Apparatus and method of reproducing subtitle recorded in digital versatile disk player

• US 7,356,248 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2002
• Issued: 04/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Bae, Chang Seok, Lee, Jeun Woo
• Primary Examiner(s): Shalwala; Bipin
• Assistant Examiner(s): DHARIA, PRABODH M
• Application Number:
  US10/316,036
• Publication Number:
  US 20030188312A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,945 Days
• Field of Search: 386/95, 386/52, 386/46, 386/94, 386/96, 386/111, 386/125, 386/70, 386/83, 386/126, 386/68, 386/69, 707/102, 707/104.1, 707/1, 725/55, 369/30.01, 369/275.3, 369/47.32, 369/30.25, 370/389, 715/500.1, 345/589, 345/619, 398/107
• US Class Current: 386/244
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4856 for language selection, e.g. for the menu or subtitles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8233 the additional signal being a character code signal

Abstract

In an apparatus and method of reproducing a subtitle recorded in a digital versatile disk player including a subtitle processing section for receiving, storing and reproducing multilingual subtitles, as well as video data and audio data of multiple titles which are recorded at initially manufacturing an optical disc, in which users can watch a movie in their specified language, the apparatus of reproducing a subtitle used in a DVD player includes a subtitle information processing section for receiving and storing a subtitle of a language wanted by a user, and reproducing the subtitle information of the language wanted by the user on a screen.

Claims

1. A method of reproducing a subtitle by a DVD player, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying a set menu of subtitles of various languages available on a DVD being played by the DVD player;

if a subtitle of a language wanted by a user is not provided on the DVD, allowing the user to search subtitle information received in a subtitle information storing section of the DVD player for the subtitle of the wanted language;

upon the user selecting the subtitle information corresponding to the subtitle of the wanted language among the subtitle information received by the subtitle information storing section, playing a title of the DVD while

reproducing the subtitle of the wanted language from the selected subtitle information.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one of the steps of:

receiving the subtitle information, separately from the corresponding title to be played, from a floppy disk readable by a subtitle information receiving section of the DVD player, and storing the received subtitle information in the subtitle information storing section;

receiving the subtitle information, separately from the corresponding title to be played, from a network connected to a subtitle information receiving section of the DVD player, and storing the received subtitle information in the subtitle information storing section; and

receiving the subtitle information, separately from the corresponding title to be played, from a PDA wirelessly connected with a subtitle information receiving section of the DVD player, and storing the received subtitle information in the subtitle information storing section.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of reproducing the subtitle comprises the steps of:

receiving an operation timing signal from an A/V signal detecting and extracting section of the DVD player respectively extracting an audio signal and a video signal from an A/V signal received while playing the title of the DVD; and

reproducing the subtitle corresponding to the operation timing signal of the audio signal through a subtitle information reproducing section to synchronize the subtitle with pictures in the video signal.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the subtitle information includes

subtitle head information having a title of the DVD title, a subtitle language, a font name for reproducing the subtitle, a font size, a font color, and

a subtitle text information having numbers of various frames of the DVD title to be played and subtitle contents associated with said frames.

5. An apparatus for reproducing a subtitle in a DVD player including a DVD reproducing section for driving a DVD title, an A/V signal detecting and separating section for reading and separating audio and video signals stored in the DVD title, an audio signal decoding section for decoding the separated audio signal into an audio stream playable by a loudspeaker, and a video signal decoding section for decoding the separated video signal into a video stream displayable on a screen, the apparatus comprising:

a subtitle information processing section for receiving and storing a subtitle of a language which is wanted by a user but not available on a DVD being played by the DVD player and for reproducing the subtitle of the wanted language on the screen while the DVD player is playing a corresponding title of the DVD.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the subtitle information processing section includes

a subtitle information receiving section for receiving the subtitle of the wanted language, in addition to subtitles of other languages already provided on the DVD;

a subtitle information storing section for storing the subtitle inputted from the subtitle information receiving section; and

a subtitle information reproducing section for reproducing the subtitle stored in the subtitle information storing section.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the subtitle information receiving section includes at least one of:

a floppy disk reading section for reading the subtitle of the wanted language, separately from the corresponding title to be played, from a floppy disk;

a network connecting section for receiving the subtitle, separately from the corresponding title to be played, from a subtitle information providing server via the Internet or from a computer of the user; and

an infrared ray receiving section for receiving the subtitle, separately from the corresponding title to be played, wirelessly from a portable information terminal.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the subtitle information storing section includes at least one of a floppy disk, a hard disk, a flash memory to store and provide the subtitle.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the subtitle information reproducing section includes a video mixing section for erasing the subtitle information stored in the DVD title to synchronize the subtitle selected by the user with pictures of the DVD title being played by the DVD player, and for superposing or mixing the subtitle selected by the user with the pictures contained in a video signal inputted from the video signal decoding section.

10. A method of reproducing a subtitle by a DVD player, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying a set menu of subtitles of various languages available on a DVD being played by the DVD player;

if a subtitle of a language wanted by a user is not provided on the DVD, allowing the user to search subtitle information stored in a subtitle information storing section of the DVD player for the subtitle of the wanted language;

if the subtitle of the wanted language is not currently stored in the subtitle information storing section,

receiving the subtitle of the wanted language from an external source other than the DVD and components of the DVD player via a subtitle information receiving section of the DVD player, and

storing the received subtitle of the wanted language in the subtitle information storing section;

upon the user selecting the subtitle information corresponding to the subtitle of the wanted language among the subtitle information stored in or received by the subtitle information storing section, playing a title of the DVD while reproducing the subtitle of the wanted language from the selected subtitle information.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein

the external source is a floppy disk and the subtitle information receiving section is a floppy disk reader, and

the receiving step comprises the floppy disk reader accessing the floppy disk to obtain the subtitle of the wanted language.

12. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein

the external source is a remote computer connected via a network to the subtitle information receiving section which is a network connecting section, and

the receiving step comprises the network connecting section accessing the remote computer to obtain the subtitle of the wanted language.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the network is the Internet and the remote computer is a server connected to the internet and containing subtitle information not included in the DVD when manufacturing the DVD.

14. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein

the external source is a PDA wirelessly connected to the subtitle information receiving section which is an infrared ray receiving section, and

the receiving step comprises the infrared ray receiving section wirelessly accessing the PDA to obtain the subtitle of the wanted language.

15. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the reproducing step comprises:

erasing the subtitle information stored in the DVD title,

synchronizing the subtitle of the wanted language with pictures of the DVD title being played by the DVD player, and

superposing or mixing the subtitle of the wanted language with the pictures on a screen.