JP3645483B2 - Digital recording device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for recording and reproducing image and audio information in a digital manner, and more specifically, broadcasting at an optimum recording rate by changing the amount of information per unit time according to the recordable capacity of the recording medium. The present invention relates to a technique for accurately providing information such as a recording rate to a user when recording an event.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, with the development of digital technology, not only a conventional video tape recorder (hereinafter referred to as VTR) but also an apparatus for recording a broadcast program using a variable rate information compression method called MPEG2. For an overview of the world standard method of video compression called MPEG2 (Moving Picture Image Coding Experts Group Phase 2), see the Nikkei Electronics magazine, March 14, 1994, p. 77 Is detailed. This MPEG2 is a high image quality specification for normal television broadcasting to high-definition broadcasting, and it is assumed that the recording rate compresses images and audio information to about 3 Mbps.
[0003]
Now, in the previous VTR, taking the VHS method that is most popular at home as an example, it is common to have two recording modes, a standard recording mode and a long-time (three times) recording mode. Is. Compared to the standard recording mode, the long-time recording mode extends the time by shortening the tape feed speed by shortening the recording track width and track pitch of the video tape that is the recording medium. Although the image quality is inferior, the tape consumption is small.
[0004]
The user switches the mode at the appropriate time according to the remaining capacity of the tape and the importance of the program to be recorded. If the standard recording mode is selected at this time, there may be a situation where the remaining capacity of the tape is insufficient for the time length of the program desired to be recorded. However, if the long-time recording mode is selected here, even after the desired program has been recorded, the recording medium becomes wasteful and the image quality is degraded. In this case, in addition to recording all the previous programs, the user has a desire to record as high image quality as possible using the entire recording medium.
[0005]
As a method for adjusting the recording time so that the recorded program can be stored on the tape, the reserved program is used when recording by timer reservation is performed as in the “timer operation management device” described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-20754. A technique is disclosed in which when the necessary tape remaining amount is insufficient, this is automatically determined, and the recording speed is switched to prevent a recording mistake in a reserved program. Also, there is a commercially available one that automatically sets the time setting for switching the recording mode from the beginning based on the remaining amount of tape and the time of the program to be recorded. .
[0006]
On the other hand, a recording apparatus using MPEG2 can variably control the bit rate of recorded video. The bit rate of the video is continuously changed so that the average bit rate is constant, a higher bit rate is assigned to a complex screen, and a lower bit rate is assigned to a simple screen to obtain a higher image quality. To. By adjusting the average bit rate according to such an MPEG2 compression module, the overall image quality and recording time can be adjusted.
[0007]
The average bit rate can be adjusted by reducing the maximum value of the variable rate and, as a result, lowering the average value or evenly lower than the required rate over the entire range of possible values of the rate. For example, there is a method for lowering only the range.
[0008]
Therefore, a recording apparatus using MPEG2 can have an infinite number of recording modes instead of two-stage recording conditions as in a VTR. Instead of switching the recording mode during recording as in the case of the VTR, the entire recording time of the recording medium to be used and the recording target program is accurately checked before recording, and the optimum recording rate is calculated. All programs can be recorded with optimum efficiency according to the remaining amount of media.
[0009]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-92106, “Data Recording Device, Data Reproducing Device, and Image Recording / Reproducing Device” uses such a technique to allow a user to set recording quality such as recording image quality, and is reserved. An apparatus is described in which a compression rate can be automatically set so that a program can be recorded in a recording medium.
[0010]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, when the recording quality such as the recording image quality is set using the technique as described in the above-mentioned JP-A-10-92106, the average recording rate is automatically set so that the program to be reserved for recording can be recorded in the recording medium. When recording a television program by selecting a mode to be set, it is convenient to immediately know the recording quality of the automatically set average recording rate.
[0011]
In determining the recording quality of a program to be recorded, it often depends on the contents of the program. If the contents are known, there are various demands such as when the recording quality can be low, or conversely, when recording with a recording quality higher than a certain level is desired. Therefore, even when the recording rate is automatically set, it is very important to present the recording quality level in order to determine whether or not to select the automatic setting mode.
[0012]
For example, if you want to record with high image quality, you can accept the automatic setting mode if the image quality in the automatic setting mode is very close to the highest image quality, even if the recording capacity is impossible due to the recording capacity. In some cases, a recording instruction is given. Conversely, if the image quality in the automatic setting mode does not reach the desired quality, for example, if it does not reach the desired quality, do not record in this mode, or prepare a new recording medium if the recording medium can be replaced. For example, it may be possible to take measures to maintain the recording quality.
[0013]
Therefore, if the recording rate in the automatic setting mode is not accurately grasped, recording is performed with an image quality higher than necessary, and the recording medium is wasted, or recording is performed on the recording medium even though the image quality is acceptable. It is not preferable because there is a problem of not being present.
[0014]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its purpose is to display recording condition setting options depending on the recording rate even when information is recorded at a variable rate, and to record on a recording medium. By comparing the recording rate automatically calculated from the possible time with the displayed conditions, it is possible to visually display the level of the recording rate so that the user can easily determine the condition setting. is there.
[0015]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention mainly adopts the following configuration.
[0016]
Means for changing the amount of information per unit time according to a plurality of recording condition setting modes to record information on a recording medium or reading information from the recording medium;
Calculating means for calculating a recordable time from the recording capacity and the information amount per unit time by obtaining a recording capacity of the recording medium that can be recorded on the recording medium;
Calculating means for calculating one mode of the recording condition setting mode based on the recording capacity and the broadcast time of the recording target program;
Determining means for determining any of the plurality of recording condition modes based on the setting input by the input means;
Display means for displaying a recording condition setting mode including one mode of the recording condition setting mode,
The display means displays an average recording rate corresponding to the plurality of recording condition setting modes, and displays the display order positions of the plurality of recording condition setting modes according to the order of numerical values of the average recording rates. Recording device.
[0017]
In a digital recording device that records an image on a recording medium by changing the recording rate of an input image and changing the amount of information per unit time,
In addition to a plurality of preset image quality / recording time setting modes with different recording rates, an all recording setting mode capable of recording all programs based on the recording capacity that can be recorded on the recording medium and the broadcast time of the recording target program. Provided,
Performing change control of the information amount per unit by an average recording rate corresponding to each of the plurality of image quality / recording time setting modes and all recording setting modes,
A digital recording apparatus that displays all setting modes and their corresponding average recording rates in association with each other, and displays them in the order of the numerical values of the average recording rates.
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A digital recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0019]
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a tuner that receives a television signal broadcast from a broadcasting station. The configuration of the tuner differs depending on the type of broadcast to be received, for example, digital broadcast, analog broadcast, satellite broadcast, cable broadcast, etc., but any configuration may be used.
[0020]
Reference numeral 2 denotes a recording signal processing unit that compresses and decompresses information, and is composed of, for example, a so-called MPEG2 compression / decompression circuit (MPEG2 encoder / decoder). The recording signal processing unit 2 uses one that can vary the encoding rate in the range of 3 Mbps to 24 Mbps. The recording signal processing unit 2 performs encoding so that encoded data at an encoded data rate designated based on the compression rate data supplied from the recording rate control unit 54 is obtained.
[0021]
A recording medium control unit 3 controls the operation of the recording medium, reads information from the recording medium, or records information on the recording medium, and 4 is a recording medium that records information. In the present embodiment, description will be made on the premise of a medium that can be randomly accessed, for example, a magneto-optical disk such as a hard disk or a DVD-RAM, but the present invention can be realized even with a sequential access medium such as a video tape.
[0022]
The system control unit 5 controls the overall operation of the digital recording apparatus, and includes a recording remaining amount management unit 51, a time management unit 52, a recording rate calculation unit 53, a recording rate control unit 54, and the like. The remaining recording management unit 51 obtains the recordable capacity from the information read from the recording medium 4 by the recording medium control unit 3. The time management unit 52 calculates the recordable time from the calculation of the recording time and the amount of data that can be recorded on the disc. The recording rate calculation unit 53 obtains an average recording rate at which all programs can be recorded, based on the recordable capacity obtained by the remaining recording amount management unit 51 and the total program time. The recording rate control unit 54 controls the data rate of the encoded data by supplying the average recording rate obtained by the recording rate calculation unit 53 to the compression / decompression circuit in the recording signal processing unit 2.
[0023]
A display control unit 6 displays user interface information necessary for a display device such as a liquid crystal panel or a monitor. The display controller 6 controls the display of guidance for performing various input operations and the operation state of the device, the recording image quality setting state, and the information from the system controller 5. These can also be displayed on the screen of the remote control.
[0024]
Reference numeral 7 denotes an operation unit that allows the user to operate the device with an operation panel, a remote controller, or the like. In this embodiment, the user gives instructions such as recording, playback, recording reservation, and recording condition setting, but instructions from other various users are also given from the operation unit 7.
[0025]
Next, the recording condition setting according to the free space of the disk at the time of the scheduled recording operation will be described. Considering the case of performing scheduled recording of a broadcast program or the like with a conventional VTR device, since the amount of information per unit time is constant, for example, the remaining amount of tape that is a recordable area (that is, the remaining length of the tape) If it is known, the recordable time can be uniquely determined and easily calculated depending on the recording mode (tape speed). Taking the normal VHS system as an example, a 120 minute tape can be recorded for 120 minutes in the standard recording mode and 360 minutes in the long time (three times) recording mode.
[0026]
However, since there are only two image quality modes, it is difficult to efficiently use the recordable area by adjusting the recordable time. For example, if you want to record a three-hour program using 120-minute tape, record in long-time recording mode and use only half of the tape, or use two tapes and do not degrade the image quality. Record in standard recording mode. Even in the latter case, only half of the second tape is used.
[0027]
As described above, in the conventional VTR, although the recording medium may not be used efficiently, the user can easily determine the relationship between the remaining time of the tape, the time of the program to be recorded, and the recording mode. There was no particular problem.
[0028]
However, considering the case of a recording apparatus capable of variable rate recording, generally, when recording information at a variable rate, it is possible to adjust the overall image quality and storage area usage by adjusting the average bit rate. it can. Although the overall image quality and the capacity of the recording medium used are in a trade-off relationship (reciprocal relationship), the amount of adjustment can be set relatively freely within the range of recordable rates. Therefore, if the recording capacity is constant, the recordable time can be varied by adjusting the average bit rate. Thus, the average bit rate can be adjusted according to the recording time and the remaining capacity of the recording medium, and the recordable area can be used efficiently.
[0029]
Here, even if the average recording rate can be freely set within a certain range, it is inconvenient to set the average recording rate value by inputting a specific numerical value every time recording or recording reservation is made. For this reason, in consideration of the usability of the recording apparatus, when setting the average recording rate as the adjustment amount, several average recording rates divided in several stages are presented as set values, and the user can It is desirable that the average recording rate can be set by selecting.
[0030]
At this time, if it is difficult to understand the relationship between the remaining capacity of the recording medium and the broadcast time of the program to be recorded, and the average recording rate as each setting value, an error occurs in the judgment of the user, and the program cannot be recorded successfully, On the other hand, there is a possibility that the image quality is lowered but not necessary.
[0031]
In particular, the adjusted average recording rate calculated from the broadcast time of the recording target and the recording capacity of the recording medium so that the program to be recorded can be recorded within the recordable area, always depends on the remaining capacity of the storage medium and the time of the program to be recorded. Since the recording rate is variable, it is difficult for the user to judge.
[0032]
In the user interface of the present embodiment, when recording information at a variable rate, an average recording rate of several specified values is displayed as a recording condition setting option, and the program to be recorded is recorded in the recordable area. The adjustment average recording rate calculated from the broadcast time of the recording target and the recording capacity of the recording medium can be displayed simultaneously as an option, and the expression method such as the expression position can be changed according to the value of the adjusted average recording rate. The relationship between the specified value and the recording rate will be specified.
[0033]
Hereinafter, an example of a user interface for displaying recording condition setting options according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, the maximum variable rate value is 24 Mbps, and the minimum value is 3 Mbps. In addition, as a condition setting for the recording rate, it is possible to select five modes: HD mode, high image quality mode, standard mode, long time mode, and perfect mode. The average recording rate in each mode is 24 Mbps in HD (high definition) mode, 10 Mbps in high image quality mode, 6 Mbps in standard mode, and 3 Mbps in long time mode. The perfect mode is a mode in which the average recording rate is variable, and has an adjusted average recording rate value calculated from the broadcast time of the recording target and the recording capacity of the recording medium so that the recorded program can be recorded in the recordable area. .
[0034]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a recording condition setting setting screen in case 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. On the display device, as the recording condition setting display 200, the display item 201 displays the free space of the disk, the display item 202 displays the reserved recording time set by the user, and records in the display items 203 to 207. Displays the condition setting options. The display item 203 is the HD mode, the display item 204 is the high quality mode, the display item 205 is the perfect mode, the display item 206 is the standard mode, and the display item 207 is the long time mode. The name of each mode is displayed in each option of the display items 203 to 207. In addition, the display 200 displays the set average recording rate, the recordable time when recording is continued at the average recording rate, and the remaining time when recording is performed so that the relation with each mode can be understood. To do.
[0035]
The free disk capacity capable of recording information on the disk can be easily known by the recording medium control unit 3 by reading the information recorded on the disk. The time management unit 52 calculates the recording time and the adjusted average rate in each recording mode.
[0036]
In this case, it is assumed that the reservation recording time is 110 minutes from 21:00 to 22:50, and the disk capacity is 7.5 GB when this reservation is set. This is because the remaining disk capacity is smaller than the disk capacity recorded and used for the specified time in the HD mode with the maximum variable rate, but more than the disk capacity used for the specified time in the long time mode with the minimum variable rate. Is also large. In this case, depending on the recording mode to be selected, the recording capacity may be insufficient, and recording may not be possible for the specified time, but by selecting the recording mode that adjusts the average rate with the adjustable variable rate, the entire disk capacity to be used is used, This is a case where efficient recording is possible while maintaining the image quality as much as possible.
[0037]
First, in the recording apparatus, when recording in the HD mode in which the average recording rate is set to 24 Mbps, which is the maximum value of the variable rate, by the time management unit 52, the remaining capacity of the disk is about 41 minutes (= 7.5 GB × 8 (Bit ÷ 60 seconds ÷ 24 Mbps) Calculate that recording is possible. Similarly, in the high image quality mode with an average recording rate of 10 Mbps, it is calculated that recording can be performed for about 100 minutes. When recording in these two modes, it can be seen that there is not enough free space on the disk to record all the programs. Therefore, when one of these two modes is selected and recorded, the probability that the program cannot be recorded to the end is very high. Therefore, these two options are grayed out (dotted line brackets in FIG. 2) to disable the selection, Try to eliminate recording mistakes.
[0038]
Similarly, the time management unit 52 calculates that recording is possible for about 166 minutes in the standard mode and about 333 minutes in the long-time mode. In these two modes, the program to be recorded can be recorded to the end, leaving free space on the disc.
[0039]
Here, in the perfect mode, the average recording rate is adjusted so that a program of 110 minutes can be recorded on the remaining recording medium capacity of 7.5 GB. The average recording rate at this time is calculated as 9.1 Mbps. The calculated average recording rate may actually exceed this depending on the quality of the video, such as the motion of the video to be recorded, when this value is applied as the average recording rate in the perfect mode. There are cases where it cannot be completed. Therefore, it is better to apply a value slightly lower than this. However, in the present embodiment, the calculated numerical value is applied as it is for convenience.
[0040]
The calculated average recording rate is 9.1 Mbps, which is higher in image quality than the standard mode, close to the high image quality mode, but lower in image quality. Therefore, the condition setting choices displayed on the recording condition setting display 200 are the perfect mode choices displayed between the standard mode and the high image quality mode, and the HD mode, the high image quality mode, the perfect mode, and the standard mode are displayed. Displayed in the order of mode and long time mode.
[0041]
Next, Case 2 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a recording condition setting setting screen in case 2 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Case 2 will be described as an example where the reservation recording time is 110 minutes from 21:00 to 22:50, and the disk capacity is 4.5 GB at the time of this reservation setting. As in case 1, the time management unit 52 calculates the recordable time in each mode as about 25 minutes for the HD mode, about 60 minutes for the high image quality mode, about 100 minutes for the standard mode, and about 200 minutes for the long time mode. The perfect mode is adjusted and calculated to 5.5 Mbps.
[0042]
In this case, the average recording rate of 5.5 Mbps in the perfect mode is lower than that in the standard mode and higher than that in the long-time mode. Therefore, the choices displayed on the recording condition setting display 300 are the perfect mode choices displayed between the standard mode and the long-time mode, and the HD mode, the high image quality mode, the standard mode, the perfect mode, Displayed in the order of long time mode.
[0043]
When the display position of the options for the perfect mode is fixed, in the comparison of each recording mode, particularly in the comparison between the perfect mode and other modes, the comparison factor is only the numerical value of the recording rate, and the user is It is difficult to understand instantly because it is only possible to judge by looking at the difference between them, but as in the previous embodiment, if the display position is changed, the image quality of the perfect mode can be grasped instantly, and it is used as a judgment material for recording condition setting Can also make it harder to make mistakes.
[0044]
In the above description, the option having the specified value of the average recording rate higher than the adjusted average rate is grayed out and cannot be selected, but may not be displayed on the setting screen. However, if there is a need to record with high image quality even if it cannot be recorded to the end of the program, the option may be displayed by indicating that there is a possibility that the recording capacity is insufficient.
[0045]
In the above description, the description has been made on the premise that the entire storage area of the storage medium is used. However, for example, when another program is scheduled to be recorded after that, a storage area for that area is secured. It is necessary to keep. For this reason, the adjustment average rate may be calculated and displayed for the total storage capacity minus the necessary storage capacity.
[0046]
As described above, the embodiment of the present invention includes the following configurations, functions and actions. That is, a recording signal processing unit that changes an image recording rate and changes an amount of information per unit time, a recording medium control unit that records the changed image on a recording medium, a recording medium that records the image, A recording rate control unit that variably controls the recording rate in the recording signal processing unit, an operation unit that sets the image quality of an image to be recorded, and a remaining recording amount management unit that calculates a recording capacity that can be recorded on the recording medium; A time management unit for obtaining a recordable time based on the obtained recording capacity and the image quality set by the operation unit, and an average recording adjusted so that all programs can be recorded based on the obtained recording capacity and the recording time And a recording rate calculation unit for obtaining a rate, and the adjusted average recording rate obtained can be set by an operation unit as the image quality of an image to be recorded.
[0047]
In this configuration, the recording rate control unit controls the recording rate of the recording signal processing unit in accordance with the recording image quality set by the operation unit. When recording image quality is set, several recording modes with different recording rates are displayed by the display control unit as initial setting options. At this time, the obtained adjusted average recording rate is displayed at the same time and the display position is changed. .
[0048]
Therefore, the digital recording apparatus according to the present embodiment sets the recording image quality in accordance with the contents of the recorded program, can record with the set recording image quality, and has the remaining recording capacity of the recording medium and the recording time reserved for recording. Since the recording rate calculation unit that automatically sets the recording rate based on the above is provided, it is possible to record the program reserved for recording with the remaining recording capacity of the recording medium.
[0049]
Also, since the display position of the options when setting the recording image quality changes depending on the value of the adjusted average recording rate, the level of the adjusted average recording rate is compared to the average recording rate of the default setting options. Is easy to understand visually.
[0050]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the digital recording apparatus of the present invention, when recording conditions such as reserved recording are set, the average recording rate is set so that all programs can be recorded according to the remaining capacity of the recording medium and the time of the program to be recorded. By changing the display position of options that can be selected as the recording mode for the adjusted average recording rate to be adjusted, the image quality can be easily determined.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a recording condition setting screen in case 1 of the present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a recording condition setting screen in case 2 of the present embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Tuner 2 Recording signal processing part 3 Medium control part 4 Recording medium 5 System control part 6 Display control part 7 Operation part 51 Recording residual amount management part 52 Time management part 53 Recording rate calculation part 54 Recording rate control part

Claims (4)

Means for changing the amount of information per unit time according to a plurality of recording condition setting modes to record information on a recording medium or reading information from the recording medium;
Calculating means for calculating a recordable time from the recording capacity and the information amount per unit time by obtaining a recording capacity of the recording medium that can be recorded on the recording medium;
Calculating means for calculating one mode of the recording condition setting mode based on the recording capacity and the broadcast time of the recording target program;
Determining means for determining any of the plurality of recording condition modes based on the setting input by the input means ;
Display means for displaying a recording condition setting mode including one mode of the recording condition setting mode ,
The display means is configured to display the average recording rate corresponding to the plurality of recording condition setting mode, the display order positions of the plurality of recording condition setting mode to view according to the magnitude order of the numbers of the average recording rate A digital recording device. The digital recording device according to claim 1 ,
A digital recording apparatus, wherein one mode of the calculated recording condition setting mode is changed in the order of the average recording rate numerical value in accordance with the change of the numerical value of the average recording rate. The digital recording device according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The display means changes the mode display of the recording condition setting mode having an average recording rate higher than the average recording rate corresponding to one mode of the recording condition setting mode, and prevents the mode from being selected. A digital recording device. In a digital recording device that records an image on a recording medium by changing the recording rate of an input image and changing the amount of information per unit time,
In addition to a plurality of preset image quality / recording time setting modes with different recording rates, an all recording setting mode capable of recording all programs based on the recording capacity that can be recorded on the recording medium and the broadcast time of the recording target program. Provided,
Performing change control of the information amount per unit by an average recording rate corresponding to each of the plurality of image quality / recording time setting modes and all recording setting modes,
A digital recording apparatus characterized by displaying all setting modes and their corresponding average recording rates in association with each other, and displaying them in the order of the numerical values of the average recording rates.

Images