Patent ID: 6169844
Filing Date: 2001-01-02
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
A program recording apparatus for simultaneous recording of a plurality of programs in response to user selection, comprising: data compressing means for receiving input signals for each of said programs and for compressing each of said input signals at a respective compression ratio; multiplexing means for multiplexing output data of said data compressing means, the multiplexing means having a transfer data rate; data recording means for recording the output data from said multiplexing means on a recording medium; and control means for controlling switching of the respective data compression ratios, wherein the respective compression ratios available for user selection are based upon the data transfer rate, a respective time length of each of the plurality of programs and a capacity available for recording on the recording medium; wherein said control means judges whether or not said plurality of programs can be recorded with reference to the data transfer rate at which recording is possible by said data recording means and supplies the judgment to said user.