JPH11339388A - Method for preventing data duplication - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for preventing data duplication by which preventing duplication of voice/video information in devices connected to IEEE1394 can be easily and surely performed. SOLUTION: Duplication permission information indicating whether duplication is permitted to each device connected to a bus or not is held, when data are duplicated from a device to an opposite device, a request command of duplication permission information is sent from a device to an opposite device (S5). Receiving the request command of duplication permission information, the opposite device returns duplication permission information held in the device to the device. The device controls permission/non-permission of duplication based on duplication permission information returned from the opposite side.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to, for example, the IEEE
E (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Enginee
rs) The present invention relates to a data duplication preventing method suitable for preventing duplication of data in a system in which a plurality of audio / video devices are connected using the 1394 interface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, a serial interface system called IEEE 1394 has been proposed as a next-generation peripheral device interface for connecting a personal computer and various consumer devices in response to multimedia, and using this interface system. VTR, video camera, printer, musical instrument, home LAN (Local Area N
etwork) are being applied to such systems.

For example, when transmitting an audio / video signal by the IEEE 1394 interface method, various commands and data are exchanged by asynchronous communication to set a transmitting side and a receiving side, and isochronous communication is performed. ) Set the transfer mode to transfer video data and audio data. FIG. 8 shows the configuration of a command called a media status command used when inquiring for media information by asynchronous communication and its response.

When a command is transmitted as shown in FIG. 8A, as shown in FIG. 8B, information 121 corresponding to the type of the medium and information 122 relating to the tape grade and write protection are returned as a response. Based on the information obtained in this way, signal processing is performed according to the media or tape grade of the transfer destination, and the transmission information is converted into a predetermined signal form. The type of media is D
VCR (Digital Video Cassette Recorder), VH
S, VHS-C, etc. exist, and VHS, S-VHS, etc. exist as tape grades.

[0005] By the way, with the digitization of audio / video information and the adaptation to multimedia, the problem of copyright has recently been raised. In order to solve such a problem, several methods are currently used as a method for performing some restrictions on duplication / copying of audio / video information. 9A to 9D schematically show those methods.

As a first method, as shown in FIG. 9A, a video cassette tape 101 is loaded with a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory) in which recording permission information / protection information and the like are stored at the time of shipment, and a VTR. At the time of recording / reproduction, there is a method of reading information stored in a ROM or a RAM and restricting recording / reproduction in accordance with the stored information.

As a second method, as shown in FIG. 9B, a detection hole 1 is formed on the outer surface of the casing of the video cassette tape 101.
For example, there is a method of restricting the recording and reproduction of the video cassette tape 101 provided with a predetermined detection hole by providing a structural measure such as prohibiting the recording and reproduction.

Further, as a third method, as shown in FIG. 9C, a bar code 103 is printed directly on the outer surface of the housing of the video cassette tape 101, or the bar code 103 is printed.
Is attached to the outer surface of the housing of the video cassette tape 101 to read the barcode information, and determine whether the recording / reproducing is prohibited on the VTR side to limit the recording / reproducing. .

As a fourth method, as shown in FIG. 9D, recording permission information / protection information and the like are also directly recorded in a recording area of an audio / video signal or the like on a video tape 105, and recording / reproduction of a VTR is performed. At times, there is a method in which recording permission information / protection information or the like is read in advance, and recording / reproduction is restricted in accordance with the read information.

[0010]

However, in any of the first to third methods described above, dedicated hardware such as a reading mechanism and a processing circuit is required.
There is a problem in terms of the size and cost of the apparatus, and the second and third methods have a problem in that they can be easily remodeled and are reliable. Also, in the case of a method in which recording permission information / protection information and the like are also directly recorded in the recording area of the fourth audio / video signal or the like, the signal is reproduced once and the reproduced signal is transmitted to an arbitrary transmission path. In such a case, there is a possibility that control over the duplication / copying may be lost. Further, in any of the above-described first to third methods, dedicated hardware such as a reading mechanism and a processing circuit is required, so that there is no flexibility, and when the specifications and standards are changed, there is no sufficient flexibility. There was a problem that could not be addressed.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a data duplication preventing method which can easily and surely control the duplication and duplication of audio / video information in accordance with copyright information.

[0012]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is a data duplication preventing method for preventing duplication of data between devices connected to the bus. Holds copy permission information indicating whether or not copying is permitted for each connected device. When data is copied from one device to the other device, one device transmits the data to the other device. When the device on the other end receives the request command for the copy permission information, the device on the other end returns the copy permission information held in the device to one device, and one device This is a data duplication prevention method characterized in that duplication permission / non-permission is controlled based on duplication permission information returned from the other party.

According to the present invention, the playback device uses a predetermined command (MediuminfoStatus command) to make an inquiry about media information, and receives a response from the recording device. Copy permission / inhibition is controlled by the recording permission information obtained as a response.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a recording / reproducing system constituted by a VTR will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2A and 2B show a configuration as an example of a VTR used in an embodiment of the present invention and a configuration as another example.

[0015] As shown in FIG.
It is composed of R1 and VTR2. As shown in FIG. 2A, each of the VTRs 1 and 2 has a connector unit 11, an interface unit 12, and a microcomputer 13 for control, and conforms to, for example, mechanical and electrical specifications of the IEEE 1394 interface system. It is configured to be.

The microcomputer 13 is provided with a group of registers so that commands and the like output through the interface section 12 and responses and the like supplied through the interface section 12 are stored as necessary. Have been. In FIG. 2A, what is indicated by 14 is an oPCR (Out-Plug Control Register).
The iPCR (In-Plug Cont.
rol Register), and oPCR14 and iPC
The recording device and the reproducing device are set by writing connection information and the like to each predetermined portion of R15 by asynchronous communication, and a signal path is secured.

Reference numeral 16 in FIG. 2A denotes a register for storing information indicating the type of a medium, information on a tape grade and write protection, recording permission information, and the like, which will be described later. Although not shown, a recording / reproducing unit is connected to the control microcomputer 13, and the microcomputer 13 reads the recording permission information and the like stored in the register 16, and reads the recording permission information and the like based on the information. Form control information. By supplying this control information to the recording / reproducing unit, continuation and stop of duplication and copying of audio / video information can be easily and reliably executed.

In the above description of the VTRs 1 and 2, the configuration in which the oPCR 14, the iPCR 15, and the register 16 are provided on the control microcomputer 13 side has been described. However, as shown in FIG.
The CR 15 and the register 16 may be provided on the interface unit 12 side. Also, oPCR14, iPC
The R15 and the register 16 may be dispersedly arranged in each unit connected by a data bus inside the VTR, and various information may be stored using a memory unit provided in the VTR instead of the register. good.

The VTR 1 and the VTR 2 are connected by a bus 3 so that information can be exchanged bidirectionally between the VTR 1 and the VTR 2 as shown in FIG. When reproducing and transmitting an audio / video signal, first, various commands and data are exchanged in advance by asynchronous communication to set a reproducing device and a recording device.
onous) Transfer mode. And playback audio
Transmits video signals.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1, VTR1 is set to a reproducing device, VTR2 is set to a recording device,
The reproduction operation is started in TR1 and VTR2
Starts a recording operation. At this time, o
The PCR 14 includes online information and broadcast information (Broadcast information) indicating whether the operation is in progress as shown in FIG.
Connection Counter, PtoP Counter (Point to Poi
nt Counter information, channel number information (Channel Nunb)
er), payload information related to the bus band and the like is stored. The iPCR 15 of the VTR 2 stores online information, broadcast information, PtoP counter information, and channel number information. Whether or not the VTR 2 has started recording can be determined by periodically inquiring the operating state from the VTR 1 using a predetermined command, or by confirming a change in the state of the oPCR 14 of the VTR 1. Can be determined.

When copying data from VTR1 to VTR2, a predetermined command (Medi
The media information is inquired using the uminfoStatus command), and a response from the VTR 2 is received. FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the command and response used at this time. That is, when a command as shown in FIG. 3A is transmitted from VTR1 to VTR2, VTR2
In the determination whether the received audio-video signal is with the copyright information and its content is detected,
A response is returned in accordance with the result of the determination and detection and the recording conditions of the user. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3B, information 21 corresponding to the type of media, information 22 relating to tape grade and write protection, recording enable information 23a for reproduction for 4 bits and recording permission information for 4 bits. A response including the recording permission information 23 including the recording permission information 23b is returned from the VTR 2.

The above-described recording permission information for reproduction 23a is
The reproduction medium indicates that copying / copying is not possible. The recording permission information for reproduction 23a includes, for example, a standard without recording restriction, a recording restriction, and a recording restriction.
Information indicating the strength is prepared. The recording permission information 23b for recording indicates whether recording of a signal with copyright information as a recording medium is not possible. For example, the recording permission information 23b for recording also includes information having standard and recording restrictions. Information such as no record restriction is provided. The recording permission information 23 obtained as a response in this manner is stored in the register 16 of the VTR 1. It should be noted that the recording permission information 23a for reproduction can be obtained when the audio / video signal is reproduced without obtaining it as a response from the recording device side, so that it is stored in the register 16 during reproduction. Is also good.

Then, the recording permission information 23 stored in the register 16 of the VTR 1 is read out by the microcomputer 13, and the recording device side has no recording restriction for recording information with recording restriction, or the recording restriction intensity. Is lower than a predetermined level and it is determined that recording is possible, signal processing is performed in accordance with the transfer destination, that is, the media or tape grade of VTR2, and the reproduction operation in VTR1 and the recording operation in VTR2 continue. Duplication / duplication is performed.

The recording permission information 23 stored in the register 16 of the VTR 1 is read out by the microcomputer 13, and when it is determined that recording is not possible, control information for the recording / reproducing unit is formed in the microcomputer 13. Is done. This control information is supplied to the recording / reproducing section, the reproducing operation is stopped, and the duplication / copying is prevented.

FIG. 4A shows the state of each of the above-mentioned VTR1 and VTR2 and the state of the command response performed between them. In the above description, the case where the continuation / stop of the reproduction operation of the VTR 1 is controlled according to the recording permission information 23 as shown in FIG. 4A has been described.
As shown in B, a stop command for stopping the recording operation of the VTR 2 is transmitted to the VTR 2 according to the recording permission information 23, and the recording operation on the VTR 2 side can be stopped to prevent duplication / copying. . In addition, the reproduction operation of the VTR 1 and the VTR
By stopping both recording operations, duplication and copying can be prevented.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of processing on the reproducing apparatus side, that is, the VTR 1, and the operation of the embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. First, VTR
When 1 starts the reproducing operation (step S1), the process proceeds to step S2, and it is determined whether the PtoP counter information of the oPCR 14 of the VTR 1 is “0”. Step S
In 2, when the PtoP counter information is determined to be “0”, no signal transmission path with the transfer destination is formed,
It is determined that copying and copying will not be performed, and reproduction is continued (step S3).

If it is determined in step S2 that the PtoP counter information is other than "0", a signal transmission path is formed with another VTR, it is determined that a transfer destination exists, and recording is performed. The VTR serving as the device side is confirmed (step S4). Then, the VTR 1 uses the above-mentioned predetermined command (MediuminfoStatus command) to make an inquiry about media information (step S5).

In step S5, when the command is transmitted, a response from the recorder is awaited. In step S6, it is determined whether a response has been received. If it is determined that the above-described response has been received from the recorder, the process proceeds to step S8. If a response from the recorder cannot be received, it is determined that there is a possibility that duplication / copying has been performed, and the process shifts to step S7 to stop reproduction of the VTR 1, or , A stop command is transmitted.

On the other hand, when the response is received, the
Then, the microcomputer 13 reads the recording permission information 23 stored in the register 16 and
The response information is analyzed. And step S
In 9, it is determined based on the recording permission information 23 whether to permit copying or copying. If the recording permission information 23 indicates that there is no recording restriction in which the recording device can record information with the recording restriction, or if it is determined that the recording restriction intensity is equal to or less than the predetermined level and recording is possible, step S10 is performed.
Then, the reproduction operation is continued.

In step S9, the permission of duplication / copying is determined based on the recording permission information 23. If it is determined that the recording is not possible, the process proceeds to step S11, where the reproduction of the VTR 1 is stopped. Or a stop command is transmitted to the recorder.

In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described where the recording permission information 23 is obtained on the reproducing apparatus side, that is, the VTR 1 side, and the duplication / copying is controlled from the VTR 1 side. , The above-described command may be transmitted, the recording permission information 23 may be obtained as a response, and duplication / copying may be controlled from the VTR 2 side.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 6, the recording / reproducing system is VTR1, VTR
2 and a controller 4. VT
Each of R1 and R2 is the same as in the above-described embodiment. The controller 4 includes a connector unit 11 (not shown),
It has an interface unit 12 and a microcomputer 13 for control, and is configured to conform to, for example, mechanical and electrical specifications of the IEEE 1394 interface system.

Although not shown, the controller 4 is provided with a register 16 for storing the record information permission information 23 and the like. The controller 4 inquires of the VTR 1 and VTR 2 for media information by the same command as in the predetermined embodiment, and stores the recording permission information and the like obtained as a response. Then, the microcomputer reads the recording permission information and the like stored in the register, and forms a command to VTR1 and VTR2 based on the information. By transmitting this command to each of VTR1 and VTR2, continuation and stop of duplication and copying of audio / video information can be easily and reliably executed.

The VTR1, VTR2 and controller 4 are connected by a bus 3, respectively, and as shown in FIG.
Information can be exchanged between R1 and VTR 2 and controller 4 in both directions.
Actually, the controller 4 only exchanges information by asynchronous communication when reproducing and transmitting the audio / video signal. Then, the controller 4 exchanges information by asynchronous communication, sets a reproducing device and a recording device, and sets each of the VTRs 1 and 2 at the same time (Isoc).
hronous) Transfer mode. And the set VT
Signals are exchanged only in the isochronous transfer mode between R1 and VTR2.

For example, as shown in FIG. 6, VTR1 is set to a reproducing device, VTR2 is set to a recording device,
The reproduction operation is started in TR1 and VTR2
Starts a recording operation. At this time, o
The PCR 14 stores online information, broadcast information, PtoP counter information, channel number information, and payload information. In addition, iPCR15 of VTR2
Includes online information, broadcast information, PtoP
Counter information and channel number information are stored.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of processing in the controller 4, and the operation of another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. When the reproducing operation is started in the VTR 1 and the recording operation is started in the VTR 2, a predetermined command (MediuminfoStatus command) is used from the controller 4 to the reproducing device, that is, the VTR 1, to inquire about the media information ( Step S
21). Then, upon receiving a response from the VTR 1 (step S22), next, a predetermined command (Mediumin) is also sent from the controller 4 to the recorder, that is, the VTR 2.
The media information is queried using the foStatus command) (step S23). And VTR2
Is received (step S24), the process proceeds to step S25.

In step S25, the recording permission information 23a of the response obtained from the VTR 1 is compared with the recording permission information 23b of the response obtained from the VTR 2, and it is determined whether or not recording is possible in step S26 based on the comparison result. Done. Recording permission information 23a, 23
b, the recording device side can record information with recording restrictions, or there is no recording restriction, or if it is determined that the recording restriction intensity is below a predetermined level and recording is possible,
The process proceeds to step S27, where a predetermined recording-related application is executed. Specifically, in this case, the reproducing operation is continued.

If it is determined in step S26 that recording is not possible based on the recording permission information 23a, 23b, the process proceeds to step S28, and the predetermined application related to recording is stopped. Specifically, in this case, a stop command is transmitted to the VTR 1 to stop the reproducing operation, and a stop command is transmitted to the VTR 2 to stop the recording operation.

In the above description, one and other embodiments in which the present invention is applied to a recording / reproducing system using a VTR have been described. For example, recording / reproducing is performed on a disk-shaped recording medium or another recording medium. The present invention can be easily applied to a system including a possible recording / reproducing device.

[0040]

According to the present invention, it is possible to easily and surely control the copying and copying of audio / video information corresponding to copyright information. Further, according to the present invention, a predetermined command is used, and whether or not recording is possible is determined based on the recording permission information obtained as a response to the command. It is less flexible, can easily respond to changes in specifications and standards, and can reduce costs and reduce size and weight.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a VTR according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a command and a response according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram used for describing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart used to explain the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart used to describe the operation of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram used for explaining a conventional recording / reproducing system.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram used for describing a conventional recording and reproducing system.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 2, VTR, 3 bus, 4 controller, 11 connector section, 12 interface section, 13 microcomputer for control, 1
4 oPCR, 15 iPCR, 16 register

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A data duplication preventing method for preventing data duplication between devices connected to a bus, wherein a duplication permission indicating whether duplication is permitted to each device connected to the bus. When information is retained and data is copied from one device to the other device,
The one device transmits the request command for the copy permission information to the device on the other side, and the device on the other side receives the request command for the copy permission information and receives the request for the copy permission information. Returning the information to the one device, wherein the one device controls permission / rejection of the copy based on the copy permission information returned from the partner. Prevention method. 2. The duplication permission information includes information indicating permission / non-permission of duplication on the side of the apparatus that performs reproduction, and permission / non-permission of duplication on the side of the recording apparatus. 2. The data copy prevention method according to claim 1, comprising information indicating the following. 3. The data duplication prevention method according to claim 1, wherein the duplication permission information includes information indicating a level of duplication permission.