Patent Publication Number: US-2006018631-A1

Title: Data reproducing device for controlling subtitle signal display state and method thereof

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
      This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2004-56493 filed on Jul. 20, 2004 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention generally relates to a data reproducing device for, and method of reproducing data including a subtitle signal. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to a data reproducing device for, and method of changing a display state of a subtitle signal depending on a user&#39;s setup when reproducing data recorded on a recording medium.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      Data reproducing devices such as video cassette recorders (VCRs) and digital versatile disc players (DVDPs) have come into widespread use. Data reproducing devices reproduce data from diverse recording media such as video tapes and optical discs, and transfer the data to devices such as televisions. Thus, viewers can watch the data recorded on the recording media on a screen.  
       FIG. 1  illustrates a conventional data reproducing system including a DVDP  10 . In  FIG. 1 , data reproduced by the DVDP  10  is transferred to a TV  20  through an interface and displayed on a screen. To this end, the DVDP  10  scans a laser signal on a surface of an optical disk and detects data from a reflected analog signal. The detected data is demodulated and transferred to the TV  20 .  
      Typically, data reproducing devices are used to reproduce motion picture data. Motion picture data shown in a foreign language often contains a subtitle signal for domestic viewers. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the subtitle signal is displayed at a specific area while the motion picture data is reproduced on the screen.  
      In the related art, it may be impossible for a user to change a display state of a subtitle signal in the conventional data reproducing device. In addition, as the display area of the subtitle signal is the bottom of the screen and overlaps the motion picture data, it may happen that the subtitle signal becomes invisible depending on the brightness of the background on the screen. In other words, if the subtitle signal has too low of a luminance and becomes vague and indistinctive from the background, the user experiences difficulty in reading the subtitle. On the other hand, if the luminance of the subtitle signal is set too high, the subtitle may flicker on the screen.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Embodiments of the present invention have been developed in order to solve the problems discussed above and others associated with the conventional arrangement. An aspect of the present invention provides a data processing device for, and method of enhancing distinction of a subtitle signal by allowing a user to change a display state of the subtitle signal.  
      To achieve the above and other aspects of the present invention, a data reproducing device to reproduce data from a recording medium and transferring the data to an external video display device is provided. The data reproducing device comprises a data reproducer to reproduce the data recorded in the recording medium, a signal separator to separate the data reproduced by the data reproducer into a moving picture signal and a subtitle signal, a subtitle signal processor to change the subtitle signal to change a display state of a subtitle displayed on a screen of the video display device, a signal processor to multiplex and demodulate the subtitle signal changed by the subtitle signal processor and the moving picture signal, an output part to transfer the signal demodulated at the signal processor to the video display device, and a controller to control the subtitle signal processor to change the subtitle signal according to preset subtitle information.  
      The data reproducing device may further comprise a key input receiver to receive a selection signal to set the subtitle information, and an on-screen display (OSD) generator to generate an OSD signal to set the subtitle information. The controller may control the OSD generator and the output part to generate and transfer the OSD signal to the video display device when the selection signal is received.  
      The data reproducing device may further comprise a memory to store subtitle information set through an OSD window displayed on the screen of the video display device according to the OSD signal.  
      The subtitle information may comprise at least one of luminance, hue and chroma of the subtitle signal.  
      Consistent with the above and other aspects of the present invention, a method of changing a subtitle signal display of a data reproducing device which reproduces data from a recording medium and transfers the data to an external video display device is provided. The method comprises reproducing the data recorded in the recording medium, separating the data into a moving picture signal and a subtitle signal, changing the subtitle signal according to preset subtitle information, multiplexing and demodulating the changed subtitle signal and the moving picture signal, and transferring the demodulated signal to the video display device.  
      The method may further comprise receiving a selection signal to set the subtitle information, generating an on-screen display (OSD) signal to set the subtitle information when the selection signal is received; and transferring the OSD signal to the video display device and displaying an OSD window on a screen.  
      The method may further comprise the step of storing subtitle information that is set through the OSD window.  
      The subtitle information may comprise at least one of luminance, hue and chroma of the subtitle signal.  
      Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      These and/or other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of exemplary embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures of which:  
       FIG. 1  is a conceptual diagram of a conventional data reproducing system;  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a data reproducing device according to an embodiment of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 3  is a flowchart of a method of changing a subtitle signal display state according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present invention by referring to the drawings.  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a data reproducing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 2 , the data reproducing device includes a data reproducer  110 , a signal separator  120 , a controller  130 , a subtitle signal processor  140 , a signal processor  150 , an output part  160 , a key input receiver  170 , an on-screen display (OSD) generator  180 , and a memory  190 .  
      The data reproducer  110  serves to reproduce data recorded on a recording medium. If the data reproducing device is a digital versatile disk player (DVDP), the data reproducer  110  may include an optical pickup unit, an RF-IC (Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit) and the like. In this case, when analog data is extracted by scanning a laser signal on a recording medium, that is, onto a surface of a disk at the optical pickup unit, the RF-IC converts the analog data to digital data so as to reproduce the data. The signal separator  120  separates the data reproduced at the data reproducer  110  into a motion picture signal and a subtitle signal.  
      The controller  130  confirms subtitle information stored in the memory  190  upon the separation of the subtitle signal. The subtitle information relates to a state of the subtitle signal displayed on a screen of a video display device connected to the data reproducing device. Specifically, the subtitle information relates to luminance, hue and chroma of the subtitle signal. The controller  130  controls the subtitle signal processor  140  to change the subtitle signal according to the confirmed subtitle information.  
      The subtitle signal processor  140  changes the subtitle signal by substituting a component value of the original subtitle signal with a value according to certain subtitle information. For example, in the event that the original subtitle signal is separated into Y, Cr and Cb components, at least one of the Y, Cr and Cb values is substituted by a certain value according to the subtitle information so as to change the subtitle signal. If a user wants to change the luminance of the subtitle signal, the user has only to increase a level of the Y value, that is the luminance signal of the original subtitle signal. In the same manner, to change the hue of the original subtitle signal, the color difference signal Cr or Cb is substituted by a certain value. To this end, the subtitle information can be acquired by reading the value preset by the user and stored in the memory  190 .  
      The changed subtitle signal at the subtitle signal processor  140  is output to the signal processor  150 . The signal processor  150  multiplexes and demodulates the motion picture signal output from the signal separator  120  and the changed subtitle signal. The controller  130  controls the output part  160  to transfer the demodulated data to an external video display device.  
      The subtitle information is changeable by the user. Specifically, the user can input a selection signal by selecting button keys on a remote controller or a main body of the data reproducing device. The key input receiver  170  receives and sends the input selection signal to the controller  130 .  
      Upon receiving the selection signal, the controller  130  controls the OSD generator  180  to generate an OSD signal in order to display a user interface window as an OSD allowing a user to set the subtitle information. The generated OSD signal is transferred to the video display device through the output part  160 , and the video display device displays an OSD window corresponding to the received OSD signal on the screen. Hence, the user can set the luminance, the chroma, and the hue of the subtitle signal to desired values. The set subtitle information is stored in the memory  190  in place of the pre-stored subtitle information. The controller  130  changes and transfers the subtitle signal reproduced from the recording medium according to the set subtitle information so that the user can change the subtitle display state through the screen.  
       FIG. 3  is a flowchart of a method of changing a subtitle signal display state according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 3 , when a recording medium is loaded and a reproduction command is input (S 310 ), the signal separator  120  separates the data reproduced from the recording medium into a moving picture signal and a subtitle signal (S 320 ).  
      When a user requests to change a subtitle information (S 330 ), the controller  130  controls the OSD generator  180  and the output part  160  to generate and transfer an OSD signal to the video display device. The video display device displays an OSD window corresponding to the received OSD signal (S 340 ).  
      The user checks the current subtitle information through the OSD window and changes the subtitle information by manipulating button keys on a remote controller or the main body (S 350 ). Upon receiving the changed subtitle information through the key input receiver  170 , the controller  130  stores the changed subtitle information in the memory  190  (S 350 ). The controller  130  controls the subtitle signal processor  140  to change the subtitle signal according to the changed subtitle information (S 360 ).  
      If the user does not request to change the subtitle information (S 330 ), the controller  130  reads the preset subtitle information stored in the memory  190  and changes the subtitle signal according to the read subtitle information (S 370 ).  
      Next, the controller  130  multiplexes, demodulates and transfers the changed subtitle signal and the moving picture signal to an external video display device (S 380 ).  
      Consequently, the user can darken or lighten the subtitle signal, and change the color of the subtitle signal as he/she desires.  
      In light of the foregoing as described above, embodiments of the present invention enable a user to change a subtitle signal. Accordingly, a display state of a subtitle signal on a screen also changes. In result, a user may conveniently watch a subtitle with enhanced distinction from the background.  
      Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.