.591, 386/95, 386/117, 386/46, 386/125, 348/207.99, 348/333.05, 348/462
• US Class Current: 386/241
• 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 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• 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: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/9261 involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/9267 using time division multiplex of the PCM audio and PCM video signals

Abstract

A recording medium having a data management structure capable of efficiently determining whether or not an outline image representing the outline of an original image and character information representing additional contents are added, and an motion-picture voice recording/reproducing apparatus for improving a retrieving operation factor of the recorded original image by generating and outputting the outline image from the original image even when the outline image is not added. Recording position information of images representing an outline of motion-picture and a voice signal, recording position information of character information representing additional contents relating to the motion-picture and voice signals, and/or information representing that the images representing the outline or the character information is not set by a user or by a system, are recorded to, and reproduced from, the recording medium.

Claims

1. An information recording medium having motion-picture and voice signals recorded as compressed motion-picture voice data thereto after an encoding compression processing, wherein recording position information of said compressed motion-picture voice data corresponding to an outline image representing the outline of said motion-picture and said voice signal is recorded, said recording position information represents also non-set information representing that said outline image is not set by a user or by a system, and said recording position information is arranged so as to be readable in correspondence to reproduction of said motion-picture and said voice signals at every predetermined unit thereof.

2. An information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein said non-set information representing that said outline image is not set is recorded to said recording position information by a value that cannot be used as the recording position information of said compressed motion-picture sound data.

3. An motion-picture voice recording/reproducing apparatus for recording motion-picture and voice signals on an information recording medium by executing an encoding compression processing for said motion-picture and said voice signals and recording thereon, and for reproducing said motion-picture and said voice signals read out from said information recording medium by executing an extension process of compressed motion-picture voice data, comprising:

means for generating an outline image by looking up recording position information of said compressed motion-picture voice data corresponding to said outline image representing an outline of said motion-picture and said voice signals; and

control means for determining whether or not said recording position information is a value that cannot be used as said recording position information, and causing said outline image generation means to generate said outline image by regarding information of a recording leading position of a predetermined unit of said compressed motion-picture voice data as the recording position information of said compressed motion-picture voice data corresponding to the outline image to be generated when said value is determined as the value that cannot be used as said recording position information.

4. An motion-picture voice recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said control means causes said outline image generation means to generate said outline image by regarding information at a position after passage of a predetermined time from the recording leading part of the predetermined unit of said compressed motion-picture voice data as the recording position information of said compressed motion-picture voice data corresponding to the outline image to be generated, when said recording position information is the value that cannot be used as said recording position information.

5. A motion-picture voice recording and reproducing method for recording motion-picture and voice signals on an information recording medium by conducting an encoding compression processing for said motion-picture and said voice signals, and generating and reproducing an outline image representing an outline of said motion-picture and said voice signals from said compressed motion-picture voice data read out from said information recording medium, comprising the steps of:

setting, at a time of recording, a value, that cannot be used as said recording position information, as recording position information of said compressed motion-picture voice data corresponding to an outline image representing the outline of said motion-picture and said voice signal when a user does not designate the outline image; and

determining, at a time of reproduction, whether or not the recording position information of said compressed motion-picture voice data corresponding to said outline image is a value that cannot be used as said recording position information, and reading out said compressed motion-picture voice data at the recording leading position of a predetermined unit of said compressed motion-picture voice data and generating an outline image from said compressed motion-picture voice data read out when said recording position information has a value that cannot be used as said recording position information.

6. A motion-picture voice recording and reproducing method according to claim 5, wherein, when said recording position information is a value that cannot be used as said recording position information, said outline image is generated by regarding the information at a position after the passage of the predetermined time from a recording leading part of a predetermined unit of said compressed motion-picture voice data as recording position information of said compressed motion-picture voice data corresponding to said outline image to be generated.

7. An information recording medium for recording motion-picture and voice signals after an encoding compression processing, wherein recording position information of character information representing additional contents relating to said motion-picture and said voice signals is recorded as character information recording position information to said information recording medium, said character information recording position information functions also as non-set information representing that said character information is not set by a user or by a system, and said character information recording position information are arranged so as to be readable in correspondence to reproduction of said motion-picture and said voice signals at every predetermined unit thereof.

8. An information recording medium according to claim 7, wherein said non-set information of said character information recording position information is recorded by a value that cannot be used as said character information recording position information.

9. An motion-picture voice recording/reproducing apparatus for recording motion-picture and voice signals on an information recording medium by conducting an encoding compression processing of said motion-picture and said voice signals, and reproducing said motion-picture and said voice signals by conducting an extension processing for the compressed motion-picture voice data read out from said information recording medium, comprising:

character information generation means for reading out and generating said character information by looking up character information recording position information as recording position information of character information representing additional contents relating to said motion-picture and said voice signals; and

control means for determining whether or not said character information recording position information is a value that can be used as recording position information, and executing control in such a fashion as not to look for nor to read out said character information when said character information recording position information is determined to be the value that cannot be used as said recording position information.

10. A motion-picture and voice recording and reproducing method for recording motion-picture and voice signals on an information recording medium by conducting an encoding compression processing for said motion-picture and said voice signals, and generating and reproducing character information representing additional contents relating to said motion-picture and said voice signals from the compressed motion-picture voice data read out from said information recording medium, comprising the steps of:

setting, at a time of recording, a value that cannot be used as character information recording position information, as recording position information of character information representing additional contents relating to said motion-picture and said voice signals, when a user dos not designate the character information; and

determining, at a time of reproduction, whether or not said character information recording position information is a value that cannot be used as said character information recording position information, and controlling reproduction so as not to look for nor to read said character information when it is determined that said character information recording position information is the value that cannot be used as said character information recording position information.