Video recording and reproducing apparatus

• US 7,362,955 B2
• Filed: 03/26/2001
• Issued: 04/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Kato, Hideo, Okada, Yoshiyuki, Abiko, Yukihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HUY THANH
• Application Number:
  US09/816,370
• Publication Number:
  US 20020041752A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,584 Days
• Field of Search: 386/46, 386/83, 386/95, 386/92, 386/68, 386/125, 386/126, 386/111
• US Class Current: 386/239
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/20 Disc-shaped record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• 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 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/426 Internal components of the client ; Characteristics thereof H04N5/44 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4316 for displaying supplemental content in a region of the screen, e.g. an advertisement in a separate window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4325 by playing back content from the storage medium reproduction of recorded television signals H04N5/76; reproduction of recorded television signals H04N9/79
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4332 by placing content in organized collections, e.g. local EPG data repository interfaces, Database management systems or updating for information retrieval G06F16/23; details of retrieval of video data and associated meta data in video database G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4334 Recording operations recording of a television signal H04N5/76; arrangements for recording or accumulating broadcast information or broadcast-related information H04H60/27
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/47217 for controlling playback functions for recorded or on-demand content, e.g. using progress bars, mode or play-point indicators or bookmarks specific graphical features in visual interfaces H04N21/4312
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4828 for searching program descriptors retrieval of video data G06F16/739
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/76 Television signal recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 involving data reduction

Abstract

A video recording and reproducing apparatus for simultaneously displaying a plurality of image contents recorded at given time points or images at a plurality of given portions within the same image contents is disclosed. A plurality of images read from a randomly accessible data storage unit for storing the images recorded by an image recording unit are synthesized into a single screen by an image synthesizer. An information processing unit reads from the image recording unit a plurality of image contents recorded at different time points or a group of images recorded at a plurality of different time points in a given one image content and causes the image synthesizer to display, by synthesizing the image contents or the images, as the case may be, on a single screen.

Claims

1. A video recording and reproducing apparatus, comprising:

image recording means for recording on a medium, at different time points, a plurality of moving picture image contents and image data including sound data from a video input;

randomly accessible data storage means for storing the plurality of moving picture image contents and image data including sound data recorded in said image recording means;

image displaying means for displaying at the same time in one screen a plurality of the moving picture image contents recorded at the different time points and read out from said data storage means;

sound select means for selecting a sound designated by a user to be output;

information processing means for controlling said data storage means, said image displaying means, and said sound selecting means in such a manner that a plurality of moving picture image contents recorded in said image recording means at different time points are read from said data storage means and displayed in a single screen by said image displaying means and the sound designated by the user is reproduced; and

user interface means, interposed between said information processing means and the user, performing special reproduction functions, including at least a selected one of rapid feed and pause, on the moving picture image contents selected arbitrarily by the user through the user interface means.

2. A video recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of moving picture image contents stored in said data storage means are converted into a data base capable of being searched and sorted, and at least one of the moving picture image contents included in a group of moving picture image contents searched for and sorted from said data base is displayed in a single screen in accordance with information input from said user interface means.

3. A video recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving picture image contents selected through said user interface means are changed to other moving picture image contents and the resulting image contents are displayed in a single screen with the moving picture image contents under generation.

4. A video recording and reproducing method, comprising:

recording on a medium, at different time points, a plurality of moving picture image contents and image data including sound data from a video input by an image recording means;

storing the plurality of moving picture image contents and image data including sound data from a video input by the image recording means in a randomly accessible data storage;

displaying, at the same time in one screen, the plurality of the moving picture image contents recorded at the different time points and read out from said data storage;

selecting a sound designated by a user to be output;

controlling said data storage, said displaying, and said selecting in such a manner that a plurality of moving picture image contents recorded at different time points are read from said date storage and displayed in a single screen and the sound designated by the user is reproduced; and

performing special reproduction functions, including at least a selected function of rapid feed and pause, on moving picture image contents selected arbitrarily by the user.

5. A video recording and reproducing method according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of said images, recorded at different time points, comprise a plurality of moving picture image contents recorded at different time points or a plurality of images, in a given said image content, recorded at different time points.

6. A video recording and reproducing method according to claim 4, further comprising converting a plurality of the moving picture image contents, stored in said data storage, into a data base capable of being searched and sorted, and displaying at least one of the moving picture image contents, included in a group of moving picture image contents searched for and sorted from said data base in a single screen in accordance with information input from said user.

7. A video recording and reproducing method according to claim 4, wherein the moving picture image contents selected by said user are changed to other, resulting moving picture image contents and the resulting moving picture image contents are displayed in a single screen.

8. A recording medium for storing a program readable by an information processing unit, to control the information processing unit to:

record on a medium, at different time points, a plurality of moving picture image contents and image data including sound data from a video input;

store the plurality of moving picture image contents and image data including sound data from a video input in a randomly accessible data storage;

display, at the same time in one screen, the plurality of the moving picture image contents recorded at the different time points and read out from said data storage;

select a sound designated by a user to be output;

control said data storage, said image displaying, and said sound selecting in such a manner that a plurality of moving picture image contents recorded at different time points are read from said date storage and displayed in a single screen and the sound designated by the user is reproduced; and

perform special reproduction functions, including at least a selected function of rapid feed and pause, on moving picture image contents selected arbitrarily by the user.

9. A recording medium according to claim 8, wherein the program further controls the processing unit to:

convert a plurality of the moving picture image contents stored in said data storage into a data base capable of being searched and sorted, and display at least one of the moving picture image contents, included in a group of moving picture image contents searched for and sorted from said data base in a single screen in accordance with information input by said user.

10. A recording medium according to claim 8, wherein the program further controls the processing unit to:

change the moving picture image contents, selected by said user, to other moving picture image contents and display the resulting other moving picture image contents in a single screen.

11. A video recording and reproducing apparatus, comprising:

an image recorder recording on a medium, at different time points, a plurality of moving picture image contents and image data including sound data from a video input;

a randomly accessible data storage storing the plurality of moving picture image contents and image data including sound data recorded in said image recorder;

an image display displaying at the same time in one screen a plurality of the moving picture image contents recorded at the different time points and read out from said data storage;

a selector selecting a sound designated by a user to be output;

an information processor controlling said data storage, said image display, and said selector in such a manner that a plurality of moving picture image contents recorded in said image recorder at different time points are read from said data storage and displayed in a single screen by said image display and the sound designated by the user is reproduced; and

a user interface, interposed between said information processor and the user, performing special reproduction functions, including at least a selected one of rapid feed and pause, on the moving picture image contents selected arbitrarily by the user through the user interface means.

12. A video recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a user interface interposed between said information processor and the user, wherein a plurality of moving picture image contents stored in said data storage are converted into a data base capable of being searched and sorted, and at least one of the moving picture image contents, included in a group of moving picture image contents searched for and sorted from said data base and reproduced at the same time is displayed in a single screen in accordance with the information input from said user interface.

13. A video recording and reproducing apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a user interface interposed between said information processor and the user, wherein the moving picture image contents selected through said user interface are changed to other moving picture image contents and the resulting, other moving picture image contents are displayed in a single screen with the moving picture image contents under generation.

14. A video recording and reproducing method, comprising:

recording on a medium, at different time points, a plurality of moving picture image contents and image data including sound data from a video input;

storing the plurality of moving picture image contents and image data including sound data from a video input in a randomly accessible data storage;

displaying, at the same time in one screen, the plurality of the moving picture image contents recorded at the different time points and read out from said data storage;

selecting a sound designated by a user to be output; and

controlling said data storage, said displaying, and said selecting in such a manner that a plurality of moving picture image contents recorded at different time points are read and displayed in a single screen and the sound designated by the user is reproduced.