Abstract:
Briefly, there is provided a method for manipulating content stored on a disk recorder/playback device using conventional transport commands, such as those used on a conventional videotape recorder (VTR). The method commences by detecting whether the content is in one of a prescribed set of modes, and by determining whether one of a stop, normal motion, a first rapid motion or second rapid motion buttons has been actuated. Depending on which of the stop, normal motion, a first rapid mode or second rapid motion buttons, the content is advanced in one of a first and second directions. The motion of the content is controlled in accordance with the detected content mode and to the degree to which one of the first rapid motion mode and second motion mode buttons has been actuated.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No 60/458,589, filed Mar. 28, 2003, the teachings of which are incorporated herein. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention relates to a technique enabling an operator to operate a disk recorder/playback device using an a standard videotape recorder interface. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     The term “cueing”, as used in the broadcast industry refers to the process of locating a particular section of a content segment, i.e., a video or audio file, to permit playback or recording beginning at the cued section. Cueing a content segment recorded on a length of magnetic tape typically requires fast-forwarding or Rewinding the tape to locate the desired section adjacent to the playback/record head. With traditional reel-to-reel and cassette-based video and audio tape recorders, cuing a particular content segment at its beginning or end requires the tape machine operator to shuttle the tape back and forth since some amount of overshoot generally occurs when initially Rewinding and Fast-Forwarding the tape to the beginning and end of the content segment, respectively. 
     Presently much of the content utilized by broadcasters now exists in digital, rather than in analog format. The existence of content segments in digital format permits content storage on one or more magnetic disc drives. Indeed, companies such Thomson/Grass Valley, currently market storage systems that utilize magnetic disk drives for storing large volumes of video and audio information. The cuing of a content segment stored on a magnetic disk drive occurs in a manner somewhat differently than with a magnetic tape recorder. A content segment stored on a magnetic disc exists as a set of blocks, each comprising a string of digital characters (“ones” and “zeros”). Each such block has an address that prescribes its location on the disc. Thus, to cue a particular content segment at the beginning requires aligning an address pointer to the address of the first block of the segment of interest. This will generally entail displacing the magnetic disc pick-up head across the surface of the magnetic platter of the disc drive to locate the head above the track storing the cued section of the content segment. Playback of the segment cued in this manner takes place by retrieving the block that has its address aligned with the address pointer. 
     In a effort to simulate the operation of a convention magnetic videotape recorder, some magnetic storage systems provide the operator with an interface that has “Play”, “Stop”, “Record”, “Fast-Forward” and “Rewind” buttons that provide comparable functionality to the same buttons on the magnetic tape recorder. Thus, actuating the “Play” button on a magnetic disc storage system will cause the playback of a content segment that has its address currently aligned with the address pointer, in much the same way that actuating the “Play” button on a conventional magnetic tape recorders causes playback of that content segment presently aligned with the playback head. Actuating the Fast-Forward and Rewind buttons causes the effective displacement of the content backwards and forwards relative, corresponding to the backward and forward movement of the magnetic tape on a magnetic tape recorder. 
     To cue a content segment at its beginning, an operator first actuates the Rewind button of the magnetic disc storage system to effectively displace the content segment to align the address pointer to the beginning block of the segment. Simply actuating the Rewind button will not by itself cue the segment to its beginning. Actuating the Rewind button effectively initiates a Rewind operation that continues until the Stop button is actuated. To cue a specific section of the content segment, an operator must make use of some type of monitoring device, such as a video monitor in the case of a video segment, to detect the beginning of the segment. The same is true when an operator initiates cueing of the end of the segment by actuating the Fast-Forward button. Only by monitoring the content segment can the operator know when the end of that content segment has been reached. Thus, even with a disc-based storage system, cueing a content segment remains problematic 
     Thus, there is need for a technique that achieves rapid cueing of a segment stored on a magnetic disk storage system to align the segment at its beginning or end. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Briefly, there is provided a method for manipulating content stored on a disk recorder/playback device using conventional transport commands, such as those used on a conventional videotape recorder (VTR). The method commences by detecting whether the content is in one of a prescribed set of modes, and by determining whether one of a stop, normal motion, a first rapid motion or second rapid motion buttons has been actuated. Depending on which of the stop, normal motion, a first rapid mode or second rapid motion buttons, the content is advanced in one of a first and second directions. The motion of the content is controlled in accordance with the detected content mode and to the degree to which one of the first rapid motion mode and second motion mode buttons has been actuated. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a block schematic diagram of an apparatus in accordance with a preferred for cueing a content segment in accordance with the present principles; and 
         FIG. 2  illustrates the manner in which a content segment is cued by the apparatus of FIG.  1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  depicts a disk recorder/playback device  10  in accordance with an illustrated embodiment of the present principles for storing content segments and for cueing such segments. Each content segment typically takes the form of a digitized video file with or without embedded audio, or digitized audio file. The disk recorder/playback device  10  includes at least one, and preferably, a plurality of magnetic storage devices  12   1 ,  12   2  . . .  12   n , each typically comprising a single magnetic disc drive, or an array of disc drives. Although not shown, each such magnetic disc drive has at least one rotating magnetic platter and an arm, which moves across the platter to position a pick-up head on the arm in spaced relationship from a track on the platter for reading and writing content segments. 
     The magnetic storage devices  12   1 - 12   n  each operate under the control of a control logic unit  14 , which typically includes microprocessor-based controller. The control unit  14  has at least one input  15  for receiving one or more content segments. Content segments received at the input  15  of the control logic unit  14  undergo storage in one or more of the magnetic storage devices  12   1 - 12   n  thus permitting retrieval on an output  16  of the logic control output. 
     In an effort to simulate the operation of a conventional magnetic tape recorder, the disk recorder/playback device  10  includes buttons  18 ,  20 ,  22 ,  24  and  26 , which simulate the following operations: 
                                 Button   Operation                   18   Rewind (REV)       20   Stop       22   Fast Forward (FWD)       24   Play       26   Record                    
Thus, for example, actuating the button  24  causes the control logic unit  14  to commence playback of a content segment at an identified address. Actuating the button  26  initiates recording of a content segment. Buttons  18  and  22 , when actuated, cause the control logic unit  14  to effectively Rewind and fast-forward the content segment to align a particular block of the content segment for subsequent recording or playback. The button  20 , when actuated, stops an operation previously initiated by actuating one of the buttons  18 ,  22 ,  24  or  26 . The buttons  18 - 26  correspond to the same motion control/mode buttons on a conventional videotape recorder. Using the same motion control/mode buttons on the disk recorder/playback device  10  as a conventional videotape recorder allows for a common interface format.
 
     In addition to receiving input information via actuation of the buttons  18 - 26 , the control logic  14  receives input information from one or more other input devices, such as a keyboard, that enables the entry of information identifying a stored content segment. A look-up table  28  within the control logic unit  14  associates the identity of the content segment with the particular one of the discs  12   1 - 12   n  storing the content, as well as the address of the beginning and ending blocks of that content segment to facilitate playback as well as cueing. While the look-up table  28  appears physically within the control logic unit  14  of  FIG. 1 , the table could reside elsewhere, such as on one of the magnetic storage devices  12   1 - 12   n . 
     Heretofore, to cue a content segment at its beginning or end, an operator would have to actuate the Rewind (REV) and Fast-Forward (FWD) buttons  18  and  26 , respectively, while monitoring the content segment to detect the beginning and end, respectively. The need to monitor the content while selectively actuating the Rewind and Fast Forward buttons  18  and  26  can prove cumbersome, and time consuming. 
     In accordance with the present principles, the control logic unit  14  advantageously accomplishes manipulation (i.e., cueing, fast-forwarding, rewinding and advancing successive content segments in response to actuation selective actuation of one or more of the STOP button  20 , the PLAY button  24  the REV and FWD Buttons  18 , and  22 , respectively. To cue a content segment at its beginning, an operator actuates the STOP button  20  and the REV button  18 . Conversely, to cue a content segment at its end, the operator actuates the STOP button  20  and the FWD button  22 . Other operations to manipulate the content segment will be discussed hereinafter. 
     To better understand the manner in which content segment manipulation occurs, refer to  FIG. 2 , which depicts an illustrative content segment  100 . As discussed previously, each content segment, such as segment  100  of  FIG. 2 , comprises one or more blocks, illustratively depicted as blocks  102   1 ,  102   2 ,  102   3  . . .  102   m  in FIG.  2 . Each of blocks  102   1 - 102   m  has an address  104  that holds an address  specifying the storage location of the block, and a payload  106  that holds the portion of content segment stored in the block. An address pointer  104    108  maintained by the control logic unit  14  of  FIG. 1  serves to identify (i.e., “point to”) the address of the block of the content segment  100  awaiting playback or recording. In practice, the address pointer  108  will typically take the form of a register location (not shown) in the control logic unit  14  of  FIG. 1  that temporarily holds the address of such a block. 
     Actuation of the STOP button  20  and the REV button  18  causes the control logic unit to effectively displace the content segment to align the address pointer  104    108  with the address of the first block (i.e., block  102   1 ) of the content segment  100 , thus cueing the segment at its beginning. By the same token, actuation of the STOP button  20  and the FWD button  22  causes the control logic unit to effectively displace the content segment to align the address pointer  104    108  with the address of the last block (i.e., block  102   m ) of the content segment  100 . In actuality, the control logic unit  14  of  FIG. 1  effectively displaces content segment by causing the pick-up arm of the magnetic disc storage device to move across the magnetic platter so as to align the pick-up head with the track on which the first of lack  block of the content segment is stored so as to align the address pointer  104    108  with address of that block. 
     The cueing operation achieved by actuating the STOP button  20  and one of the REV and FWD  18  and  22 , respectively, occurs automatically. In displace  advance of initiating a cueing operation, the control logic unit  14  will know the address of the starting and ending blocks of the content segment of interest from the look-up table  28 . Prior to initiating a cueing operation, the operator will typically identify the content segment on interest, either by name or code word. Using the look-up table  28  of  FIG. 1 , the control logic unit  14  will determine the addresses of the starting and ending blocks of the segment. Upon detecting the actuation of the STOP button  20  and one of the REV and FWD buttons  18  and  22 , the control logic unit  14  of  FIG. 1  will then effectively displace the content segment in the manner described to appropriately align the address pointer  104  of  FIG. 2  to effect cueing of the beginning or end of content segment automatically. Thus, the control logic  14  unit accomplishes cueing of the beginning and ending of the content segment without the need any for monitoring by the operator. 
     The disk recorder/playback device  10  also affords the following operating modes as well: 
     Single Frame Advance 
     
         
         With a content segment loaded in the disk recorder/playback device  10  and the content segment is in STOP mode, momentarily pressing the FWD or REV buttons  18  and  22 , respectively, advances or reverses the content segment one frame at a time. This function is very useful in finding a specific frame to use as an IN or OUT point for editing.
 
Shuttle Mode
 
         With a content segment loaded in the disk recorder/playback device  10  and the content segment is in STOP mode, pressing in and holding the one of the FWD or REV buttons  18  and  22  causes the disk recorder/playback device  10  to fast forward or rewind the content segment, respectively, in a shuttle mode. Releasing the actuated one of the FWD or RV buttons causes the content segment to stop. This function affords a handy way of quickly reviewing material. 
         With a content segment loaded in the disk recorder/playback device  10  and the content segment is in a PLAY mode, pressing in and holding one of the FWD or REV buttons  18  and  22  causes the disk recorder/playback device  10  to fast forward or rewind the content segment, respectively, in a shuttle mode. Releasing the actuated one of the FWD or REV buttons causes the content segment to stay in locked in the respective fast forward or rewind shuttle modes, respectively, until the content segment either reaches the end or the STOP button  20  is pressed. This function affords a handy way of quickly reviewing material.
 
Play List Content Segment Advance
 
         In a Play List mode, actuating the STOP  20  button and one of the FWD or REV buttons  18  and  22  allows for navigation to different content segments in a Play List established by an operator. For example, an operator can advance to the next content segment or go back to a to a previous content segment in the Play List.
 
Random Play List Access
 
         In the Play List mode, pressing the STOP  20  causes the disk recorder/playback device  10  to automatically advance to a designated content segment in the Play List content segment and cue that content segment for playback or recording. This functionality the allows the disk recorder/playback device  10  to operate as a “shot box” to randomly access every content segment in the Play List. 
         In Play list mode, pressing PLAY button  24  causes the disk recorder/playback device  10  to automatically advance to a designated content segment in the Play List content segment and play the content segment. This functionality the  allows the disk recorder/playback device  10  to operate as a “shot box” to randomly access every content segment in the Play List. 
       
    
     The foregoing describes a technique for manipulating content segments stored by a disk recorder/playback device.