WO2007111129A1 - Information recording apparatus and method, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

An information recording apparatus (200) comprises acquisition means (111, 112, 113) for acquiring image data and music data, an analyzing means (310) for analyzing the feature of the music data, a defining means (311) for defining the reproduction effect of the image data according to the feature of the music data, a converting means (312) for converting the music data and the image data whose reproduction effect is defined into slide show data for performing a slide show according to a format corresponding to an information recording medium (103) to be recorded, and a recording means (113) for recording the slide show data on the information recording medium.

Description

 Specification

 Information recording apparatus and method, and computer program

 Technical field

 [0001] The present invention relates to an information recording apparatus and method such as a DVD recorder, and a technical field of a computer program that causes a computer to function as such an information recording apparatus.

 Background art

 [0002] Digital cameras and the like are becoming popular. The user can view the image data captured by the digital camera with relative ease by displaying it on a display provided in a personal computer or the like. Furthermore, the captured image data can be viewed using a slide show application that continuously displays a plurality of image data at regular intervals or at random intervals. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which image data, music data, and a slide show application for executing a slide show using the image data and music data are recorded on the same information recording medium. Has been. By playing this information recording medium, a slide show can be displayed.

 [0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-288094

 Disclosure of the invention

 Problems to be solved by the invention

However, the content of the slide show described above is limited to image data and music data recorded on an information recording medium. In addition, the playback mode of the slide show is defined by programs recorded on the same information recording medium. For this reason, the reproduced slide show does not necessarily match the user's taste. Furthermore, in order to play back the slide show recorded on this information recording medium, a dedicated device for executing a program such as a computer is required, so it is not necessarily convenient.

The present invention has been made in view of, for example, the conventional problems described above. For example, an information recording apparatus and method capable of recording a suitable slide show on an information recording medium, It is another object of the present invention to provide a computer program that causes a computer to function as such an information recording apparatus.

 Means for solving the problem

 [0006] (Information recording device)

 In order to solve the above-described problems, an information recording apparatus of the present invention includes an acquisition unit that acquires image data and music data, an analysis unit that analyzes characteristics of the acquired music data, and the analyzed music Based on the characteristics of the data, the specifying means for specifying the reproduction effect when reproducing the image data, the acquired music data and the image data for which the reproduction effect is specified are recorded on the information recording medium to be recorded. A conversion unit that converts the slide show data into slide show data for performing a slide show, and a recording unit that records the slide show data on the information recording medium.

 [0007] According to the information recording apparatus of the present invention, image data (for example, JP EG image data, image data of other formats, image data extracted from MPEG video data, etc.) is obtained by the operation of the acquisition means. And music data are acquired. After that, each time the music data is acquired, the operation of the analyzing means causes the characteristics of the acquired music data (for example, as will be described later, the music performance time, tempo, phrase, and other musical characteristics included in the music data). (Feature) is analyzed. Subsequently, the operation of the defining means defines the reproduction effect of the image data acquired by the acquiring means based on the characteristics of the analyzed music data (that is, the analysis result of the analyzing means). For example, (0 The display timing of image data is adjusted according to the performance time or tempo of the music included in the music data, or (ii) the image data display is adjusted according to the music tempo included in the music data. Aspects (for example, image characteristics including display magnification, display position, brightness, brightness, etc. of image data) are changed.

[0008] Thereafter, the operation of the conversion means causes the music data and the image data for which the reproduction effect is specified to correspond to the information recording medium on which the slide show data is recorded (in other words, conforms). It is converted into slide show data for performing a slide show in conformity with a predetermined format (for example, a DVD format described later). The slide show data that conforms to a predetermined format is recorded on the information recording medium by the operation of the recording means. Here, conversion of video data and music data to slide show data and In addition, the recording of the slide show data on the information recording medium may be performed in parallel. In other words, when a certain amount of slide show data is created by converting video data and music data to slide show data, the video data and music data are converted to slide show data while the slide show data created is converted. The operation of recording on the information recording medium is repeated. When the creation of the slide show data is completed and the slide show data has been recorded, the recording of the slide show data on the information recording medium is completed.

 As described above, according to the information recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention, for example, slide show data can be recorded on the information recording medium. If the information recording medium on which the slide show data is recorded is reproduced, the slide show can be suitably reproduced.

 [0010] In particular, since it is possible to acquire each of image data and music data without limiting the data source, it is possible for the user to acquire each of music data and image data from a desired data source. . Therefore, a wider variety of slide show data can be created.

 [0011] Since the slide show data is converted into a format of an information recording medium on which the slide show data is recorded and recorded on the information recording medium, any device capable of reproducing the information recording medium You can play slideshow data with.

 [0012] The characteristics of the acquired music data can be analyzed in real time (that is, every time the music data is acquired). In other words, since the playback mode of the image data played back together with the music data is not limited in advance, it is possible to create slide show data in which the image data is played back in accordance with the playback of the music data in a wider variety of modes. .

 In one aspect of the information recording apparatus of the present invention, the acquisition means acquires the image data and the music data from different data sources.

[0014] According to this aspect, since image data and music data can be acquired from different data sources (specifically, for example, different information recording media, different data servers, etc.), music data and The user obtains the desired data source for each of the image data. Can. Therefore, a wider variety of slide show data can be created.

 [0015] The acquisition unit may be configured to acquire the image data and the music data from the same data source.

 In another aspect of the information recording apparatus of the present invention, the recording means records the slide show data on an information recording medium from which the acquisition means has acquired at least one of the image data and the music data. To do.

 [0017] According to this aspect, it is possible to additionally record newly created slide show data on an information recording medium in which at least one of image data and music data is recorded. Accordingly, an information recording medium capable of reproducing at least one of image data and music data and also reproducing slide show data using at least one of the image data and music data is created. Can do.

 [0018] In another aspect of the information recording apparatus of the present invention, the feature of the music data includes at least one of a phrase and a tempo of music included in the music data. As a reproduction effect, at least one of display timing, display position movement, rotation, luminance change, and color change of the image included in the image data is defined.

 [0019] According to this aspect, although details will be described later, the display timing of the image included in the image data, the movement of the display position, the rotation, the luminance change, and the like according to the phrase and tempo of the music included in the music data. A color change can be suitably defined.

 [0020] Another aspect of the information recording apparatus of the present invention further includes a specifying means for specifying a playback order of at least one of the image included in the image data and the music included in the music data.

 [0021] According to this aspect, since the playback order of images and music can be specified, for example, it is possible to suitably create slide show data in which image data and music data are played back in a manner desired by the user, for example. it can.

[0022] Another aspect of the information recording apparatus of the present invention is for playing back a music performance time included in the music data and images included in the image data as a slide show continuously at predetermined time intervals. A display means for displaying a display screen showing the required playback time is further provided. [0023] According to this aspect, the user can suitably select the image data and the music data by checking the display screen. Then, by acquiring the selected image data and music data, slide show data can be suitably created.

 In another aspect of the information recording apparatus of the present invention, the information recording medium is a DVD, and the predetermined format is a DVD format.

 [0025] According to this aspect, slide show data compliant with the DVD format can be recorded on an information recording medium such as a DVD. For this reason, a device capable of reproducing an information recording medium such as a DVD does not include a dedicated program (specifically, for example, a slide show application) for reproducing image data and music data as a slide show. In both cases, it is possible to realize continuous reproduction (that is, a slide show) of image data in accordance with the reproduction of music data.

 [0026] (Information recording method)

 In order to solve the above problems, an information recording method of the present invention includes an acquisition step of acquiring image data and music data, an analysis step of analyzing characteristics of the acquired music data, and the analyzed music Based on the characteristics of the data, a defining step for defining the reproduction effect when reproducing the image data, and the acquired music data and the image data for which the reproduction effect is defined are recorded on an information recording medium to be recorded. A conversion step of converting the slide show data into slide show data for performing a slide show, and a recording step of recording the slide show data on the information recording medium.

 [0027] According to the information recording method of the present invention, it is possible to receive the same benefits as the various benefits of the information recording apparatus of the present invention described above.

 Incidentally, in response to the various aspects of the information recording apparatus of the present invention described above, the information recording method of the present invention can also adopt various aspects.

 [0029] (Computer program)

In order to solve the above problems, a computer program of the present invention is a computer program for recording control for controlling a computer provided in the information recording apparatus of the present invention described above (including various aspects), A computer is defined as at least a part of the acquisition unit, the analysis unit, the definition unit, the conversion unit, and the recording unit. To function.

 [0030] According to the computer program of the present invention, the computer program is read from a recording medium such as a ROM, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, hard disk or the like storing the computer program and executed by the computer, or If the computer program is downloaded to a computer via communication means and then executed, the above-described information recording apparatus of the present invention can be realized relatively easily.

 [0031] Incidentally, in response to the various aspects of the information recording apparatus of the present invention described above, the computer program of the present invention can also adopt various aspects.

 [0032] In order to solve the above problems, a computer program product in a computer-readable medium can be executed by a computer provided in the above-described information recording apparatus of the present invention (including various aspects thereof). The program instruction is clearly embodied, and the computer is caused to function as at least a part of the acquisition means, the analysis means, the definition means, the conversion means, and the recording means.

 [0033] According to the computer program product of the present invention, if the computer program product is read into a computer from a recording medium such as a ROM, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or hard disk storing the computer program product, or For example, if the computer program product, which is a transmission wave, is downloaded to a computer via communication means, the information recording apparatus of the present invention described above can be implemented relatively easily. More specifically, the computer program product may comprise a computer readable code (or computer readable instruction) that functions as the information recording apparatus of the present invention described above.

 [0034] These effects and other advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the embodiments described below.

As described above, according to the information recording apparatus of the present invention, the acquisition unit, the analysis unit, the defining unit, the conversion unit, and the recording unit are provided. According to the information recording method of the present invention, the information recording method includes an acquisition process, an analysis process, a defining process, a conversion process, and a recording process. According to the computer program of the present invention, the computer is caused to function as at least a part of the obtaining means, the analyzing means, the defining means, the converting means, and the recording means. Therefore, a suitable slice Can be recorded on an information recording medium.

 Brief Description of Drawings

 FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually showing the basic structure of an information recording / reproducing apparatus in an example.

 FIG. 2 is a flowchart conceptually showing a recording operation flow of the information recording / reproducing apparatus in the example.

 FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram conceptually showing a display screen that displays the number of image data, the performance time of music data, and the time required to display a slide show.

 Explanation of symbols

 [0037] 101 memory card

 102 hard disk

 103 optical disc

 111, 112, 113 Recording / playback unit

 200 Information recording and playback device

 301 Image selector

 302 Music selection section

 310 Music Analysis Department

 311 Special effects processor

 312 encoder

 351 CPU

 BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

 Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in each embodiment in order with reference to the drawings.

 [0039] (1) Basic configuration

First, an information recording / reproducing apparatus 200 as an embodiment according to the information recording apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually showing the basic structure of the information recording / reproducing apparatus 200 in the example. The information recording / reproducing apparatus 200 has a function of recording data on the optical disc 100 and data recorded on the optical disc 100. And a function for playing back.

 As shown in FIG. 1, the information recording / reproducing apparatus 200 includes a memory card 101, a hard disk 102, an optical disc 103, a recording / reproducing unit 111, a recording / reproducing unit 112, a recording / reproducing unit 113, and a reproducing unit. Buffer 121, playback buffer 122, playback buffer 123, recording buffer 131, recording buffer 132, recording buffer 133, image selection unit 301, music selection unit 302, and image decoder 303 A music decoder 304, a resolution converter 305, a digital converter 306, a digital converter 307, an external image selector 308, an external music selector 309, a music analyzer 310, and special effects processing. A unit 311, an encoder 312, a playback unit 313, a CPU 351, a memory 352, and a human power unit 353 are provided.

 [0041] The memory card 101 constitutes a specific example of the "data source" and "information recording medium to be recorded" in the present invention, and includes a small semiconductor memory such as a memory stick or an SD card, for example. It is out. For example, image data and music data are recorded on the memory card 101.

 The hard disk 102 constitutes a specific example of the “data source” and “information recording medium to be recorded” in the present invention, and is a magnetic recording medium. Generally, the hard disk 102 can record a large amount of data as compared with the memory card 101 and the optical disk 103. For example, image data or music data is recorded on the disk 102.

 The optical disc 103 constitutes one specific example of “data source” and “information recording medium to be recorded” in the present invention. For example, a CD, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, HD DV D Etc. For example, image data and music data are recorded on the optical disc 103.

 The recording / reproducing unit 111 constitutes specific examples of “acquiring means” and “recording means” in the present invention, and data can be recorded and reproduced (or read) on the memory card 101. It is configured to function.

 The recording / reproducing unit 112 constitutes specific examples of “acquisition means” and “recording means” in the present invention, and can record and reproduce (or read) data on the hard disk 102. It is configured.

The recording / playback unit 113 is a specific example of “acquiring means” and “recording means” in the present invention. The optical disc 103 is configured such that data can be recorded and reproduced (or read).

[0047] The reproduction buffer 121 is configured to be capable of temporarily recording data reproduced from the memory card 101.

[0048] The reproduction buffer 122 is configured to be able to temporarily record data reproduced from the hard disk 102.

[0049] The reproduction buffer 123 is configured to be able to temporarily record data reproduced from the optical disc 103.

[0050] The recording buffer 131 is configured to be capable of temporarily recording data to be recorded on the memory card 101.

[0051] The recording buffer 132 is configured to be capable of temporarily recording data to be recorded on the hard disk 102.

The recording buffer 133 is configured so that data to be recorded on the optical disc 103 can be temporarily recorded.

The image selection unit 301 is configured to be able to select an acquisition destination of image data. Specifically, the image data can be selected from the memory card 101, the hard disk 102, and the optical disk 103. When the memory card 101 is selected as an image data acquisition destination by the user's instruction using the input unit 353 or by the control of the CPU 351, the image selection unit 301 controls the recording / playback unit 111, thereby reproducing the playback buffer. Image data is acquired from the memory card 101 via 121. When the hard disk 102 is selected as an image data acquisition destination by a user instruction using the input unit 353 or by control of the CPU 351, the image selection unit 301 controls the recording / playback unit 112, thereby Image data is acquired from the hard disk 102 via 122. When the optical disc 103 is selected as the image data acquisition destination by a user instruction using the input unit 353 or by control of the CPU 351, the image selection unit 301 controls the recording / playback unit 113, thereby Image data is acquired from the optical disc 103 via 123. Note that the acquisition destination of the image data may be specified by a user instruction, or may be automatically specified under the control of the CPU 351. [0054] The music selection unit 302 is configured to be able to select an acquisition destination of music data. Specifically, the music data can be selected from the memory card 101, the hard disk 102, and the optical disk 103. When the memory card 101 is selected as a music data acquisition destination by the user's instruction using the input unit 353 or by the control of the CPU 351, the music selection unit 302 controls the recording / playback unit 111, thereby reproducing the playback buffer. Music data is acquired from the memory card 101 via 121. When the hard disk 102 is selected as a music data acquisition destination by a user instruction using the input unit 353 or by the control of the CPU 351, the music selection unit 302 controls the recording / playback unit 112 so that the playback buffer Music data is acquired from the hard disk 102 via 122. If the optical disc 103 is selected as a music data acquisition destination by the user's instruction using the input unit 353 or by the control of the CPU 351, the music selection unit 302 controls the recording / playback unit 113, so that the playback buffer Music data is acquired from the optical disc 103 via 123. Note that the music data acquisition destination may be specified by a user instruction, or may be automatically specified under the control of the CPU 351.

 The image decoder 303 is configured to be able to execute a decoding process corresponding to a coding method of the image data on the image data obtained by at least one of the memory card 101, the hard disk 102, and the optical disc 103. ! Speak. The decoded image data is output to the resolution conversion unit 305.

 [0056] When the image data is multiplexed with music data as an AV stream, the image decoder 303 extracts the image data by performing demultiplex processing on the AV stream, and It is preferable to perform a decoding process on the extracted image data.

Note that the image data in the present embodiment may be still image data such as JPEG or moving image such as MPEG when acquired from the memory card 101, the hard disk 102, or the optical disk 103. It may be data. When moving image data is acquired, it is extracted as still image data image data from the moving image data by the operation of the image decoder 303 as described above (for example, one picture, one frame or one frame of moving image data is extracted). All you need is enough. [0058] The music decoder 304 is configured to be able to execute a decoding process corresponding to the coding of the music data with respect to the music data acquired by at least one of the memory card 101, the hard disk 102, and the optical disc 103! Speak. The music data subjected to the decoding process is output to the external music selection unit 309.

 [0059] When the music data is multiplexed with image data as an AV stream, the music decoder 304 extracts the music data by performing demultiplex processing on the AV stream, and It is preferable to perform a decoding process on the extracted music data.

 [0060] The resolution conversion unit 305 converts the number of pixels of the image data, which has been decoded by the image decoder 303, into the number of pixels that can be recorded on the optical disc 103. Is configured to run.

 [0061] The digital conversion unit 306 is a data source external to the information recording / reproducing apparatus 200 via the input terminal IN 1 (in other words, a data source other than the memory card 101, the hard disk 102, and the optical disc 103, For example, an image acquired from an external information recording medium, a server via a wired or wireless network, or an external input device such as a digital camera connected to the information recording / reproducing apparatus 200 via a predetermined interface) Conversion processing for converting data into a digital signal that can be processed in the information recording / reproducing apparatus 200 is configured to be executable. The image data converted into the digital signal is output to the external image selection unit 308.

 Note that when the image data acquired from the external data source is a digital signal, the conversion process in the digital conversion unit 306 may not be executed.

[0063] The digital conversion unit 307 is a data source external to the information recording / reproducing apparatus 200 via the input terminal IN2 (in other words, a data source other than the memory card 101, the hard disk 102, and the optical disc 103, for example, Music data acquired from an external information recording medium, a server via a wired or wireless network, or an external input device such as a digital camera connected to the information recording / reproducing apparatus 200 via a predetermined interface) On the other hand, the information recording / reproducing apparatus 200 is configured to be able to execute a conversion process for converting into a digital signal that can be processed. The music data converted to digital signals is The data is output to the selector 309.

 Note that when the music data acquired from the external data source is a digital signal, the conversion process in the digital conversion unit 307 may not be executed.

 [0065] The external image selection unit 308 uses a memory card 101, a hard disk 102, and an optical disc 103 to generate a slide show using image data that has also been acquired, or to use an image data acquired from an external data source as a slide show. It is configured so that it can be selected. When it is selected to create a slide show using image data acquired from the memory card 101, the hard disk 102, and the optical disk 103 by a user instruction using the input unit 353 or under the control of the CPU 351, an external image selection unit 308 Outputs the image data acquired from the memory card 101, the hard disk 102, and the optical disk 103 to the special effect processing unit 311. On the other hand, if it is selected by the user's instruction using the input unit 353 or by the control of the CPU 351 to create a slide show using the image data acquired from the external data source, the external image selection unit 308 outputs the image data acquired from the external data source to the special effect processing unit 311. This selection may be configured to be designated by a user's instruction, or may be automatically designated under the control of the CPU 351.

[0066] The external music selection unit 309 has a memory card 101, a hard disk 102, and an optical disc 103. The power to create a slide show using the acquired music data, or the slide show using the music data acquired from an external data source. It is configured so that it can be selected. When it is selected to create a slide show using music data acquired from the memory card 101, the hard disk 102, and the optical disk 103 under the instruction of the user using the input unit 353 or under the control of the CPU 351, the external image selection unit 309 Outputs the music data acquired from the memory card 101, the hard disk 102, and the optical disk 103 to the music analysis unit 310. On the other hand, if it is selected to create a slide show using music data acquired from an external data source under the instruction of the user using the input unit 353 or under the control of the CPU 351, the external image selection unit 309 outputs the music data acquired from the external data source to the music analysis unit 311. This selection may be configured to be specified by a user's instruction, or automatically under the control of the CPU 351. It may be specified dynamically.

 [0067] The music analysis unit 310 constitutes a specific example of "analysis means" in the present invention, and features of music included in the music data output from the external music selection unit 309 (specifically, sound It is configured to analyze the tempo, phrases, and other musical features of each music included in the music data. The analysis result is output to the special effect processing unit 311.

 [0068] The special effect processing unit 311 constitutes one specific example of the "defining means" in the present invention, and the external processing unit 311 is externally controlled according to the analysis result (that is, the characteristics of the music data) output from the music analysis unit 310. The reproduction effect of the image data output from the image selection unit 308 can be specified. A specific method for defining the reproduction effect will be described in detail later. The image data and music data for which the playback effect is specified are output to the encoder 312.

 [0069] Further, the image data and music data for which the reproduction effect is defined are controlled by the reproduction unit 313, such as an external display or an external speaker connected to the information recording / reproduction device 200 via the output terminal OUT. Output to an external output device. As a result, the image data and the music data can be reproduced in the manner defined by the special effect processing unit 311 for the external output device.

 The encoder 312 constitutes a specific example of “conversion means” in the present invention, and receives image data and music data recorded on the memory card 101, the hard disk 102, or the optical disc 103, and records them, for example, Encode with the coding method according to the format of the previous recording medium. For example, when recording image data and music data on a DVD, which is a specific example of the optical disc 100, encoding by the MPEG compression method enables independent image data and music data to be recorded in the DVD-VIDEO format or Or convert to MPEG-TS signal or MP EG PS signal which is compliant with DVD-VR format and multiplexed. By reproducing the MPEG-TS signal or the MPEG-PS signal, the image data and the music data can be reproduced in a manner defined by the special effect processing unit 311. Similarly, when encoding by other coding methods, encoding is performed so that image data and music data can be reproduced in a manner defined by the special effect processing unit 311.

[0071] The encoded slide show data passes through the recording buffer 131, 132, or 133. Are output to the recording / reproducing unit 111, 112, or 113 and recorded on the memory card 101, the hard disk 102, or the optical disk 103.

 [0072] The reproduction unit 313 is configured to be able to reproduce image data and music data for which a reproduction effect is defined as a slide show, for example, on an external output device. For example, image data and music data for which a playback effect is specified may be converted into a playback signal to be played back by an external output device, or the playback effect may be specified for an external output device. An instruction to play back the image data and music data as a slide show may be output.

 The CPU 351 controls the information recording / reproducing apparatus 200 as a whole by giving instructions to each unit included in the information recording / reproducing apparatus 200. Normally, software or firmware for operating the CPU 351 is stored in the memory 352.

 [0074] The memory 352 is used in the entire data processing in the information recording / reproducing apparatus 200. In addition, the memory 352 is a ROM area in which a program (that is, firmware) for performing operations as a recorder device is stored, and is necessary for temporarily storing data and for operations such as a firmware program. The RAM area for storing variables is configured.

 [0075] The input unit 353, together with the CPU 351, constitutes one specific example of the "designating means" in the present invention, and includes various controllers such as a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, operation buttons, and remote controller. The user instruction can be input to the information recording / reproducing apparatus 200.

 [0076] (2) Recording operation

 Next, with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the operation principle of the recording operation of the information recording / reproducing apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart conceptually showing the flow of the recording operation of the information recording / reproducing apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 shows the number of image data, the performance time of the music data, and the slide show display. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram conceptually showing a display screen for displaying a time required for the operation.

[0077] In the following description, as the recording operation of the information recording / reproducing apparatus 200, for example, an operation of defining the reproduction effect of image data such as JPEG and recording the image data on the optical disc 103 Will be described as an example. Such an operation is performed when, for example, image data recorded on the memory card 101 by a digital camera or the like is recorded on an optical disc 103 such as a CD or a DVD in a slide show format.

 As shown in FIG. 2, on the basis of a user instruction using the input unit 353, first, an image data acquisition destination is selected by operations of the image selection unit 301 and the external image selection unit 308. The image data to be acquired with the selected acquisition power is selected (step S101).

 [0079] There may be a plurality of acquisition destinations of image data. That is, it may be configured such that certain image data is acquired from the memory card 101 and another image data is acquired from the node disk 102. As a result, a slide show including a wider variety of images can be realized.

 Subsequently, under the control of the CPU 351, the number of images included in the selected image data is calculated (step S102).

In parallel, the operation of the image selection unit 302 and the external music selection unit 309 selects a music data acquisition destination, and music data to be acquired from the selected acquisition destination is selected (step S 103 ).

 Note that there may be a plurality of acquisition destinations of music data. In other words, it may be configured such that certain music data is obtained from the memory card 101 and other music data is obtained from the memory disk 102. As a result, a slide show including a wider variety of music can be realized.

 [0083] Further, the acquisition destination of the music data may be the same as the acquisition destination of the image data, or may be different.

 Subsequently, the performance time of music included in the selected music data is calculated under the control of the CPU 351 (step S104).

Thereafter, under the control of the CPU 351 constituting one specific example of the “display unit” in the present invention, the number of images calculated in step S102 and the music performance time calculated in step S104 are used. Based on this, a display screen showing the time required for reproducing the slide show using the selected image data and music data is displayed on a display connected to the information recording / reproducing apparatus 200 (step S105). [0086] This display screen will be specifically described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, on the display screen, for example, the number of music pieces and performance time included in the selected music data, the number of images included in the selected image data, and the like are displayed. Specifically, from the left side of the display screen, the user confirms that there are 3 songs included in the selected music data and that the number of images included in the selected image data is 45. Can be recognized. From the top of the right side of the display screen, the user can recognize that the playing time of the music included in the selected music data is 10 minutes 15 seconds.

 [0088] Further, as shown in FIG. 3, when the images included in the selected image data are continuously displayed at predetermined time intervals, the time required for displaying all the images is displayed on the display screen. Is displayed. Specifically, from the right side of the display screen, if 45 images included in the selected image data are displayed continuously at 5-second intervals, the time required to display 45 images is 3 The user can recognize that it is 45 minutes. When 45 images included in the selected image data are displayed continuously at 10-second intervals, the user needs 7 minutes 30 seconds to display 45 images. Can be recognized. If the 45 images included in the selected image data are displayed continuously at 15-second intervals, the user must confirm that the time required to display 45 images is 11 minutes 15 seconds. Can be recognized.

 The user may select the display interval of the image included in the image data using the input unit 353 based on this time display. Alternatively, it may be instructed to increase / decrease the number of selected images, change the selected image, increase / decrease the number of songs in the selected music, or change the selected music. For example, change of at least one of the selected image data and music data so that the performance time of music included in the selected music data and the time required to display the image included in the selected image data are substantially the same. (Ie, selecting new image data or music data).

[0090] Power! Alternatively, the user may use the input unit 353 to specify the playback order of the images included in the image data. At this time, it may be configured such that one image is reproduced a plurality of times at different timings. Similarly, the user specifies the playback order of music included in the music data. Also good.

 In FIG. 2 again, after the time display, it is determined whether or not it is possible to change at least one of the selected image data and music data under the control of the CPU 351 (step S106). In other words, whether or not the user gives an instruction to change at least one of the selected image data and music data, or the performance time of the music included in the selected music data and the selected image It is determined whether the CPU 351 is automatically instructed to change at least one of the image data and the music data so that the time required to display the image included in the data is approximately the same. .

 [0092] In addition to or instead of the determination in step S106, by dividing the music playing time included in the selected music data by the number of images included in the selected image data, The display time may be calculated and images may be displayed continuously at the calculated display time interval. Thereby, without changing the selected image data and music data, the display of the image included in the image data can be ended simultaneously with the end of the reproduction of the music included in the music data.

 [0093] If it is determined in step S106 that at least one of the selected image data and music data is to be changed (No in step S106), the process returns to step S101 and step S103, At least one of image data and music data is selected again

 On the other hand, as a result of the determination in step S106, when it is determined that at least one of the selected image data and music data is not changed (step S106: Yes), subsequently, it is selected in step S101 and step S103. Image data and music data are acquired (step S107).

 [0094] Subsequently, decoding of the acquired image data and music data is performed by the operations of the image decoder 303 and the music decoder 304 (step S108).

[0095] Subsequently, the music feature included in the acquired music data is analyzed by the operation of the music analysis unit 310 (step S109). Specifically, the power of what kind of tempo of each music included in the music data (or the power showing what kind of tendency or distribution, the power of what kind of phrase each music has (Or what kind of trend or distribution The power (or what kind of tendency or the power to show the distribution) of other musical features is analyzed.

 [0096] Subsequently, the operation of the special effect processing unit 311 causes the image data (specifically, the image data) based on the music characteristics (ie, the analysis result of the music data) analyzed in step S109. The reproduction effect of the image included in the image is defined (step S110).

 Specifically, for example, the display of the image included in the image data may be switched in accordance with the tempo of the music included in the music data. Specifically, for example, when displaying an image in accordance with a fast-tempo music, the image is switched in a relatively short time (in other words, the display time per image is shortened), When displaying images in time with music with a slow tempo, the images can be switched in a relatively long time (V, in other words, the display time per image becomes longer).

 [0098] Further, for example, a display effect to be added to the image included in the image data in accordance with the tempo of the music included in the music data (for example, movement of the display position of the image, rotation of the image, change in luminance of the image) Or the color change time of the image) may be set. Specifically, for example, when displaying an image in time with fast-tempo music, the display effect time may be set short. That is, for example, in a relatively short time, the display position of the image may be moved, the image may be rotated, the brightness of the image may be changed, or the color of the image may be changed. On the other hand, when displaying an image in time with music with a slow tempo, the display effect time may be set longer. That is, for example, the display position of the image may be moved, the image may be rotated, the luminance of the image may be changed, or the color of the image may be changed over a relatively long time.

 [0099] Alternatively, for example, the display of the image included in the image data may be switched in accordance with a music phrase included in the music data. Specifically, for example, the image display may be switched for each phrase, the image display may be switched for several phrases, or a plurality of images may be displayed for each phrase. .

[0100] Alternatively, for example, the display effect time to be added to the image included in the image data may be set in accordance with the music phrase included in the music data. Specifically, for example, for each phrase, the display position of the image is moved, the image is rotated, or the brightness of the image is increased. It may be changed, or the hue of the image may be changed. For example, the display position of the image may be moved, the image may be rotated, the brightness of the image may be changed, or the color of the image may be changed every several phrases. Alternatively, for example, the display position of the image may be moved, the image may be rotated, the luminance of the image may be changed, or the color of the image may be changed based on the time of one phrase.

 [0101] After that, by the operation of the encoder 312, it is included in the acquired image data while realizing the reproduction effect specified in step S 110 in accordance with the reproduction of the music included in the acquired music data. The obtained image data and music data are encoded so that the image can be reproduced (step Sll). As a result, slide show data for playing the images included in the acquired image data is created while realizing the playback effect specified in step S 110 in accordance with the playback of the music included in the acquired music data. Is done.

 [0102] Thereafter, in step SI11, the slide show data created in step SI11 is recorded, for example, in the optical disk 103 (step S112).

 [0103] Here, for example, in the case of a DVD recorder, the operation of the encoder 312 is real-time processing, and steps S111 and S112 are processed in parallel. In other words, the ability to continuously create slide show data by the process of step S111. The operation of recording slide show data by the process of step S112 when a certain amount of slide show data has been created by the process of step S111. Will be repeated. When the generation of the slide show data is completed and the slide show data is recorded, the recording of the slide show data on the optical disc 103 is completed.

 Subsequently, under the control of the CPU 351, it is determined whether there is image data or music data to be acquired next (in other words, to be newly acquired) and whether or not the image data or music data is strong (step S 11 3). For example, when the image data is also acquired for each of the memory card 101 and the hard disk 102, the above-described processing is performed on the image data acquired from the memory card 101 first, and then the image data is acquired from the hard disk 102. The above-described processing is performed on the image data. The same applies to music data.

[0105] As a result of the determination in step S113, image data or music data to be acquired next If it is determined that the data exists, (step S113: Yes), the process returns to step S107, and new image data or music data is acquired, and the newly acquired image data or music data is acquired. On the other hand, the processing after step S108 is performed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S113 that there is no image data or music data to be acquired next (step S113: No), it is selected in steps S101 and S103. It is found that the processing from step S107 to step S112 has been performed on all the image data and music data. Therefore, the recording operation is terminated.

 Thus, for example, slide show data can be recorded on an optical disc 103 such as a DVD. Then, when the optical disc 103 on which the slide show data is recorded is played back, the specified playback effect is realized in accordance with the playback of the music included in the music data by using the image data and the music data included in the slide show data. However, the image included in the image data can be reproduced.

 In particular, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to acquire each of desired recording medium power image data and music data among a plurality of recording media without limiting the data source to the same recording medium. In other words, the acquisition destination of each of the image data and the music data is not limited in advance. Therefore, the user can acquire the desired data source for each of the music data and the image data. Therefore, a wider variety of slide show data (that is, slide show data that can reproduce a wide variety of images while realizing a wide variety of playback effects specified for a wider variety of music playback). It can be created.

 [0109] Furthermore, since the playback order of images can be freely specified, a slide show more suited to the user's preference can be played.

[0110] After converting the image data and music data into the format of the optical disc 103 (especially DVD in this embodiment) on which slide show data created from the image data and music data is recorded, Slide show data is recorded on the optical disc 103. Therefore, the slide show data can be reproduced by any device that can reproduce the optical disc 103. In other words, image data and music data Do not use a dedicated program for performing a slide show using, or require a special device (for example, a computer) to execute a dedicated program for performing a slide show using image data and music data The slide show data can be reproduced relatively easily by using a player for the optical disc 103.

 [0111] It is possible to analyze the characteristics of the acquired music data in real time (that is, every time the music data is acquired), and to define the reproduction effect of the image data according to the analysis result. In other words, since the playback mode of the image data played back together with the music data is not limited in advance, it is possible to enjoy the great advantage that the image data can be played back in accordance with the playback of the music data in a wider variety of modes. it can.

 Note that the reproducing operation in the information recording / reproducing apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment is described in the description of the block diagram in FIG. However, the flow of the reproducing operation is almost the same as the recording operation. Specifically, after the processing from step S101 to step S110 in FIG. 2 is performed, the special effect processing unit 311 outputs the image data and the music data to the external output device. An image included in the acquired image data can be reproduced while realizing the reproduction effect defined in step S110 in accordance with the reproduction of the music included in the music data.

Here, according to the information recording / reproducing apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment, the recording operation and the reproducing operation are performed in parallel (that is, the slide show data for reproducing the slide show is reproduced while reproducing the slide show). Created and recorded). At this time, the information recording / reproducing apparatus 200 according to the present embodiment includes reproduction buffers 121, 122, and 123, and recording buffers 131, 132, and 133, respectively. For this reason, if one recording medium capable of recording and reproducing operations at a speed of 2 × or higher is used, at least one of image data and music data is reproduced from the one recording medium. This is achieved by recording slide show data created using at least one of image data and music data and at least one of image data and music data recorded on another recording medium on one recording medium.

[0114] In the above-described embodiment, the optical disc 103 (particularly, the DVD in the optical disc 103) as a recording destination of the created slide show data has been specifically described. It goes without saying that the recording destination of the created slide show data is not limited to the optical disc 103. Similarly, the recording destination of the slide show data is not limited to the optical disc 103, needless to say. The memory card 101, the hard disk 102, and other recording media may be selected as the slide show data recording destination. Even in this case, if the slide show data is encoded in a format that conforms to the format of the recording medium selected as the recording destination of the slide show data, the above-described various benefits can be suitably enjoyed.

[0115] Also, the acquisition destination of the image data selected in step S101 in FIG. 2 (or the acquisition destination of the music data selected in step S103), and the recording destination of the slide show data to be created May be the same recording medium or different recording media.

 [0116] When the same recording medium is used, slide show data using the image data can be additionally recorded on a recording medium on which image data such as JPEG is recorded. Therefore, it is possible to create a recording medium that allows viewing of a slide show using a DVD player or the like while viewing image data such as JPEG using a personal computer or the like.

 [0117] Also, the image data and the data source from which the image data is acquired are not limited to the memory card 101, the node disk 102 and the optical disk 103, and an external data source, and various recording media may be used.

 In the above-described embodiments, the memory card 101, the hard disk 102, and the optical disk 103 are described as an example of the information recording medium, and the recorder that relates to the memory card 101, the hard disk 102, and the optical disk 103 is described as an example of the information recording apparatus. The present invention is not limited to these recording media and their recorders, but can be applied to other high-density recording or various information recording media compatible with high transfer rates and their recorders.

[0119] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be appropriately modified within the scope of the claims and the entire specification without departing from the gist or the idea of the invention which can be read. An information recording apparatus and method, and a computer program are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. Industrial applicability

 The information recording apparatus and method and the computer program according to the present invention can be used for an information recording apparatus such as a DV recorder. Further, it can be used for an information recording device or the like that is mounted on or connectable to various computer equipment for consumer use or business use.

Claims

The scope of the claims  [1] An acquisition means for acquiring image data and music data;  Analyzing means for analyzing the characteristics of the acquired music data;  Defining means for defining a reproduction effect when reproducing the image data based on the analyzed characteristics of the music data;  Conversion means for converting the acquired music data and the image data for which the reproduction effect is defined into slide show data for performing a slide show in accordance with a predetermined format according to an information recording medium to be recorded;  An information recording apparatus comprising: recording means for recording the slide show data on the information recording medium.  2. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the image data and the music data from different data sources. 3. The recording unit according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit records the slide show data on an information recording medium from which the acquisition unit has acquired at least one of the image data and the music data. Information recording device. [4] The characteristic of the music data includes at least one of a phrase and a tempo of music included in the music data,  The defining means includes a display timing included in the image data as the reproduction effect. 2. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of display position movement, rotation, luminance change, and color change is defined. 5. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising designation means for designating a reproduction order of at least one of images included in the image data and music included in the music data. [6] Display means for displaying a display screen showing the playing time of music included in the music data and the playback time required to continuously play back the images included in the image data as a slide show at predetermined time intervals. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an information recording apparatus according to claim 1; [7] The information recording medium is a DVD, 2. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined format is a DVD format. [8] An acquisition process for acquiring image data and music data;  An analysis step of analyzing the characteristics of the acquired music data;  A defining step for defining a reproduction effect when reproducing the image data based on the analyzed characteristics of the music data;  A conversion step of converting the acquired music data and the image data for which the reproduction effect is defined into slide show data for performing a slide show in accordance with a predetermined format corresponding to an information recording medium to be recorded;  A recording step of recording the slide show data on the information recording medium. [9] A computer program for recording control for controlling a computer provided in the information recording apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: the acquisition means; the analysis means; the definition means; A computer program that functions as at least a part of the conversion means and the recording means.