JP2004259313A - Recording and reproducing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize a video-recording and reproducing apparatus capable of performing a more comprehensible and simple retrieval by adding not only the channel, and date and time of video-recording, but also the title of a video-recorded program to video-recording information to be used at the time of retrieving the video-recorded program. <P>SOLUTION: Since it becomes possible to add and display a title of a program at the time of retrieving the program after an end of video-recording by letting a program information requesting part 107 request presently recorded program information from a program information supply server 110 via a desired communication network and store the title information acquired from the program information supply server 110 in a video-recording information storage part 106, it becomes possible to facilitate the retrieval of a desired program. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a recording / reproducing device having a function of connecting to a communication network such as the Internet.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a recording / reproducing apparatus such as a video tape recorder or an optical disk video recorder sometimes has a list storing information on recorded programs so that the contents of the recorded programs can be easily checked and searched. An example of such an apparatus is described in Patent Document 1.
[0003]
Hereinafter, a conventional recording and reproducing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional recording / reproducing apparatus. In the figure, reference numeral 201 denotes a clock unit that moves the current date and time, 202 denotes an operation unit for a user to start or stop recording, 203 denotes a channel selection unit that selects a broadcast channel, Reference numeral 204 denotes a control unit that controls each unit of the recording / reproducing apparatus, 205 denotes a recording / reproducing unit that records / reproduces the video signal from the channel selection unit 203, and 206 denotes recording information corresponding to a program recorded in the recording / reproducing unit 205. (Recording start time, recording end time, channel, recording position on a recording medium, etc.). A recording information storage unit 207 superimposes data from the control unit 204 on a video signal from the recording and reproducing unit 205, An on-screen display circuit (OSD) for outputting to an external monitor or the like.
[0004]
The operation of the conventional recording / reproducing apparatus configured as described above will be described below.
[0005]
When the user performs a program recording start operation on the operation unit 202, a recording start command is output from the operation unit 202 to the control unit 204. The control unit 204 causes the recording / reproducing unit 205 to start recording of the program selected by the channel selection unit 203 based on the recording start command, and sets the current date and time (at the start of recording) from the clock unit 201 to the channel selection unit. The recording position information on the recording medium from the recording / reproducing device 205 is obtained from the recording / reproducing device 205 for the channel selected from 203, and these are stored in the recording information recording unit 206 as recording information. Thereafter, when the user performs a program recording stop operation on the operation unit 202, the operation unit 202 sends a recording stop command to the control unit 204. When the control unit 204 receives an instruction from the operation unit 202, the control unit 204 causes the recording / reproducing unit 205 to stop recording the program, obtains the current date and time (at the end of recording) from the clock unit 201, and The time at which the recording was stopped is added to the recording information stored in the information unit 206. When the above operation is performed each time the user repeatedly starts / stops recording a program, the recording information storage unit 206 stores what program has been recorded so far.
[0006]
This recording information is read from the recording information storage unit 206 at the time of reproduction, and the stored recording date, channel, recording time, recording speed mode and the like are displayed via the OSD 207 as shown in FIG. By displaying such a list, it is possible to help a user search for a video or a program he wants to watch.
[0007]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-6-60620
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional configuration, the recording information stored in the recording information storage unit 206 is limited to a recording start time, a recording end time, a recorded channel, and the like obtained in the recording and reproducing apparatus. In doing so, it is necessary to guess and search the recorded program from the recorded date and time and the channel, which has a problem that it is very difficult to understand.
[0009]
The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problem. By adding the title information of a program in the recording information storage unit 206, a video or a program to be viewed can be easily searched using the title. It is an object to provide a playback device.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve this object, a recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention includes a recording information storage unit for storing information about a program recorded on a recording medium, and a program information supply server for providing information about the program, via a predetermined communication network. Connection unit, a program information requesting unit for requesting information of a desired program from a program information supply server via the connection unit, and program information for extracting necessary information from information obtained from the program information supply server via the connection unit A recording section for storing information on the program from the program information detecting section.
[0011]
As a result, it is possible to obtain the title information of the program without any trouble, to additionally record the title information in the recording information, and to provide an index which can be easily searched.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is a recording / reproducing apparatus for recording / reproducing a selected program on a recording medium, wherein the recording information storage unit stores information on the program recorded on the recording medium, A connection unit that connects to a program information supply server that provides information about a program via a predetermined communication network; a program information request unit that requests information of a desired program from the program information supply server via the connection unit; A program information detection unit that extracts necessary information from information obtained in accordance with the request from the program information supply server via the connection unit, wherein the recording information recording unit stores information about the program from the program information detection unit. Recording and reproducing device.
[0013]
The invention according to claim 2 is the recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information obtained from the program information supply server includes at least a program title.
[0014]
The invention according to claim 3 is the recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program information requesting unit requests information on a currently recorded program.
[0015]
The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the program information requesting unit requests information on a program based on a history of the recorded program recorded in the recording information storage unit. It is a recording and reproducing device.
[0016]
Thereby, by acquiring information on the recorded program from the program information supply server and storing the information in the recording information recording unit, a more complete recording history than before can be created without bothering the user. .
[0017]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0018]
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a recording / reproducing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
[0019]
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment, and 110 denotes a program information supply server for managing and distributing program information. The recording / reproducing apparatus 100 is connected to a program information supply server 110 via a predetermined communication network such as the Internet.
[0020]
Reference numeral 101 denotes a clock unit that moves the current date and time, 102 denotes an operation unit for the user to start or stop recording of video and audio signals, and 103 denotes a channel selection unit that selects a broadcast channel. A control unit 104 controls each unit of the recording / reproducing apparatus 100. A recording / reproducing unit 105 records / reproduces a program selected by the channel selecting unit 103. A reference numeral 106 denotes a program recorded in the recording / reproducing unit 105. A recording information storage unit stores corresponding recording information (recording start time, recording end time, channel, additional information such as a title of a recorded program, a recording position on a recording medium, and the like). An on-screen display circuit (OSD) that superimposes data on a video signal from the recording / reproducing unit 105 and outputs the data to an external monitor or the like. Reference numeral 108 denotes a connection unit for connecting to a program information supply server 110 existing on the external Internet; 107, a program information request unit for requesting desired program information from the program information supply server 110; This is a program information detection unit that detects and extracts program information from information sent from the program information supply server 110.
[0021]
The program information supply server 110 exists on the Internet, for example, and manages program information. The program information managed by the program information supply server 110 manages the program information, for example, as a broadcast program table. The program can be specified by information such as date and time and channel, and information on the specified program is distributed. To do.
[0022]
The operation of the recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described below.
[0023]
When the user performs a recording start operation on the operation unit 102, the operation unit 102 sends a recording start command to the control unit 104. When the control unit 104 receives a command from the operation unit 102, the control unit 104 causes the recording / reproducing unit 105 to start recording the program selected by the tuning unit 103, and the recording position information on the recording medium obtained from the recording / reproducing unit 105. The current date and time (recording start time) obtained from the clock unit 101 and the currently receiving channel obtained from the channel selection unit 103 are stored in the recording information storage unit 106, and the information (current time and channel) is stored in the program information requesting unit. When the program information is transmitted to the program information requesting unit 107, the program information requesting unit 107 transmits the information to the external program information supply server 110 on the Internet via the connection unit 108. The program information supply server 110 which has received the request information adds the program title of the program broadcasted on the channel transmitted at the transmitted time to the transmitted information and transmits it back.
[0024]
Here, the time information sent from the program information requesting unit 107 may include an error of the channel selection unit 103. Therefore, in order to avoid acquiring information of a shifted program, a value slightly delayed from the recording start time may be used. Good.
[0025]
The information sent from the program information supply server 110 is sent to the program information detection unit 109 through the connection unit 108, and the program information detection unit 109 extracts the program title information therefrom and sends it to the control unit 104. The control unit 104 adds the title information to the information previously stored in the program information storage unit 106 and stores the information.
[0026]
Thereafter, when the user performs a program recording stop operation on the operation unit 102, the operation unit 102 sends a recording stop command to the control unit 104. When the control unit 104 receives a command from the operation unit 102, it causes the recording / reproducing unit 105 to stop recording the program, obtains the current date and time (at the end of recording) from the clock unit 101, and The time at which recording was stopped is added to the information stored in 106. Each time the user repeats recording start / stop, the above-described operation is performed, so that the recording information storage unit 106 stores what content has been recorded so far.
[0027]
This recording information is read from the recording information storage unit 106 at the time of reproduction, and the stored recording date, channel, recording time, recording speed mode, program title, etc. are stored via the OSD 111 as shown in FIG. Display. Then, when searching for a video that the user wants to watch, the user can search using the title of the program. Specifically, the program selected by the user is subjected to a cueing operation based on the position information on the recording medium stored in the recording information storage unit 106. As described above, in the present embodiment, since the display as shown in FIG. 2 is possible, it is possible to realize a recording / reproducing apparatus in which a desired video can be clearly seen and easily searched.
[0028]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, not only the recording start / end time and the recorded channel, but also the title information of the recorded program are added and stored in the recording information storage unit 106. Compared to the case without a title, it is much easier to use because it allows you to search for programs you want to watch more easily and smoothly.
[0029]
The program title is very convenient because the user does not need to record it one by one and is obtained automatically. In addition, since a special configuration or means for processing an electronic program guide (EPG) is not required, the present invention can be applied to a recording / reproducing apparatus in which a channel selection unit is separated.
[0030]
In the above embodiment, the case where the recording is started / finished by the user's operation has been described. However, the case where the recording is started / finished by timer reservation may be performed.
[0031]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the timing at which the program information requesting unit 107 requests information from the program information supply server 110 is described as being after the start of recording, but may be after the end of recording. In this case, the recording date and time or the channel recorded in the recording information recording unit 106 may be read once, and then the program information may be requested from the program information supply server 110.
[0032]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the recording date and time, the channel, the recording mode, and the program title are shown as examples of the program information recorded in the recording information recording unit 106. Obviously, any information that can be managed and distributed by the program information supply server 110, such as a user and an outline, can be recorded as program information.
[0033]
Further, in the above embodiment, the recording medium in the recording / reproducing unit 105 is not particularly mentioned, but may be any medium such as a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, and a semiconductor memory.
[0034]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, a specific configuration of the recording information storage unit 106 is not particularly described, but a nonvolatile semiconductor memory is preferable. Further, even in a volatile semiconductor memory, the program information is configured to be recorded on the recording medium by the recording / reproducing unit 105, and the program information is exchanged with the recording information recording unit 106 every time the recording medium is attached / detached. Needless to say, it can be used for program search.
[0035]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, desired program information is acquired from a program information supply server existing in a desired communication network, and not only the recording start / end time and the recorded channel, but also the recorded channel are recorded in the recorded information storage unit. A recording / reproducing apparatus capable of easily enriching recording history information by adding and storing the title information of a selected program, and capable of searching for a desired program more smoothly than when there is no program title or the like. The excellent effect that it can be obtained is obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a recording / reproducing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing recorded program information stored in the recording / reproducing apparatus as a list. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a recording / reproducing apparatus. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram when a list of recorded program information stored in a conventional recording / reproducing apparatus is displayed.
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Recording / reproducing device 101 Clock unit 102 Operation unit 103 Tuning unit 104 Control unit 105 Recording / reproducing unit 106 Recording information storage unit 107 Program information request unit 108 Connection unit 109 Program information detection unit 110 Program information supply server 111 OSD

Claims (4)

A recording and reproducing apparatus for recording and reproducing a selected program on a recording medium,
A recording information storage unit that stores information about a program recorded on the recording medium,
A connection unit that connects to a program information supply server that provides information about a program via a predetermined communication network;
A program information requesting unit that requests information of a desired program from the program information supply server via the connection unit;
A program information detection unit that extracts necessary information from information obtained with the request via the connection unit from the program information supply server,
The recording / reproducing apparatus, wherein the recording information recording unit stores information on a program from the program information detecting unit. 2. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information obtained from the program information supply server includes at least a program title. 2. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program information request unit requests information on a currently recorded program. 2. The recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program information request unit requests information on a program based on a history of the recorded program recorded in the recorded information storage unit.

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