JP2005159439A - Recording and playback apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to continue viewing a content that was being viewed on a portable playback device with a deferred recording / playback device by only a predetermined selection operation without a complicated operation.
When a content that is a portable playback device is in the middle of viewing in a state in which the portable playback device is connected to the stationary recording / playback device, the recording / playback device and the portable playback device are provided. Selects the same content as the content in the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus, seeks to the frame position in the middle of viewing, and then selects whether to display the information indicating the content and continue viewing to the user When a selection to continue is made, playback is resumed from a position in the middle of viewing.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention is a deferred recording / reproducing apparatus having a TV program reserved recording / playback function, a TV program recorded by the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus, transferred and stored, and separated from the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus, The present invention relates to a recording / playback apparatus including a portable playback apparatus having a function of playing back content, and a recording / playback method using the recording / playback apparatus.

  With the progress of digital compression technology for stream data such as video and audio, digital data such as video and audio is recorded on a hard disk (HD), DVD, magneto-optical disk (MO), SD / MMC / CF / PC card, etc. It has become possible to implement a playback device. For example, in place of VCRs that have been commonly used to record and play back conventional TV programs, stationary HD recorders / players, DVD recorders / players (deferred recorder / player), etc. In addition, some have appeared to record TV programs on the HD of personal computers (PCs) and play them back.

  On the other hand, it is becoming possible to play back video and audio on a portable device such as a PDA. For example, a content recorded by a PC having the above TV recording function can be connected to a removable medium such as a CF card or a connection device such as a USB. It is also possible to transfer to a PDA via the Internet and view it on the go.

  However, a portable playback device such as the above PDA sacrifices storage capacity due to its small size and cannot store all the content recorded by a stationary recording / playback device such as the above PC. It will be selected and transferred. There has been proposed a method for automating such a complicated task of selecting and transferring, for example, the user only designates a transfer policy for each program at the time of recording reservation of a TV program, and all operations such as transfer / replacement of contents are automatically performed. Implemented.

  However, for example, when I was watching some content on the go using a portable playback device, but I haven't finished watching until the end, I want to go home and watch the rest with a better recording environment If you think that, you have to search for the content you want to view with the deferred recording / playback device, seek to the mid-viewing position, and play it.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, when a portable playback device having content that is being viewed is connected to the stationary recording / reproducing device, the content being viewed is automatically selected by the stationary recording / reproducing device, and automatically to a position that is being viewed. It is an object of the present invention to allow the user to resume viewing only by selecting whether or not to resume viewing the content from a position in the middle of viewing.

  The recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention includes a deferred recording / reproducing apparatus having a TV program reserved recording / reproducing function, and a TV program as a content recorded by the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus. A portable playback device having a function of playing back content in a disconnected state, and the stationary recording / playback device and the portable playback device are configured to be connectable by a predetermined communication means, The viewing status of each content is managed by both the stationary recording / reproducing device and the portable playback device. When viewing is in progress, information on how far the content has been viewed is also managed, and the last viewing is performed by the portable playback device. When the portable playback device is connected to the deferred recording / playback device, content viewing status management means for managing information indicating which content is the content, the portable playback device Content management information updating means for transferring information indicating the content viewing status to the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus, and updating each content management information of the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus to the latest state, and the content as the portable reproduction apparatus If it is in the middle of viewing, the same content as the content is selected in the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus, and after seeking to the frame position in the middle of viewing, information indicating the content is displayed and viewed by the user. It has a feature in that it is provided with a content continuous reproduction means that prompts the user to select whether or not to continue, and resumes reproduction from a position in the middle of viewing when the selection is continued.

  The recording / reproducing method of the present invention includes a stationary recording / reproducing apparatus having a TV program reserved recording / reproducing function, a TV program as a content recorded by the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus, transferring and storing, and the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus. And a portable playback device having a function of playing back content in a disconnected state, and the stationary recording / playback device and the portable playback device are configured to be connectable by a predetermined communication means Is a recording / playback method that manages the viewing status of each content in both the stationary recording / playback device and the portable playback device, and manages the information of how far the content has been viewed in the middle of viewing, Further, a content viewing status management step for managing information indicating which content was last viewed on the portable playback device, and the portable playback device as a deferred recording / playback device. If it continues, the content management information update process which transfers the information which shows the content viewing-and-listening state in the said portable reproduction apparatus to the said stationary recording / reproducing apparatus, and updates each content management information of the said stationary recording / reproducing apparatus to the newest state When the content that is the portable playback device is in the middle of viewing, the same content as the content is selected in the deferred recording / playback device, and after seeking to the frame position during the viewing, the content is It is characterized in that it has a content continuous reproduction step of prompting the user to select whether or not to continue viewing by displaying information to be displayed, and restarting reproduction from a position in the middle of viewing when the selection is continued.

  According to the present invention, when a content that is a portable playback device is in the middle of viewing, when the portable playback device is connected to a stationary recording / reproducing device, the same content as the content is automatically selected by the stationary recording / reproducing device. As a result, seek is performed up to the frame position in the middle of viewing, information indicating the content is displayed, and the user is prompted to select whether or not to continue viewing. Therefore, the user can continue viewing the content that was being viewed on the portable playback device with the deferred recording / playback device by only the selection operation of “continue viewing” without a complicated operation.

  Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a recording / playback apparatus according to the present embodiment. 1 is a deferred recording / reproducing apparatus having a TV program reserved recording / reproducing function, 2 is a portable reproducing apparatus that reproduces a TV program (content) recorded by the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1, and 3 is a deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1. A communication cable for connecting the portable playback device 2 and enabling data communication.

  101 is a CPU that executes software that implements the processing of the present embodiment in the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1, 102 is a ROM that stores software that implements the processing of the present embodiment in the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1, and 103 is stationary. A RAM that is a memory used by software that implements the processing of the present embodiment in the recording / playback apparatus 1, 104 is a large-capacity hard disk (HD) that records content in the stationary recording / playback apparatus 1, and 105 is a stationary recording / playback apparatus 1. An internal system bus 106 is a communication device such as USB or IEEE1394 for exchanging data with the portable playback device 2 via the communication cable 3, 107 is a speaker for playing back audio of recorded content, and 108 is a speaker 107. A sound controller for outputting analog audio to the video, 109 is a CR for playing back the video of the content 110, a video controller with a built-in video RAM for outputting an image to the display 109, 111 a content specification operation from the user, playback, stop, fast forward, fast reverse, and TV program reservation setting operation , 112 is a TV tuner unit that receives TV broadcasts, and 113 is a capture unit that converts data received by the tuner unit 112 into digital data.

  201 is a CPU that executes software that implements the processing of the present embodiment on the portable playback device 2, 202 is a ROM that stores software that implements the processing of the present embodiment on the portable playback device 2, and 203 is the main playback device 2 on the portable playback device 2. RAM, which is a memory used by software for realizing the processing of the embodiment, 204 is a small-capacity hard disk (HD) for storing playback content in the portable playback device 2, 205 is a system bus inside the portable playback device 2, 206 Is a communication device such as USB or IEEE1394 for exchanging data with the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1 via the communication cable 3, 207 is a headphone for reproducing the sound of the content, 208 is for outputting an analog sound to the headphone 207 The sound controller 209 is an LCD for playing back moving images of content. Type display, 210 video controller with a built-in video RAM for outputting an image on the display 209, 211 is the content specified by the user, play, stop, fast-forward, is an input device for inputting a fast reverse operations such.

  The stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1 may be realized in a form using a general-purpose PC or may be realized in the form of a dedicated machine such as a conventional HD recording / reproducing device. For example, when implemented in the form of a dedicated machine, the video may be output as a video signal such as NTSC, and played back using a TV or monitor device as a display, as in a conventional video deck. I do not care.

  The ROM 102 and the ROM 202 do not store the software for realizing the processing of the present embodiment, but may be loaded into the RAM 103 and the RAM 203 from the secondary storage device such as the HD 104 or HD 204 and executed. The software stored in the ROM 202 may be executed after being expanded in the RAM 103 and RAM 203.

  The input device 111 may be provided with a button device such as a play button or a stop button on the apparatus main body, and is realized with a GUI in which a device such as a remote control or a mouse is prepared and a menu or an operation panel is displayed on the display 109. It doesn't matter. Similarly, for the input device 211, a button device such as a play button or a stop button may be prepared in the apparatus main body, or a device such as a digitizer is prepared and a menu or an operation panel is displayed on the display 209. It does not matter if it is realized.

  The connection between the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1 and the portable playback apparatus 2 may be a wired connection such as RS232C, USB, or IEEE1394, or a wireless connection such as IrDA, Bluetooth, or wireless LAN. However, it is desirable that high-speed transfer is possible and that it can be inserted and removed even when the power is on. Further, the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1 and the portable playback apparatus 2 may not be directly connected but may be realized in a form of connection via a cradle.

  Further, the HD 204 may be configured by a silicon device such as a flash memory. Further, the HD 104 and HD 204 may be formatted with a FAT file system generally used in a PC, or may be a unique file system other than the FAT file system, for example. Any data structure may be used as long as a plurality of contents and management information other than the contents can be stored and can be individually read / written by designating them. In the present embodiment, a file system such as a FAT file system that accesses a file by specifying a file name (path name), which is the most general method, will be described as an example.

  In addition, the compression method of the content for reproduction in the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1 and the portable reproducing apparatus 2 may be MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 which are generally used. The same compression method may be used for the device 2, or different compression methods suitable for the stationary recording / playback device 1 and the portable playback device 2 may be used. In this embodiment, in order to simplify the description, a case where the same compression method is used in the stationary recording / playback apparatus 1 and the portable playback apparatus 2 will be described as an example.

  The compression / decompression process performed by the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1 may be performed by dedicated hardware or by the CPU 101 using software. The decompression process performed by the portable playback device 2 may be performed by dedicated hardware or by the CPU 201 using software.

  Further, in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1 is installed and used in a room such as a home, and the portable playback apparatus 2 is used outside or in a place other than the installation room in the home. ing. The stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1 is equipped with a display 109 and a speaker 107 so that the content can be viewed on the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1. That is, when the user is near the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1, the user views the content with the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1 having a better viewing environment, and when the user is not near the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1, the portable playback taken out is performed. It is assumed that the content is viewed on the device 2. When the portable playback device 2 is not used, the portable recording device 2 is connected to the stationary recording / playback device 1. When the portable playback device 2 views content, the portable recording device 2 is disconnected from the stationary recording / playback device 1. Is assumed.

When recording a TV program, the user sets a content transfer policy from the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1 to the portable playback apparatus 2 for each program. This transfer policy will be described below. When making a reservation for recording a TV program with a conventional video deck or HD recorder / player, the following parameters are set.
(p1) Channel: 1ch to
(p2) Date:? Year? Moon? Day / weekly? Day of the week / Daily / Mon-Sat / Mon-Fri
(p3) Time:? ? Time? ? From the minute? ? Time? ? Up to minutes
(p4) Recording mode: High quality / Standard / Long time, etc. Generally, 4 to 8 of these can be reserved. In the present embodiment, the number of reservations will be described as four. Note that (p4) recording mode represents the quality of content for the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1, and is high quality: 6 Mbps, standard: 4 Mbps, long time: 3 Mbps, and the like.

In this embodiment, in addition to the conventional parameters as described above, the following parameters related to the content transfer policy are set.
(p5) Viewing device: “Deferred recording / playback device 1” / “Portable playback device 2”
Specify which device will be used to view the content. “Deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1” and “Portable playback apparatus 2” can be selected. As described above, in the present embodiment, the reproduction can be performed by the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1, and therefore, it is assumed that the portable recording apparatus 2 can be viewed by the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1. Only when this parameter is “portable playback device 2”, the transfer process is performed based on the transfer policy of the content. Therefore, the parameters shown below have meaning only for the content for which “mobile playback device 2” is specified by this parameter.

(p6) Overwrite: “Yes” / “No”
This parameter is meaningful only for content that has been specified continuously, such as weekly / daily / month to Saturday / Monday to Friday, on the date of the conventional parameter (p2). If “Yes” and “No” are specified and “No” is set, if the content for the previous time exists in the portable playback device 2 and viewing has not ended yet, the next time until overwriting Do not try to transfer minutes. This setting is suitable for a serial drama, for example. If “Yes” is selected, the latest portion is overwritten and transferred even if the previous portion has not been viewed. This setting is suitable for news programs, for example. In addition, when “Yes” is set, it may be possible to specify the latest number of times to be retained. For example, when “twice” is designated, the transfer process is performed so that the latest two times are always in the state of entering the portable playback device 2. In the present embodiment, in order to simplify the description, a case where this number is fixed as “one time” will be described as an example.

(p7) Priority: "1" / "2" / "3" / "4"
Since the capacity of the portable playback device 2 is small, there is a possibility that all the programs designated for transfer cannot be transferred. In such a case, this parameter specifies which content is to be preferentially transferred. In the present embodiment, since the number of reservations is 4, the priority is also set to 4 stages of 1 to 4, and 1 is treated as the highest priority. For example, content that is important for immediacy, such as sports broadcast programs and news programs, has a high priority, while medium-priority content that can be viewed at any time within a week, such as a weekly drama, It is possible to use a low priority such as an irregular movie program that can be viewed at any time.

  The deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1 needs to hold recording reservation information and tables for managing recorded contents (recording reservation management table and content management table). Since these pieces of information are information that should not be deleted even when the power is turned off, files in the HD 104, for example, schedule.tab and contents.tab are generated and stored respectively.

  The file schedule.tab stores contents reflecting the above-described parameter information as shown in FIG.

  Management information as shown in FIG. 3 is stored in the file contents.tab. For the contents specified continuously such as “every day of the week”, “everyday”, “Monday-Saturday”, “Monday-Friday” on the date of the above parameter (p2), even if they are recorded multiple times Managed by one entry. Each entry stores parameter information set at the time of recording reservation.

  Each piece of content information is managed in a separate file (content information file), and the file name is stored in each entry.

Information stored in each entry is shown below.
(e1) Entry number Unique number for identifying each entry
(e2) Channel: 1ch ~
Same as the recording reservation parameter (p1).
(e3) Date:? Year? Moon? Day / weekly? Same as Day / Daily / Monday-Saturday / Monday-Friday recording reservation parameter (p2).
(e4) Time:? ? Time? ? From the minute? ? Time? ? Same as the recording reservation parameter (p3).
(e5) Viewing device: “Deferred recording / playback device 1” / “Portable playback device 2”
Same as the recording reservation parameter (p5).
(e6) Overwrite: “Yes” / “No”
Same as the recording reservation parameter (p6).
(e7) Priority: “1” / “2” / “3” / “4”
Same as the recording reservation parameter (p7).
(e8) Content information file name Information for linking content information files.

  The file name of the content information file is automatically generated from the recording start date and time to make it unique. For example, if the content starts recording from 13:00 on September 11, 2001, the file name may be 200109111300.inf. In the following description, a name (200109111300) obtained by removing the extension (.inf) of the file name is referred to as a content name.

The content information file stores the following information.
(c1) Content storage location: “deferred recording / reproducing device 1” / “deferred recording / reproducing device 1 and portable playback device 2”
Indicates the current content storage location.
(c2) Viewing status: “not viewing” / “while watching” / “ending viewing”
The viewing status at that time is shown.
(c3) Viewing point Indicates the viewing point at that time, such as the time from the start of viewing or the frame number.
(c4) In the case of content recorded with continuous designation of content information file names, a plurality of contents are linked and managed. Therefore, the content information file name of the next round is stored here if necessary.

  Data such as MPEG-2 that is the content entity is also managed as a file (content data file).

  The file name is automatically generated from the recording start date and time like the content information file, and has a one-to-one correspondence with the content information file. For example, if the content information file name is 200109111300.inf, the content data file name is 200109111300.mpg.

On the other hand, the portable playback device 2 also needs a content information file in the same manner as the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1 in order to manage the contents transferred from the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1 and stored at present. However, since only the content stored in the portable playback device 2 needs to be managed in the portable playback device 2, only the content information file for the stored content data file is sufficient, and the content management table is unnecessary. Become. The content information file name managed by the portable playback device 2 is managed with the same name as that of the stationary recording / reproducing device 1 as with the content data file name. However, the necessary information is different from the content information file of the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1 as follows.
(C1) Entry number Indicates the entry number of the link content management table.
(C2) Priority: "1" / "2" / "3" / "4"
Indicates the priority of the content.
(C3) Viewing status: “Unviewed” / “Now viewing” / “End viewing”
The viewing status at that time is shown.
(C4) Viewing point Indicates the viewing point at that time, such as the time from the start of viewing or the frame number.

Information for identifying the content that was last viewed on the portable playback device 2 is managed by the stationary recording / playback device 1 and the portable playback device 2, respectively. The last viewing content information file lastcontents.inf, which is a file for managing these pieces of information, is stored in the HD 104 and HD 204, respectively. The following information is stored in the last viewing content information file lastcontents.inf.
(L1) Mobile Playback Device 2 Last Viewing Content Name The content name of the content that was last viewed on the mobile playback device 2 is stored.

  Next, processing at the time of recording reservation and processing at the start / end of recording in the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1 will be described. The basic process is the same as the process for making a reservation for recording a TV program with a conventional HD recording / playback device, etc., and the operation from the user is received by the input device 111 and various parameters input by the user are recorded as described above. Set in the reservation management table and set the internal timer at the nearest time. What is characteristic is that (p5) viewing devices, (p6) overwrite, (p7) priorities have increased in parameters input by the user, and these values are also recorded as described above. It is necessary to add processing to be set in the reservation management table.

  Next, processing when the set internal timer expires and recording is started / finished will be described. Regarding these processes, the basic process is the same as the recording start / end process in a conventional HD recording / playback device. At the start of recording, the channel of the tuner unit 112 is changed to a designated channel, and the tuner is changed. The data received by the unit 112 is converted / compressed into digital data by the capture unit 113 and written to the content data file generated on the HD 104. At the end of recording, processing such as closing the content data file and setting the internal timer at the closest time after updating the recording reservation management table is performed. In addition to the conventional processing, a content information file corresponding to the recorded content is generated and processing such as registration in the content management table is performed. The generated content information file is set as follows. (c1) “Deferred recording / playback device 1” is set in the content storage location, (c2) “Unviewed” is set in the viewing status, and (c3) A null character string is set in the content information file name.

  If (p2) date in the recording reservation parameters specifies a certain day, an entry is added to the content management table, and the content information file is linked with (e8) content information file name. Other (e2) channel, (e3) date, (e4) time, (e5) viewing device, and (e7) priority are copied from the recording reservation parameter. (e6) Overwrite has no meaning in this case and is not set.

  On the other hand, if the (p2) date is specified continuously, such as “Weekly” or “Everyday”, it may be already registered in the content management table, so the contents of each entry and the recording reservation parameter And search for the same content. If found, link the generated content information file to the end of the link of the entry. If not found, add an entry and link the generated content information file with (e8) content information file name. All other settings are set by copying from the recording reservation parameters.

  Next, the flow of processing that is a feature of the present embodiment will be described below. First, content reproduction processing in the portable reproduction device 2 will be described. In the portable playback device 2, an arbitrary content is played back from a plurality of contents transferred from the stationary recording / playback device 1 by an automatic content transfer process, which will be described later, according to an instruction from the user. A plurality of contents stored in the HD 204 are managed by the respective content information files as described above.

  For content that has just been transferred from the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1 and has never been played back, set the (C3) viewing status of the corresponding content information file to “unviewed” and play back according to the user's instructions. When it starts, it sets “viewing halfway”, and when it plays to the end, it sets “viewing end”. Further, when the playback is stopped in the middle of reproduction or the content is switched to another content after that, the “viewing in progress” remains set. Also, when content playback is stopped halfway, information indicating the position (time, frame number, etc.) is recorded at (C4) viewing point of the corresponding content information file. When playback of a certain content is started, (L1) portable playback device 2 final viewing content name in the last viewing content information file lastcontents.inf in the HD 204 is set to the content name of the content that has started playback.

  Next, a flow of processing when the user views content using the portable playback device 2 while going out and connects the portable playback device 2 to the stationary recording / playback device 1 after returning home will be described. Note that even if both are automatically connected and the programs stored in the respective devices are installed to start operation using the respective CPU, ROM, and RAM, the user can also install them. It may be implemented in such a manner that when either the recording / reproducing apparatus 1 or the portable playback apparatus 2 is turned on, both are turned on and the program starts processing. In the present embodiment, a description will be given of a system in which both are automatically turned on when both are connected, and the program starts processing. At this time, both the internal powers are turned on and the processing is automatically started, but the visual power that the user can see is not yet turned on, that is, the console screen and the guide for the input device 111 as in a general video deck. If there is something like a light, the following processing is started assuming that they are still extinguished.

  As a large processing flow, first, information indicating the viewing status of the content is transferred from the portable playback device 2 to the stationary recording / reproducing device 1 to update the management information of the content of the stationary recording / reproducing device 1 to the latest state. Perform processing. When this is completed, next, when the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1 executes the continuous reproduction processing of the content being viewed, automatic content transfer processing is performed in parallel.

  In order to perform parallel processing of two types of processing in this way, generally, a continuous reproduction process and an automatic transfer process are performed using a real-time OS having a multitasking mechanism capable of executing a plurality of processes in parallel. Try to run as an independent task. Moreover, since the continuous reproduction process must not be hindered by the automatic transfer process, it is necessary to set the execution priority of the continuous reproduction process task higher than that of the automatic transfer process task.

  First, the flow of processing for updating the content management information of the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1 to the latest state will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, when the portable playback device 2 starts the connection process, a plurality of content information files stored in the HD 204 are sequentially read in step S101, and the process proceeds from step S102 to step S103 while the corresponding file is present. Proceed to

  In step S103, the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1 is notified of the content name, (C3) viewing status, and (C4) viewing point of the selected content information file.

  Next, in step S104, the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1 that has received the notification stores (c2) viewing status and (c3) viewing in the content information file information corresponding to the notified content name stored in the HD 104. Update points.

  Next, the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1 checks in step S105 whether the updated (c2) viewing status is “viewing end”. If it is “viewing end”, the process proceeds from step S106 to step S107. Otherwise, the process proceeds from step S106 to step S108. In step S107, processing for updating (c1) content storage location of the corresponding content information file is performed. If it is “viewing end”, it means that the viewing is ended on the portable playback device 2 and is deleted from the portable playback device 2, so that (c1) content storage location of the corresponding content information file is also Need to update. That is, if (c1) the content storage location is “deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1 and portable reproducing apparatus 2”, the contents are updated to “deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1”.

  Next, in step S108, the portable playback device 2 checks whether the (C3) viewing status of the target content is “viewing end”. If “viewing end”, the portable playback device 2 proceeds from step S109 to step S110 and performs the process of step S110. Then, the process returns to step S101, and if it is not “end of viewing”, the process returns to step S101. In step S110, processing for deleting the content information file and content data file of the target content is performed.

  Finally, in step S111, the portable playback device 2 notifies the deferred recording / playback device 1 of the (L1) final playback content name in the last viewing content information file lastcontents.inf stored in the HD 204. The deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1 that has received the notification updates the content of the last viewing content information file lastcontents.inf stored in the HD 104 in step S112.

  This is the end of the content management information update process. When the update process of the content management information is completed, as described above, the continuous playback process for resuming viewing of the content that was being viewed on the portable playback device 2 on the deferred recording / playback device 1 and the automatic content transfer process are performed in parallel. And run.

  First, the flow of continuous reproduction processing will be described using the flowchart of FIG. The deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1 reads the content (content name) of the last viewed content information file lastcontents.inf updated in step S201, confirms the (c2) viewing status of the corresponding content information file, and “in the middle of viewing” Judge whether or not. If it is “in the middle of viewing”, the process proceeds to step S203, and if it is not “in the middle of viewing”, the continuous reproduction process ends, and the next operation from the user is awaited.

  When the process proceeds to step S203, the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1 turns on the apparent power of the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1, and in step S204, the information on the content that was being viewed on the portable playback apparatus 2 is displayed on the display 109. Information to be displayed at this time includes text information such as recorded channel and date / time, time / ratio information indicating how much the target content has been viewed, last played frame (still image), last played several frames ( Or a combination of any one of them.

  In step S205, a message is displayed in a dialog or the like to prompt a user operation and wait for the user operation. The message to be displayed is “Do you want to continue playback of the content you are watching?”, Even if you prompt the user to “continue playback” with the normal play button or “do not continue playback” with the normal stop button Alternatively, dedicated buttons such as “OK” and “Cancel” may be provided to prompt the operation.

  Next, in step S206, the operation from the user is interpreted, and if it is “continuous reproduction”, the process proceeds from step S207 to step S208, and if it is “not continuous reproduction”, the continuous reproduction process is terminated, Waits for the next operation.

  In step S208, the corresponding content data file is opened, and in step S209, (c3) viewing point in the corresponding content information file is read and seek to the corresponding frame. Finally, in step S210, data is read as needed from the point after seek to start the reproduction process, the continuous reproduction process is terminated, and the next operation from the user is awaited.

  Next, the flow of the automatic content transfer process described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1 selects a transfer candidate content in step S301. First, each entry in the content management table is examined, and (e5) the entry that is “portable playback device 2” in the viewing device is examined in order from (e7) with the highest priority. Next, the content information file linked from the target entry is examined. At this time, if the (e6) overwrite of the entry is “Yes”, only the one at the end of the link, that is, the latest content is examined, and (c1) the content storage location is “Deferred Recording / Reproducing Device 1”. If it is, the content is selected as a transfer candidate. On the other hand, if the (e6) overwrite of the entry is “No”, the linked content information files are examined in the order in which they are linked, that is, from the oldest, and (c1) the content storage location is “deferred”. The contents that are “recording / reproducing apparatus 1” are sequentially selected as transfer candidates. If a transfer candidate content is found in step S301, the process proceeds from step S302 to step S303, and if not found, the process ends.

  Next, in step S303, the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1 notifies the portable playback apparatus 2 of information related to the transfer candidate contents, content data file size, entry number, priority, and overwrite designation. Wait for reply notification.

  Receiving the notification, the portable playback device 2 determines whether the transfer candidate content can be stored in the HD 204 in step S304. If the overwrite designation is “Yes”, the content information file is examined in order, and (C1) the content whose entry number matches the notified entry number is searched. If found, the content information file and content data file of the found content are deleted for overwrite processing. In this case, the content of the transfer candidate can be stored in an area freed by deleting the file, so that the storage / reproducing apparatus 1 is notified that “can be stored”. On the other hand, if the overwrite designation is “No”, the remaining capacity of the current HD 204 is first compared with the notified content data file size. Notify the re-apparatus 1. If the remaining capacity is smaller, the following area securing process is performed and the result is notified to the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1.

  The content information files in the HD 204 are examined in order, and the content data file size of the content lower than the notified priority is summed in order from the lowest priority, and becomes larger than the notified content data file size. At that time, the content data file and the content information file are deleted. In this case, the content of the transfer candidate can be stored in an area freed by deleting the file, so that the storage / reproducing apparatus 1 is notified that “can be stored”. However, if the content data file size of all the contents lower than the received priority is smaller than the notified content data file size, the above file deletion process is not performed and “storage not possible” is performed. The deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1 is notified that it is possible.

  The deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1 that has received the reply notification from the portable player 2 proceeds to step S306 if the notification is “storable” in step S305, and proceeds to step S301 if it is “cannot be stored”. Returning to the search for the content that is the next transfer candidate.

  If it progresses to step S306, the stationary recording / reproducing apparatus 1 will transfer the content data file used as object to the portable reproducing | regenerating apparatus 2 next. To be exact, since the original content data file remains on the HD 104, copy transfer is performed.

  Receiving the content data file, the portable playback device 2 stores the content data file transferred in step S307 in the HD 204. In step S308, a content information file is created in the HD 204, and the entry number and priority notified in step S303 are set to (C1) entry number and (C2) priority, respectively. (C3) viewing Set the status to “Not watched”.

  Next, in step S309, the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1 changes the (c1) content storage location of the transferred content information file from “deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1” to “deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 1 and portable reproduction apparatus 2”. And return to step S301.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when content playback is performed on the portable playback device 2, (C3) viewing status, (C4) viewing point, and final viewing content of the corresponding content information file according to the playback status. Update the information file appropriately. Then, when the portable playback device 2 is connected to the deferred recording / reproducing device 1, first, the contents of each content information file and the last viewing content information file are transferred from the portable reproducing device 2 so that the contents of the deferred recording / reproducing device 1 are transferred. The management information is updated to the latest state. If the content that is the portable playback device 2 is in the middle of viewing, select the same content as the content in the stationary recording / reproducing device 1 and seek to the frame position in the middle of viewing. In such a state, the still image, content information, etc. are displayed to prompt the user to select whether or not to continue viewing, and if the selection is continued, playback can be resumed from a position during viewing. Become.

  An object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores the storage medium. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code itself and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

  Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (basic system or operating system) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. Needless to say, a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

  Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written to a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU or the like provided in the board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

It is a hardware block diagram of the recording / reproducing apparatus of embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating a video recording reservation management table. It is a figure for demonstrating a content management table. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of the content management information update process. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of the continuous reproduction | regeneration process of a content. It is the flowchart which showed the flow of the automatic transfer process of content.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Deferred recording / reproducing apparatus 2 Portable reproducing | regenerating apparatus 3 Communication cable 101 CPU
102 ROM
103 RAM
104 large capacity HD
105 System Bus 106 Communication Device 107 Speaker 108 Sound Controller 109 Display 110 Video Controller 111 Input Device 112 Tuner Unit 113 Capture Unit 201 CPU
202 ROM
203 RAM
204 Small capacity HD
205 System Bus 206 Communication Device 207 Headphone 208 Sound Controller 209 Small Display 210 Video Controller 211 Input Device

Claims (2)

A deferred recording / reproducing apparatus having a TV program reserved recording / playback function, and a TV program as a content recorded by the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus are transferred and stored, and the contents are stored in a state separated from the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus. A portable playback device having a function to play, the stationary recording and playback device and the portable playback device are configured to be connectable by a predetermined communication means,
The viewing status of each content is managed by both the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus and the portable playback device, and when viewing is in progress, information on how far the content has been viewed is managed, and the last viewing is performed by the portable playback device. Content viewing status management means that also manages information indicating what content the content was,
When the portable playback device is connected to the stationary recording / reproducing device, information indicating a content viewing state in the portable playback device is transferred to the stationary recording / reproducing device, and each content management information of the stationary recording / reproducing device is transmitted. Content management information updating means for updating to the latest state;
When the content that is the portable playback device is in the middle of viewing, information that indicates the content is selected after selecting the same content as the content in the deferred recording / playback device, seeking to the frame position in the middle of viewing And a content continuation reproduction means for prompting the user to select whether or not to continue the viewing and to resume the reproduction from a position in the middle of the viewing when the selection is continued. apparatus. A deferred recording / reproducing apparatus having a TV program reserved recording / playback function, and a TV program as a content recorded by the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus are transferred and stored, and the contents are stored in a state separated from the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus. A recording / reproducing method using a recording / reproducing apparatus configured to be connectable by a predetermined communication unit. The portable recording / reproducing apparatus includes a portable reproducing apparatus having a reproducing function. And
The viewing status of each content is managed by both the deferred recording / reproducing apparatus and the portable playback device, and when viewing is in progress, information on how far the content has been viewed is managed, and the last viewing is performed by the portable playback device. A content viewing status management process that also manages information indicating what content the content had been,
When the portable playback device is connected to the stationary recording / reproducing device, information indicating a content viewing state in the portable playback device is transferred to the stationary recording / reproducing device, and each content management information of the stationary recording / reproducing device is transmitted. Content management information update process to update the
When the content that is the portable playback device is in the middle of viewing, information that indicates the content is selected after selecting the same content as the content in the deferred recording / playback device, seeking to the frame position in the middle of viewing And a content continuation playback step of urging the user to select whether or not to continue viewing and, if the selection is continued, resumes playback from a position in the middle of viewing. .

Images