HK1104868B - Apparatus for reproducing av data - Google Patents

Description

Apparatus for reproducing AV data

Technical Field

The present invention relates to metadata, and more particularly, to an information storage medium having recorded thereon audio/video (AV) data including metadata having representative title information, and a method and apparatus for reproducing the AV data from the information storage medium.

Background

When AV data is recorded on a medium such as a disc, information called metadata is also recorded to describe the recorded content. In other words, the disc includes information on the disc name, the production date, the artist, and the director. Accordingly, the user can easily perform a search by collecting using metadata.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problem

Once the disc is loaded into the player, the metadata remains in the player. The more discs loaded in the player, the amount of metadata remaining in the player also increases. As a result, the user spends a lot of time finding desired content by searching the metadata.

Technical scheme

The present invention provides an information storage medium on which AV data including metadata is recorded, wherein representative title information of a disc is also included in the metadata without changing a conventional metadata structure, allowing the metadata of the representative title of the disc to be preferentially searched during metadata search, thereby accelerating the metadata search, and a method and apparatus for reproducing data from the information storage medium.

Advantageous effects

According to the present invention, metadata of a representative title is preferentially searched, thereby speeding up a search for desired metadata. In other words, when searching for a specific disc, title, or scene using metadata, metadata of a representative title is preferentially searched in order to provide a result to a user, thereby reducing the time required for the search as compared to searching for all metadata.

In addition, when metadata of a disc or title is displayed to a user, information corresponding to a representative title is also displayed. Thus, more detailed information can be provided to the user.

Drawings

These and/or other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

fig. 1 shows the structure of metadata;

fig. 2 illustrates an example of metadata recorded on a disc;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a multimedia data reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 illustrates an example of a search result screen output through the display unit;

fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a multimedia data reproducing method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows an example of search results using a representative title;

FIG. 7 illustrates another example of search results using a representative title;

FIG. 8 is a detailed flowchart illustrating a method of searching metadata according to the present invention; and

fig. 9A and 9B illustrate a relationship between disc metadata and title metadata.

Best mode for carrying out the invention

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information storage medium having recorded thereon AV data including metadata, in which representative title information of a disc is further included in the metadata without changing a conventional metadata structure, allowing the metadata of the representative title of the disc to be preferentially searched during a metadata search, thereby accelerating the metadata search, and a method and apparatus for reproducing data from the information storage medium.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information storage medium having recorded thereon AV data including metadata designed to provide a user with sufficient information by providing representative title information together with disc information to the user, and a method and apparatus for reproducing data from the information storage medium.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information storage medium having recorded thereon audio/video (AV) data including metadata. The information storage medium includes: storage medium information regarding the AV data recorded on the information storage medium; and title information of at least one title constituting the AV data. The title information includes representative title information that specifies at least one of the titles as a representative title.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the information storage medium may be an optical disc, and the storage medium information may be disc information regarding AV data recorded on the optical disc.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a plurality of items of title information may be included in the optical disc, and at least one of the titles may be designated as a representative title.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the title information may include representative title information and general title information, the representative title information being structurally arranged higher than the general title information and including the general title information connected using the sub-link.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the title information may include representative title information and general title information, the representative title information being arranged at the same level in structure as the general title information, and the representative title having an ID different from that of the general title.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for reproducing audio/video (AV) data. The apparatus comprises: a metadata storage unit storing metadata of the inserted information storage medium; and a search unit that receives the search condition and searches metadata of a title designated as a representative title in preference to metadata of other titles.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the apparatus may further include: a user interface unit receiving a search condition of a user; and a display unit outputting a search result of the search unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the metadata storage unit may further include: storage medium information regarding AV data recorded on an information storage medium; and title information on at least one title constituting the AV data. The title information may include representative title information that designates at least one of the titles as a representative title.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of searching metadata. The method comprises the following steps: once the information storage medium is inserted, storing metadata of the inserted information storage medium; and receiving the search condition and searching for the metadata of the title designated as the representative title in preference to the metadata of the other titles.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of reproducing audio/video (AV) data. The method comprises the following steps: once the information storage medium is inserted, storing metadata of the inserted information storage medium; receiving a search condition and searching metadata of a title designated as a representative title in preference to metadata of other titles; and outputting the search result.

Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the figures.

Fig. 1 shows the structure of metadata. The metadata 110 recorded on the disc includes: disc information 120, directly related to the disc itself, or generally applied to all titles; and title information 130 associated with a title recorded on the disc. As can be seen from fig. 1, the disc information 120 includes metadata related to disc creation, disc format, materials about the disc, and other information defined by the author of the disc. The metadata related to disc creation includes a disc name, a table of contents, copyright, and release information. Metadata related to disc format includes aspect ratio, subtitles, run time, and audio information. Metadata related to material about the disc includes a thumbnail and an associated URL.

Like the disc information 120, the title information 130 also includes metadata related to content creation, content format, material about the content, and other information defined by the author of the content. Metadata related to content creation includes title names, title types, and names of organizations included in title production (shooting) and distribution. Metadata associated with the content format includes cast, promotional information, content type, and comments. The cast lists the cast, staff and other parties involved in the production. Promotional information includes genre, language, and parental guidance (e.g., suitable for people under 18 years of age). Metadata associated with the material about the content includes, but is not limited to, a summary, a winning list, and an associated URL.

Fig. 2 shows an example of metadata recorded on a disc. As can be seen from fig. 2, at least one item related to disc related metadata is recorded on the disc, but the disc may also include a plurality of items related to titles, and thus, the disc includes a plurality of items of title related metadata.

Different items of metadata are recorded on one disc, and a user can easily find a disc on which desired AV contents are recorded or a title or a disc on which a desired actor or actress appears by searching the metadata.

During the search, in an embodiment of the present invention, since AV content of interest to the user is likely to be included in a representative title of the disc, metadata of all titles is not searched for, and metadata of the representative title of the disc is preferentially searched for. In addition, when a plurality of discs are loaded, metadata of a representative title of each of the discs is searched in preference to other metadata recorded on the plurality of discs, thereby speeding up the search when compared with searching metadata of all titles.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a multimedia data reproducing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to fig. 3, the multimedia data reproducing apparatus searches for metadata included in the metadata storage unit 310 according to a search condition input through the user interface unit 330, and outputs the search result through the display unit 340. To this end, the multimedia data reproducing apparatus includes a metadata storage unit 310, a search unit 320, a user interface unit 330, and a display unit 340.

The metadata storage unit 310 receives and stores metadata from an information storage medium such as a disc. Once an information storage medium, such as a disc, is loaded into a multimedia data reproducing apparatus, metadata associated with the information storage medium remains in the metadata storage unit 310 even after the information storage medium is ejected. The user inputs a search condition for the metadata stored in the metadata storage unit 310 to the user interface unit 330. In other words, search keywords for a disc name, an actor or actress, or a director are input to the user interface unit 330 through various devices such as a remote controller. The search unit 320 searches for metadata and outputs metadata matching the search condition to the display unit 340. The method used by the search unit 320 will be described later.

Fig. 4 shows an example of a search result screen output through the display unit 340.

Referring to fig. 4, in order to assist a user search, fields of metadata (genre, actor/actress, or director) stored in the metadata storage unit 310 are displayed. Once the user selects one of the fields, the sub-metadata associated with the selected field is displayed in detail for further selection by the user. For example, if the user selects the "actor/actress" field, actor/actress information stored in the metadata storage unit 310 is displayed. Accordingly, the display unit 340 outputs a search result screen as shown in fig. 4.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a multimedia data reproducing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In operation S510, a search condition is received from a user. In operation S520, a search for metadata is performed according to the search condition. At this time, metadata of a representative title is preferentially searched. For example, the method of searching for metadata may be a preferential search method for specific metadata. In other words, the metadata to be preferentially searched may be selected from among the plurality of items of metadata using a preferential search method.

For example, under the condition of "actor/actress", metadata to be preferentially searched may be selected from various attributes of the actor or actress, such as sex, favorite genre, movie character, or age. The exclusion search includes a search for metadata that exactly matches the search criteria of the user, and the inclusion search includes a search for metadata that partially matches the search criteria of the user.

Next, in operation S530, the search result is displayed. In addition, multimedia data corresponding to the metadata of the best match is preferentially displayed or sequentially arranged in the order of the best match.

Fig. 6 shows an example of a search result using a representative title.

The metadata recorded on the disc includes one item of disc information and a plurality of items of title information. In fig. 6, title information #1 is a representative title, and disc information according to the search result is displayed together with the representative title information. Title #1 is the main title of the movie. The cast or the advertisement information is displayed together with the disk information as title information related to the representative title.

Fig. 7 shows another example of a search result using a representative title.

In fig. 7, a TV series is taken as an example, and each episode is designated as a representative title. In addition, in the case of a music disk, a master music file and a karaoke file, an accompaniment file, and a music video related to the master music file may be included, and the master music file or the music video may be designated as a representative title.

Thus, the representative title may be any title having material for presenting the content, and the general title may be a title partially overlapping with the content of the representative title, a title having a format different from that of the representative title, or a title including content in another format different from that of the content that the disc is expected to contain. For example, in a disc containing a movie, the general title may be a game title associated with the movie or a music title from a soundtrack of the movie.

Fig. 8 is a detailed flowchart illustrating a method of searching metadata according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In operation S810, a search condition for a user search is input. In operation S820, it is determined whether the input search condition is related to the search of the disc-related metadata. If the input search condition is related to the disc-related metadata, a plurality of items of disc-related metadata identified as disc _ id are searched in operation S830, and a corresponding search result is output in operation S870. If there is no disc-related metadata matching the input search condition, a message indicating that a match cannot be found is output. If the input search condition is not related to the disc-related metadata, metadata of a title designated as a representative title is searched for in operation S840. A plurality of pieces of title related metadata are identified as title _ id, and a representative title among the title related metadata is identified as rtitle _ id. In operation S850, it is determined whether any metadata matches the input search condition. If a desired search result is obtained, the search result is displayed in operation S870. Otherwise, the metadata is not found in the representative title. Accordingly, the metadata of the general title is further searched in operation S860, and a corresponding search result is output in operation S870.

Fig. 9A and 9B illustrate a relationship between disc metadata and title metadata.

Referring to fig. 9A, a representative title is structurally arranged higher than a general title, which exists in a sub-structure of the representative title. In this case, disc information that a user desires to find using metadata can be found by searching for disc metadata indicated by disc _ id, and title information that a user desires to find using metadata can be found by preferentially searching for metadata indicated by a representative title rtitle _ id. If the user desires to find disc information, disc information obtained according to the search result is displayed together with summary information about a designated representative title in the disc, thereby providing the user with sufficient information.

In this case, since the representative title is structurally arranged higher than the general title, the representative title is not separately identified as rtitle _ id but may be identified as title _ id having the same form as the general title. In other words, for example, a representative title may be identified as "10000000" and a general title may be identified as "10000001" or "10000010".

Referring to fig. 9B, the representative title and the general title are arranged at the same level. In this case, an additional flag must be assigned to the title _ id to indicate that the title _ id represents a representative title. In other words, if "01000001" or "00000010" is used as the ID of a general title, "10000001" is applied as the ID of a representative title. In addition, in this case, if the user desires to find metadata corresponding to title information, metadata of a representative title identified as rtitle _ id is searched first, and then metadata of a general title identified as title _ id is searched. If the information desired by the user is disc information, metadata indicated by disc _ id is searched. In fig. 9A and 9B, a plurality of representative titles may exist in the disc.

As described above, the metadata stored in the disc includes disc-related metadata and title-related metadata, which can refer to contents of each other and can be linked to each other. For example, title information included in a disc may be required when disc related metadata is displayed, or it may be necessary to indicate a disc including a title when title related metadata is displayed. In this case, the disc-related metadata and the title-related metadata may refer to each other's contents or be linked together. For reference or linking, disc _ id and title _ id are used. To refer to or link with a representative title among the plurality of titles, a title identified as rtitle _ id is searched.

As described above, according to the embodiments of the present invention, metadata of a representative title is preferentially searched, thereby speeding up the search for desired metadata. In other words, when a specific disc, title, or scene is searched using metadata, metadata of a representative title is preferentially searched in order to provide a result to a user, thereby reducing time required for a search as compared to when all metadata is searched.

In addition, when metadata of a disc or title is displayed to a user, information corresponding to a representative title is also displayed to the user. Thus, more detailed information can be provided to the user.

The method of searching for metadata and the multimedia data reproducing method using the same may also be embodied as a computer program. Codes and code segments forming the computer program can be easily understood by a computer programmer in the art. In addition, the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable medium, and may be read and executed by a computer, thereby implementing a method of searching for metadata and a multimedia data reproducing method using the same. Examples of the computer readable medium include magnetic tape, optical data storage devices, and carrier waves.

Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.

Industrial applicability

The present invention is applied to an information storage medium on which audio/video (AV) data including metadata having representative title information is recorded, and a method and apparatus for reproducing the AV data from the information storage medium.

Claims (6)

1. An apparatus for reproducing audio/video data, the apparatus comprising:

a metadata storage unit that stores metadata of a disc, the metadata including disc information and at least one title information of the disc, the disc information being metadata of the disc itself, the title information being metadata regarding a content title in the disc; and

a search unit receiving the search condition, searching for metadata, and outputting metadata matching the search condition,

wherein disc information obtained according to the search result is displayed together with information on a designated representative title in the disc,

wherein the representative title is used to indicate that the corresponding title is a value identification of the representative title.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a user interface unit receiving a search condition of a user; and

and a display unit outputting the search result of the search unit.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the title information comprises representative title information and general title information, the representative title information being structurally arranged higher than the general title information and comprising the general title information connected using the sub-link.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the searching unit preferentially searches the representative title information, and further searches the general title information if the searching unit cannot find the metadata matching the search condition.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the title information includes representative title information and general title information, the representative title information is structurally arranged at the same level as the general title information, and the representative title has an ID different from the general title.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the searching unit preferentially searches the representative title information, and further searches the general title information if the searching unit cannot find the metadata matching the search condition.