Moving picture recording and reproduction apparatus and method as well as medium

• US 6,728,473 B1
• Filed: 06/05/2000
• Issued: 04/27/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Hamada, Toshimichi, Chotoku, Koichi, Ohta, Masashi
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HUY THANH
• Application Number:
  US09/587,437
• Time in Patent Office: 1,422 Days
• Field of Search: 386/46, 386/83, 386/95, 386/111, 386/112, 386/120, 386/121, 386/69
• US Class Current: 386/241
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/216 Rewritable discs
• 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 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 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8227 the additional signal being at least another television signal

Abstract

A moving picture recording and reproduction apparatus and method as well as a medium are disclosed by which, upon recording of a television program, representative pictures from which contents of a program can be grasped can be recorded. Frame pictures are extracted from moving pictures being recorded, and accuracy values with which a character is present in the frame pictures are calculated. Further, accuracy values with which the phase of a person is present in the frame pictures are calculated, and the levels of an audio signal corresponding to the frame pictures are detected. Then, evaluation values are calculated using results of the calculations and the detection, and a maximum one of the evaluation values is detected. Thereafter, the frame picture corresponding to the maximum evaluation value is reduced in size and recorded onto a recording medium so that it may be used as an index upon playing back of the recording medium.

Claims

1. A moving picture recording and reproduction apparatus, comprising:

recording means for recording a moving picture signal inputted thereto onto a recording medium;

extraction means for extracting still pictures at a predetermined sampling rate from the moving picture signal;

calculation means for calculating evaluation values of the still pictures extracted by said extraction means using pixel values of the still picture;

detection means for detecting a maximum one of the evaluation values calculated by said calculation means;

representative picture production means for reducing the size of the still picture corresponding to the maximum one of the evaluation values detected by said detection means to produce a representative picture;

recording means for recording the representative picture produced by said representative picture production means onto the recording medium;

reading means for reading out the representative picture recorded by said recording means from the recording medium; and

table production means for applying the representative picture or pictures read out by said reading means to produce a representative picture table.

2. A moving picture recording and reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said detection means detects a maximum evaluation value from among an arbitrary number of evaluation values per unit time.

3. A moving picture recording and reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said calculation means uses the pixel values of the still picture extracted by said extraction means to determine an accuracy with which a character is present on the still picture and uses the accuracy to calculate the evaluation value.

4. A moving picture recording and reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said calculation means uses the pixel values of the still picture extracted by said extraction means to determine an accuracy with which the face of a person is present on the still picture and uses the accuracy to calculate the evaluation value.

5. A moving picture recording and reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said calculation means detects a level of an audio signal corresponding to the still picture extracted by said extraction means and uses the level of the audio signal to calculate the evaluation value.

6. A moving picture recording and reproduction method, comprising:

a recording step of recording an inputted moving picture signal onto a recording medium;

an extraction step of extracting still pictures at a predetermined sampling rate from the moving picture signal;

a calculation step of calculating evaluation values of the still pictures extracted by the extraction step using pixel values of the still picture;

a detection step of detecting a maximum one of the evaluation values calculated by the calculation step;

a representative picture production step of reducing the size of the still picture corresponding to the maximum one of the evaluation values detected by the detection step to produce a representative picture;

a recording step of recording the representative picture produced by the representative picture production step onto the recording medium;

a reading step of reading out the representative picture recorded in said recording step from the recording medium; and

a table production step of applying the representative picture or pictures read out by the reading step to produce a representative picture table.

7. A medium for causing a computer to execute a program which comprises:

a recording step of recording an inputted moving picture signal onto a recording medium;

an extraction step of extracting still pictures at a predetermined sampling rate from the moving picture signal;

a calculation step of calculating evaluation values of the still pictures extracted by the extraction step using pixel values of the still picture;

a detection step of detecting a maximum one of the evaluation values calculated by the calculation step;

a representative picture production step of reducing the size of the still picture corresponding to the maximum one of the evaluation values detected by the detection step to produce a representative picture;

a recording step of recording the representative picture produced by the representative picture production step onto the recording medium;

a reading step of reading out the representative picture in said recording step from the recording medium; and

a table production step of applying the representative picture or pictures read out by the reading step to produce a representative picture table.