Patent ID: 8351767
Filing Date: 2013-01-08
Classification: G11B,H04N

Abstract:
1. A playback apparatus for playing back streams, comprising: obtaining means for obtaining playback management information including a main playback path indicating a first position of at least one first stream on a time axis, at least one sub playback path indicating a second position of at least one second stream on the time axis, and selection option information that enables selection of at least one stream of at least one of a plurality of categories of stream type, which is to be played back, from among said at least one first stream referred to by the main playback path and that enables selection of at least one stream of at least one of the plurality of categories of stream type, which is to be played back, from among said at least one second stream referred to by one of said at least one sub playback path; receiving means for receiving a selection of streams to be played back based on the selection option information included in the playback management information obtained by the obtaining means and which indicates predetermined possible combinations; reading means for reading, when the selection of streams to be played back is received by the receiving means, by referring to the main playback path, first streams of said at least one-category of the plurality of categories of stream type selected from among said at least one first stream referred to by the main playback path and received by the receiving means, and for reading, by referring to the corresponding sub playback path, second streams of said at least one category of the plurality of categories of stream type selected from among said at least one second stream referred to by said at least one sub playback path and received by the receiving means; and combining means for combining at least two streams of the first and second streams read by the reading means, each stream of the at least two streams being of a predetermined category of the plurality of categories of stream type, when said category of stream type of said at least two streams are included in said at least one category of stream type of the first streams referred to by the main playback path and read by the reading means and in said at least one category of stream type of the second streams referred to by the corresponding sub playback path and read by the reading means, wherein the selection option information includes information indicating a combination of a first stream of the predetermined category of the plurality of categories of stream type and which is referred to by the main playback path and the second stream of the predetermined category of the plurality of categories of stream type and which is referred to by the corresponding sub playback path, the receiving means receives the selection of streams to be played back based on the selection option information, the reading means reads, when the selection of the first stream and the second stream to be played back is received by the receiving means, the first stream of the predetermined category of the plurality of categories of stream type and which is referred to by the main playback path and the second stream of the predetermined category of the plurality of categories of stream type and which is referred to by the corresponding sub playback path, the combining means combines the first stream and the second stream of the predetermined category of the plurality of categories of stream type and which are read by the reading means, the playback management information obtained by the obtaining means further includes information concerning a combination of two streams each of a predetermined category referred to by the corresponding sub playback path, the reading means reads, when the selection of the combination of the at least two streams of the predetermined category to be played back is received by the receiving means, the at least two streams of the predetermined category referred to by the corresponding sub playback path, and the combining means combines the at least two streams of the predetermined category and which are read by the reading means.