JP2002150678A - Recording and reproducing device and information recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make not only easily increasable a memory area available for new unrecorded information but also effectively usable a storage device having a preliminarily equipped memory capacity in the case of recording of digital information contents. SOLUTION: The recording and reproducing device records and reproduces information having a desired compression rate and is provided with a storage device 3 having a prescribed capacity for information recording and a controller 5 which controls read/write of this storage device 3, and recording operation to compress and write again recorded information recorded in the storage device 3 is defined as a re-compression recording mode, and the controller 5 performs such control that recorded information may be read out from the storage device 3 on the basis of the re-compression recording mode and may be compressed again at a compression rate higher than that of this recorded information and may be written in the storage device 3 again. By this constitution, new unrecorded information can be recorded while recording again recorded information, which has been recorded in the storage device once, with a lower picture quality (at a higher compression rate).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an HDD (Hard).
The present invention relates to a recording / reproducing apparatus and a timer reservation recording method suitable for being applied to a hard disk video recorder equipped with a Disc Drive, a DVD recorder equipped with a video RAM, and the like.

More specifically, when recording / reproducing information having a desired compression ratio, a control device is provided for controlling writing / reading of a storage device based on a recompression recording mode, and the recorded information once recorded in the storage device is once provided. In this case, new unrecorded information can be recorded while re-recording while lowering the image quality (increase in compression ratio), and a storage device having a memory capacity provided in advance can be used effectively. .

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a hard disk video recorder (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a recording / reproducing apparatus) equipped with a fixed disk drive (hereinafter, simply referred to as HDD) has come to be used. This type of recording / reproducing apparatus has the following features.

[0004] Since compressed and encoded information such as the MPEG-2 system is handled, writing and reading of the information is fast. Since an HDD (Hard Disc Drive) employs multiple heads, information can be read while writing information. Since the magnetic disk is built in the drive unit, it is not necessary to insert and remove a tape as in a video tape recorder. Since the information recording address is file-managed, the cueing of the information is quick. Since a series of information is handled as a data sequence in a packet unit, it is easy to connect information with information.

[0005] In addition, HD which does not assume media exchange
The D-video recorder is more useful as a temporary buffer than storing a number of recorded data inside the set for a long time. In the case of a videotape, we just had to overwrite the data we no longer needed without erasing it. In this regard, in the case of an HDD, since there is no beginning or end for a user like a tape, it is necessary to select an unnecessary data file to overwrite or delete data for each file to secure a free space.

[0006]

Incidentally, the storage capacity of the HDD which can be held by the information user is limited depending on the purchase time of the recording / reproducing apparatus. 30GB HD on the manufacturer side
Regardless of whether D is prepared or a 100 GB HDD is prepared, it is expected that the storage capacity of the HDD will be insufficient. This is because many information users want to record and store electronic information contents, and even if the electronic information contents once viewed are no longer needed, it is troublesome to select and delete files one by one. This is due to excessive accumulation of old data due to inexperience.

[0007] Therefore, file management of the HDD is an unfamiliar operation unless the user is a computer user.
If the manual deletion process is neglected, the HDD becomes full immediately. A new record is no longer possible. Without aggressive deletion, space shortages will always occur.

The present invention solves such a conventional problem. When recording digital information contents, the present invention can easily increase the remaining capacity of a memory area usable for new unrecorded information. It is another object of the present invention to provide a recording / reproducing apparatus and an information recording method that can effectively use a storage device having a memory capacity provided in advance.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided a recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing information having a desired compression ratio, having a predetermined capacity for recording information. When a recording operation of recompressing and rewriting recorded information recorded in the storage device is set to a recompression recording mode, the control device Reads the recorded information from the storage device based on the recompression recording mode, recompresses the read information at a higher compression ratio than the recorded information, and rewrites the recompressed compressed information to the storage device. Is performed.

According to the recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention, when recording / reproducing information having a desired compression ratio, the control apparatus records this information in a storage device having a predetermined capacity. Write / read control of the storage device is performed. The control device reads the recorded information from the storage device, recompresses the read information at a higher compression ratio than the recorded information, and controls the recompressed read information to rewrite the read information in the storage device. You.

Therefore, it is possible to record new unrecorded information while re-recording the recorded information once (increasing the compression ratio) while lowering the image quality of the recorded information recorded in the storage device. In addition, since the memory area related to the recorded information before data compression can be reduced, the remaining capacity of the memory area usable for new unrecorded information can be increased. Thus, a storage device having a memory capacity provided in advance can be effectively used.

An information recording method according to the present invention is a method of compressing information at a desired compression rate and recording the information in a memory area,
When the recording operation for recompressing and rewriting the recorded information recorded in the memory area is a recompression recording mode, the recorded information is read from the memory area based on the recompression recording mode, and Also, the read information is recompressed at a high compression ratio, and the recompressed compressed information is rewritten in the memory area.

According to the information recording method of the present invention, it is possible to record new unrecorded information while re-recording the recorded information once recorded in the memory area with a reduced image quality. In addition, since the memory area related to the recorded information before data compression can be reduced, the remaining capacity of the memory area usable for new unrecorded information can be increased.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a recording / reproducing apparatus and an information recording method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(1) Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a recording / reproducing apparatus 10 as an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, when recording / reproducing information of a desired compression ratio, there is provided a control device that performs write / read control of the storage device based on the recompression recording mode, and reads recorded information from the storage device.
The read information is recompressed at a higher compression ratio than the recorded information, and the recompressed compressed information is rewritten to the storage device. New unrecorded information can be recorded while re-recording with reduced image quality (increased compression ratio), and the remaining capacity of the memory area that can be used for new unrecorded information can be increased. It is.

The recording / reproducing device 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a device for recording and reproducing digital information contents, and is particularly a device for recording and reproducing information having a desired compression ratio. Digital information content is digital broadcast programs and MPs obtained from data broadcasts.
Video and audio information encoded and compressed by the EG-2 method. Of course, an analog video / audio signal based on an analog broadcast program may be converted into digital information content for recording and reproduction.

The recording / reproducing device 10 has a control device 5. The control device 5 is connected to a storage device 3 from which information can be written and read at any time.
in is compressed and recorded in a predetermined memory area. A fixed disk drive having a magnetic disk of a predetermined recording capacity is used for the storage device 3. The digital information content recorded on the magnetic disk is divided into files. Of course, it is not limited to a magnetic disk, but may be a magneto-optical disk. Further, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory element that can be randomly accessed may be used for the storage device 3.

The control device 5 further includes a mode selection means 4
Is connected and operated to select either the overwrite recording mode or the recompression recording mode. Here, the overwrite recording mode refers to a recording operation in which new unrecorded information is overwritten on recorded information in the storage device 3. The recompression recording mode refers to a recording operation for recompressing recorded information recorded in the storage device 3 and rewriting. Information compression refers to reducing the amount of information without reducing the amount of information, and refers to a process of removing blanks, redundant data, and unnecessary data.

Here, α1 is the memory occupation amount occupied by the recorded information before recompression, β1 is the remaining capacity thereof, α2 is the memory occupation amount of the recorded information after recompression,
Assuming that the increase caused by executing the recompression recording mode according to the present invention is β2, the remaining capacity after recompression is β1
+ Β2.

The control device 5 controls writing and reading of the storage device 3 based on either the overwrite recording mode or the recompression recording mode selected by the mode selection means 4. When this recompression recording mode is selected, the control device 5 stores the recorded information Din from the storage device 3.
, And the read information Dout is recompressed at a compression rate higher than the recorded information Din, and the recompressed compressed information Din is rewritten to the storage device 3.

In this example, a setting means 6 is connected to the control device 5 so as to set the compression ratio of the information Din to be recorded in the storage device 3. Here, the compression ratio is set with a bit rate which is an information transmission speed. The compression ratio is inversely proportional to the bit rate, and the higher the compression ratio, the lower the bit rate. In this recording / reproducing apparatus 10, three bit rates of 2 Mbit / sec, 4 Mbit / sec and 6 Mbit / sec are prepared.

The compression ratio and the memory occupancy are in inverse proportion. The memory occupancy is the rate at which the recorded information occupies the memory area. Therefore, the higher the compression ratio, the lower the memory occupancy. The more the information is compressed, the more the free area of the memory area can be increased. However, since the compression ratio and image quality are inversely proportional,
As the compression ratio increases, the image quality decreases. Such information compression processing is for effectively using the memory area of the storage device 3.

Next, an information recording method according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a processing example in the recording / reproducing apparatus 10. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the information Din is compressed at a desired compression ratio and recorded in the memory area, and a case where the re-compression recording mode is used is taken as an example.

On the premise of this, the recompression recording mode is set in step A1 of the flowchart shown in FIG. The recompression recording mode is set using the mode selection means 4. In step A2, the control device 5 reads the recorded information Din from the memory area based on the recompression recording mode. The information read here is called read information Dout. Then, in step A3, the read information Dout is recompressed at a higher compression ratio than the recorded information Din. Here, the recompressed information is referred to as compressed information Din.

Thereafter, the recompressed compressed information Din is rewritten in the memory area in step A4. Then, the process proceeds to step A5 to check whether or not all the recorded information Din has been rewritten. The check at this time is determined by the control device 5 detecting a recording end flag or the like. The recording end flag is described in advance in information recorded at the end of the memory area, for example. When all the rewriting processes have been completed, the recompression recording mode of the recorded information Din ends. If all the rewriting processes of the recorded information Din have not been completed, the flow returns to step A2 to read the recorded information Din and repeat the above-described processing.

As described above, according to the recording / reproducing apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, information Din of a desired compression ratio is obtained.
When recording and reproducing the recorded information, the control device 5 reads the recorded information Din from the storage device 3 based on the recompression recording mode, and recompresses the read information Dout at a higher compression ratio than the recorded information Din. The re-compressed read information Dout is rewritten in the storage device 3.

Therefore, new unrecorded information can be recorded while re-recording the recorded information Din once (increasing the compression ratio) while reducing the image quality of the recorded information Din recorded in the storage device 3. In addition, since the memory occupancy of the recorded information Din before data compression can be reduced from α1 to α2,
The remaining capacity of the memory area that can be used for new unrecorded information is β
It can be increased from 1 to β1 + β2. As a result, a storage device having a memory capacity provided in advance can be effectively used.

(2) Embodiment FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a connection configuration example of an HDD video recorder 100 as an embodiment according to the present invention. In this embodiment, an HDD video recorder 1 is an example of a recording / reproducing apparatus.
The HDD video recorder 100 is connected to a television monitor 60 so that program information Din such as a movie or a drama relating to an arbitrary broadcast program can be recorded on a magnetic disk by timer reservation.

Of course, the recorded information is read from the storage device, the read information is recompressed at a higher compression ratio than the recorded information, and the recompressed compressed information is rewritten to the storage device. The new program information Din can be recorded while the image quality of the recorded information once recorded in the storage device is lowered (the compression ratio is increased) and re-recorded, and the new program information Din is recorded. The remaining capacity of a memory area (hereinafter referred to as a disk area) that can be used is increased.

For example, the HDD video recorder 100 shown in FIG. 3 records timer-recorded program information Din such as a movie or a drama that is digitally broadcast by using an existing broadcasting infrastructure, or records synchronized program information Din. Is a device for performing a reproduction process.

In this example, the broadcasting station 2 broadcasts the program information Din to a television monitor 60 equipped with a tuner capable of receiving digital broadcasting, terrestrial analog and data broadcasting. An HDD video recorder 100 prepared in advance is connected to the television monitor 60, and when timer recording is reserved, a recording reservation menu screen, a recording start time of the program information Din, and a total broadcast time thereof are displayed. It is made to do.

The HDD video recorder 100 connects the television monitor 60 to the communication cable 6 conforming to the IEEE 1394 standard.
1, connected by an audio / video (hereinafter referred to as A & V) output cable 62 and an A & V input cable 63. Further, the television monitor 60 is used by being connected to an antenna 64 for digital broadcasting and an antenna 65 for terrestrial data broadcasting.

In this example, the program information contents Din can be recorded on the HDD video recorder 100 through the television monitor 60. When the timer recording of the program information content Din is performed, the television monitor 60 and the HDD video recorder 100 are remotely operated by a remote controller (hereinafter, referred to as a remote controller) 80.

The HDD video recorder 100 shown in FIG. 4 constitutes the control device 5, which includes an input switching unit 11, a video input processing unit 12, an analog / digital (hereinafter, referred to as A / D).
The conversion unit 13 includes a DSP (Digital Signal P) for recompression.
20, a video encoder 21, an audio encoder 22, a separating unit 23, a multiplexing unit 24, video decoders 25A to 25D, an audio decoder 27, a video data processing unit 30, output switching units 31, 32, a video output processing unit 35, Digital / analog (hereinafter referred to as D / A)
A conversion unit 36, a data storage interface 40, a communication interface 42, and an operation control unit 50 are provided.

The HDD video recorder 100 is provided with a fixed disk drive (hereinafter referred to as an HDD 41) having a magnetic disk of a predetermined recording capacity, which is an example of a randomly accessible storage device, and is inputted. The program information content Din is compressed and recorded in a predetermined disk area. The digital information content recorded on the magnetic disk is filed. The HDD 41 has a magnetic disk having a storage capacity of about 100 to 500 gigabytes (GB). For example, the 500 GB HDD 41 can record a maximum of 300 titles and a maximum of 1000 titles.

As for the recording mode, three modes are prepared: a long time (LP) mode of about 200 hours, a standard (SP) mode of about 100 hours, and a high quality (HQ) mode of about 50 hours. This is for recording digital information contents in a file.

The HDD 41 records the program information Din received by the television monitor 30 in a predetermined disk area. At the time of the reproduction, the program information content Din is read from a predetermined disk area.

An operation unit 51 as an example of a mode selection unit is connected to the operation control unit 50, and is operated to select either the overwrite recording mode or the recompression recording mode. When the overwrite recording mode is selected, the HDD 4
New unrecorded information is overwritten on one recorded information. H when the recompression recording mode is selected
The recorded information recorded on the DD 41 is recompressed and rewritten. As a result, blanks, redundant data, and unnecessary data can be removed, and the amount of information can be reduced without reducing the amount of information.

The operation unit 51 connected to the operation control unit 50 also serves as a setting unit, and sets the compression ratio of the information Din to be recorded on the HDD 41. Here, the compression rates are three bit rates of 2 Mbit / se, which are information transmission rates.
c, 4 Mbit / sec and 6 Mbit / sec are prepared. In the operation control unit 50, three bit rates 2, 4, and 6 Mbit / sec based on the operation information D3 set by the operation unit 51
, At least the writing and reading of the HDD 41 is controlled.

The operation control section 50 generates a control signal SE based on the operation signal PS, which constitutes the operation information D3, and outputs the input switching section 11, video input processing section 12, A / D conversion section 13, recompression DSP20, video encoder 2
1, audio encoder 22, demultiplexing unit 23, multiplexing unit 24, video decoders 25A to 25D, audio decoder 27, video data processing unit 30, output switching unit 31,
32, a video output processing unit 35, a D / A conversion unit 36, a data storage interface 40, and a communication interface 42 to perform encoding processing and decoding processing.
It controls recording and reading of encoded data.

The operation control unit 50 includes a central processing unit (C
PU) is used. In addition, encoding processing and decoding processing,
Various information signals (not shown) supplied from each unit are used for controlling the recording and reading of the encoded data.

In the overwrite recording mode, the input switching section 11 shown in FIG. 4 selects one of the contents (program information contents Din) supplied from the television monitor 60 or the like based on the control signal SE from the operation control section 50. It is done as follows. The input switching unit 11 includes a video input processing unit 12 and A
The / D conversion unit 13 is connected. The video signal SVin of the content selected here is supplied to the video input processing unit 12, and the audio signal SAin is supplied to the A / D conversion unit 13. The video signal SVin and the audio signal SAin are video and audio materials constituting the program information content Din and the program information content D2 as an extension.

In the video input processing section 12, the input switching section 1
Digital luminance data Yin and color difference data Crin and Cbin are generated from the video signal SVin selected in step (1).
A video encoder 21 and an output switching unit 31 are connected to the video input processing unit 12, and digital luminance data Yin and color difference data Crin, C generated from the video signal SVin are connected.
bin is supplied.

In the video encoder 21, for example, the ISO
An encoding process defined as / IEC13818-2 is performed. That is, the encoder 21 rearranges the screen in picture (I, P, B) units with respect to the luminance data Yin and the chrominance data Crin, Cbin, which are the chronological image data signals supplied from the video input processing unit 12. , Motion compensation prediction, etc., and DCT coding and variable length coding are performed to generate coded video data VBw. The video encoder 21 performs the above-described encoding processing using a memory (not shown).

The video encoder 21 can fix or change the bit rate (information transfer rate) when generating the encoded video data. At the fixed bit rate, for example, code amounts are allocated to I, P, and B pictures, and the code amount allocated to each picture is made to match the actual generated code amount.
The quantization scale code is dynamically changed by feedback control.

On the other hand, at the variable bit rate, the operation control unit 50 controls the quantized scale code according to the visual characteristics so that the average value of the bit rate becomes a desired value. In other words, in a portion where deterioration is conspicuous visually, the quantization scale code is adjusted so as to be finely quantized, and the code amount is increased.In a portion where deterioration is not conspicuous, the code amount is adjusted by coarsely quantizing the code. Reduce. In this way, the bit rate is varied so that the average value is controlled to a desired bit rate. Therefore, with a variable bit rate, good image quality can be obtained even if the bit rate is low. In this example, 2, 4, and 6 Mbit / s
Three bit rates of ec are prepared.

The A / D converter 13 converts the analog audio signal SAin into digital audio data DAin. The A / D converter 13 includes an audio encoder 22
The output switching unit 32 is connected, and audio data DAin obtained by converting the audio signal SAin is supplied.

In the audio encoder 22, for example, I
An encoding process defined as SO / IEC11172 is performed. That is, in the encoder 22, A /
The audio data DAin supplied from the D conversion unit 13 is divided into sub-bands, quantized independently for each sub-band, and bit-compressed to generate encoded audio data ABw.

A multiplexing unit 23 is connected to the video encoder 21 and the audio encoder 22. The video encoding data VBw generated from the luminance data Yin and the chrominance data Crin and Cbin, and the audio code generated from the audio data DAin. The coded data ABw is multiplexed into single coded data SSw, and then supplied to the data storage interface 40.

In the data storage interface 40, the HDD 4 is controlled based on a control signal SE from the operation control unit 50.
1 is controlled. For example, the encoded data SSw supplied from the multiplexing unit 23 is stored in the HDD
41 is recorded.

This data storage interface 40
Is configured using a plurality of banks of memories or a plurality of memories. At the same time, the data transfer speed in the HDD 41 is set to be higher than the transmission speed of the encoded data SSw from the multiplexing unit 23, and
In the case of 0, the recording encoded data SSw supplied from the multiplexing unit 23 is temporarily stored in one bank, and the retained recording encoded data SSw is recorded in the HDD 41 during the allocated processing period. You.

The data storage interface 4
0 is connected to the DSP 20 for recompression, and when the recompression recording mode is set by the operation unit 51, the DSP 20 receives the control of the data storage interface 40 and controls the writing and reading of the HDD 41 based on the recompression recording mode. It is made to do. When the recompression recording mode is selected, the DSP 20 reads the recorded information Din from the HDD 41, recompresses the read information Dout at a compression ratio higher than the recorded information Din, and recompresses the read information Dout. Control is performed so that the compression information Din is rewritten to the HDD 41.

The DSP 20 for recompression is an MPE (not shown).
G decoder, JPEG decoder & encoder and MPE
It has a G encoder, and its functions are a video encoder 21, an audio encoder 22, a separation unit 23, a multiplexing unit 24, a video decoder 25A (one of 25A to 25D), an audio decoder 27, and a video data processing unit. The description is omitted because it is the same as 30. By separately providing the DSP 20 for recompression, new program information Din can be simultaneously encoded and filed in the HDD 41 while executing the recompression recording mode.

If the DSP 20 for recompression is not separately provided, the video encoder 21 and the audio encoder 2
2. Demultiplexer 23, multiplexer 24, video decoder 25A
Audio decoder 27, video data processing unit 30, etc.
When the re-compression circuit is configured by using the same, the read information Dout is re-compressed by adding the dashed line and the signal line shown in FIG.
n can be rewritten to the HDD 41.

In this case, in order to simultaneously encode the new program information content Din and file it in the HDD 41, the video encoder 21, the audio encoder 22, and the separation unit 2
3. The multiplexing unit 24, the video decoder 25A, etc., the audio decoder 27, and the video data processing unit 30 may be used in a time-division manner. The control becomes complicated.

That is, when the encoded data SSr recorded in the HDD 41 is read, the desired encoded data SSr is read from the HDD 41 in a processing period different from the processing period used when recording the encoded data SSw in the HDD 41. Is read out and temporarily stored in a different bank, and the stored coded data SSr is sequentially supplied to the separation unit 24, whereby recording and reproduction of coded data can be performed simultaneously.

This data storage interface 40
Is connected to the separating unit 24, and the encoded data SSr read from the HDD 41 is supplied. In the separation unit 24,
The encoded video data VBr and the encoded audio data ABr are separated from the encoded data SSr supplied from the data storage interface 40. The four video decoders 25A to 25D are connected to the separation unit 24.

For example, in the standard speed reproduction mode operation, the video coded data VBr is converted into four video decoders 25A to 25A.
25D is supplied to one of the video decoders. In the operation of the playback position search mode, the video coded data VBr is divided into a plurality of video decoders 25A to 25A in units of pictures.
25D. The playback position search mode refers to an operation of searching for a desired playback position during a playback operation. For example, 1
When searching for a desired scene by displaying four reduced playback images at different playback positions on one screen, the video decoders 25A to 25A encode the video encoded data VBr-1 to VBr-2 at four different playback positions, respectively. 25D.

The video decoder 25A decodes the encoded video data VBr-1 supplied from the separation unit 24, and outputs the luminance data Yr-1 and the chrominance data Crr-1, Cbr- which are time-sequential image data signals. 1 is generated and supplied to the video data processing unit 30. Similarly, video decoders 25B-
In 25D, the video coded data VBr-2 to VBr-4 supplied from the separation unit 24 are decoded, and the luminance data Yr-2 to Yr-4 and the chrominance data Cr obtained by this decoding are obtained.
r-2 to Crr-4 and Cbr-2 to Cbr-4 are supplied to the video data processing unit 30. When this reproduction position search mode is not applied, one of the video decoders 25A to 25D is used.
Only one needs to be equipped.

The audio decoder 27 is connected to the separation unit 24, and the encoded audio data ABr is supplied. The audio decoder 27 decodes the encoded audio data ABr supplied from the separation unit 24, and supplies the audio data DAr obtained after the decoding to the output switching unit 32.

On the other hand, four video decoders 25A to 25A
A video data processing unit 30 is connected to D, and video data processing is performed based on a control signal SE from the operation control unit 50. For example, in the standard speed reproduction mode, the luminance data Yr-1 and the chrominance data Crr-1 and Cbr-1 supplied from one video decoder 25A are not thinned out, and are not changed. Cbr-
1 is supplied from the video data processing unit 30 to the output switching unit 31.

In the reproduction position search mode operation, the data of the reduced reproduction image is reduced by performing a thinning process on the luminance data Yr-1 and the color difference data Crr-1 and Cbr-1 supplied from the video decoder 25A. While being generated, the data of the generated reduced reproduction image is stored in the memory in correspondence with the display position on the screen.

Similarly, video decoders 25B to 25D
Data Yr-2 to Yr-4 and color difference data C supplied from
By performing thinning-out processing on rr-2 to Crr-4 and Cbr-2 to Cbr-4, data of a reduced reproduction image is generated.
The data of the generated reduced reproduction image is also stored in the memory in correspondence with the display position on the screen. In this way 4
The luminance data and the chrominance data for one screen composed of two reduced reproduced images are stored in the memory, and the luminance data and the chrominance data for one screen are sequentially read out and output to the output switching unit 31.
To be supplied.

Therefore, in the output switching section 31, the operation control section 5
When outputting an image based on the signal selected by the input switching unit 11 based on the control signal SE from 0, the output of the video input processing unit 12 is selected. The luminance data Yin and the chrominance data Crin and Cbin are output as luminance data Yout and chrominance data Crout and Cbout for output.

Further, the HDD 41 is selected and the HDD 4 is selected.
When the encoded data SSr recording No. 1 is reproduced and an image is output, for example, during operation in a standard speed reproduction mode, a reproduction position detection mode, or the like, the video data processing unit 30
Is selected, the video data processing unit 30
Data Yr and color difference data Crr, Cb supplied from
r is output luminance data Yout and color difference data Crout, C
bout.

The output switching section 31 is connected to a video output processing section 35, which outputs luminance data Yout and chrominance data Crout, Cbout, which are output image data signals supplied from the video input processing section 12 or the video data processing section 30. , A television monitor 6 connected to the recording / reproducing apparatus 10
D / A conversion processing and encoding processing are performed using a video signal corresponding to 0, for example, luminance data and color difference data, and a synchronizing signal is added to the analog composite video signal SVou.
Generate and output t.

In the output switching section 32, the operation control section 5
When outputting a sound based on the signal selected by the input switching unit 11 based on the control signal SE from 0, the output of the A / D conversion unit 13 is selected and supplied from the A / D conversion unit 13. Audio data DAou for outputting the converted audio data DAin
Made with t. Further, the HDD 41 is selected and the HDD 4 is selected.
When reproducing the encoded data SSr recorded in the audio decoder 27, for example, in the standard speed reproduction mode, the audio decoder 27 is selected and the audio decoder 27 is selected.
The audio data DAr supplied from is output as audio data DAout for output.

The output switching unit 32 includes a D / A conversion unit 36
Is connected, and the audio data DAout supplied from the A / D converter 13 or the audio decoder 27 is converted into an analog audio signal SAout and output.

A display unit 52 is connected to the operation control unit 50. By supplying a display drive signal HS from the operation control unit 50 to the display unit 52, the operation state of the HDD video recorder 100 and various conditions are controlled. Is displayed. Further, a communication interface 42 such as IEEE 1394 is connected to the data storage interface 40, and outputs the encoded data SSr read from the HDD 41 to another device via the communication interface 42. Further, the encoded data SSw supplied from another device is also recorded in the HDD 41.

FIG. 5 is an image diagram showing an example of processing at the time of recompression in the HDD video recorder 100. According to the processing example at the time of recompression shown in FIG. 5, the disk occupation amount (recorded data amount) occupied by the recorded information before recompression is set to α1, and the remaining capacity of the disk area of the HDD 41 is set to β1 according to the present invention. Execute the recompression recording mode. When the disc occupation amount (recompressed recording data amount) occupied by the recorded information after recompression is α2 and the increase caused by the recompression recording mode is β2, the remaining capacity after recompression is β1
+ Β2.

For example, an HDD 4 having a disk capacity of 100%
When the recorded data amount α1 before recompression occupies 70%, the remaining capacity β1 is 30%. When the recompressed recording data amount α2 after recompression becomes 50% by executing the recompressed recording mode according to the present invention, the increase β2 caused by the recompressed recording mode is 20%, and The remaining capacity is β1 + β2 = 50%.

Next, an example of processing of the HDD video recorder according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of processing at the time of recording and reproduction in the HDD video recorder 100. In this example, the program information content Din compressed at a desired compression rate, for example, at a bit rate of 4 Mbit / sec is HD
D41 is recorded and the bit rate is 2 Mbit.
It is assumed that the data is recompressed at / sec and recorded in the disk area. Regarding the recording mode, an example in which an overwrite recording mode and a recompression recording mode are prepared in advance will be described.

On the basis of these, the user sets one of the recording / reproduction modes in step B1 of the flowchart shown in FIG. In the recording mode, the overwrite recording mode or the recompression recording mode is set. These recording modes and the like are set using the operation unit 51, and an operation signal PS, which constitutes operation information on the setting mode from the operation unit 51, is recorded in a predetermined register or the like. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step B2, where the operation control unit 50 determines whether the recording mode or the reproduction mode has been set. At this time,
The operation control unit 50 determines whether or not a mode has been set by detecting the output potential of the above-described register.

If the recording mode has been set, the process proceeds to step B3 to determine whether the overwriting recording mode or another recording mode has been set. If a recording mode other than the overwrite recording mode is set, step B4
The operation controller 50 checks the remaining disk capacity. The check at this time is performed by a known method. For example, a flash memory or HDD 4 (not shown)
1, the management file is read out, and the amount of recorded information (time converted value) is calculated from the total capacity (time converted value) of the HDD 41.
Is subtracted to obtain the remaining disk capacity.

Accordingly, if there is a remaining disk capacity, the flow shifts to step B11. If there is no remaining disk space,
Move to step B5. In step B5, the operation control unit 50 checks whether the recording mode is the recompression recording mode. The operation control unit 50 determines whether or not the recompression recording mode has been set by detecting the output potential of the above-described register. If the recording mode is not the recompression recording mode, the process ends. If the recording mode is the recompression recording mode, the process proceeds to step B6.

At step B6, the operation control unit 50 sets DS
The control signal SE is output to P20 to set the recompression recording mode. In the DSP 20, the data storage interface 40 is determined based on the recompression recording mode in step B7.
Through the disk area of the HDD 41 to read the recorded program information contents Din. The program information content Din read here is referred to as program content read information Dout.

Then, in step B8, the DSP 20 recompresses the program content read information Dout at a higher compression ratio than the recorded program information content Din. For example, recorded program information content D recorded at a bit rate of 4 Mbit / sec.
If in, the program content readout information Dout is re-recorded at a bit rate of 2 Mbit / sec. Here, the recompressed program content read information is converted into the compressed program information content D.
called in.

Thereafter, in step B9, the DSP 20 rewrites the compressed program information contents Din to the disk area.
Then, the process proceeds to step B10, where the DSP 20 checks whether or not all the recorded program information contents Din have been rewritten. The check at this time is determined by the DSP 20 detecting a recording end flag or the like. The recording end flag is described in advance in, for example, the program content readout information Dout recorded at the end of the disk area. When all the rewriting processes have been completed, the recompression recording mode of the recorded program information content Din ends. If all the rewriting processes of the recorded program information contents Din have not been completed, the process returns to step B7 to read the recorded program information contents Din and repeat the above-mentioned processing.

In the case of the overwrite recording mode in the above-mentioned step B3, and when there is a remaining disk capacity in the step B4, the process shifts to a step B11 to record the program information contents Din at a predetermined compression ratio. Here, the video signal SVin relating to the program information content Din is supplied to the video input processing unit 12, and the audio signal SAin is supplied to the A / D conversion unit 13.

The video input processing section 12 generates digital luminance data Yin and color difference data Crin and Cbin from these video signals SVin. The digital luminance data Yin and the color difference data Crin, Cbin generated here
Are output to the video encoder 21. In the video encoder 21, the luminance data Yin and the color difference data Crin, Cb
In order to generate video coded data VBw, in addition to performing screen rearrangement and motion compensation prediction in units of pictures (I, P, B), DCT coding and variable length coding are performed on in. Done.

After the analog audio signal SAin is converted into digital audio data DAin in the A / D converter 13, the audio data DAin is supplied to the audio encoder 22 and the output switching unit 32. The audio encoder 22 divides the audio data DAin into sub-bands, performs quantization independently for each sub-band, and performs bit compression to generate encoded audio data ABw.

The coded video data VBw and the coded audio data ABw are multiplexed by the multiplexing unit 23 to form a single coded data SSw, which is supplied to the data storage interface 40. The data storage interface 40 controls writing of the HDD 41 based on the control signal SE from the operation control unit 50.
Thus, the coded data SSw relating to the program information content Din supplied from the multiplexing unit 23 can be recorded in the HDD 41.

Then, the process shifts to step B12, where the DSP 20 checks whether or not all the program information contents Din have been rewritten. The check at this time is determined by the DSP 20 detecting a recording end flag or the like. If the overwrite recording mode or the like has not been completely completed in step B12, the process returns to step B11 to repeat the recording process of the program information content Din. When all of these steps have been completed, the recording process ends.

If the reproduction mode is set in step B2, the flow shifts to step B13 to execute the reproduction mode. For example, encoded video data VBr and encoded audio data ABr relating to the program information content Din are read from the HDD 41.

The encoded data SSr read from the HDD 41 is sequentially supplied to the separation unit 24 in a processing period different from the processing period used when recording the encoded data SSw in the HDD 41. In the separation unit 24, the encoded data SS
r, video encoded data VBr and audio encoded data AB
r is separated. In this standard speed playback mode operation,
The video encoded data VBr is, for example, a video decoder 25
A. The video decoder 25A decodes the coded video data VBr-1 to obtain luminance data Yr-1 and chrominance data Crr-1, Cr, which are time-sequential image data signals.
br-1 is generated and supplied to the video data processing unit 30.

In the video data processing section 30, the luminance data Yr-1 is obtained based on the control signal SE from the operation control section 50.
And the chrominance data Crr-1 and Cbr-1 without thinning out the luminance data Yr-1 and the chrominance data Crr-1 and Cbr.
r-1 is supplied to the output switching unit 31. In the output switching section 31, a control signal SE from the operation control section 50 is provided.
, The output of the video data processing unit 30 is selected, and the luminance data Yr and the chrominance data Crr, Cbr supplied from the video data processing unit 30 are output as luminance data Yout and chrominance data Crout, Cbout as luminance data Yout and chrominance data Crout, Cbout. The output is output to the output processing unit 35.

The video output processing unit 35 performs a D / A conversion process and an encoding process on the basis of the luminance data Yout and the color difference data Crout and Cbout by using a video signal corresponding to the television monitor 60, for example, the luminance data and the color difference data. At the same time, a synchronizing signal is added to generate an analog composite video signal SVout, which is output to the television monitor 60.

On the other hand, the encoded audio data ABr is supplied to the audio decoder 27. Audio decoder 27
Then, the decoding processing of the encoded audio data ABr is performed, and the audio data DAr obtained after the decoding is supplied to the output switching unit 32. The output switching unit 32 selects the audio decoder 27 based on the control signal SE from the operation control unit 50, and converts the audio data DAr supplied from the audio decoder 27 into audio data DAout for output.
Is output to the D / A converter 36. D / A converter 3
In step 6, the audio data DAout supplied from the audio decoder 27 is converted into an analog audio signal SAout and output to the television monitor 60.

As described above, according to the HDD video recorder 100 as an embodiment of the present invention, when recording and reproducing the program information content Din having a desired compression rate, the DSP 20 transmits the program information from the HDD 41 based on the recompression recording mode. The recorded program information content Din is read, the read information Dout is recompressed at a higher compression ratio than the recorded program information content Din, and the recompressed read information Dout is rewritten to the storage device 3 here. Is made.

Therefore, it is possible to record new program information Din while re-recording the recorded program information Din once having been degraded (increased in compression rate) while reducing the image quality. Become. In addition, the disk occupancy of the recorded program information content Din before data compression is α
Since it can be reduced from 1 to α2, the remaining capacity of the disk area that can be used for the new program information content Din can be increased from β1 to β1 + β2. As a result, the HDD 41 having a disk capacity provided in advance can be effectively used.

In this embodiment, video and audio information relating to a broadcast program has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
It can also provide editing of image data that has been subjected to graphic processing by a computer. Further, the storage device has been described in the case of a magnetic disk, but the present invention can also be applied to a randomly accessible nonvolatile semiconductor memory device.

[0092]

As described above, according to the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention, when recording / reproducing information of a desired compression ratio, a control apparatus for controlling writing / reading of a storage device is provided. Reads the recorded information from the storage device based on the recompression recording mode, recompresses the read information at a higher compression ratio than the recorded information, and rewrites the recompressed compressed information to the storage device. Control so that the

With this configuration, it is possible to record new unrecorded information while reducing the image quality of the recorded information once recorded in the storage device (by increasing the compression ratio) and re-recording the information. In addition, since the memory area related to the recorded information before data compression can be reduced, the remaining capacity of the memory area usable for new unrecorded information can be increased. As a result, a storage device having a memory capacity provided in advance can be effectively used.

According to the information recording method of the present invention, when information is compressed at a desired compression ratio and recorded in the memory area,
The recorded information is read from the memory area based on the recompression recording mode, the read information is recompressed at a higher compression ratio than the recorded information, and the recompressed read information is rewritten in the memory area. It is done as follows.

With this configuration, it is possible to record new unrecorded information while reducing the image quality of the recorded information once recorded in the memory area and re-recording it. In addition, since the memory area related to the recorded information before data compression can be reduced, the remaining capacity of the memory area usable for new unrecorded information can be increased. The present invention is very suitable when applied to a hard disk video recorder equipped with an HDD, a DVD recorder equipped with a video RAM, and the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a recording / reproducing device 10 as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a process at the time of recompression in the recording / reproducing apparatus 10.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a connection configuration example of an HDD video recorder 100 as an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of an internal configuration of the HDD video recorder 100.

FIG. 5 is an image diagram showing a processing example at the time of recompression in the HDD 41.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of processing at the time of recording and reproduction in the HDD video recorder 100.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 3 storage device 4 mode selection means 5 control device 6 setting means 10 recording / reproducing device 12 video input processing unit 13 A / D conversion unit 20 DSP (control device) 21 video encoder 22 audio encoder 23 multiplexing unit 24 separation unit 25A- 25D video decoder 27 audio decoder 30 video data processing unit 35 video output processing unit 36 D / A conversion unit 40 data storage interface 41 HDD (storage device) 42 communication interface 50 operation control unit (control device) 51 operation unit (operation means) 100 HDD Video Recorder

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for recording and reproducing information of a desired compression ratio, comprising: a storage device having a predetermined capacity for recording the information; and a control device for controlling writing and reading of the storage device. When the recording operation of recompressing and rewriting the recorded information recorded in the storage device is a recompression recording mode, the control device is configured to record the recorded information from the storage device based on the recompression recording mode. A recording / reproducing apparatus which controls to re-compress the read information at a higher compression ratio than the recorded information, and to rewrite the re-compressed compressed information to the storage device. 2. An operation for selecting one of the overwrite recording mode and the recompression recording mode when a recording operation of overwriting new unrecorded information on recorded information of the storage device is set as an overwrite mode. 2. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a mode selecting unit that performs the operation. 3. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a setting unit operated to set a compression ratio of the information. 4. A method of compressing information at a desired compression ratio and recording the information in a memory area, wherein the recording operation of recompressing and rewriting the recorded information recorded in the memory area is performed in a recompression recording mode. The recorded information is read from the memory area based on the recompression recording mode, the read information is recompressed at a higher compression ratio than the recorded information, and the recompressed compressed information is stored in the memory. An information recording method characterized by rewriting in an area. 5. When the recording operation of overwriting new unrecorded information on the recorded information in the memory area is set to an overwrite mode, either the overwrite recording mode or the recompression recording mode is selected. 5. The information recording method according to claim 4, wherein: 6. The information recording method according to claim 4, wherein a compression ratio of the information is set.