JP2001008144A - Video equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] In a video device used in a general home,
Simultaneous recording of multiple channels, simultaneous playback and recording,
A single unit can be used for chase playback of recorded programs, no need to change tapes, and long-time recording. SOLUTION: At least one television signal input unit 1 for converting an NTSC signal into an MPEG2 digital signal,
At least one television signal output unit 3 for converting an MPEG2 signal into an NTSC signal, at least one recording unit 4 for recording a television signal on a magnetic recording unit 6, and at least one for reproducing a television signal from the magnetic recording unit 6. Switching section 2 which can output one of the reproducing sections 5 and an input from any of the television signal input sections 1 or 5 to any of the television signal output sections 3 or the recording section 4 and simultaneously hold a plurality of the outputs. Having.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a video apparatus for recording and reproducing broadcast television programs mainly in ordinary households and related devices, and more particularly to a multi-channel video recorder.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, recording and recording of television programs in ordinary households.
For reproduction, an apparatus using a VHS standard video tape is generally used. Normally, one device can record or play back one channel. Therefore, when two or more programs that one wants to watch are broadcast at the same time, one can only watch one in real time and record the other video. In the case of simultaneous broadcasting of three or more channels, multiple video equipment had to be prepared.

On the other hand, among professional equipment such as broadcasting stations, a multi-channel recording / reproducing apparatus using a magnetic recording apparatus is sold, but usually has about eight channels and is inexpensive. It was also very expensive and not widespread in ordinary households.

[0004]

However, with the rapid spread of cable television and digital satellite broadcasting in recent years, Japan is entering a full-scale multi-channel era. Particularly in digital satellite broadcasting, hundreds of channels are distributed simultaneously and in parallel. In such a situation, a plurality of programs to be watched are often broadcast in the same time zone. In such a situation, it has been difficult for conventional one-channel, one-channel video equipment to respond to the desire to watch all programs. Although it is possible by purchasing a plurality of video devices, it has not been practically possible in ordinary households due to the complicated wiring and operation.

Further, the conventional video tape is a large VHS tape of about 20 cm × 10 cm × 2 cm, and has a problem in handling and storage. Although there are 8mm video tapes smaller than this size, VHS-C, and recently DV, etc., they are mainly used for portable video cameras and have not yet spread to ordinary households.

Also, the conventional video tape has a maximum recording time of up to 9 hours in the triple time mode and 3 hours in the standard mode, and the tape can be changed only by hand.
No longer longer recordings were possible.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has as its objects the simultaneous recording of a plurality of channels, the simultaneous execution of reproduction and recording, the chase reproduction of a program being recorded, the need for tape exchange, An object of the present invention is to provide a video device capable of realizing time recording and the like by one device and a related device.

[0008]

The video device of the present invention comprises:
At least one television signal input unit, at least one television signal output unit, at least one recording unit that records a television signal output from the television signal input unit on a magnetic recording unit, and At least one playback unit that restores and outputs the TV signal, and outputs an input from any of the TV signal input units or the playback unit to any of the TV signal output units or the recording unit,
In addition, it has a configuration provided with a switching unit capable of simultaneously holding a plurality of outputs thereof. With this configuration, simultaneous recording of a plurality of channels, simultaneous execution of reproduction and recording, chase reproduction of a program being recorded, tape exchange unnecessary, long-time recording, and the like can be realized.

Further, the video apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that an IDE standard hard disk drive is used for the magnetic recording section, and can be realized at a lower cost than an apparatus using a SCSI standard hard disk. .

[0010] The present invention also provides a digital set-top box with a video function, which is provided with the above-mentioned video device. A recording / playback function can be realized in a set-top box for viewing digital broadcasting. Becomes

Further, the digital set-top box with a video function of the present invention has means for receiving at least one of image streams transmitted through a computer network such as CATV, digital satellite broadcast, digital terrestrial broadcast, and the Internet as an input. With
Many channels can be viewed besides ordinary terrestrial broadcasting.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a surveillance device provided with at least one camera for photographing an image and a video device having the above-mentioned configuration, and it is possible to perform high-quality recording for a long time without exchanging a tape.

[0013] The present invention also provides a serial control unit that receives control by serial communication as an input and outputs a control signal, and an editing apparatus including the video device having the above configuration. You can do it.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. (Embodiment 1) As shown in FIG. 1, a multi-channel video recorder according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention includes a plurality of television signal input units 1 for coding television signals into digital data, and one switching unit. 2, a plurality of television signal output units 3 for outputting signals to the television, and a plurality of IDE HDDs (magnetic recording units) 6 for digitizing the television signal data.
And a plurality of playback units 5 for playing back TV broadcast data recorded on a plurality of IDE HDDs 6 and a plurality of IDE HDDs 6 for recording data. In the present embodiment, mainly household devices are assumed, so that two inputs and outputs are used. However, in the case of application to broadcast editing work, a configuration having a larger number of inputs and outputs is also conceivable. .

Hereinafter, details of each section in the present embodiment will be described. The television signal input unit 1 receives an NTSC signal as input and outputs digital data in MPEG2 format. The output format is MP
In addition to EG2, it can also be realized in Motion JPEG, DVCPRO format, or the like. The advantages of using MPEG2 are:
It has a high output compression ratio and can record for a long time even with HDDs of the same capacity. TV signal output unit 3
Shall demodulate MPEG2 format digital data into an NTSC signal and output it.

The recording section 4 records digital data in the MPEG2 format on a plurality of HDDs 6. In the present embodiment, since two HDDs are provided, digital data is divided into small units (striping) and then written alternately to the two HDDs 6. By dividing and recording data in small units, simultaneous recording of a plurality of channels, simultaneous execution of reproduction and recording, and chase reproduction of a program being recorded can be realized. In conventional tape recording, only one moment on the tape at a fixed time can be accessed at a time. On the other hand, by striping and recording on the HDD, it is possible to access multiple points at the same time,
Simultaneous recording of multiple channels, simultaneous playback and recording,
Chase playback of the program being recorded can be realized.

The reproducing section 5 reads a plurality of digital data recorded on the plurality of HDDs 6, synthesizes and outputs the digital data.
The IDE HDD 6 records and reproduces divided digital data in small units. In this embodiment, a 10 GB class HDD
Are provided. With regard to the performance of the HDD of the IDE standard, a single HDD can achieve a throughput of 5 to 6 Mbytes / sec, so recording and playback of several channels are sufficiently possible, but if one HDD is used, failures will occur. If it occurs, there is a risk that all recorded data will be lost. To prevent this, multiple (three or more) HDDs
By adding a RAID function to the reproducing unit 5 and the recording unit 4, data loss can be prevented. In the present embodiment, a RAID function is not added in consideration of cost.

The capacity of one IDE standard HDD has been increasing rapidly in recent years, and a 20 GB class is on the market at the beginning of 1999. The introduction of further new technologies is also planned,
It is thought that the 100GB class will appear in 2000. In this embodiment, it is assumed that two 10 GB HDDs are provided, and the total recordable time at this time is 2 Mbit / sec.
22 hours.

Conventionally, most HDDs applied to image-related applications are of the SCSI standard. This is because the IDE standard requires two controllers per controller.
HDDs can be controlled, while 7 can be controlled by SCSI (WideSC
It is easy to add more than 15 units for SI), Ul
traWideSCSI has a high throughput of 80Mb / s. However, due to the rapid spread of personal computers in recent years, IDE standard HD
D's price has dropped significantly, and it has become possible to purchase it at less than half the cost of SCSI with the same capacity, and this gap is expected to continue to increase. Also UltraA
High-speed extended standards such as TA / 66 have also emerged, and the speed penalties have disappeared. In particular, in the present embodiment, since it is not necessary to use a plurality of HDDs, it is possible to reduce the cost by adopting IDE standard HDDs.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Since the present embodiment includes two television signal input units 1, two television signal output units 3, two recording units 4, and two reproduction units 5, the following operations are possible. 1) 1-channel recording 2) 1-channel playback 3) 1-channel recording, 1-channel playback 4) 2-channel recording 5) 2-channel playback In the configuration, 2-channel playback, 1-channel recording, etc. are possible, but HDD throughput is low. Since the upper limit of performance is determined, simultaneous operation of two or more channels is prohibited.

Hereinafter, each operation will be described.
First, the operation during one-channel recording will be described. At this time, the switching unit 2 performs the connection shown in FIG. The NTSC signal input to any of the television signal input units 1 is converted into MPEG2 format digital data and output to the switching unit 2. The switching unit 2 outputs the input digital data to one of the recording units 4. In the recording unit 4, the input digital data is striped, and two IDs are recorded.
E Write to HDD 6 alternately.

Next, the operation at the time of one-channel reproduction will be described. At this time, the switching unit 2 performs the connection shown in FIG. In any one of the reproducing units 5, the striped digital data is obtained from the two HDDs 6, synthesized, and output to the switching unit. The switching unit 2 outputs the input digital data to one of the television signal output units 3. The television signal output unit 3 decodes the input digital data into an NTSC signal and outputs it.

Next, the operation during one-channel recording and one-channel reproduction will be described. At this time, the switching unit 2 performs the connection as shown in FIG. The NTSC signal input to any of the television signal input units 1 is converted into MPEG2 format digital data and output to the switching unit 2. The switching unit 2 stores the input digital data in the recording unit 4.
Output to any of The recording unit 4 strips the input digital data and writes the data into two IDE HDDs 6 alternately. In parallel with this, in one of the reproducing units 5, the striped digital data is
The data is acquired from the HDD 6, combined and output to the switching unit 2. The switching unit 2 outputs the input digital data to one of the television signal output units 3. TV signal output unit 3
Then, the input digital data is decoded into an NTSC signal and output.

Next, the operation at the time of two-channel recording will be described. At this time, the switching unit 2 performs the connection shown in FIG. The NTSC signal input to any of the television signal input units 1 is converted into MPEG2 format digital data and output to the switching unit 2. The switching unit 2 outputs the input digital data to one of the recording units 4, and the recording unit 4 stripes the input digital data and writes the striped data alternately in the two IDE HDDs 6. In parallel with this, NTSC input to the other TV signal input unit 1
The signal is converted into digital data in the MPEG2 format and output to the switching unit 2. The switching unit 2 outputs the input digital data to the other recording unit 4,
The recording unit 4 strips the input digital data and writes the data into two IDE HDDs 6 alternately.

Next, the operation during 2-channel reproduction will be described. At this time, the switching unit 2 performs the connection shown in FIG. In any one of the reproducing units 5, the striped digital data is obtained from the two HDDs 6, combined, and output to the switching unit 2. The switching unit 2 outputs the input digital data to one of the television signal output units 3, and the television signal output unit 3 decodes the input digital data into an NTSC signal and outputs the NTSC signal. In parallel with this, the other reproducing section 5 acquires the striped digital data from the two HDDs 6, combines the striped digital data, and outputs the combined data to the switching section 2. The switching unit 2 outputs the input digital data to the other TV signal output unit 3, and the TV signal output unit 3
Decode to SC signal and output.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital set-top box according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. By adding the antenna 8 and the digital broadcast receiver 9 to the first embodiment, a digital set-top box with a recording function can be realized. Currently popular digital broadcasts include cable CATV,
There is digital satellite broadcasting by satellite. It has also been decided that digital terrestrial broadcasting will begin in a few years.
A feature of these digital broadcasting in general is that there are multiple channels. Since tens of channels are distributed simultaneously and simultaneously in digital satellite broadcasting, several hundred channels are distributed in CATV. Therefore, there is a high demand for an apparatus capable of simultaneously recording a plurality of channels, and this can be realized by the second embodiment.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a monitoring apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. By adding the monitoring camera 10 to the first embodiment, it is possible to realize a monitoring device that performs monitoring without exchanging tapes for a long time. Current monitoring devices mainly use time-lapse recording on videotape. This is to capture one image at a certain time step. For example, using two cameras, one 120-minute tape is recorded in triple mode, and
Considering the condition of changing tapes once a day, it is necessary to reduce the number of images to 1/8 and record them. 1/8 means that 30 frames per second of a normal television broadcast must be reduced to 3 to 4 frames per second. In the present embodiment, since the HDD is used as the magnetic recording device,
Recording time can be easily extended by using a larger capacity HDD or increasing the number of HDDs. With a 20GB HDD, you can shoot 22 hours without skipping images, so you can shoot 11 hours with two cameras. Furthermore, if you thin the image by 1/8 in the same way as in the previous example, you can shoot continuously for 88 hours.

(Embodiment 4) FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an editing apparatus according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. Normally, the editing device controls using the RS422 to determine a cut point for editing. Therefore, by providing the video device described in the first embodiment with the serial control unit 11 as such a control interface, a multi-channel editing device can be realized.

[0029]

As described above, the video apparatus according to the present invention comprises at least one television signal input unit, at least one television signal output unit, and a magnetic recording unit for transmitting the television signal output from the television signal input unit. At least one recording unit for recording on a magnetic recording unit, at least one reproducing unit for restoring and outputting a television signal recorded on the magnetic recording unit, It has a switching unit that can output to the signal output unit or recording unit and hold multiple outputs at the same time, so simultaneous recording of multiple channels, simultaneous execution of playback and recording, chase playback of the program being recorded, tape No need for replacement, long time recording, etc. can be realized with one unit.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a multi-channel video recorder according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing connection of a switching unit during one-channel recording according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing connection of a switching unit during one-channel reproduction according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing connection of a switching unit during one-channel recording and one-channel reproduction according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing connection of a switching unit during two-channel recording according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing connection of a switching unit during two-channel reproduction according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a digital set-top box with a video function according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a monitoring device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an editing device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 TV signal input section 2 Switching section 3 TV signal output section 4 Recording section 5 Playback section 6 IDE HDD (magnetic recording section)

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. at least one television signal input unit;
At least one television signal output unit, at least one recording unit that records the television signal output from the television signal input unit on a magnetic recording unit, and reconstructs and outputs the television signal recorded on the magnetic recording unit At least one playback unit, and a switching unit that outputs an input from any one of the television signal input units or the playback units to any one of the television signal output units or the recording unit, and that can simultaneously hold a plurality of the outputs. Video equipment. 2. The video apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an IDE standard hard disk drive is used for said magnetic recording unit. 3. A digital set-top box with a video function, comprising the video device according to claim 1. 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising means for receiving at least one of an image stream transmitted through a computer network such as a CATV, a digital satellite broadcast, a digital terrestrial broadcast, and the Internet as an input. Digital set-top box with video function. 5. A surveillance device comprising: at least one camera for photographing an image; and the video device according to claim 1 or 2. 6. An editing apparatus comprising: a serial control unit that receives control by serial communication as an input and outputs a control signal; and a video device according to claim 1 or 2.