JP2006040416A - Content recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a content recorder capable of thoroughly recording input contents, and suppressing an influence on other video recorders. <P>SOLUTION: The video recorder 12a is connected to video recorders 12b, 12c through a LAN 14, and can utilize respective hard disks of the video recorders 12b, 12c as external hard disks in addition to a built-in hard disk. The video recorder 12a records excessive contents inputted after the built-in hard disk has been filled up in the external hard disks having largest empty capacities. After that, when the contents recorded in the built-in hard disk are partly erased and thereby an empty capacity larger than the excessive content size is secured in the built-in hard disk, the content recorder transfers the excessive contents to the built-in hard disk from the external hard disks. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a content recording apparatus, and more particularly to a content recording apparatus that records one content in a distributed manner on a plurality of recording media.

Conventionally, as this type of apparatus, one disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. This conventional recording apparatus records input content on the internal hard disk, and when the internal hard disk overflows, transfers the overflow content to an external server via the network. In the external server, the overflow content thus transferred from the recording device is accumulated. Thereby, the input content can be recorded without omission.
JP 2003-153164 A [H04N 5/765, G06F 12/00, G11B 20/10, 27/00, H04N 7/173]

  Nowadays, video recorders with a built-in hard disk are widely used in many homes. It is not uncommon for multiple recorders to be installed in a single home. On the other hand, it is also widely practiced to configure a home LAN by connecting personal computers, peripheral devices, information appliances and the like to each other.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to connect a plurality of recorders in the home via a LAN and perform recording control as in the prior art with one or each of the recorders. Specifically, when a certain recorder is recording the input content and the internal hard disk is full, the overflow content input thereafter is transferred to another recorder via the LAN. In this way, by using another recorder as an external server, it is possible to record the input content without omission even if the internal hard disk becomes full on the way.

  However, in this case, every recorder does not have a large-capacity hard disk like a dedicated server, and it has to record content according to its intended use. For this reason, if a specific recorder occupies a lot of free space of another recorder, a situation occurs in which the other recorder cannot record the requested content.

  Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a content recording apparatus that can record input content without omission and suppress external influences.

  The content recording apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention has an input means for inputting content, a first recording means for recording the content input by the input means when an instruction for recording is received, and a free space in the internal recording medium. First discriminating means for repeatedly discriminating whether or not there is in parallel with recording by the first recording means; excess content input by the input means after the determination result of the first discriminating means becomes negative is stored in the external recording medium Second recording means for recording, deletion means for deleting a part of the content recorded on the internal recording medium when a deletion instruction is received, and the free space secured in the internal recording medium by deletion of the deleting means exceeds the size of the excess content Second discriminating means for discriminating whether or not the content is over, and if the discrimination result of the second discriminating means is affirmative Comprising a transfer means for transferring the internal recording medium.

  When receiving the recording instruction, the first recording unit records the content input by the input unit on the internal recording medium. In parallel with the recording by the first recording means, the first determination means repeatedly determines whether or not there is free space in the first recording means. The second recording unit records the excess content input by the input unit after the determination result of the first determination unit becomes negative on the external recording medium.

  When receiving the deletion instruction, the deletion unit deletes a part of the content recorded on the internal recording medium. The second discriminating unit discriminates whether or not the free space secured in the internal recording medium by the deletion unit is equal to or larger than the excess content size. The transfer means transfers excess content from the external recording medium to the internal recording medium when the determination result of the second determination means is affirmative.

  In other words, excess content input after the internal recording medium becomes full is recorded on the external recording medium, and later, a part of the content recorded on the internal recording medium is deleted, so that it exceeds the size of the excess content. When the free space is secured in the internal recording medium, excess content is transferred from the external recording medium to the internal recording medium.

  A content recording apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is dependent on the first aspect, wherein there are a plurality of external recording media, and a selection means for selecting any one of the plurality of external recording media as a recording destination of the second recording means is further provided. Prepare.

  The selection unit selects any one of a plurality of external recording media, and the second recording unit records excess content on the external recording medium selected by the selection unit.

  A content recording apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is dependent on the second aspect, and the selecting means selects a plurality of external recording media having the largest free space.

  Since the excess content is stored in the external recording medium having the largest free space, the possibility that the external recording medium becomes full can be reduced.

  The content recording apparatus according to the invention of claim 4 is dependent on claim 2 or 3, and the selection means performs selection when the determination result of the first determination means becomes negative. For this reason, it is possible to start recording on the external recording medium immediately before the internal recording medium becomes full.

  A content recording apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the invention is dependent on any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the first determination means indicates a positive determination result when the free space of the internal recording medium exceeds the first threshold, The second recording means starts recording on the external recording medium when the free space of the internal recording medium falls below a second threshold value that is smaller than the first threshold value.

  A program according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is a recording control program executed by a processor of a content recording device, wherein an input step for inputting content and a content input by the input step when a recording instruction is received are stored in an internal recording medium. The first recording step for recording, the first determining step for repeatedly determining whether there is free space on the internal recording medium in parallel with the recording by the first recording step, and the determination result of the first determining step is negative A second recording step for recording excess content input later in the input step on the external recording medium; a deletion step for deleting a part of the content recorded on the internal recording medium when a deletion instruction is accepted; The free space secured on the recording medium is greater than or equal to the excess content size. Second determining step to determine whether, and the second determination step determination result is provided with a transfer step of transferring the internal recording medium the excess content when it is positive from the external recording medium.

  According to the present invention, excess content input after the internal recording medium becomes full is recorded on the external recording medium, so that the input content can be recorded without omission. Further, as soon as the necessary free space is secured, the excess content recorded on the external recording medium is transferred to the internal recording medium, so that the influence on the outside can be suppressed.

  The above object, other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.

  Referring to FIG. 1, the content recording system 10 of the present invention includes three video recorders 12a, 12b and 12c. The video recorders 12a, 12b, and 12c are installed in the living room, bedroom, and child room, respectively, and are connected to each other via the LAN 14.

  The video recorders 12a, 12b, and 12c are assigned names “living room”, “bedroom”, and “children room” as identification information, respectively, and IP addresses “192.168.1.9” and “192.168.1. .10 "and" 192.168.1.11 "are assigned respectively.

  The video recorder 12a is configured as shown in FIG. The video recorders 12b and 12c are also configured as shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 2, video recorder 12a includes a decoder 20a. A broadcast signal received by an antenna (not shown) is decoded into a video signal by the decoder 20a. This video signal is given to the MPEG codec 22a through the RAM 28a and subjected to MPEG compression processing. The compressed video signal output from the MPEG codec 22a is recorded on the hard disk 36a by a hard disk drive (HDD) 34a, and then read from the hard disk 36a by the same HDD 34a.

  The compressed video signal read from the hard disk 36a is given to the MPEG codec 22a and subjected to MPEG expansion processing. The video signal output from the MPEG codec 22a is encoded into a composite video signal by the encoder 24a. The composite video signal output from the encoder 24a is input to a television monitor (not shown).

  Here, as an example, a case where a broadcast signal according to an analog system is received and the received broadcast signal is recorded on the hard disk 36a (36b, 36c) is shown. Since the present invention does not depend on the signal format or the recording method, the application target is not limited to the configuration shown in FIGS. For example, the broadcast signal input to the decoder 20a (20b, 20c) may conform to a digital system, and the video signal output from the encoder 24a (24b, 24c) may be an RGB format signal. . The medium for recording the signal may be a semiconductor memory.

  Thereby, the compressed video signal of the program is recorded on the hard disk 36a, and the video of the same program is displayed on the monitor screen. Hereinafter, a video signal for one program is referred to as “content”.

  The CPU 30a manages the content in the hard disk 36a based on the directory tree shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 3, the directory tree includes a root directory. Below the root directory, there are two directories “home” and “mnt”, and below “home” is “data”. Furthermore, “mpeg” and “contents” are provided below “data”. The content in the hard disk 34d is placed in “mpeg”, and information relating to the content in this “mpeg” (hereinafter “content information”) is written in “contents”. The content information includes a content identifier, playback order, path, capacity, and the like.

  Video recorder 12a also includes a network controller 26a. The network controller 26a is connected to each of the network controller 26b of the video recorder 12b and the network controller 26c of the video recorder 12c via the LAN 14. At this time, the CPU 30a mounts a hard disk 36b and 36c, that is, a directory tree (hereinafter “sub-tree”) for managing contents in the external HD in the directory tree (hereinafter “main tree”) in FIG.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, first, a subtree for managing the contents in the hard disk 36c is mounted under “mnt” in the main tree. This subtree includes “192.168.1.10”, and “mpeg” and “contents” are provided below “192.168.1.10”. The content in the hard disk 36b is placed in “mpeg” under “192.168.1.10”, and the content information is written in “contents”.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, a subtree for managing the content in the hard disk 36 c is further mounted below “mnt”. This sub-tree includes “192.168.1.11”, and “mpeg” and “contents” are provided below “192.168.1.11”. The content in the hard disk 36c is placed in “mpeg” under “192.168.1.11”, and the content information is written in “contents”.

  By such mounting processing, the CPU 30a can use the hard disks 36b and 36c as external HDs in addition to the hard disk 36a which is the built-in HD. Similar mounting processing is performed in the video recorders 12b and 12c. As a result, each of the CPUs 30b and 30c can also use the three hard disks 36a, 26b and 36c.

  The CPU 30a also holds two threshold values K1 and K2 (where K1> K2> 0; see FIG. 6) regarding the remaining amount of the hard disk 36a. While recording content on the hard disk 36a, that is, the built-in HD, the CPU 30a selects the external HD when the remaining amount of the built-in HD falls below the threshold value K1. In the external HD selection, the remaining amount of each of the hard disks 36b and 36c, that is, the external HD is detected, and the one having the largest remaining amount at that time is selected as “intermediate borrower”. When the remaining amount of the built-in HD falls below the threshold value K2, the content recording destination is switched to “inter-borrowing external HD”. Further, when the remaining amount of the “intermediate borrowed HD” falls below the threshold value K1, the external HD is selected again, and the external HD with the largest remaining amount at that time is selected as the next “intermediate borrower”. Then, when the current remaining amount of “inter-borrowing external HD” falls below the threshold K2, the content recording destination is switched to the new “inter-borrowing external HD”. As a result, one content is distributed and recorded in the built-in HD and one or more external HDs.

  In this way, the recording destination is switched to the external HD when the remaining amount of the built-in HD is reduced, and the recording destination is switched to another external HD when the remaining amount of the external HD is reduced. Content can be recorded to the end. When switching the recording destination, the next recording destination is selected when the remaining amount of the current recording destination falls below the threshold value K1, and switching is executed when the remaining amount falls below the threshold value K2. It can be recorded without interruption. When selecting the recording destination, the external HD with the largest remaining amount at that time is selected, so that the possibility that the external HD becomes full can be reduced, and the number of times of switching the recording destination can be reduced as much as possible. .

  Further, the CPU 30a further deletes content that has been recorded on the external HD (hereinafter referred to as “borrowed content”) when an unoccupied area is created in the internal HD due to deletion of unnecessary content from the internal HD. If there is, the process of collecting the excess part from the external HD is performed. Specifically, when the deletion process for the built-in HD is executed, the remaining amount of the built-in HD is detected, and the capacity of the excess portion of the “inter-borrowed content” is calculated. If the calculated capacity does not exceed the remaining detection amount, the excess portion is moved from the external HD to the built-in HD.

  As described above, when there is “inter-borrowed content”, an excess portion is collected from the external HD as soon as a free space is secured in the built-in HD, so that a situation in which the recording process of other video recorders is hindered is avoided. Can do.

  Hereinafter, a process of distributing and recording one content in the internal HD and one or more external HDs, and a process of moving an excess portion recorded in the external HD to the internal HD will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. . In FIG. 7, when the video recorder 12a records three contents, that is, “drama 1”, “movie 1”, and “movie 2”, the hard disk 36a that is an internal HD, that is, “living room”, and the hard disk 36b that is an external HD. And 36c, that is, how to use "bedroom" and "child's room".

  Referring to FIG. 7, the first “drama 1” is recorded in “living” until the end because the size is less than the remaining amount of “living”. When the recording of “Drama 1” is completed, “Living” still has some free space.

  The next “Movie 1” is recorded in the “Living” partway because the size exceeds the remaining “Living”, and then recorded in the “External HD” with the larger remaining amount, that is, the “Children's room”. The Thus, “Movie 1” is divided into “Movie 1-1” and “Movie 1-2”. When the recording of “Movie 1” is completed, the remaining amount of “Children Room” is still higher than that of “Bedroom”.

  The next “movie 2” is recorded in the “external HD” having the most remaining amount, that is, the “child's room” because “living room” is full. However, since “Movie 2” has a size exceeding the remaining amount of “Children's room”, it is recorded in the “Children's room” halfway, and then in the “Bedroom”. As a result, “movie 2” is divided into “movie 2-1” and “movie 2-2”.

  When the recording of the three contents is completed in this way, the contents information 40, 42 and 44 in the directory tree of FIG. 5 is as shown in FIG. 8 (A), FIG. 8 (B) and FIG. 8 (C). Become. Referring to FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C, the content information includes “content identifier”, “reproduction order”, “pass”, and “size”. The “content identifier” includes a video recorder name and a content name as a recording source. “Reproduction order” is assigned to each of a plurality of partial contents when one content is divided into a plurality of partial contents. The “path” describes the storage location of the actual content data along the directory tree of FIG. The last part of “Path” indicates the file name. “Size” describes the size of each file.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9, it is assumed that “drama 1” is deleted from “living room”. As a result, an empty area corresponding to the capacity of the “movie 1-2” borrowed in the “child's room” is generated in the “living room”. Therefore, a screen as shown in FIG. 10 is displayed to confirm whether or not to collect “movie 1-2”. If “yes” is selected here, “movie 1-1” is moved to an empty area in “living room”. As a result, the “living room” becomes full again, and a free space of 2.7 GB is generated in the “child's room”.

  When the movement of “movie 1-2” is completed, the content information 40 and 44 are updated as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11C. That is, information related to “movie 1” is deleted from the content information 44, and the same information is added to the content information 40.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 12, it is assumed that “program X” is deleted from “living room”. As a result, an empty area exceeding the total capacity of “movie 2-1” and “movie 2-2” borrowed between “children's room” and “bedroom” is generated in “living room”. Therefore, a screen as shown in FIG. 13 is displayed to confirm whether or not to collect “movie 2”. When “Yes” is selected here, “Movie 2-1” and “Movie 2-2” are moved to an empty area in “Living”. As a result, “living room” has a remaining amount of 0.3 GB, while “children's room” newly has 2.1 GB of free space, and “bedroom” has 1.2 GB of free space. Arise.

  When the movement of “movie 2-1” and “movie 2-2” is completed, the content information 40 and 44 are updated as shown in FIGS. 14 (A), 14 (B), and 14 (C). The That is, the information regarding “movie 2” is deleted from the content information 42 and 44, respectively, and the same information is added to the content information 40.

  The CPU 30a processes the flowcharts shown in FIGS. A program corresponding to these flowcharts is stored in a flash memory (not shown). First, referring to FIG. 15, after startup, mount processing is performed in step S1. In the mounting process, the subtree for the hard disk 36b is first mounted (see FIG. 4) on the main tree for the hard disk 36a (see FIG. 3) generated in the RAM 28a, and then the subtree for the hard disk 36c is further mounted. (See FIG. 5).

  Thereafter, the process enters the key operation waiting state of steps S3, S5 and S7. If the recording start key on the operation panel 32a is pressed, YES is determined in the step S3, and the process proceeds to a step S9. In step S9, the remaining amount of the built-in HD, that is, the hard disk 36a is detected. In step S11, it is determined whether or not the detected remaining amount exceeds the threshold value K1, and if the determination result is negative, the process proceeds to step S13 to select an external HD (described later). In step S15, the external HD selected in step S13 is set as a target, and then the process proceeds to step S19.

  If the determination result of step S11 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S17 to set the built-in HD, that is, the hard disk 36a as a target, and then proceeds to step S19.

  In step S19, the recording process to the target is started. In the next step S21, the content information is updated. In this update process, a content identifier and a path are added to the content information corresponding to the target. For example, if recording of “drama 1” is started on the hard disk 36a, “living_drama 1” and “/ home / data / mpeg / living_drama 1.mpg” are added to the content information 40 ( (See FIG. 8A).

  Thereafter, the loop of steps S23 and S25 is entered. In step S23, it is determined whether or not the recording stop key has been pressed. In step S25, it is determined whether or not the remaining amount of the target has fallen below the threshold value K1.

  When the recording stop key on the operation panel 32a is pressed, YES is determined in the step S23, and the process proceeds to a step S27 to stop the recording process on the target. In step S29, the content information is updated. In this update process, the size of the file recorded on the target is added to the content information corresponding to the target. For example, if “Living_Drama 1.mpg” having a size of 2.7 MB has been recorded on the hard disk 36a, “2.7” is added to the content information 40 (see FIG. 8A). Then, it returns to step S3.

  When the remaining amount of the target falls below the threshold value K1, “YES” is determined in the step S25, and the process shifts to a step S31 to select an external HD (described later). Thereafter, a loop of steps S33 and S35 is entered. In step S33, it is determined whether or not the recording stop key has been pressed. In step S35, it is determined whether or not the remaining amount of the target has fallen below the threshold value K2.

  If the recording stop key is pressed, YES is determined in the step S33, and the process returns to the step S27. When the remaining amount of the target falls below the threshold value K2, “YES” is determined in the step S35, and the process shifts to a step S37.

  Referring to FIG. 16, in step S37, the target is switched to the external HD selected in step S31. In step S39, the content information is updated. In this update process, the size of the file recorded in the previous target is added to the content information corresponding to the previous target, and the content identifier and path are added to the content information corresponding to the current target.

  For example, if “Living_Movie 1-1.mpg” having a size of 1.5 MB is recorded on the hard disk 34a as the previous target, “1.5” is added to the content information 40 corresponding to the hard disk 34a ( 8A), and “Living_Movie 1” and “/ home / data / mpeg / Living_Movie 1-2.mpg” are added to the content information 42 corresponding to the new target hard disk 34b. (See FIG. 8B).

  Thereafter, the loop of steps S41 and S43 is entered. In step S41, it is determined whether or not the recording stop key has been pressed. In step S43, it is determined whether or not the remaining amount of the target has fallen below the threshold value K1. When the remaining amount of the target falls below the threshold value K1, “YES” is determined in the step S43, and the process returns to the step S31. When the recording stop key is pressed, YES is determined in the step S41, and the process proceeds to a step S45 to stop the recording process on the target. In step S47, the content information is updated. Thereafter, the process returns to the key operation waiting state in steps S3, S5 and S7.

  If a delete key (not shown) is pressed, YES is determined in the step S5, and the process proceeds to a step S49 to execute a delete process. Next, in step S51, it is determined whether or not an external HD has been borrowed. If not, the process returns to the key operation waiting state in steps S3, S5 and S7. If the loan is in progress, the content is moved (described later) in step S53, and then the process returns to the key operation waiting state in steps S3, S5, and S7.

  If another key is pressed, YES is determined in the step S7, and the process proceeds to a step S55 to execute the corresponding process. Thereafter, the process returns to the key operation waiting state in steps S3, S5 and S7.

  The external HD selection in steps S13 and S31 is executed according to the subroutine of FIG. Referring to FIG. 17, first, the remaining amount of each of the plurality of external HDs is detected in step S61, and then, in step S63, the external HD having the largest remaining amount is selected from the plurality of external HDs. In step S65, it is determined whether or not the remaining amount of the selected external HD exceeds a threshold value K1.

  If the determination result in step S65 is negative, an error is notified in step S67, and then the process returns to the key operation waiting state in steps S3, S5, and S7. If the determination result in step S65 is affirmative, the process returns to the upper layer routine.

  The content movement in step S53 is executed according to the subroutine of FIG. Referring to FIG. 18, in the first step S81, "Borrowed content", that is, content in which the excess part is recorded on the external HD is registered in a register (not shown). In step S83, the remaining amount of the built-in HD is detected. In step S85, one “inter-borrowed content” is selected from the register, and in step S87, it is determined whether or not the recording destinations of the selected “inter-borrowed content” are distributed to a plurality of external HDs. If the determination result of step S87 is negative, steps S89 to S105 are executed, and if affirmative, steps S107 to S121 are executed.

  First, steps S89 to S105 will be described. In step S89, the size of the “borrowed file” recorded on the external HD is detected. Here, the “borrowed file” refers to a file that stores an excess portion of the “borrowed content”. In the example of FIG. 7, “Movie 2-2” recorded in “Bedroom” and “Movie 1-2” and “Movie 2-1” recorded in “Children's Room” correspond to “Loan File”. To do.

  Moving to FIG. 19, in step S91, it is determined whether or not the size detected in step S89 exceeds the remaining capacity of the built-in HD. If the determination result is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S105.

  If the determination result of step S91 is negative, it will move to step S93 and will display a confirmation screen like FIG. The confirmation screen includes an inquiry as to whether or not to collect the “borrowed content” selected in step S85. Then, the process enters a loop of steps S95 and S97, and waits for either “Yes” or “No” to be selected.

  If “Yes” is selected, the process proceeds to step S99, and the “intermediary borrowed file” recorded on the external HD is transferred to the built-in HD. In step S101, the content information is updated, and then the process proceeds to step S105. If “NO” is selected, the process proceeds to step S103, and the “inter-borrowed content” selected in step S85 is deleted from the register. Then, the process proceeds to step S105.

  In step S105, it is determined whether or not unselected “inter-borrowed content” still remains in the register. If the determination result is affirmative, the process returns to step S83. If the determination result in step S105 is affirmative, the process returns to the upper layer routine.

  Next, S107 to S121 will be described. In step S107, the size of the “borrowed file” recorded on the external HD is detected. Moving to FIG. 20, in step S109, it is determined whether or not the detected total size, that is, the total of a plurality of sizes detected in step S107, exceeds the remaining amount of the built-in HD. If the determination result is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S123.

  If the determination result of step S109 is negative, it will move to step S111 and will display a confirmation screen like FIG. The confirmation screen includes an inquiry as to whether or not to delete the “borrowed content” selected in step S85. Then, the process enters a loop of steps S113 and S115, and waits for either “Yes” or “No” to be selected.

  If “Yes” is selected, the process moves from step S113 to step S117, and the “intermediate borrowed file” recorded on the external HD is transferred to the built-in HD. Next, the content information is updated in step S119, and then the process proceeds to step S123. If “No” is selected, the process proceeds from step S115 to step S121, and the “interest borrowed content” selected in step S85 is deleted from the register. Then, the process proceeds to step S123.

  In step S123, it is determined whether unselected “inter-borrowed content” still remains in the register. If the determination result is affirmative, the process returns to step S83. If the determination result in step S105 is affirmative, the process returns to the upper layer routine.

  As is apparent from the above, in this embodiment, the video recorder 12a is connected to the video recorders 12b and 12c via the LAN 14. By performing the mounting process, the video recorder 12a can use each of the hard disk 36b of the video recorder 12b and the hard disk 36c of the video recorder 12b as external HDs in addition to the hard disk 36a that is the built-in HD.

  In the video recorder 12a, the excess content input after the built-in HD, that is, the hard disk 36a becomes full, is converted to the external HD having the largest free space, in this case, of the two external HDs, that is, the hard disks 36b and 36c having the largest free space. To record. Later, when a part of the content recorded in the built-in HD is deleted so that a free space larger than the size of the excess content is secured in the built-in HD, the excess content is transferred from the external HD to the built-in HD.

  Thereby, the video recorder 12a can record the input content without omission and suppress the influence on the video recorders 12b and 12c as much as possible.

  In this embodiment, the external HD with the largest free space is selected as the recording destination of excess content. However, priorities may be given to the external HDs in advance, and the external HD with the highest priority may be selected. .

  Further, in this embodiment, when the recording destinations of one “intermediate borrowed content” are distributed to a plurality of external HDs, the remaining “internal borrowed files” in which the remaining amount of the built-in HD is recorded on the plurality of external HDs. If it does not exceed the total size, the “borrowed content” was not collected (see step S91), that is, collected in “borrowed content” unit, but instead in “borrowed file” unit Recovery may be performed.

  Specifically, for example, a 2 GB free space is generated on the hard disk 36a in a state where the “borrowed files” as shown in FIGS. 8B and 8C are recorded on the hard disks 36b and 36c, respectively. And In such a case, according to the above-described embodiment, “borrowed content” is not collected. On the other hand, if the collection is performed in units of “borrowed files”, “living_movie 2-2.mpg” recorded on the hard disk 36b is transferred to the hard disk 36a.

  In the above, the content recording system 10 including the three video recorders 12a, 12b, and 12c has been described. However, the present invention can be applied if there are at least two video recorders. Further, the present invention is not limited to a video recorder, and can be applied to a system using various content recording devices such as an audio-only recorder and a general-purpose personal computer.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to a system in which a plurality of video recorders each having a built-in fixed HDD are connected via a network, but includes, for example, a video recorder having a fixed HDD and a removable HDD, and a rewritable DVD with the fixed HDD. The present invention can also be applied to a video recorder having two or more storage media in one video recorder, such as a video recorder or a video recorder having a fixed HDD and a memory card.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the content recording system using the video recorder which is one Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the video recorder which is one Example of this invention. It is an illustration figure which shows an example of a directory tree. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of a directory tree. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of a directory tree. It is an illustration figure which shows two threshold values regarding the residual amount of a hard disk. It is an illustration figure which shows an example of a recording process. (A) is an illustrative view showing an example of content information, (B) is an illustrative view showing another example of content information, and (C) is an illustrative view showing another example of content information. It is an illustration figure which shows an example of a deletion / movement process. It is an illustration figure which shows an example of a confirmation screen. (A) is an illustrative view showing another example of content information, (B) is an illustrative view showing another example of content information, and (C) is an illustrative view showing yet another example of content information. is there. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of a deletion / movement process. It is an illustration figure which shows another example of a confirmation screen. (A) is an illustrative view showing another example of content information, (B) is an illustrative view showing another example of content information, and (C) is an illustrative view showing yet another example of content information. is there. It is a flowchart which shows a part of CPU operation | movement of a video recorder. It is a flowchart which shows a part of other CPU operation | movement of a video recorder. It is a flowchart which shows a part of other CPU operation | movement of a video recorder. It is a flowchart which shows further another part of CPU operation | movement of a video recorder. It is a flowchart which shows a part of other CPU operation | movement of a video recorder. It is a flowchart which shows a part of other CPU operation | movement of a video recorder.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Content recording system 12a, 12b, 12c ... Video recorder 14 ... LAN
30a, 30b, 30c ... CPU
36a, 36b, 36c ... Hard disk 40, 42, 44 ... Content information

Claims (6)

Input means for inputting content,
First recording means for recording the content input by the input means on an internal recording medium when receiving a recording instruction;
First discriminating means for repeatedly discriminating whether or not there is free space in the internal recording medium in parallel with recording by the first recording means;
Second recording means for recording excess content input by the input means after the determination result of the first determination means becomes negative on an external recording medium;
A deletion means for deleting a part of the content recorded on the internal recording medium when receiving a deletion instruction;
A second discriminating unit for discriminating whether or not the free space secured in the internal recording medium by the deletion by the deleting unit is greater than or equal to the size of the excess content; and the discrimination result of the second discriminating unit is positive A content recording apparatus comprising transfer means for transferring the excess content from the external recording medium to the internal recording medium. There are a plurality of the external recording media,
The content recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising selection means for selecting any one of a plurality of external recording media as a recording destination of the second recording means.   The content recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the selection unit selects a plurality of external recording media having the largest free space.   The content recording apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the selection unit performs selection when a determination result of the first determination unit is negative. The first determination means indicates a positive determination result when the free space of the internal recording medium exceeds a first threshold;
5. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second recording unit starts recording on the external recording medium when a free space of the internal recording medium falls below a second threshold value that is smaller than the first threshold value. Content recording device. A recording control program executed by a processor of the content recording device,
Input step to enter content,
A first recording step of recording the content input in the input step on an internal recording medium when receiving a recording instruction;
A first determination step of repeatedly determining whether or not there is free space in the internal recording medium in parallel with the recording in the first recording step;
A second recording step of recording excess content input by the input step after the determination result of the first determination step becomes negative on an external recording medium;
A deletion step of deleting a part of the content recorded on the internal recording medium when receiving a deletion instruction;
A second determination step of determining whether or not the free space secured in the internal recording medium by the deletion in the deletion step is equal to or larger than the size of the excess content; and the determination result of the second determination step is positive A recording control program comprising a transfer step of transferring the excess content from the external recording medium to the internal recording medium.

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