Patent Publication Number: US-2006002682-A1

Title: Recording apparatus and recording control method

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-193766, filed on Jun. 30, 2004; the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      This invention relates to a recording apparatus capable of recording broadcast program data in storage as a file and a recording control method used with the apparatus.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      In recent years, a recording and reproducing apparatus for recording and reproducing broadcast program data of a TV broadcast program, etc., has been developed.  
      For example, JP-A-2003-101923 discloses a recording and reproducing apparatus for recording a received TV broadcast program in storage such as a hard disk drive. In the recording and reproducing apparatus, the TV broadcast program received by a TV tuner is compressed and coded and then is stored in a hard disk drive.  
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      By the way, to store broadcast program data in storage such as a hard disk drive, it becomes necessary to perform processing to store the broadcast program data as a file. For example, before reception of broadcast program data is started, it becomes necessary to perform initialization processing containing processing of file creation and opening. After the termination of the reception of broadcast program data is started, it becomes necessary to perform termination processing containing processing of storing the data left in a data buffer in a file in the storage, processing of closing the file, etc.  
      Usually, two pieces of broadcast program data on different channels are stored as two different files. Thus, for example, if recording of broadcast program data (A) on one channel and recording of broadcast program data (B) on another channel broadcast consecutively are programmed, the broadcast program data (B) cannot be recorded during a predetermined time since the reception termination time of the broadcast program data (A). The reason is that it becomes necessary to perform termination processing corresponding to the broadcast program data (A) and initialization processing corresponding to the broadcast program data (B) after the reception termination of the broadcast program data (A).  
      It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a recording apparatus and a recording control method for making it possible to properly record a plurality of pieces of broadcast program data on different channels broadcast consecutively.  
      According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a recording apparatus capable of recording in storage broadcast program data on a first channel and broadcast program data on a second channel specified with recording program information, the recording apparatus including: a determining unit configured to determine whether or not a time interval between a time to terminate recording of the broadcast program data on the first channel and a time to start recording of the broadcast program data on the second channel is shorter than a predetermined value; and a recording control unit configured to execute recording processing of recording the broadcast program data on the first channel and the broadcast program data on the second channel as consecutive broadcast program data when the time interval is shorter than the predetermined value.  
      This makes it possible to properly record a plurality of pieces of broadcast program data on different channels broadcast consecutively.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a drawing to show the configuration of a home network system using a recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram to show the recording apparatus in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  is a drawing to show an example of recording program information used with the recording apparatus in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 4  is a drawing to describe a processing sequence required for storing broadcast program data specified with the recording program information in  FIG. 3  in HDD;  
       FIG. 5  is a drawing to describe recording processing of storing broadcast program data on channel A and that on channel B as two different files;  
       FIG. 6  is a drawing to describe recording processing of storing broadcast program data on channel A and that on channel B as one file;  
       FIG. 7  is a drawing to show a format example of a file containing the broadcast program data on channel A and that on channel B; and  
       FIG. 8  is a flowchart to show a procedure of recording control processing executed by the recording apparatus in  FIG. 1 .  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      Referring now to the accompanying drawings, there is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 1  shows the configuration of a home network system using a recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention. This home network system is made up of a wireless AV (audio video) station  101 , a TV receiver  102 , notebook personal computers  103  and  104 , a desktop personal computer  105 , etc.  
      The wireless AV station  101  is a recording and reproducing apparatus including a home server function. The wireless AV station  101  provides service of recording and reproducing broadcast program data (or simply, broadcast data) of a TV program, etc., and further service relating to browsing the Internet, etc., for the information processing terminals such as the personal computers  103  to  105  through a home wireless or wire local network.  
      The wireless AV station  101  is connected to an external global network (external network) such as the Internet  12  through a communication line, such as ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line), or CATV (Cable TV). Further, the wireless AV station  101  is connected to the information processing terminals in the house through the home wireless or wire network.  
      The personal computers  103  to  105  are terminals functioning as clients of the wireless AV station  101 . The notebook personal computers  103  and  104  are provided each with a wireless communication device for enabling the notebook personal computers  103  and  104  to be connected to the wireless AV station  101  through a wireless communication network (wireless LAN)  14 . The desktop personal computer  105  is connected to the wireless AV station  101  through a wire communication network (wire LAN)  15 .  
      The wireless AV station  101  connects the personal computers  103  to  105  to the Internet  12  and transfers data between a Web site on the Internet and each of the personal computers  103  to  105 .  
      An antenna cable connected to a TV broadcast reception antenna  11  installed outdoors is drawn into the house. The TV receiver  102  and the wireless AV station  101  are connected to the antenna cable. Broadcast program data transmitted from a broadcast station not only can be received and reproduced in the TV receiver  102 , but also can be received in the wireless AV station  101 . The wireless AV station  101  transmits received broadcast program data to the personal computers  103  to  105  through the home wireless or wire local network. The wireless AV station  101  contains a hard disk drive (HDD) as a large-capacity storage device for recording broadcast program data. The wireless AV station  101  can record broadcast program data specified according to recording program information set with each of the personal computers  103  to  105  in the hard disk drive as a file.  
      Next, the system configuration of the wireless AV station  101  will be discussed with reference to  FIG. 2 .  
      The wireless AV station  101  includes an audio video (AV) section  21 , a system section  31 , a power supply section  41 , and a power supply control section  42 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . The AV section  21  is a module for recording and reproducing broadcast program data. The AV section  21  includes a first AV path  211 , a second AV path  212 , a graphics/audio controller  213 , and an amplifier (AMP)  214 , and is connected to the system section  31  by a bus  10  such as a PCI bus. The first and second AV paths  211  and  212  are receivers for receiving broadcast program data, and are operated by independent power supplies V 1  and V 2  respectively. The power supplies V 1  and V 2  are provided by the power supply section  41 .  
      The graphics/audio controller  213  is an output unit for outputting broadcast program data, etc., to the outside TV receiver  102  or an outside AV machine, and outputs the broadcast program data received by the AV path  211  or  212  or the broadcast program data recorded in an HDD  312  of the system section  31  to the outside TV receiver  102  or an outside AV machine.  
      The first AV path  211  includes a TV tuner  221 , an analog-digital converter (ADC)  222 , an MPEG2 encoder  223 , a PCI bus interface (PCI I/F)  224 , and an MPEG2 decoder  225 . The TV tuner  221  is connected to the TV antenna  11 . The TV tuner  221  is a device for receiving TV broadcast program data and receives the TV broadcast program data of the channel specified with a reception request from the system section  31 . The system section  31  controls the TV tuner  221  through the PCI bus interface (PCI I/F)  224 . The analog-digital converter (ADC)  222 , the MPEG2 encoder  223 , the PCI bus interface (PCI I/F)  224 , and the MPEG2 decoder  225  make up a broadcast data processing section for processing the broadcast program data received by the TV tuner  221 . The TV broadcast program data of one channel received by the TV tuner  221  is sent to the analog-digital converter (ADC)  222 , which then converts the analog data into a digital signal.  
      To output the broadcast program data received by the TV tuner  221  to the TV receiver  102 , the broadcast program data converted into the digital signal is sent to the graphics/audio controller  213  through a selector  236 . On the other hand, to transmit the broadcast program data received by the TV tuner  221  to the requesting information processing terminal or to record the broadcast program data in the HDD  312  in the system section  31 , the broadcast program data converted into the digital signal is sent to the MPEG2 encoder  223 . The MPEG2 encoder  223  compresses and codes the broadcast program data. The compressed and coded broadcast program data is sent to the system section  31  through the PCI bus interface (PCI I/F)  224  and the bus  10 . To record the broadcast program data received by the TV tuner  221  in the HDD  312  in the system section  31  while outputting the broadcast program data to the TV receiver  102 , the broadcast program data converted into the digital signal by the analog-digital converter (ADC)  222  is supplied to both the selector  236  and the MPEG2 encoder  223 .  
      The MPEG2 decoder  225  decodes the compressed and coded broadcast program data. The MPEG2 decoder  225  is used to output the compressed and coded broadcast program data recorded in the HDD  312  in the system section  31  to the TV receiver  102 . Thus, the first AV path  211  executes reception processing of broadcast data and broadcast data processing to record and reproduce the received broadcast data.  
      Like the first AV path  211 , the second AV path  212  also includes a TV tuner  231 , an analog-digital converter (ADC)  232 , an MPEG2 encoder  233 , a PCI bus interface (PCI I/F)  234 , and an MPEG2 decoder  235 . The functions of these components are similar to the functions of the corresponding components of the first AV path  211 .  
      The system section  31  includes a system control section  311 , an HDD  312 , a communication section  313 , and a remote control controller  314 . The system control section  311 , the HDD  312 , the communication section  313 , and the remote control controller  314  are operated by a power supply V 3  provided by the power supply section  41 . The system control section  311  is a processor for controlling the operation of the wireless AV station  101 . The system control section  311  controls the operation of the AV section  21  in response to a TV viewing request from a remote control unit, received by the remote control controller  314  and a TV viewing request from each of the information processing terminals  103  to  105 , received by the communication section  313 . The system control section  311  controls the operation of the AV section  21  based on recording program information set by each of the information processing terminals  103  to  105 .  
      The communication section  313  is a device for executing a router function and executes data transfer between the home local network (wireless LAN  14 , wire LAN  15 ) and the Internet  12 .  
      The power supply section  41  is a power supply unit for supplying operation power to each of the modules making up the wireless AV station  101 . The power supply section  41  controls the power supply V 1  to the AV path  212 , the power supply V 2  to the AV path  212 , and the power supply V 3  to the system section  31  separately in response to a power supply control signal from the power supply control section  42 .  
       FIG. 3  shows an example of recording program information managed by the system control section  311 . The recording program information is stored in nonvolatile memory in the system control section  311  or in the HDD  312 .  
      The recording program information contains the following information for each program: 
      CH: Channel number of channel to record     Date: Recording start years, months, days     Start time: Recording start time     End time: Recording end time    

       FIG. 4  shows a processing sequence required for storing the broadcast program data specified with the recording program information in the HDD  312 .  
      Initialization processing is recording preparation processing executed before the start time of recording specified with the recording program information. In the initialization processing, a file to store the broadcast program specified with the recording program information is created and opened. In the initialization processing, processing of initializing the TV tuner  221  or  231  and specifying the channel number of the channel to be received for the TV tuner  221  or  231  is also executed.  
      In MPEG stream processing, processing of compressing and coding the broadcast program data received by the TV tuner  221  or  231  and processing of storing the compressed and coded data in the file created in the HDD  312  in predetermined data size units in order through a data buffer are executed.  
      Termination processing is postprocessing executed after the end time of recording specified with the recording program information. In the termination processing, processing of storing the data left in the HDD  312  after the reception termination of the broadcast program data specified with the recording program information in the file created in the HDD  312 , processing of closing the file and confirming file attribute information of the file size, the file creation date and time, etc., and the like are executed.  
      Next, recording processing to be performed if recording of two pieces of broadcast program data on channel A and channel B broadcast consecutively is programmed will be discussed with reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6 .  
       FIG. 5  shows processing for storing the two pieces of broadcast program data on channel A and channel B as different files. After the recording end time of the broadcast program data on channel A, it becomes necessary to execute the termination processing corresponding to the broadcast program data on channel A and the initialization processing corresponding to the broadcast program data on channel B. Thus, during the time period, it becomes impossible to record the broadcast program data on channel B. Then, in the embodiment, processing of storing the two pieces of broadcast program data on channel A and channel B consecutively in one file is executed as shown in  FIG. 6 .  
      That is, in the embodiment, the two pieces of broadcast program data on channel A and channel B are processed as one consecutive broadcast program data piece. If reception of the broadcast program data on channel A terminates, the termination processing corresponding to the broadcast program data on channel A is not executed and the channel is switched from channel A to channel B with the MPEG stream processing continued. The broadcast program data on channel B is stored in the already created file corresponding to the broadcast program data on channel A. Thus, processing of creating the file to store the broadcast program data on channel B need not be executed. At the termination of reception of the broadcast program data on channel B, the termination processing containing processing of storing the broadcast program data on channel B left in the data buffer in the file and processing of closing the file is executed.  
      Channel switching during the MPEG stream processing can be accomplished according to any of the following methods:  
      To use one TV tuner, a channel switching command may be issued to the TV tuner during the MPEG stream processing.  
      At the channel switching time, several frames of video are placed out of frame synchronization. Thus, the several-frame video may be excluded from the object of compression and coding.  
      In the embodiment, the two TV tuners  221  and  231  are provided. The broadcast program data on channel A is received by the TV tuner  221  and the broadcast program data on channel B is received by the TV tuner  231 , whereby a problem caused by the loss of frame synchronization does not occur.  
       FIG. 7  shows a format example of the file containing the broadcast program data on channel A and the broadcast program data on channel B. FLAG in  FIG. 7  is information indicating the boundary position between the broadcast program data on channel A and the broadcast program data on channel B. The FLAG is used to later divide the file containing the broadcast program data on channel A and the broadcast program data on channel B into a file containing the broadcast program data on channel A and a file containing the broadcast program data on channel B.  
      Next, recording control processing executed by the system control section  311  will be discussed with a flowchart of  FIG. 8 .  
      The system control section  311  references the recording program information and determines whether or not the time interval between the time to terminate recording of the broadcast program data on channel A and the time to start recording of the broadcast program data on channel B is shorter than a predetermined value (step S 101 ). The predetermined value corresponds to the time required for processing (initialization processing and termination processing) other than the MPEG stream processing.  
      If the time interval between the time to terminate recording of the broadcast program data on channel A and the time to start recording of the broadcast program data on channel B is equal to or greater than the predetermined value (NO at step S 101 ), the system control section  311  executes recording control processing to separately process the broadcast program data on channel A and the broadcast program data on channel B (step S 102 ). At step S 102 , first the initialization processing corresponding to the broadcast program data on channel A is executed before the recording start time of the broadcast program data on channel A. In the initialization processing, creation and opening processing of the file to store the broadcast program data on channel A and processing of setting the reception channel of the TV tuner to channel A are executed.  
      When the recording start time of the broadcast program data on channel A is reached, the MPEG stream processing is started. When the recording end time of the broadcast program data on channel A is reached, the termination processing is executed. In the termination processing, processing of storing the data left in the data buffer in the file and processing of closing the file are executed. Next, the initialization processing corresponding to the broadcast program data on channel B is executed before the recording start time of the broadcast program data on channel B. In the initialization processing, creation and opening processing of the file to store the broadcast program data on channel B and processing of setting the reception channel of the TV tuner to channel B are executed.  
      When the recording start time of the broadcast program data on channel B is reached, the MPEG stream processing is started. When the recording end time of the broadcast program data on channel B is reached, the termination processing is executed. In the termination processing, processing of storing the data left in the data buffer in the file and processing of closing the file are executed.  
      As the processing is performed, the broadcast program data on channel A and the broadcast program data on channel B are stored in the HDD  312  as two different files.  
      If the time interval between the time to terminate recording of the broadcast program data on channel A and the time to start recording of the broadcast program data on channel B is shorter than the predetermined value (YES at step S 101 ), the system control section  311  executes recording control processing to process the broadcast program data on channel A and the broadcast program data on channel B as one stream (step S 103 ). At step S 103 , first the initialization processing is executed before the recording start time of the broadcast program data on channel A. In the initialization processing, creation and opening processing of the file to store the broadcast program data on channel A and the broadcast program data on channel B and processing of setting the reception channel of the TV tuner to channel A are executed. When the recording start time of the broadcast program data on channel A is reached, the MPEG stream processing is started.  
      When the recording end time of the broadcast program data on channel A is reached, processing of switching the reception channel of the TV tuner from channel A to channel B is executed while the MPEG stream processing is continued.  
      At the switching time, processing of adding the FLAG indicating the boundary between the broadcast program data on channel A and the broadcast program data on channel B to the file is also performed. When the recording end time of the broadcast program data on channel B is reached, the termination processing is executed. In the termination processing, processing of storing the data left in the data buffer in the file and processing of closing the file are executed.  
      As the processing is performed, the broadcast program data on channel A and the broadcast program data on channel B are stored in the HDD  312  as one file.  
      After this, whether or not a file dividing mode for dividing the file into files provided in a one-to-one correspondence with the broadcast program data pieces is effective is determined (step S 104 ). Whether or not the file dividing mode is effective can be prespecified by the user. If the file dividing mode is effective (YES at step S 104 ), the system control section  311  executes processing of dividing the file containing the broadcast program data on channel A and the broadcast program data on channel B into a file containing the broadcast program data on channel A and a file containing the broadcast program data on channel B according to the FLAG (step S 105 ). As the file is divided into the two files, it is made possible to easily play back the recorded broadcast program data on channel B from the beginning.  
      As described above, according to the embodiment, two pieces of the broadcast program data on channel A and the broadcast program data on channel B are recorded as one consecutive broadcast program data. Accordingly, the two broadcast program data pieces are stored in one file. Thus, it is made possible to normally record a plurality of pieces of broadcast program data on different channels broadcast consecutively.  
      In the embodiment, the received broadcast program data is compressed and coded before it is stored, but compression and coding processing is not necessarily required.  
      Further, reception units such as tuners may be provided externally.  
      It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiment described above and that the invention can be embodied with the components modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention can be embodied in various forms according to appropriate combinations of the components disclosed in the embodiment described above. For example, some components may be deleted from all components shown in the embodiment. Further, the components in different embodiments may be used appropriately in combination.  
      In addition, a program for attaining the functions in the embodiments may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium. In this case, the program recorded in the recording medium is read and executed by a computer system. Incidentally, the “computer system” mentioned here includes an operation system or hardware such as peripheral equipment.  
      In addition, the “computer system” includes a homepage providing environment (or display environment) when it uses a WWW system.  
      On the other hand, the “computer-readable recording medium” means a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM or a CD-ROM, or a storage unit such as a hard disk included in the computer system. Further the “computer-readable recording medium” includes a medium for holding the program for a predetermined time, such as a volatile memory (RAM) in a computer system as a server or a client when the program is transmitted through a network such as the Internet or a communication circuit such as a telephone circuit.  
      In addition, the program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage unit or the like to another computer system through a transmission medium or by a transmitted wave in the transmission medium.  
      Here, the “transmission medium” for transmitting the program means a medium having a function of transmitting information, including a network (communication circuit) such as the Internet or a communication circuit (communication line) such as a phone line.  
      In addition, the program may be prepared for attaining a part of the aforementioned functions. Further, the program may be a so-called difference file (difference program) which can attain the aforementioned functions in combination with a program which has been already recorded in the computer system.  
      Further, these modifications may be used selectively and suitably in combination.