Method and apparatus for accessing content

• US 9,032,438 B2
• Filed: 12/16/2004
• Issued: 05/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maxell, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Maxell Limited (Maxell, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ito, Tamotsu, Harada, Noriaki, Ozawa, Tsugutaro
• Primary Examiner(s): Kumar, Pankaj
• Assistant Examiner(s): BROWN, RUEBEN M
• Application Number:
  US11/016,161
• Publication Number:
  US 20050111829A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,799 Days
• Field of Search: 348/564, 348/565, 348/423.1, 715/718, 715/766, 715/838, 715/835, 725/78, 725/44, 386/46
• US Class Current: 725/44
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 19/02 Control of operating function, e.g. switching from recording to reproducing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/2562 DVDs [digital versatile discs]; Digital video discs; MMCDs; HDCDs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2220/65 wherein solid state memory is used for storing indexing information or metadata
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/007 reproducing continuously a part of the information, i.e. repeating
• 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 27/326 used signal is a video-frame or a video-field (P.I.P.)
• 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 1/2175 with local image input
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/42204 User interfaces specially adapted for controlling a client device through a remote control device; Remote control devices therefor constructive details of casings for the remote control device H01H9/0235; user interfaces for controlling a tuning device of a television receiver through a remote control H03J9/00; remote control of peripheral devices connected to a television receiver through the remote control device of the television receiver H04B1/205
• 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 21/47 End-user applications
• 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 21/482 End-user interface for program selection broadcast systems using EPGs H04H60/72

Abstract

A method and apparatus for accessing content is capable of retrieving and selecting information is facilitated by using uniform operations. Symbols corresponding to pre-recorded programs contained on a recording medium are displayed on a screen. In response to selecting one of the symbols, representative frames comprising the program are displayed on the screen. In response to selecting a representative frame, a portion of the program is played back. In a recording device, content is accessed by displaying a representative frame from each of a number of user-defined streams. At least a portion of a stream is played back in response to selection of the corresponding one of the representative frames.

Claims

1. Apparatus for accessing content contained on a storage medium, the content including a plurality of titles, such that each title includes a plurality of chapters and each chapter includes a plurality of frames, the titles and the chapters include information for a motion picture, further comprising plural frames, the frames organized into plural scenes, the scenes organized into plural programs, the apparatus comprising:

a reproducing module configured to reproduce the content;

a display module configured to display a list of plural small-frame images, each of the plural small-frame images being in correspondence to moving images;

a driver module configured to access the content and having a driver output to produce an information signal representing the accessed content;

a decoder module operatively coupled to the driver module to receive the information signal;

a user input module configured to receive user input with at least a selection button and/or a cursor button; and

a system control module configured to control the reproducing module to display the titles on a display module, wherein each of the titles is represented by single frames, and wherein the single frames, even if the single frames are unselected, are configured to be displayed in an overlapping manner,

wherein the system control module controls the reproducing module to play back automatically a motion picture of a user-specified title at an arbitrarily-sized frame which is different from the size of a small frame used for title specification without receiving input for reproducing the user-specified title by the selection button, if there is no button input for a period of time after receiving the user-specified title selected by the cursor button,

wherein each of the single frames represents a portion of the moving picture,

wherein the system module further controls the driver and decoder modules to generate program identification information for each of the programs and to produce a first display signal representing the program identification information,

wherein the system control module, in response to receiving a user-specified program selection from the user input module, controls the driver module to access a representative frame for each scene comprising the program corresponding to the user-specified program selection and controls the decoder module to produce a second display signal representing the representative frames, and

wherein the system control module is further configured to selectively provide;

a first control mode in which the reproducing module is configured to reproduce one moving image corresponding to a picked out one of plural small-frame images with audio in response to user instruction via the user input module and the display module configured to display the moving image reproduced in a first size without displaying other small-frame images which are not picked out, and

a second control mode in which the reproducing module is configured to reproduce one moving image corresponding to the picked out one of plural small-frame images with audio in response to user instruction via the user input module and the display module is configured to display the moving image reproduced in a second size which is smaller than the first size overlapped with other small-frame images which are not picked out, the other small-frame images displayed with the moving image being capable of picking out for reproduction when reproducing the moving image.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the system control module executes the size change from the small frame to the arbitrarily-sized frame in accordance with receiving the user-specified title selected by the cursor button.

2. A method for accessing content contained on a storage medium, the content including a plurality of titles, such that each title includes a plurality of chapters and each chapter includes a plurality of frames, the titles and the chapters include information for a motion picture, the method comprising:

reproducing the content;

displaying a list of plural small-frame images, each of the plural small-frame images being in correspondence to moving images;

accessing the content and producing an information signal representing the accessed content;

receiving the information signal;

receiving user input with at least a select button and/or a cursor button;

displaying the titles on a display module, wherein each of the titles is represented by single frames, and wherein the single frames, even if the single frames are unselected, are configured to be displayed in an overlapping manner;

automatically playing back each motion picture of a user-specified title at an arbitrarily-sized frame which is different from the size of a small frame used for title specification without receiving input for reproducing the user-specified title by the selection button, if there is no button input for a period of time after receiving the user-specified title selected by the cursor button, and wherein each of the single frames represents a portion of the moving picture;

generating program identification information for each of the programs;

producing a first display signal representing the program identification information;

in response to receiving a user-specified program selection, accessing a representative frame for each scene comprising the program corresponding to the user-specified program selection and control produce a second display signal representing the representative frames;

selectively providing;

reproducing one moving image corresponding to a picked out one of plural small-frame images with audio in response to user instruction, and displaying the moving image reproduced in a first size without displaying other small-frame images which are not picked out, or

reproducing one moving image corresponding to the picked out one of plural small-frame images with audio in response to user instruction, and displaying the moving image reproduced in a second size which is smaller than the first size overlapped with other small-frame images which are not picked out, the other small-frame images displayed with the moving image being capable of picking out for reproduction when reproducing the moving image.