JP3614074B2 - Image and audio playback apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image and audio reproduction apparatus and method for automatically and continuously reproducing image signals and audio signals acquired by a digital still camera, a digital video camera, or the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As an example of an image display system using a digital camera, there is an apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-88808. As shown in FIG. 18, the file name of the video file 1801 selected by the user on the digital camera is created as a display management information file 1802 on the memory card (flash memory card). The display control means 1805 for controlling the display means 1803 such as the liquid crystal display device of FIG. 18 obtains the file name of the video to be displayed from the memory card from the display management information file 1802 by the display management information acquisition means 1804 and displays them in order. A display is made on the means 1803.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above conventional example, the file to be handled is only a file in which an image signal is recorded. For example, it is possible to reproduce sound alone data or sound data recorded simultaneously with image acquisition in synchronization with the image. No assumptions have been made, and no technical proposal has been made for this purpose.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides an apparatus and method for continuously reproducing image data, audio data, and data in which images and audio are multiplexed freely and easily. The purpose is to do.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve this problem, the present invention records at least one of a data file in which an image signal is recorded, a data file in which an audio signal is recorded, and a data file in which an image signal and an audio signal are multiplexed and the image signal is recorded. A storage unit for storing a data file, a data file in which an audio signal is recorded, a reproduction of a data file in which an image signal and an audio signal are multiplexed, and a data file held in the storage unit in accordance with the reproduction information And reproducing means for reproducing the image signal and the audio signal, and according to the reproduction information, the data file in which the image signal is recorded, the data file in which the audio signal is recorded, and the image signal and the audio signal are multiplexed and recorded. By reproducing the data file, the image signal and audio signal can be synchronized easily and continuously. It is intended to live.
[0006]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The first invention of the present invention comprises storage means for holding at least one of a data file in which an image signal is recorded, a data file in which an audio signal is recorded, or a data file in which an image signal and an audio signal are multiplexed and recorded. The storage means holds information relating to reproduction composed of any combination of the data files independently of the data file, and the information relating to reproduction includes at least one data file including one or more data files to be reproduced from the storage means. Indicates a group, and in the group, information indicating reproduction of the data file in which the image signal and the audio signal are multiplexed and information indicating reproduction of the data file in which the image signal is recorded or the data file in which the audio signal is recorded are mixed. It is characterized by not letting it.
[0007]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the information relating to reproduction indicates a file name of a data file reproduced from the storage means.
[0008]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the information relating to reproduction indicates the order of data files reproduced from the storage means.
[0009]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided reproduction means for reproducing an image signal and an audio signal from a data file held in a storage means in accordance with information relating to reproduction in the first to third aspects of the invention. It is what.
[0010]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect described above, at least the reproducing means has either a reading means for reading a data file from the storage means or a decoder for decoding the data file. Is.
[0011]
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided at least one of a data file in which an image signal is recorded, a data file in which an audio signal is recorded, or a data file in which an image signal and an audio signal are multiplexed and recorded. Information relating to reproduction composed of arbitrary combinations of files is held independently of the data file, and has at least one group in which one or more data files to be reproduced are collected. In the group, an image signal and an audio signal are Retained in accordance with the information relating to the reproduction described so as not to mix the information indicating the reproduction of the multiplex-recorded data file and the information indicating the reproduction of the data file recording the image signal or the data file recording the audio signal. Playing video and audio signals from the data file It is a method to.
[0012]
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, at least one of a data file in which an image signal is recorded, a data file in which an audio signal is recorded, or a data file in which an image signal and an audio signal are multiplexed and recorded is independent of the data file. Reproduction means for reproducing a video signal and an audio signal from the data file held in the storage means in accordance with the information on reproduction from the storage means holding information relating to reproduction consisting of any combination of the data files. The information relating to reproduction indicates at least one group in which one or more data files to be reproduced from the storage means are collected, and information indicating reproduction of a data file in which an image signal and an audio signal are multiplexed and recorded in the group And a data file that records image signals or a data file that records audio signals. It is characterized in that not mix and information indicating playback of the datafile.
[0013]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0014]
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image and audio reproduction device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes memory means for storing image and audio digital data acquired (encoded) by a device such as a digital still camera, a digital video camera, or a scanner. The memory means 101 may be a means fixed to a device such as a hard disk device or a removable means such as a flash memory card. The image file 102 is an image data file recorded in the memory means 101, the audio file 103 is also an audio data file, and the image / audio multiplexed file 104 is also stored with the image data and audio data multiplexed in one file. It is a file that has been. The automatic reproduction control file 105 is a file that stores reproduction data and information indicating the reproduction order when the image file 102, the audio file 103, and the image / audio multiplexed file 104 are combined and reproduced continuously. However, in FIG. 1, only one image file 102, audio file 103, image / audio multiplex file 104, and automatic reproduction control file 105 are shown for simplification, but the present invention is not limited to this. In reality, there may be multiple files. The image file 102, the audio file 103, and the image / audio multiplexed file 104 are not necessarily recorded in the memory unit 101. For example, the image file 102 may not be recorded in the memory unit 101.
[0015]
The reading unit 106 is a unit that reads each file recorded in the memory unit 101, and the writing unit 107 is a unit that writes the automatic reproduction control file 105 to the memory unit 101. The decoder 108 is a unit that decodes and reproduces the image file 102, the audio file 103, and the image / audio multiplex file 104 read from the memory unit 101. At this time, the decoding in the decoder 108 is controlled so that the image signal and the audio signal output from the decoder 108 based on the information in the automatic reproduction control file 105 are in a predetermined synchronization relationship according to the information in the automatic reproduction control file 105. The means for performing this is the synchronization control means 109. A CPU (central processing unit) 110 generates an automatic reproduction control file 105 in response to an input from the operation key 111, and controls the reading unit 106 and the synchronization control unit 109 based on information in the automatic reproduction control file 105. It controls reading of an image file and the like, and decoding and playback of the read file by the decoder 108.
[0016]
The display unit 112 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display device or a CRT (cathode ray tube) that displays the image signal decoded by the decoder 108, and the speaker 113 reproduces the audio signal decoded by the decoder 108. Means.
[0017]
FIG. 2 is a layout diagram of the operation surface of the image and audio playback device.
[0018]
Reference numerals 201 to 209 denote various keys constituting the operation key 111 shown in FIG. 1, and key input signals are sent to the CPU 110 shown in FIG. The main functions of each are as follows.
[0019]
Reference numeral 201 denotes an image file reproduction mode selection key. When this key is pressed, the image file reproduction mode on the memory means 101 is set, and the CPU 110 controls the reading means 106 to record the image recorded in the memory means 101. One of the file and the image / audio multiplexed file is read out, and after decoding by the decoder 108, the image of the read file is displayed on the display means 112.
[0020]
Reference numeral 202 denotes an audio file reproduction mode selection key. When this key is pressed, the audio file reproduction mode on the memory means 101 is set, and the CPU 110 controls the reading means 106 and the audio recorded in the memory means 101. One of the file and the image / audio multiplexed file is read out, and after decoding by the decoder 108, the audio of the file read out by the speaker 113 is reproduced.
[0021]
Reference numeral 203 denotes an image / audio multiplex file reproduction mode selection key. When this key is pressed, the image / audio multiplex file reproduction mode on the memory means 101 is set, and the CPU 110 controls the reading means 106 to control the memory means 101. One of the recorded image / sound multiplexed files is read out, and after decoding by the decoder 108, the image of the read file is displayed on the display means 112, and the sound is reproduced by the speaker 113.
[0022]
Reference numeral 204 denotes a feed key which is pressed when a file different from the file currently being reproduced is reproduced. Reference numeral 205 denotes a return key, which is a key to be pressed when playing the previous file. Reference numeral 206 denotes an enter key, which is pressed when a reproduced file is selected as an automatic reproduction target.
[0023]
Reference numeral 207 denotes a grouping key. When this key is pressed, the CPU 110 assigns a group ID number to a specific file group and writes a file name together with a specific character string to the automatic reproduction control file.
[0024]
Reference numeral 208 denotes a new reproduction control file creation key. When this key is pressed, the CPU 110 controls the writing unit 107 to create a new automatic reproduction control file on the memory unit 101.
[0025]
Reference numeral 209 denotes an automatic reproduction key. When this key is pressed, the CPU 110 controls the reading means 106 and the synchronization control means 109 based on the information in the automatic reproduction control file 105 to automatically read out the file on the memory means 101. Play with.
[0026]
In addition, 112 and 113 shown in FIG. 2 are the display means 112 and the speaker 113 shown in FIG.
[0027]
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an image file, an audio file, and an image / audio multiplex file stored in the memory means 101. In FIG. 3, image files A, B, and C are files in which image data is stored. Audio files A, B, and C are files that store audio data. The image / sound multiplex files A and B are files in which image and sound data are multiplexed and stored in one file. In the following description, it is assumed that the eight files shown in FIG.
[0028]
The operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described below.
[0029]
When a user freely connects and reproduces an image file, an audio file, and an image / audio multiplexed file recorded on the memory means 101, first, the automatic reproduction control file 105 is generated by the following procedure. .
[0030]
First, among the eight files shown in FIG. 3, the user reproduces the image portions of the image file B and the image / audio multiplex file A successively in this order for the image, and the audio file A and the image for the sound. A case will be described in which the audio portion of the audio multiplex file B is continuously reproduced in this order, and the audio file A is reproduced in synchronization with the start of reproduction of the image file B.
[0031]
First, the user presses a new reproduction control file creation key 208. In response to this key input, editing of the automatic playback control file is newly started, and the CPU 110 controls the writing means 107 to create a file having a file name of, for example, “AUTOTOPY1” on the memory means 101.
[0032]
Next, the user presses the image file reproduction mode selection key 201 to select an image to be automatically reproduced, and causes the display unit 112 to reproduce and display the image file on the memory unit 101. At this time, for example, the image file A is reproduced on the display means 112, and the display image is changed by the feed key 204, whereby the image file B, the image file C, the image portion of the image / audio multiplex file A, the image / audio multiplex The image portions of the file B are sequentially displayed on the display unit 112. When the user wants to continuously reproduce the image file B and the image portion of the image / audio multiplex file A in this order, the user operates the send key 204 or the return key 205 to select the image file B to be reproduced first. It is displayed on the display means 112. Then, the enter key 206 is pressed. The CPU 110 has a temporary memory for temporarily storing information therein, and by pressing the enter key 206 in the temporary memory, it is clearly indicated that the user has selected this file as an image to be played back in the playback mode of the image file. The file name of the image file B is recorded following the character string “IMG_SRC =” for this purpose. Next, the image of the image / audio multiplex file A is displayed by the send key 204 or the return key 205. Then, the enter key 206 is pressed again. As a result, the file name of the image / audio multiplex file A is recorded in the temporary memory in the CPU 110 following the character string “IMG_SRC =”. Through the above procedure, the image file B and the image / sound multiplex file A are selected, and the file names are recorded in the CPU 110 together with the character string “IMG_SRC =” in the order in which they are to be reproduced.
[0033]
Next, the audio file reproduction mode selection key 202 is pressed to select the audio to be automatically reproduced, and the audio file on the memory means 101 is reproduced by the speaker 113. At this time, for example, the audio file A is reproduced on the speaker 113, and the reproduction audio is changed by the feed key 204, so that the audio file B, the audio file C, the audio portion of the image / audio multiplex file A, the image / audio multiplex file B Are sequentially reproduced by the speaker 113. When the user wants to continuously reproduce the audio portion of the audio file A and the image / audio multiplex file B in this order, the user operates the send key 204 or the return key 205 to select the audio file A to be reproduced first. In step 113, playback is performed. Then, the enter key 206 is pressed. As a result, in the temporary memory in the CPU 110, the file of the audio file A follows the character string “SND_SRC =” for clearly indicating that the user has selected this file as the audio to be reproduced in the audio file reproduction mode. The name is recorded. Next, the audio portion of the image / audio multiplex file B is reproduced by the send key 204 or the return key 205. Then, the enter key 206 is pressed again. As a result, the file name of the image / sound multiplex file B is recorded in the temporary memory in the CPU 110 following the character string “SND_SRC =”. Through the above procedure, the audio file A and the image / audio multiplex file B are selected, and the file names are recorded in the CPU 110 together with the character string “SND_SRC =” in the order of reproduction.
[0034]
When the grouping key 207 is pressed next in this state, the CPU 110 recognizes the two image files B and the image / sound multiplex file A, and the sound file A and the image / sound multiplex file B that were selected earlier as one group. A unique ID number (for example, 001) is assigned to the group, the writing means 107 is controlled, and the automatic reproduction control file “AUTOPLY1” on the memory means 101 is stored in the group-specific ID number and the temporary memory of the CPU 110. Write the contents. FIG. 4 shows the contents of the written automatic reproduction control file “AUTOTOPY1”. “GID” shown in FIG. 4 is an ID number of the group, and is 001 in the example of FIG. “IMG_SRC” is a character string indicating an image portion of an image file or an image / audio multiplex file, whereby the image portions of the image file B and the image / audio multiplex file A are selected by the user and are to be reproduced. It is clearly stated. “SND_SRC” is a character string indicating the audio part of the audio file or the image / audio multiplex file, so that the audio part of the audio file A and the image / audio multiplex file B is reproduced by the user. It is clearly stated that it should be sound. In particular, for an image / sound multiplex file, the image part and the sound part can be specified separately by the character strings “IMG_SRC” and “SND_SRC”, and the image / sound multiplex file consists of only image data. It can be handled like an image file or an audio file consisting only of audio data.
[0035]
Of the files indicated by “IMG_SRC” and “SND_SRC”, the file with the smaller number of lines is assumed to be a file that is reproduced first in time.
[0036]
The above is the procedure for generating the automatic reproduction control file 105. Next, file reproduction based on the automatic reproduction control file 105 shown in FIG. 4 will be described.
[0037]
When the user presses the automatic reproduction key 209, the CPU 110 controls the reading means 106, reads the automatic reproduction control file 105, and acquires its contents. The CPU 110 searches for the GID from the first line of the automatic reproduction control file 105 and recognizes from the first “GID” to the next “GID” as one group. Note that the last group in the automatic reproduction control file 105 is from the last GID to the last line of the file. Therefore, in the present embodiment, there is one group, and one group is from the first GID to the last line of the automatic reproduction control file 105.
[0038]
In the automatic reproduction control file 105, file names are described in the reproduction order. The image part of the image file or the image / sound multiplexed file is designated by the character string “IMG_SRC”, and the sound part of the sound file or the image / sound multiplexed file is designated by the character string “SND_SRC”. Therefore, the CPU 110 determines from these character strings whether the target file is related to image reproduction or audio reproduction. As a result, for the image, the image file B and the image portion of the image / audio multiplex file A are in this order, and for the sound, the audio file A and the audio portion of the image / audio multiplex file B are in this order. Read from the memory means 101, decode and reproduce. At that time, it is determined from the description in the first line of the automatic reproduction control file 105 that these file groups are one group to which a group ID is assigned, and the first among the image files included in the group. The synchronization control means 109 controls the decoding in the decoder 108 so that the playback start of the image file B to be played back and the playback start of the audio file A played back first among the audio files included in the same group are synchronized. To do.
[0039]
Specifically, the CPU 110 sends information indicating an image and sound to be synchronized and reproduced to the synchronization control means 109. The decoder 108 has a temporary memory for temporarily storing the decrypted result therein, decodes the file read from the memory means 101, and temporarily writes it in the temporary memory once. This is a measure for compensating for the difference in time required for decoding depending on the file. The synchronization control means 109 monitors the progress of the decoding of the image and sound to be synchronized and, when the decoding is completed until the image and the sound can be output simultaneously, the image and the sound stored in the temporary memory. Output simultaneously. In this way, the reproduction of the image and the sound is synchronized.
[0040]
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of reproduction of these series of files. In FIG. 5, step 501 is waiting for input from the automatic reproduction key 209, and when the automatic reproduction key 209 is pressed, the routine proceeds to step 502. In step 502, the CPU 110 controls the reading unit 106 to read the automatic reproduction control file 105 from the memory unit 101. In step 503, the CPU 110 searches the group ID number from the read automatic reproduction control file 105 to detect a group. Further, in step 504, the file name specified by the character string “IMG_SRC” indicating the image is detected for each detected group, and in step 505, the file name specified by the character string “SND_SRC” indicating the voice is detected similarly. To do. Then, in step 506, as described above, the reading of the file from the memory means 101, the decoding by the decoder 108, and the synchronous reproduction of the image and sound by the synchronization control means 109 are controlled.
[0041]
In addition, FIG. 6 schematically shows the state of reproduction of such an image and sound, and the user can reproduce the image and sound as specified by the user.
[0042]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the image file and the audio file whose playback start is to be synchronized are described in a grouped form in the automatic playback control file 105 as shown in FIG. In accordance with the control file 105, the start of playback of the first image file to be played among the image files included in the group is synchronized with the start of playback of the first sound file to be played among the sound files included in the same group. By controlling the reading of the file from the memory means 101 and the decoding by the decoder 108, the user can freely and easily combine the image data, the sound data, and the data in which the image and the sound are multiplexed, and the predetermined image And the start of audio playback can be executed synchronously.
[0043]
(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment of the present invention, the configuration in which one group of a plurality of files is described in the automatic playback control file 105 has been described. In this case, an image at the playback start time of a file group included in the group is described. Only audio synchronization is feasible. However, there may be a case where it is desired to reproduce the image and sound further in synchronization. An embodiment assuming such a case will be described below.
[0044]
For example, among the files shown in FIG. 3, the image file A and the image file B are reproduced in this order. At this time, the reproduction start of the image file A and the audio file B is synchronized. When it is desired to synchronize the playback start of the audio portion of the audio multiplex file B, the automatic reproduction control file 105 is first generated by the following procedure.
[0045]
First, the user presses the new playback control file creation key 208 as in the first embodiment. As a result, a file having a file name “AUTOTOPY2” is created on the memory means 101.
[0046]
Next, the user depresses the image file reproduction mode selection key 201 to select an image to be automatically reproduced, causes the image file on the memory means 101 to be reproduced and displayed on the display means 112, and the display image is changed with the feed key 204. To display the image file A. Then, the enter key 206 is pressed. As a result, the file name of the image file A is recorded in the temporary memory in the CPU 110 following the character string “IMG_SRC =”. Next, the audio file reproduction mode selection key 202 is pressed to select the audio to be automatically reproduced, the audio file on the memory means 101 is reproduced by the speaker 113, and the reproduction audio is changed by the feed key 204 to change the audio file B. Play. Then, the enter key 206 is pressed. As a result, the file name of the audio file B is recorded in the temporary memory in the CPU 110 following the character string “SND_SRC =”.
[0047]
When the grouping key 207 is pressed next in this state, the CPU 110 recognizes the selected image file A and audio file B as one group, assigns a unique ID number (for example, 001) to the group, and controls the writing unit 107. Then, the ID number unique to the group and the contents stored in the temporary memory of the CPU 110 are written into the automatic reproduction control file “AUTOPLY2” on the memory means 101.
[0048]
Next, as described above, the audio portions of the image file B and the image / audio multiplex file B are reproduced and selected, and the grouping key 207 is pressed. As a result, the CPU 110 recognizes the audio portions of the image file B and the image / audio multiplex file B as one group, assigns a unique ID number (for example, 002) to the group, and controls the writing unit 107 to control the memory unit 101. The ID number unique to the group and the contents stored in the temporary memory of the CPU 110 are written in the automatic reproduction control file “AUTOPLY2” above. FIG. 7 shows the contents of the created automatic reproduction control file “AUTOTOPY2”. “GID” shown in FIG. 7 is an ID number of the group. In the example of FIG. 7, different numbers are assigned to the two groups. Similarly to FIG. 4, “IMG_SRC” is a character string indicating the image portion of the image file or the image / audio multiplexed file, and “SND_SRC” is a character string indicating the audio portion of the audio file or the image / audio multiplexed file. . A file group having a GID with a smaller number of lines is set as a file group to be reproduced first.
[0049]
The above is the procedure for generating the automatic reproduction control file 105. Next, file reproduction based on the automatic reproduction control file 105 shown in FIG. 7 will be described.
[0050]
When the user presses the automatic reproduction key 209, the CPU 110 controls the reading means 106, reads the automatic reproduction control file 105, and acquires the contents thereof. The CPU 110 searches for the GID from the first line of the automatic reproduction control file 105 and recognizes from the first “GID” to the next “GID” as one group. Note that the last group in the automatic reproduction control file 105 is from the last GID to the last line of the file. From the description of the automatic reproduction control file 105, the image file A and the audio file B are recognized as one group, and the audio portion of the image file B and the image / audio multiplexed file B is recognized as one group. For images, the files are read from the memory means 101 in the order of the image file A and the image file B, and for sounds, in the order of the audio file B and the audio portion of the image / audio multiplex file B, decoded and reproduced. At that time, since the image file A and the audio file B are one group and the audio portion of the image file B and the image / audio multiplex file B is one group, the reproduction of the image file A and the reproduction of the audio file B are performed. The synchronization control means 109 controls the decoding in the decoder 108 so that the start is synchronized and the reproduction start of the image file B is synchronized with the reproduction start of the audio portion of the image / audio multiplexed file B. The flow chart for reproducing these series of files is the same as that in FIG. 5 shown in the first embodiment of the present invention. In addition, FIG. 8 schematically shows the state of reproduction of such an image and sound, and the user can reproduce the image and sound as specified by the user.
[0051]
As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, by setting a plurality of groups of files in one automatic playback control file, it is possible to finely set synchronization at the time of image and audio playback. The user can freely and easily combine the image data, the sound data, and the data in which the image and the sound are multiplexed, and the reproduction start of the image and the sound can be executed in synchronization.
[0052]
(Embodiment 3)
In the first and second embodiments of the present invention, a group ID number is assigned to a plurality of files in the automatic reproduction control file 105, and a plurality of files are regarded as one group and synchronized reproduction of images and sounds is performed. However, in these examples, the image / sound multiplex file is described on the automatic reproduction control file 105 in a form divided into an image part and a sound part. However, an image / sound multiplex file acquired with a digital still camera or digital video camera is considered to be a file in which sound is acquired at the same time as image acquisition, and is recorded on the assumption that the image and sound are synchronized. It can be said that it was a file. Therefore, when a file having such a property is reproduced, it is cumbersome for the user and may cause confusion if it is intentionally divided into an image portion and an audio portion and described in the automatic reproduction control file.
[0053]
Therefore, an embodiment will be described in which an image / audio multiplexed file is reproduced by an automatic reproduction control file while maintaining the synchronous relationship between the image and audio without dividing the image / audio multiplexed file into an image portion and an audio portion.
[0054]
For example, when the user wants to continuously reproduce the image / audio multiplex file A and the image / audio multiplex file B in this order among the files shown in FIG. 3, first, an automatic reproduction control file is obtained by the following procedure. Is generated.
[0055]
First, the user presses the new reproduction control file creation key 208 as in the first embodiment of the present invention. As a result, a file having a file name “AUTOTOPY3”, for example, is created on the memory means 101.
[0056]
Next, the user presses the image / audio multiplex file reproduction mode selection key 203 to select the image / audio multiplex file to be automatically reproduced, and the image / audio multiplex file on the memory means 101 is reproduced. After the file to be reproduced is changed by the feed key 204 or the return key 205 to reproduce the image / audio multiplexed file A, the determination key 206 is pressed. As a result, the text “CMP_SRC =” is displayed in the temporary memory in the CPU 110 to clearly indicate that the user has selected this file as a file in which the image and sound to be played back are multiplexed in the playback mode of the image / sound multiplexed file. Following the column, the file name of the image / sound multiplex file A is recorded. Similarly, the image / sound multiplex file B is reproduced, and the file name of the image / sound multiplex file B is recorded in the temporary memory in the CPU 110 by pressing the enter key 206 following the character string “CMP_SRC =”. Through the above procedure, the image / sound multiplex file A and the image / sound multiplex file B are selected, and the file names are stored in the CPU 110 together with the character string “CMP_SRC =” in the order to be reproduced.
[0057]
When the grouping key 207 is pressed next in this state, the CPU 110 recognizes the selected image / sound multiplex file A and image / sound multiplex file B as one group and assigns a unique ID number (for example, 001) to the group. Then, the write control unit 107 is controlled to write the ID number unique to the group and the contents stored in the temporary memory of the CPU 110 to the automatic reproduction control file “AUTOPLY3” on the memory unit 101. FIG. 9 shows the contents of the written automatic reproduction control file “AUTOTOPY3”. “GID” shown in FIG. 9 is an ID number of the group, and “CMP_SRC” is a character string indicating an image / audio multiplex file, whereby the image / audio multiplex files A and B are reproduced by the user. It clearly indicates that the data should be image and sound. A file group having a GID with a smaller number of lines is a file group to be reproduced first.
[0058]
The above is the procedure for generating the automatic reproduction control file 105. Next, file reproduction based on the automatic reproduction control file 105 shown in FIG. 9 will be described.
[0059]
When the user presses the automatic reproduction key 209, the CPU 110 controls the reading means 106, reads the automatic reproduction control file 105, and acquires the contents thereof. In the automatic reproduction control file 105, file names are described in the reproduction order. Since the image / sound multiplex file is designated by the character string “CMP_SRC”, it is determined from this character string that the target file is recorded by multiplexing the image and sound. As a result, the image / audio multiplex file A and the image / audio multiplex file B are read from the memory means 101, decoded, and the image and audio are reproduced in synchronization.
[0060]
Specifically, the CPU 110 sends information indicating a file to be synchronized and reproduced to the synchronization control means 109. The decoder 108 has a temporary memory for temporarily storing the decrypted result therein, decodes the file read from the memory means 101, and temporarily writes it in the temporary memory once. This is a measure for compensating for the time difference when there is a difference in decoding time between the image part and the sound part in the image / sound multiplex file. The synchronization control unit 109 monitors the progress of decoding of the image and sound to be reproduced, and outputs the image and sound stored in the temporary memory at the same time when the decoding is completed until the image and sound can be output simultaneously. Let In this way, the reproduction of the image and sound is synchronized.
[0061]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the playback flow of these series of files. In FIG. 10, steps 501 to 503 are the same as those in FIG. Step 1001 is a step of detecting a file name designated by a character string “CMP_SRC” indicating an image for each detected group. In step 1002, the CPU 110 reads the designated image / sound multiplex file from the memory unit 101, and controls the decoding by the decoder 108 and the synchronized reproduction of the image and sound by the synchronization control unit 109.
[0062]
Moreover, when the state of reproduction of such an image and sound is schematically shown in FIG. 11, the user can reproduce the image and sound as specified by the user.
[0063]
As described above, according to the third embodiment of the present invention, without dividing the data in which the image and the sound are multiplexed into the image part and the sound part, the synchronization relationship between the image and the sound is maintained, The user can freely and easily combine and reproduce the image and sound in synchronization.
[0064]
(Embodiment 4)
In Embodiment 3 of the present invention, an example has been described in which automatic playback is performed by describing a group consisting only of image / sound multiplexed files in the autoplay control file 105. However, the user also includes image files and sound files. An embodiment in the case of performing automatic reproduction will be described.
[0065]
For example, among the files shown in FIG. 3, the user reproduces the image file B, the image / audio multiplex file B, and the image file C in this order, and at this time, the reproduction of the image file B and the audio file A is started. If you want to synchronize, synchronize the audio part of the image / audio multiplex file B with the audio part of the same file and synchronize the start of playback of the audio part of the image file C and the image / audio multiplex file A, the following procedure First, an automatic reproduction control file is generated.
[0066]
First, the user presses the new reproduction control file creation key 208 as in the first embodiment of the present invention. As a result, a file having a file name “AUTOTOPY4”, for example, is created on the memory means 101.
[0067]
Next, the user depresses the image file reproduction mode selection key 201 to select an image to be automatically reproduced, causes the image file on the memory means 101 to be reproduced and displayed on the display means 112, and changes the display image using the feed key 204. To display image file B. Then, the enter key 206 is pressed. As a result, the file name of the image file B is displayed in the temporary memory in the CPU 110 after the character string “IMG_SRC =” for clearly indicating that the user has selected this file as the image to be reproduced in the image file reproduction mode. Is recorded. Next, the audio file reproduction mode selection key 202 is pressed to select the audio to be automatically reproduced, the audio file on the memory means 101 is reproduced by the speaker 113, and the reproduction audio is changed by the feed key 204 to change the audio file A. Play. Then, the enter key 206 is pressed. As a result, the file name of the audio file A is added to the temporary memory in the CPU 110 after the character string “SND_SRC =” for clearly indicating that the user has selected this file as the audio to be reproduced in the audio file reproduction mode. Is recorded.
[0068]
When the grouping key 207 is pressed next in this state, the CPU 110 recognizes the selected image file B and audio file A as one group, assigns a unique ID number (for example, 001) to the group, and controls the writing unit 107. Then, the ID number unique to the group and the contents stored in the temporary memory of the CPU 110 are written in the automatic reproduction control file “AUTOTOPY4” on the memory means 101.
[0069]
Next, the image / sound multiplex file playback mode selection key 203 is pressed to select the image / sound multiplex file to be automatically played back, and the image / sound multiplex file on the memory means 101 is played back. After the image / sound multiplex file B is reproduced by changing the display image by the feed key 204 or the return key 205, the determination key 206 is pressed. As a result, the character string “CMP_SRC =” for indicating in the temporary memory in the CPU 110 that the user has selected this file as a file in which the image and sound to be played back are multiplexed in the playback mode of the image / sound multiplexed file. Subsequently, the file name of the image / audio multiplex file B is recorded.
[0070]
When the grouping key 207 is pressed next in this state, the CPU 110 recognizes the selected image / sound multiplexed file B as one group, assigns a unique ID number (for example, 002) to the group, and controls the writing unit 107. Then, the ID number unique to the group and the content stored in the temporary memory of the CPU 110 are written to the automatic reproduction control file “AUTOPLY4” on the memory means 101.
[0071]
Next, the image file reproduction mode selection key 201 is pressed again to select an image to be automatically reproduced, the image file on the memory means 101 is reproduced and displayed on the display means 112, and the display image is changed with the feed key 204. The image file C is displayed. Then, the enter key 206 is pressed. As a result, the file name of the image file C is recorded in the temporary memory in the CPU 110 following the character string “IMG_SRC =”. Next, the audio file reproduction mode selection key 202 is pressed again to select the audio to be automatically reproduced, the audio file on the memory means 101 is reproduced by the speaker 113, and the reproduction audio is changed by the feed key 204 to change the image / The audio portion of the audio multiplex file A is reproduced. Then, the enter key 206 is pressed. As a result, the file name of the image / audio multiplex file A is recorded in the temporary memory in the CPU 110 following the character string “SND_SRC =”.
[0072]
When the grouping key 207 is pressed next in this state, the CPU 110 recognizes the audio portion of the selected image file C and the image / audio multiplex file A as one group and assigns a unique ID number (for example, 003) to the group. Then, the writing means 107 is controlled, and the ID number unique to the group and the contents stored in the temporary memory of the CPU 110 are additionally written in the automatic reproduction control file “AUTOTOPY4” on the memory means 101. FIG. 12 shows the contents of the written automatic reproduction control file “AUTOTOPY4”. “GID” shown in FIG. 12 is an ID number of the group. In the example of FIG. 12, different numbers are assigned to the three groups. Similarly to FIG. 4, “IMG_SRC” is a character string indicating the image portion of the image file or the image / audio multiplexed file, and “SND_SRC” is a character string indicating the audio portion of the audio file or the image / audio multiplexed file. As in FIG. 9, “CMP_SRC” is a character string indicating an image / audio multiplex file. A group having a GID with a smaller number of lines is a group to be reproduced first, and among the files represented by character strings such as “IMG_SRC”, a file having a smaller number of lines represented by the same character string is included in the group. It shall be played back first.
[0073]
The above is the procedure for generating the automatic reproduction control file 105. Next, file reproduction based on the automatic reproduction control file 105 shown in FIG. 12 will be described.
[0074]
When the user presses the automatic reproduction key 209, the CPU 110 controls the reading means 106, reads the automatic reproduction control file 105, and acquires the contents thereof. The CPU 110 searches for the GID from the first line of the automatic reproduction control file, and recognizes from the first “GID” to the next “GID” as one group. Note that the last group in the automatic reproduction control file 105 is from the last GID to the last line of the file. From the description of the automatic playback control file 105, the image file B and the audio file A are one group, the image / audio multiplex file B is one group, and the audio portions of the image file C and the image / audio multiplex file A are one group. Be recognized. Then, the audio portions of the image file B, the audio file A, the image / audio multiplex file B, the image file C, and the image / audio multiplex file A are read from the memory means 101, decoded and reproduced. At that time, the image file B and the audio file A are one group, the image / audio multiplex file B is one group, and the audio portion of the image file C and the image / audio multiplex file A is one group. Playback of the file B and playback of the audio file A are started in synchronization. Thereafter, the image portion and the audio portion of the image / sound multiplexed file B are played back in synchronization with each other. The synchronization control means 109 controls the decoding in the decoder 108 so as to synchronize with the start of reproduction of the audio portion of the multiplex file A. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of reproduction of these series of files.
[0075]
In FIG. 13, steps 501 to 505 are the same as those in FIG. 5, and step 1001 is the same as that in FIG. Step 1301 is a step of reproducing a file for each detected group. As described in the first to third embodiments of the present invention, the CPU 110 reads the file from the memory means 101 and decodes it by the decoder 108. And synchronous playback of the image and sound by the synchronization control means 109 is controlled.
[0076]
In addition, FIG. 14 schematically shows the state of reproduction of such an image and sound, and the user can reproduce the image and sound as specified by the user.
[0077]
As described above, according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, when an image and sound are automatically reproduced by combining three types of files, that is, an image file, an audio file, and an image / audio multiplex file, The user can freely and easily combine the three types of files to synchronize the image and the sound in a format that maintains the synchronized relationship between the image and the sound without dividing the multiplexed data into the image part and the sound part. Can be played.
[0078]
In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, when files are grouped, an image / audio multiplexed file specified by the character string “CMP_SRC”, a file specified by the character strings “IMG_SRC” and “SND_SRC”, and Are not mixed. That is, when an image / sound multiplex file designated by the character string “CMP_SRC” is placed in one group, only one image / sound multiplex file designated by the character string “CMP_SRC” constitutes one group. For example, in FIG. 12, the group whose GID is 002 includes only the image / sound multiplex file specified by the character string “CMP_SRC”. The reason for this shape will be described below.
[0079]
For example, as shown in FIG. 15, playback is started by synchronizing the image file B and the audio file A, the audio file B is played after the audio file A, and then the image of the image / audio multiplexed file B Assume that audio is played back synchronously, and finally, the audio portions of the image file C and the image / audio multiplexed file A are played back in synchronization. In this case, as an example of a method for creating the automatic reproduction control file, the following procedure can be considered as described above. First, editing of the automatic playback control file 105 is started by pressing the new playback control file creation key 208, and the image file playback mode selection key 201, the feed key 204, and the return key 205 are operated, and the image file B is displayed on the display means 112. After the display, the CPU 110 stores the file name after the character string “IMG_SRC” by the enter key 206. Next, the image / sound multiplex file playback mode selection key 203, the send key 204, and the return key 205 are operated in the same manner to reproduce the image / sound multiplex file B, and then the decision key 206 changes the character string to “CMP_SRC”. Subsequently, the CPU 110 stores the file name. Then, the image file reproduction mode selection key 201, the feed key 204, and the return key 205 are operated again to display the image file C on the display means 112, and then the file name is continued from the character string “IMG_SRC” by the enter key 206. Is stored in the CPU 110. As a result, the file names to be reproduced are stored in the temporary memory of the CPU 110 in the order of the image file B, the image / audio multiplex file B, and the image file C.
[0080]
For audio files, the audio file A, audio file B, and audio portion of the image / audio multiplex file A are operated in the order in which they are to be reproduced by operating the audio file file reproduction mode selection key 202, the feed key 204, and the return key 205. After the audio portions of the file A, the audio file B, and the image / audio multiplex file A are reproduced by the speaker 113, these file names are stored in the CPU 110 after the character string “SND_SRC” by the decision key 206. Then, the files selected by pressing the grouping key 207 are grouped and written together with the group ID number (for example, 001) in the automatic reproduction control file.
[0081]
FIG. 16 shows the automatic reproduction control file 105 created by the procedure as described above. In the automatic reproduction control file 105, as shown in FIG. 16, six files are grouped under one group ID (GID).
[0082]
Next, consider a case where a plurality of files are automatically reproduced by the automatic reproduction control file 105 shown in FIG.
[0083]
In the automatic reproduction control file 105 of FIG. 16, the image file B, the image / audio multiplexed file B, and the image file C are arranged in order, and it can be determined that the images should be reproduced in this order. However, with regard to the audio file, the audio portions of the audio file A, the audio file B, and the image / audio multiplex file A are reproduced in this order, and the reproduction of the image file that is reproduced first among the image files included in the group is started. That the audio file should be played back so that the start of playback of the first audio file among the audio files included in the same group is synchronized, that is, the playback start of the image file B and the playback of the audio file A However, the temporal positional relationship between the audio portion of the image / audio multiplex file B and the audio portion of the audio file B and the image / audio multiplex file A is the automatic reproduction control of FIG. The description in the file 105 cannot be determined. Specifically, the audio file A that needs to be synchronized with the image file B that is reproduced before the image / audio multiplex file B needs to be reproduced before the audio portion of the image / audio multiplex file B. The audio portion of the audio file B and the image / audio multiplex file A cannot be determined from the automatic reproduction control file of FIG. 16 except that the audio portion is reproduced after the audio file A.
[0084]
Therefore, if the automatic reproduction control file is created by the procedure as described above, the temporal positions of the audio portion of the image / audio multiplex file B and the audio portion of the audio file B and the image / audio multiplex file A are as follows. It becomes necessary to add and describe information for specifying the relationship in the automatic reproduction control file. However, in that case, the description of the automatic reproduction control file becomes complicated, and a device that automatically reproduces images and sounds based on this automatic reproduction control file also increases the burden for analyzing the automatic reproduction control file. Specifically, it becomes necessary for the playback device to have hardware or software for analyzing a more complicated automatic playback control file. In addition, it takes a lot of time to create an automatic playback control file, which places a burden on the user.
[0085]
Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 14, when an image / sound multiplex file is designated by a character string “CMP_SRC” and handled as one file that is reproduced in synchronization with the image and sound, the character string “IMG_SRC” is used. “/” And a file specified by “SND_SRC” are not mixed, and only one image / audio multiplexed file specified by the character string “CMP_SRC” is included in one group. In other words, because of the nature of the file, such as an image / sound multiplex file, a file in which the synchronization relationship between the image and the sound is completed within one file can be obtained by grouping only files of the same format into one group. Even if the automatic reproduction control file is configured together with a file that does not originally have an image-sound synchronization relationship, the temporal positional relationship between the files is not obscured.
[0086]
It is apparent from the third embodiment of the present invention that there is no problem even if a plurality of files designated by “CMP_SRC” are placed in one group.
[0087]
By doing so, it is not necessary to add information for clearly indicating the temporal positional relationship between the audio parts of the audio file or the image / audio multiplexed file to the automatic playback control file, and a simple automatic By describing the playback control file, the temporal positional relationship between files can be clearly specified. This does not increase the burden for automatic reproduction control file analysis of the device that automatically reproduces images and sounds, and does not increase the burden for the user to create the automatic reproduction control file.
[0088]
In addition, as an example of the automatic reproduction control file in the case of reproducing an image and sound in a synchronous relationship as shown in FIG. 15, an example as shown in FIG. 17 can be considered. As shown in FIG. 17, if the portion indicating the reproduction of the image / sound multiplex file B is separated from the GID designating another file with GID = 002, the temporal positional relationship between the files can be clearly defined. Is apparent from the above description.
[0089]
In all of the embodiments of the present invention, the encoding method of the image file, the audio file, the image / audio multiplex file, the file format, etc. are not specified in detail. It is clear that the present invention is effective for encoded files and files of any file format. Furthermore, the present invention is effective even if the image file, the audio file, and the image / audio multiplex file are information-compressed files, non-compressed files, and files having additional information such as a header. It is clear.
[0090]
In all the embodiments of the present invention, “IMG_SRC”, “SND_SRC”, and “CMP_SRC” are used as character strings for specifying a file. However, these are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited thereto.
[0091]
In all embodiments of the present invention, the decoder 108 may include a digital-analog converter that converts a digital signal into an analog signal.
[0092]
Further, in all the embodiments of the present invention, the key input of the operation key 111 has been described using the key input by pressing as shown by 201 to 208 in FIG. 2, but is not limited to this. A method of selecting a necessary operation from a touch panel displayed on a liquid crystal display device or a menu display is also conceivable.
[0093]
Further, in all the embodiments of the present invention, it has been explained that there is only one automatic reproduction control file used for reproduction on the memory means 101. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, there may be a configuration in which a plurality of automatic reproduction control files exist on the memory unit 101, and the user can arbitrarily select an automatic reproduction control file to be used for automatic reproduction from among them. In this case, for example, all the automatic reproduction control files on the memory unit 101 are displayed on the display unit 112, and a method in which the user can freely select the automatic reproduction control file by key input or the like can be considered. Of course, it is not limited to this.
[0094]
In all the embodiments of the present invention, the automatic reproduction control file has been described as being recorded on the memory means 101. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is stored in a storage means different from the memory means 101. Is also possible.
[0095]
Further, in all the embodiments of the present invention, a configuration has been described in which an image or sound is played when an automatic playback control file is created. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an image or sound may not be played. Alternatively, a method of displaying the file names on the display means 112 and selecting a file to be automatically reproduced from the file names can be considered.
[0096]
Further, in all the embodiments of the present invention, a configuration has been described in which an image or sound is played when an automatic playback control file is created. However, a configuration in which thumbnail images are displayed is also conceivable. In addition, a configuration is possible in which a part of the audio is reproduced, for example, only the beginning part.
[0097]
Further, in all the embodiments of the present invention, no particular mention was made regarding the number of frames in the image portion of the image file and the image / audio multiplex file, but this is a moving image consisting of a plurality of frames even in one still image. It doesn't matter.
[0098]
Further, in all the embodiments of the present invention, a configuration has been described in which an image or sound is played when an automatic playback control file is created. However, if the image is a moving image consisting of a plurality of frames, a part of the configuration is described. A configuration in which only the image is displayed is also possible.
[0099]
Further, in all the embodiments of the present invention, it is needless to say that at least the processing by the CPU 110 can be realized by software. The software may be stored in a memory in advance or may be given from a separate recording medium. I do not care.
[0100]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, a user can freely create different types of files such as a data file in which an image signal is recorded, a data file in which an audio signal is recorded, and a data file in which an image signal and an audio signal are multiplexed. In addition, it is possible to realize a device that can be easily combined and continuously reproduced, and at that time, a predetermined image and sound reproduction start can be executed in synchronization.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an image and audio reproduction device according to Embodiments 1 to 4 of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a layout diagram of an operation surface of the image and audio reproduction device according to the first to fourth embodiments
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an image file, an audio file, and an image / audio multiplexed file stored on the memory means in the first to fourth embodiments.
FIG. 4 is a view showing the contents of an automatic playback control file in the first embodiment
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of automatic reproduction operation in the first embodiment.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining automatically reproduced images and sounds in the first embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a view showing the contents of an automatic playback control file in the second embodiment
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining automatically reproduced images and sounds in the second embodiment
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the contents of an automatic playback control file in the third embodiment
FIG. 10 is a flowchart of automatic reproduction operation in the third embodiment.
11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining automatically reproduced images and sounds in the third embodiment. FIG.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the contents of an automatic playback control file in the fourth embodiment
FIG. 13 is a flowchart of automatic reproduction operation according to the fourth embodiment.
FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram for explaining automatically reproduced images and sounds according to the fourth embodiment.
FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a description method in a group of files specified by a character string “CMP_SRC” in the fourth embodiment;
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of inappropriate description content of an automatic reproduction control file for explaining an example of a description method in a file group designated by a character string “CMP_SRC” in the fourth embodiment;
FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of appropriate description contents of an automatic reproduction control file for explaining an example of a description method in a file group designated by a character string “CMP_SRC” in the fourth embodiment;
FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing an example of an automatic playback device in a conventional example.
[Explanation of symbols]
101 Memory means
102 Image file
103 audio files
104 Image / sound multiplex file
105 Automatic playback control file
106 Reading means
107 Writing means
108 Decoder
109 Synchronization control means
110 CPU
111 Operation keys
112 Display means
113 Speaker

Claims (7)

Storage means for holding at least one of a data file that records an image signal, a data file that records an audio signal, or a data file that multiplex-records an image signal and an audio signal,
The storage means holds information relating to reproduction composed of an arbitrary combination of the data files independently of the data file,
The information relating to reproduction indicates at least one group in which one or more data files to be reproduced from the storage unit are collected,
In the group, information indicating reproduction of a data file in which an image signal and an audio signal are multiplexed and information indicating reproduction of a data file in which an image signal is recorded or a data file in which an audio signal is recorded are not mixed. An image and audio playback device. 2. The image and audio reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information relating to reproduction indicates a file name of a data file reproduced from the storage means. 2. The image and audio reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information relating to reproduction indicates an order of data files reproduced from the storage means. 4. The image and audio reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising reproduction means for reproducing an image signal and an audio signal from a data file held in the storage means in accordance with information relating to reproduction. 5. The image and audio reproducing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein at least the reproducing means includes either a reading means for reading a data file from the storage means or a decoder for decoding the data file. Holds at least one of a data file in which an image signal is recorded, a data file in which an audio signal is recorded, or a data file in which an image signal and an audio signal are multiplex-recorded, and information related to reproduction including any combination of the data files. Hold independently from the data file,
It has at least one group in which one or more data files to be reproduced are collected, and in the group, information indicating reproduction of a data file in which an image signal and an audio signal are multiplexed and a data file or audio in which the image signal is recorded A video signal and an audio signal are reproduced from the held data file in accordance with the reproduction information described so as not to mix information indicating reproduction of the data file in which the signal is recorded. How to play. Playback consisting of at least a data file recording an image signal, a data file recording an audio signal, or a data file recording multiple video signals and audio signals, and any combination of the data files independent of the data file And a reproducing means for reproducing a video signal and an audio signal from the data file held in the storage means according to the information relating to the reproduction from the storage means in which the information on the
The information related to reproduction indicates at least one group in which one or more data files to be reproduced from the storage unit are collected, and information indicating reproduction of a data file in which an image signal and an audio signal are multiplexed and recorded in the group; An image and audio reproduction apparatus characterized by not mixing information indicating reproduction of a data file in which an image signal is recorded or a data file in which an audio signal is recorded.

Images