JP2001283568A - Management device, audio system, disk information management method and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a management device which can easily manage disk information of CDs, etc. SOLUTION: A client terminal 1 stores the disk information including the title of disks and the titles of musical piece data in correspondence to TOC information for identification of the disks. The client terminal 1 acquires the TOC information for identification of the disks via a disk reproducing device 2 and retrieves the objective disk information from the disk information stored by itself in accordance with the acquired TOC information. When the client terminal 1 cannot retrieve the objective disk information, the client terminal communicates and connects the same to a CD data management site via a network 3 and acquires the objective disk information stored in a data base 42. The client terminal 1 supplies the acquired disk information to the disk reproducing device 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a management device, an audio system, a disk information management method, and a recording medium that can easily manage disk information such as a CD.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Along with the spread of music CDs (compact discs) and the like, disc playback devices represented by CD players have been widely used as one of the most popular music playback devices. This disc reproducing apparatus manages a plurality of music pieces recorded on a CD by using a track number defined for each music piece. Then, various reproductions can be performed using the track numbers. For example, the disc reproducing apparatus can reproduce the music corresponding to the track number selected by the user in the selected order by the program reproducing function. Further, the music of the track number selected by the random number can be sequentially reproduced by the random reproduction function.

[0003] In recent years, there has been known a multiple disc reproducing apparatus which can store a plurality of CDs and switch each CD at any time for reproduction. Such a multiple disk playback device can store, for example, up to 300 CDs, and can continuously play for a long time. Also, the multiple-disc reproducing apparatus manages each of the stored discs by a disc number, and uses the disc number and the track number of each CD,
Further, various reproduction can be performed. The multiple-disc reproducing apparatus can reproduce, for example, a program having a disk number and a track number selected by a user in a selected order by a program reproducing function. In other words, the user can store a plurality of Cs stored in such a multiple disc playback device.
From D, music to be reproduced is sequentially selected and programmed as a reproduction target. As a result, it is possible to realize continuous reproduction of music selected from a plurality of CDs without editing music on a cassette tape or the like.

[0004] Recently, a multi-disc reproducing apparatus capable of displaying disc information such as a disc title and an artist name of each stored CD has been known. In such a multiple-disc disk reproducing apparatus, a user can register disk information including a disk title, an artist name, and the like by using a predetermined operation unit or the like. Then, the registered disk information together with the disk number, etc.
It is displayed on a predetermined display unit. For this reason, the user can recognize each CD without taking out and confirming the CD stored in the multiple disk playback device, and can select a music piece or the like accurately.

On the other hand, as a new standard for CDs, C
The D text standard is determined, and CD text discs conforming to the CD text standard are becoming widespread. This C
A D text disk is a CD on which detailed text data such as a lyricist, a composer, and a message as well as a disk title and a track title of each song are recorded in advance.
It is. In such a CD text disc, music is reproduced not only by a CD player conforming to the CD text standard, but also by a non-compliant CD player. in this case,
When a CD text disk is loaded into a CD player conforming to the CD text standard, the recorded text data is read out and displayed on a predetermined display unit.

[0006]

At present, when such a CD text disc and a normal CD coexist, the user generally owns these two types of CDs. When a CD text disc is reproduced by the disc reproducing apparatus, the user finds various benefits from the displayed disc information. on the other hand,
When a normal CD in which no disc information is registered is reproduced by the disc reproducing apparatus, the disc information is not displayed, so that the user cannot easily select music or the like, and feels some inconvenience. Then, the user wants to register disc information even for a normal CD.

However, when registering the disc information in the disc reproducing apparatus, the user has to input all the characters for each character. That is, the user has to input the disc title and the track title printed on the CD jacket or the like in all characters via a predetermined operation unit and register the disc information, which is extremely complicated. In particular, it is not an exaggeration to say that it is impossible for a normal user to register disk information corresponding to all the stored CDs in a multiple-disc reproducing apparatus capable of storing up to 300 CDs.

The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and has as its object to provide a management device, an audio system, a disk information management method, and a recording medium that can easily manage disk information such as a CD. I do.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a management apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a reproducing apparatus for reproducing a disk on which reproduction data is recorded and displaying information on the disk. A disc information storage means for storing disc information including a disc title and a title of reproduction data in association with identification information for identifying the disc, and a disc information storage means for identifying the disc. Identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information from a playback device; search means for searching for disk information stored in the disk information storage means in accordance with the identification information obtained by the identification information acquisition means; If it is not possible to search for information, connect it to any management server that manages information about the Characterized in that it comprises communication means for receiving the disk information from over server, the disk information supplying means for supplying the disc information reproducing apparatus by the communication means receives, the.

According to the present invention, the disk information storage means comprises, for example, a hard disk or the like, and stores the disk information including the title of the disk and the title of the data for reproduction into the identification information for identifying the disk (for example, TO
C information). The identification information acquisition means is:
The identification information for identifying the disc is obtained from the playback device. The search means searches for the disk information stored in the disk information storage means according to the identification information obtained by the identification information obtaining means. When the search means cannot search the disk information, the communication means communicatively connects to an arbitrary management server that manages information about the disk via a network, and receives the disk information from the management server. The disk information supply unit supplies the disk information received by the communication unit to the playback device. As described above, when the search unit cannot search the disk information, the communication unit receives the disk information from the management server. Then, the disc information is supplied to the playback device. That is, since the disk information is received from the management server, there is no need to manually input the disk information. Even when a large amount of disk information cannot be stored in the playback device, the disk information can be stored and managed by a disk information storage unit having a predetermined storage capacity. As a result, C
Disk information such as D can be easily managed.

[0011] To achieve the above object, a management apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is a management apparatus for supplying disc information to a playback device for displaying information on a disc to be played, comprising a disc title and a disc title. Disc information storage means for storing disc information including a track title in association with management information for playing a disc, and management information obtaining means for obtaining management information for playing a disc from a disc via a playback device Searching means for searching for disk information stored in the disk information storage means according to the management information obtained by the management information obtaining means; and managing information about the disk when the searching means cannot search the disk information. A communication server connected to an arbitrary management server via a network, and the management information Communication means for receiving disk information corresponding to the information from a management server; storing the disk information received by the communication means in the disk information storage means; and supplying the disk information stored in the disk information storage means to a playback device. And disc information supply means.

According to the present invention, the disk information storage means comprises, for example, a hard disk or the like, and associates disk information including a disk title and a track title with management information (for example, TOC information) for reproducing a disk. Remember. The management information obtaining means obtains management information for reproducing the disk from the disk via the reproduction device. The search means searches for the disk information stored in the disk information storage means according to the management information acquired by the management information acquisition means. When the search means cannot search the disk information, the communication means connects to an arbitrary management server that manages information about the disk via a network and manages the disk information corresponding to the management information acquired by the management information acquisition means. Receive from server. The disk information supply unit stores the disk information received by the communication unit in the disk information storage unit in association with the management information, and supplies the disk information stored in the disk information storage unit to the playback device. As described above, when the search unit cannot search the disk information, the communication unit receives the disk information from the management server. Then, the disc information is supplied to the playback device. That is, since the disk information is received from the management server, there is no need to manually input the disk information. Even when a large amount of disk information cannot be stored in the playback device, the disk information can be stored and managed by a disk information storage unit having a predetermined storage capacity. As a result,
Disc information such as a CD can be easily managed.

[0013] The disk information supply means may convert (for example, reduce) the disk information received by the communication means into a predetermined amount of information, and supply the converted disk information to a playback device. In this case, even when a large amount of disk information cannot be stored in the playback device, the disk information can be stored and managed by a disk information storage unit having a predetermined storage capacity. As a result, disk information such as a CD can be easily managed.

[0014] The management apparatus further includes address information storage means for storing a plurality of address information of a management server which can be a target when the communication means makes a communication connection. When the information cannot be received, the information may be connected to another management server to receive the disk information in accordance with the address information stored in the address information storage means. In this case, since the disk information is received from the management server having the target disk information, there is no need to manually input the disk information.
As a result, disk information such as a CD can be easily managed.

[0015] The management apparatus further comprises display means for displaying image information on the disk, wherein the communication means receives image information corresponding to the disk information from a management server communicatively connected via a network, and Is
The image information received by the communication means may be displayed.

[0016] The disk information supply means may supply the image information received by the communication means together with the disk information to a playback device.

In order to achieve the above object, an audio system according to a third aspect of the present invention comprises: a reproducing device for reproducing a disk on which reproduction data is recorded and displaying information on the disk; An audio system in which a management device to be managed is connected via a predetermined communication medium, and disc information including a disc title and a title of reproduction data is associated with identification information for identifying the disc. Disk information storage means for storing, identification information obtaining means for obtaining identification information for identifying a disk from a playback device, and a disk stored in the disk information storage means in accordance with the identification information obtained by the identification information obtaining means Searching means for searching for information; information about the disk when the searching means cannot search the disk information; Communication means for communicating with an arbitrary management server to be managed via a network and receiving disk information from the management server, and disk information supply means for supplying the disk information received by the communication means to a playback device It is characterized by.

According to the present invention, the disk information storage means comprises, for example, a hard disk or the like, and stores the disk information including the title of the disk and the title of the data for reproduction into the identification information (for example, TO
C information). The identification information acquisition means is:
The identification information for identifying the disc is obtained from the playback device. The search means searches for the disk information stored in the disk information storage means according to the identification information obtained by the identification information obtaining means. When the search means cannot search the disk information, the communication means communicatively connects to an arbitrary management server that manages information about the disk via a network, and receives the disk information from the management server. The disk information supply unit supplies the disk information received by the communication unit to the playback device. As described above, when the search unit cannot search the disk information, the communication unit receives the disk information from the management server. Then, the disc information is supplied to the playback device. That is, since the disk information is received from the management server, there is no need to manually input the disk information. Even when a large amount of disk information cannot be stored in the playback device, the disk information can be stored and managed by a disk information storage unit having a predetermined storage capacity. As a result, C
Disk information such as D can be easily managed.

To achieve the above object, a disk information management method according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is a disk information management method for supplying disk information to a playback device that displays information on a disk to be played. A management information acquisition step of acquiring management information for playing a disc from a disc via a playback device, and disc information including a disc title and a track title according to the management information acquired in the management information acquisition step. A search step for searching from a predetermined storage unit stored in association with management information for reproducing the disc, and an optional management server for managing information about the disc when the disc information cannot be searched in the search step To the management information acquisition step, A communication step of receiving the disk information from the management server corresponding to the information, characterized in that it and a disc information supply step of supplying to the reproducing device the disc information received by the communication step.

According to the present invention, the management information obtaining step obtains management information for reproducing the disk from the disk via the reproducing device. The search step includes a predetermined storage unit (for example, a predetermined storage unit that stores the disc information including the disc title and the track title in association with the management information for reproducing the disc in accordance with the management information acquired in the management information acquisition step. , Hard disk, etc.)
Search from. In the communication step, when the disk information cannot be searched in the search step, a communication connection is made via a network to an arbitrary management server that manages information about the disk, and the disk corresponding to the management information acquired in the management information acquisition step Receive information from the management server.
The disc information supply step supplies the disc information received in the communication step to a playback device. in this way,
If the disc information is not searched in the search step,
In the communication step, disk information is received from the management server. Then, the disc information is supplied to the playback device. That is, to receive disk information from the management server,
Eliminates the need to manually enter disc information. Even when a large amount of disk information cannot be stored in the playback device, the information can be stored and managed in a storage unit having a predetermined storage capacity.
As a result, disk information such as a CD can be easily managed.

In order to achieve the above object, a recording medium according to a fifth aspect of the present invention causes a computer to execute a disc information management method for supplying disc information to a reproducing device for displaying information on a disc to be reproduced. A recording medium on which a program for recording is recorded, and a management information acquisition step of acquiring management information for playing a disc from a disc via a playback device, and according to the management information acquired in the management information acquisition step, A retrieval step of retrieving disc information including a disc title and a track title from a predetermined storage unit that stores the disc information in association with management information for reproducing the disc, and when the disc information cannot be retrieved in the retrieval step, Communication connection via network to any management server that manages information about A communication step of receiving disk information corresponding to the management information obtained in the management information obtaining step from a management server; and a disk information supply step of supplying the disk information received in the communication step to a playback device. A program for causing a computer to execute the disk information management method having the program is recorded.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An audio system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an audio system applied to the embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the audio system includes a client terminal 1, a disk reproducing device 2, and a CD data management site 4, and the client terminal 1 and the CD data management site 4 are connected via a network 3 such as the Internet. It is connected.

The client terminal 1 manages the disk reproducing device 2 connected via a predetermined cable, communicates with a predetermined CD data management site 4 via a network 3, and The disk information and the like described later are acquired. Hereinafter, the client terminal 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the client terminal 1. As shown, the client terminal 1 includes an arithmetic processing unit 11, a hard disk 12, a communication processing unit 13, an instruction input unit 14, a memory 15, an image processing unit 16, an image display unit 17, an interface 1
And 8.

The arithmetic processing unit 11 has a CPU (Central Proc).
essing unit) and controls the entire client terminal 1. The arithmetic processing unit 11 stores the disc information including the disc title and the track title in the hard disk 1
2 and the like, and supplies the obtained disk information to the disk reproducing device 2 via the interface 18. More specifically, the arithmetic processing unit 11 includes the disk reproducing device 2
Is requested to supply disk information from the hard disk 12, the disk information table described later stored in the hard disk 12 is searched to acquire the corresponding disk information, and the disk information is supplied to the disk reproducing device 2.

When the disk information cannot be obtained from the disk information table stored in the hard disk 12, the arithmetic processing unit 11 controls the communication processing unit 13 to communicate with a predetermined CD data management site 4 via the network 3. Connecting. Then, target disk information is obtained from the CD data management site 4, and the obtained disk information is stored in the hard disk 12 and supplied to the disk reproducing device 2.

The arithmetic processing section 11 is provided with an image display section 17.
Displays a predetermined editing screen (editing image), obtains a disc title or the like input by the user via the instruction input unit 14, and sets the hard disk 12 as disc information.
And supplies it to the disk reproducing device 2. Further, the arithmetic processing unit 11 displays a predetermined operation screen on the image display unit 17, generates a command for instructing reproduction or the like in accordance with the instruction information input from the instruction input unit 14, and supplies the command to the disk reproducing device 2. I do.

The hard disk 12 is composed of a magnetic disk or the like having a predetermined capacity, and stores a disk information table 51 as shown in FIG. 3A and a site address table 52 as shown in FIG. 3B.

The disk information table 5 shown in FIG.
1 is a plurality of tables for managing disk information. More specifically, the TOC 51
Information, a disc title, a track title, and the like are stored. The TOC (Table Of Contents) information is information including the total number of tracks, total playing time (minutes: seconds: blocks), and the like, and is used to specify a CD to be played back by the disk playback device 2. The disc title is a name for the user to identify each CD. The track title is a name for the user to identify each piece of music data recorded on the disc.

The site address table 52 shown in FIG. 3B stores the URLs (Uniform Repositories) of a plurality of CD data management sites 4 which can be connected for communication via the network 3.
source Locator).
Using the site address table 52, the arithmetic processing section 11 communicates with the CD data management site 4 at an arbitrary address (such as an address designated by the user) and acquires target disk information.

Returning to FIG. 2, the communication processing unit 13 is composed of a modem or the like, is controlled by the arithmetic processing unit 11, connects to a predetermined CD data management site 4 via the network 3, and transmits and receives predetermined data. I do.

The instruction input unit 14 includes a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, and supplies predetermined instruction information according to a user operation to the arithmetic processing unit 11.

The memory 15 has a random access memory (RAM).
mory) and the like, and temporarily store data and the like necessary for various processes performed by the arithmetic processing unit 11.

The image processing section 16 is composed of a graphic controller or the like, and generates image data constituting a predetermined screen (image) displayed on the image display section 17 or the like.

The image display section 17 is an LCD (Liquid Cryst).
al Display) or a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) or the like, and displays a predetermined screen according to the image data supplied from the image processing unit 16. For example, the image display unit 17
Displays a disc title editing screen 61 as shown in FIG. 4A, a disc reproducing apparatus operation screen 62 as shown in FIG. 4B, and the like. 4 is displayed on the image display unit 17.
When the disc title editing screen 61 or the like in (a) is displayed, the arithmetic processing unit 11 acquires the disc title or the like input via the instruction input unit 14 and displays it on the screen, and after the change or It is registered in the above-described disk information table 51 as new disk information.

The interface 18 is, for example, an RS 23
Disc playback device 2 which is composed of a serial interface of 2C standard or the like and is connected via a predetermined cable
The transmission / reception of predetermined data is performed between the server and the server.

Returning to FIG. 1, the disc reproducing apparatus 2 is a multiple CD reproducing apparatus capable of storing a plurality of CDs and switching each CD at any time for reproduction, and is connected to the client terminal 1 via a predetermined cable. ing.

Hereinafter, the disc reproducing apparatus 2 will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the disk reproducing device 2. As shown in the figure, the disk reproducing device 2 includes a processing control unit 21, a signal processing circuit 22, a spindle servo circuit 23, an optical pickup 24, and a tracking thread servo circuit 25.
, A CD text decoder 26, a DAC 27, an interface 28, an operation unit 29, a display unit 30, a storage unit 31, and a disc changer 32.

The processing control unit 21 includes a CPU and a peripheral LSI.
(Large Scale Integration), which is composed of a one-chip microcomputer and the like, and controls the entire disc reproducing apparatus 2. The processing control unit 21 controls the signal processing circuit 22 and the like to reproduce music data of a predetermined CD. More specifically, the processing control unit 21 controls the disc changer 32 to
Among the plurality of stored CDs, a CD to be reproduced is transported onto a predetermined turntable. Then, it controls the signal processing circuit 22 and the like to read and reproduce the music data recorded on the CD. When the CD to be reproduced is a CD text disk, the processing control unit 21 acquires text data recorded on the CD text disk via the CD text decoder 26.

Further, the processing control section 21 acquires the disk information stored in the storage section 31 in accordance with the disk number, and displays the acquired disk information on the display section 30. Specifically, the processing control unit 21 acquires the disk information corresponding to the disk number of the CD to be reproduced from the disk management table described later stored in the storage unit 31 and
0 displays the disc title and the like. Note that when the disk information cannot be obtained from the disk management table stored in the storage unit 31, the processing control unit 21
The information is read, the TOC information is sent to the client terminal 1 via the interface 28, and the supply of the disk information is requested. When the disk information sent from the client terminal 1 is acquired, the acquired disk information is stored in the storage unit 31 and displayed on the display unit 30.

The signal processing circuit 22 controls a spindle servo circuit 23, an optical pickup 24, a tracking thread servo circuit 25, and the like. Then, the music data and the like stored in the CD to be reproduced are read out via the optical pickup 24. The signal processing circuit 22 decodes the read music data and supplies the decoded music data to the DAC 27. When the CD to be reproduced is a CD text disk, the signal processing circuit 22 supplies the read text data to the CD text decoder 26.

The spindle servo circuit 23 controls the drive of a spindle motor (not shown) for rotating a predetermined turntable on which the CD is mounted, and rotates the spindle motor at a predetermined rotation speed.

The optical pickup 24 irradiates a laser beam of a predetermined wavelength toward a pit or the like provided on the recording surface of the CD, and receives the reflected light to convert it into an electric signal. The optical pickup 24 supplies the converted electric signal to the signal processing circuit 22 as music data or the like.

The tracking thread servo circuit 25
A thread motor (not shown) for moving the optical pickup 24 in parallel in the radial direction of the CD is drive-controlled to move the optical pickup 24 to a predetermined position on the recording surface of the CD.

The CD text decoder 26 decodes text data recorded on a CD text disk conforming to the CD text standard, and supplies the decoded text data to the processing control unit 21.

DAC (Digital / Analog Converter)
27 converts the digital music data transmitted from the signal processing circuit 22 into an analog music signal, and converts the converted music signal into a sound (music) via a predetermined amplifier, speaker, and the like.
Output as

The interface 28 is, for example, an RS 23
A client terminal 1 which is composed of a serial interface of 2C standard or the like and is connected via a predetermined cable
The transmission and reception of predetermined data is performed between the device and the device.

The operation unit 29 includes predetermined button switches, rotary switches, and the like, inputs instruction information according to the operation of the user, and supplies the input information to the processing control unit 21. For example, the operation unit 29 operates according to a user operation.
Any C stored in the storage of the disc changer 32
The instruction information for instructing the reproduction of D is input, and the processing control unit 21
To supply.

The display unit 30 has an LED (Light Emitting D).
iode) panel, fluorescent display tube, etc.
A predetermined character character or the like is displayed according to the display data supplied from. For example, the display unit 30 displays character titles such as a disc title as shown in FIG. 6A, a disc number and a track number as shown in FIG. 6B, and a character as shown in FIG. Displays the remaining playing time of the entire disc. When displaying a disc title or the like exceeding the number of displayable characters, the display unit 30 displays the character characters while scrolling the characters horizontally (leftward).

Returning to FIG. 5, the storage unit 31 stores a RAM or an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable).
mmable ROM) and stores a disk management table 71 as shown in FIG. The disk management table 71 is a table for managing disk information including a disk title and a track title corresponding to each CD (disk number) stored in the apparatus. The disk management table 71 stores disk information obtained from the client terminal 1 or the like when a CD is played. That is, no disc information is stored in a state where the CD has not been reproduced. If the CD to be played is C
In the case of a D text disk, disk information generated from text data stored on a CD text disk may be stored.

The disk changer 32 comprises, for example, a storage unit for storing a plurality of CDs and a bank-type disk exchange mechanism. The disc changer 32 is controlled by the processing control unit 21 and, for example, a maximum of 300 CDs
The target CD is pulled out at any time from the storage section in which the can be stored, and is mounted on a predetermined turntable.

Returning to FIG. 1, the CD data management site 4
Is a Web site that manages, for example, information on a large number of commercially available CDs (at least information including a disc title, a track title, and the like), and includes a CD data server 41 and a database 42, and And makes a communication connection with the client terminal 1.

The CD data server 41 is composed of, for example, a general-purpose workstation provided with a communication control device and the like, and transmits and receives predetermined data to and from the client terminal 1 via the network 3.

The database 42 stores information on CDs (information including disc titles and track titles) in association with TOC information for identifying each CD.

The operation of the audio system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Specifically, a description will be given of a disc information display process executed by the disc reproducing device 2, a table update process executed by the client terminal 1, and a data transmission process executed by the CD data management site 4. The operation of the entire audio system will now be described.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the disk information display processing performed by the disk reproducing apparatus 2 (processing control section 21). FIG. 9 shows a table update process performed by the client terminal 1 (the arithmetic processing unit 11) and C
9 is a flowchart for explaining a data transmission process performed by a D data management site 4 (CD data server 41). First, the disk information display processing shown in FIG. 8 will be described. This disc information display processing is started, for example, after a user has loaded an arbitrary CD into the storage section of the disc changer 32.

First, the processing control section 21 waits for processing until one of the CDs to be reproduced is selected from the CDs loaded in the storage section of the disc changer 32 (step S11). That is, the processing control unit 21 waits for processing until an arbitrary disk number is input from the operation unit 29 by a user operation.

When determining that any one of the CDs has been selected, the processing control section 21 determines whether or not disk information corresponding to the disk number is registered in the disk management table 71 (step S12). Processing control unit 21
If it is determined that the disc information is registered, the process proceeds to step S17 described below. On the other hand, when it is determined that the disc information is not registered, the processing control unit 2
1 reads the TOC information from the CD to be reproduced (step S13). That is, the processing control unit 21 reads the TOC information for identifying the CD.

The processing control section 21 supplies the TOC information to the client terminal 1 and requests disk information (step S14). That is, the processing control unit 21 transmits the TOC information read from the CD to the client terminal 1 and requests the client terminal 1 to supply the disk information.

The processing control section 21 waits for processing until disk information is obtained from the client terminal 1 (step S15). Upon acquiring the disk information, the process control unit 21 stores the acquired disk information in the disk management table 7.
1 (step S16). That is, the processing control unit 21 registers the disk information in the disk management table 71 in association with the disk number.

The processing control section 21 displays the disk information corresponding to the disk number stored in the disk management table 71 on the display section 30 (Step S17). That is, the processing control unit 21 displays a disc title or the like on the display unit 30, for example, as shown in FIG. As described above, by obtaining the disk information not stored in the disk management table 71 from the client terminal 1, it is not necessary to manually input the disk information in the disk reproducing device 2.

Next, the table update processing shown in FIG.
The data transmission process will be described. The table updating process and the like are started after a link between the client terminal 1 and the disk reproducing device 2 via the interfaces 18 and 28 is established.

First, the arithmetic processing section 11 waits for processing until a request for disk information is sent from the disk reproducing device 2 (step S20). That is, in step S14 of the above-described disc information display process, the process waits until transmission of the TOC information is requested together with transmission of the TOC information.

When acquiring the request for the disk information, the arithmetic processing unit 11 acquires the TOC information supplied together with the request (step S21). The arithmetic processing unit 11 calculates the acquired T
The disk information table 51 is searched using the OC information as a key (step S22). That is, the arithmetic processing unit 11
Retrieves the disk information stored in the disk information table 51.

The arithmetic processing section 11 determines whether or not the disk information has been obtained (step S23). That is,
The arithmetic processing unit 11 determines whether or not disk information corresponding to the acquired TOC information is stored in the disk information table 51.

If the arithmetic processing section 11 determines that the disk information has been obtained, the processing proceeds to step S29 described later. On the other hand, if it is determined that the disc information could not be obtained, the arithmetic processing unit 11
The communication connection is made (step S24). That is, the arithmetic processing unit 11 controls the communication processing unit 13 and
And a communication connection with the CD data management site 4 via.

The arithmetic processing section 11 transmits the TOC information to the CD data management site 4 and requests disk information (step S25). That is, the arithmetic processing unit 11 transmits the TOC information acquired from the disk reproducing device 2 to the CD data management site 4 and requests transmission of the disk information. After transmitting the TOC information, the arithmetic processing unit 11 waits for processing until receiving the disk information from the CD data management site 4 (step S26).

On the other hand, in the CD data management site 4,
When the CD data server 41 that has been waiting for the transmission request from the client terminal 1 determines that the transmission request has been received (step S31), the CD data server 41 acquires the TOC information transmitted together with the transmission request (step S32). That is,
The CD data server 41 acquires the TOC information sent from the disc reproducing device 2 via the client terminal 1.

The CD data server 41 stores the acquired TOC
Using the information as a key, target disk information is acquired from the database 42 (step S33). The CD data server 41 acquires the disc information corresponding to the TOC information from the information on the disc stored in the database 42. The CD data server 41 transmits the obtained disk information to the client terminal 1 (Step S3
4).

When disk information is sent from the CD data server 41 to the client terminal 1, the arithmetic processing unit 1
1 determines that the disk information has been received, and disconnects the communication connection (step S27). That is, the arithmetic processing unit 11 controls the communication processing unit 13 to disconnect the communication connection with the CD data management site 4.

The arithmetic processing unit 11 stores the disk information received from the CD data management site 4 in the disk information table 5
1 (step S28). That is, the arithmetic processing unit 11 stores the received disk information in the disk information table 51 in association with the TOC information.

The arithmetic processing section 11 supplies the target disk information stored in the disk information table 51 to the disk reproducing device 2 (step S29). That is, the arithmetic processing unit 11 supplies the disk reproducing device 2 with disk information corresponding to the TOC information requested by the disk reproducing device 2. As described above, when the target disk information is not stored in the disk information table 51, the disk information is acquired from the CD data management site 4 via the network 3. Then, after registration in the disk information table 51, the disk information is supplied to the disk reproducing device 2. That is, the client terminal 1 does not need to manually input the disk information. Even when a large amount of disk information cannot be stored in the disk reproducing device 2, the disk information can be stored and managed by a disk information storage unit having a predetermined storage capacity. As a result, disk information such as a CD can be easily managed.

In the above embodiment, the disk information obtained from the CD data management site 4 is registered in the disk information table 51, and the disk information stored in the disk information table 51 is supplied to the disk reproducing device 2 as it is. Alternatively, the amount of disk information may be reduced and supplied to the disk reproducing device 2.

When the data amount of the disc title or each track title is limited to 25 characters, for example, due to the limitation of the storage capacity of the storage unit 31 of the disc reproducing apparatus 2 or the limitation of the number of characters that can be displayed on the display unit 30 The arithmetic processing unit 11 determines in step S29 shown in FIG.
The information amount of the disk information is reduced and supplied to the disk reproducing device 2. That is, the arithmetic processing unit 11 converts a disc title and a track title having more than 25 characters into 25 characters, and outputs the converted disc information to the disc reproducing device 2.
To supply. In this case, even if the disk reproducing device 2 cannot store a sufficient amount of disk information, the disk information can be stored and managed by the disk information storage unit having a predetermined storage capacity.

In the above embodiment, the target disk information is obtained by communication connection with the predetermined CD data management site 4, but the target disk information can be obtained at the connection destination CD data management site 4. If not, another CD
A communication connection with the data management site 4 may be made to acquire target disk information.

For example, when the processing unit 11 cannot acquire the target disk information from the CD data management site 4 set in advance as the connection destination, the arithmetic processing unit 11 uses the site address table 52 to store the CD data of the connection destination. While sequentially switching the management sites 4, the process is repeated until the target disk information can be obtained. In this case, even if one CD data management site 4 does not have the target disc information,
Disk information can also be obtained from the D data management site 4. For this reason, the rate at which disk information can be obtained is improved.

In the above embodiment, the disc information including the disc title and the track title is acquired from the CD data management site 4, but the data acquired from the CD data management site 4 is arbitrary. For example, CD
Image information such as a jacket or an artist of the user may be acquired.

More specifically, the database 42 of the CD data management site 4 stores information including not only disc titles and track titles but also CD jacket images and the like in association with TOC information. And C
When the D data server 41 receives the disc information transmission request from the client terminal 1, in step S33 shown in FIG. 9 described above, the D data server 41 acquires not only the disc information but also the jacket image and the like from the database 42. The CD data server 41 supplies the obtained disk information, jacket image, and the like to the client terminal 1.

On the other hand, the arithmetic processing unit 1 of the client terminal 1
1 is the CD in step S28 shown in FIG.
The disc information and the jacket image received from the data management site 4 are registered in the disc information table 51.
Further, the arithmetic processing unit 11 displays a jacket image or the like on the image display unit 17. In this case, the client terminal 1 can display a jacket image or the like along with the disc information, and can easily recognize the CD by a visual effect.

Further, the client terminal 1 may supply the image of the jacket or the like received from the CD data management site 4 to the disk reproducing device 2. For example, the display unit 30 of the disc reproducing apparatus 2 may be a liquid crystal display or the like capable of displaying a color image or the like, so that an image of a jacket transmitted from the client terminal 1 or the like may be displayed. Further, when supplying the image of the jacket or the like to the disk reproducing device 2, the client terminal 1 may reduce the amount of information and supply the reduced amount of information to the disk reproducing device 2.

Further, the client terminal 1 displays an image of a jacket or the like when the disc reproducing apparatus 2 reproduces a predetermined CD, inputs an instruction for reproduction or the like, or performs a preparation operation for reproduction or the like. It may be displayed on the unit 17. Also,
In a state where the image of the jacket and the like are not stored in the client terminal 1 and the disc reproducing device 2 stores the image, the client terminal 1 displays the image of the jacket and the like acquired from the disc reproducing device 2 on the image display unit 17. It may be displayed.

In the above embodiment, the disc reproducing apparatus for reproducing a CD has been described. However, the medium to be reproduced is not limited to a CD.
The present invention can be applied to a disc reproducing apparatus for reproducing a DVD (digital video disc) or the like. Furthermore, a playback device that can play back media such as SmartMedia (trademark) and Memory Stick (trademark) may be used.

The disk reproducing apparatus of the present invention can be realized by using a general computer system without using a dedicated system. For example, a medium (floppy (registered trademark) disk, CD-ROM, or the like) storing a program for executing any of the above in a computer
By installing the program from the above, it is possible to configure a disc reproducing apparatus that executes the above-described processing.

The method for supplying the program to the computer is arbitrary. For example, the information may be supplied via a communication line, a communication network, a communication system, or the like. As an example, a bulletin board (BB) of a communication network
The program is posted on S) and distributed via a network. And start this program, O
Under the control of S, the above-described processing can be executed by executing the program in the same manner as other application programs.

[0086]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Disc information such as a CD can be easily managed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an audio system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a client terminal.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of information stored on a hard disk, wherein (a) is a disk information table and (b) is a site address table.

4A and 4B are schematic diagrams illustrating an example of a screen displayed on the image display unit, wherein FIG. 4A is a disc title editing screen, and FIG. 4B is a disc playback apparatus operation screen.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a disk reproducing device.

FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C are schematic diagrams illustrating examples of character characters displayed on a display unit.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a disk management table stored in a storage unit.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a disk information display process according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a table update process and a data transmission process according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 client terminal 2 disk playback device 3 network 4 CD data management site 11 arithmetic processing unit 12 hard disk 13 communication processing unit 14 instruction input unit 15 memory 16 image processing unit 17 image display unit 18 interface 21 arithmetic processing unit 22 signal processing circuit 23 spindle Servo circuit 24 Optical pickup 25 Tracking sled servo circuit 26 CD text decoder 27 DAC 28 Interface 29 Operation unit 30 Display unit 31 Storage unit 32 Disc changer 41 CD data server 42 Database

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A management device for managing a playback device for playing a disc on which playback data is recorded and displaying information about the disc, comprising: disc information including a title of the disc and a title of the playback data; Disk information storage means for storing disc information in association with identification information for identifying the disc; identification information acquisition means for acquiring identification information for disc identification from a playback device; and identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition means A search means for searching for disk information stored in the disk information storage means, and, if the search means cannot search for the disk information, communicatively connecting to an arbitrary management server for managing information on the disk via a network. Communication means for receiving disk information from the management server; Management apparatus characterized by comprising: a disk information supply means for supplying information to the playback device, a. 2. A management apparatus for supplying disc information to a reproducing apparatus for displaying information on a disc to be reproduced, wherein the disc information including a disc title and a track title corresponds to management information for reproducing the disc. Disk information storage means for attaching and storing; management information acquisition means for acquiring management information for reproducing the disk from the disk via a playback device; and storing the disk information according to the management information acquired by the management information acquisition means. Search means for searching for disk information stored in the means, and when the search means cannot search for the disk information, communicatively connected via a network to an arbitrary management server for managing information relating to the disk, the management information obtaining means Communication method that receives disk information corresponding to the management information acquired by the management server from the management server And disc information supply means for storing the disc information received by the communication means in the disc information storage means and supplying the disc information stored in the disc information storage means to a playback device. Management device. 3. The disk information supply means converts the disk information received by the communication means into a predetermined amount of information, and supplies the converted disk information to a reproducing device. 3. The management device according to 2. 4. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising address information storage means for storing a plurality of address information of a management server which can be a target when said communication means makes a communication connection, wherein said communication means receives disk information from a management server of a connection destination. 4. The management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the disk information cannot be obtained, the disk information is received by communicating with another management server in accordance with the address information stored in the address information storage unit. 5. A display unit for displaying image information on a disk, wherein the communication unit receives image information corresponding to the disk information from a management server communicatively connected via a network, and wherein the display unit The management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the communication device displays the image information received. 6. The management apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the disk information supply unit supplies the image information received by the communication unit to a playback device together with the disk information. 7. A reproducing device for reproducing a disk on which data for reproduction is recorded and displaying information on the disk,
An audio system in which a management device for managing the playback device is connected via a predetermined communication medium, wherein disc information including a title of the disc and a title of the data for reproduction is identified by identification information for identifying the disc. A disc information storage unit that stores the disc information in association with the disc information; an identification information acquisition unit that acquires identification information for identifying a disc from a playback device; and the disc information storage unit according to the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition unit. A search means for searching for stored disk information; and when the search means cannot search for the disk information, communicatively connected via a network to an arbitrary management server for managing information about the disk, and receiving the disk information from the management server. Communication means for transmitting the disc information received by the communication means to a playback device. Audio system comprising: the click information supplying means. 8. A disk information management method for supplying disk information to a playback device for displaying information on a disk to be played back, wherein the management information for playing back the disc is obtained from the disc via the playback device. An information acquisition step, and a predetermined storage unit that stores disc information including a disc title and a track title in association with management information for reproducing the disc in accordance with the management information acquired in the management information acquisition step. A discriminating step for retrieving the disc information, if the disc information is not retrievable in the retrieving step, a communication connection is made via a network to an arbitrary management server that manages information about the disc, and the management acquired in the management information acquiring step is performed. A communication step of receiving disk information corresponding to the information from the management server; A disc information supply step of supplying the disc information received in the communication step to a playback device. 9. A recording medium for recording a program for causing a computer to execute a disc information management method for supplying disc information to a reproducing device for displaying information on a disc to be reproduced, the program being for reproducing the disc. A management information acquisition step of acquiring management information from a disc via a playback device, and according to the management information acquired in the management information acquisition step,
A search step of searching disk information including a disk title and a track title from a predetermined storage unit that stores the disk information in association with management information for reproducing the disk;
When the disk information cannot be searched in the search step, the disk information corresponding to the management information obtained in the management information obtaining step is connected to an arbitrary management server that manages information about the disk through a network. Computer readable recording a program for causing a computer to execute a disk information management method having a communication step of receiving from a management server and a disk information supply step of supplying disk information received in the communication step to a playback device Recording medium.