U.S. patent application number 12/176087 was filed with the patent office on 2008-11-13 for method for managing recorded streams in a rewritable recording medium.
Invention is credited to Sung Ryun Cho, Byung Jin Kim, Mi Hyun Kim, Sung Wan Park, Kang Soo Seo.
Application Number | 20080279525 12/176087 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 29707731 |
Filed Date | 2008-11-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080279525 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kim; Mi Hyun ; et
al. |
November 13, 2008 |
METHOD FOR MANAGING RECORDED STREAMS IN A REWRITABLE RECORDING
MEDIUM
Abstract
A method and apparatus for managing digital content are
discussed. According to an embodiment, the method includes
receiving digital content and protection information for protecting
the digital content; obtaining flag information associated with
time information; obtaining the time information indicating one of
a relative time and an absolute time based on the flag information;
and managing the digital content according to the time information,
wherein the managing step prevents use of the digital content upon
an expiration of the time indicated in the time information.
Inventors: |
Kim; Mi Hyun; (Seoul,
KR) ; Cho; Sung Ryun; (Seoul, KR) ; Kim; Byung
Jin; (US) ; Seo; Kang Soo; (US) ; Park;
Sung Wan; (US) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BIRCH STEWART KOLASCH & BIRCH
PO BOX 747
FALLS CHURCH
VA
22040-0747
US
|
Family ID: |
29707731 |
Appl. No.: |
12/176087 |
Filed: |
July 18, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11525923 |
Sep 25, 2006 |
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12176087 |
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10446852 |
May 29, 2003 |
7206892 |
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11525923 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
386/252 ;
386/241; 386/248; 386/E5.028; 386/E5.064; G9B/27.012; G9B/27.019;
G9B/27.05 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 2221/2151 20130101;
G11B 2220/216 20130101; H04N 5/85 20130101; G11B 20/00666 20130101;
G11B 27/329 20130101; G06F 2221/2143 20130101; G11B 2220/2541
20130101; G11B 20/00086 20130101; G11B 20/0084 20130101; G11B
2220/20 20130101; G06F 21/10 20130101; H04N 9/8205 20130101; G11B
27/105 20130101; G11B 27/034 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
386/63 ;
386/E05.028 |
International
Class: |
H04N 5/93 20060101
H04N005/93 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 5, 2002 |
KR |
10-2002-0031749 |
Claims
1. A method of managing digital content, comprising: receiving
digital content and protection information for protecting the
digital content; obtaining flag information associated with time
information; obtaining the time information indicating one of a
relative time and an absolute time based on the flag information;
and managing the digital content according to the time information,
wherein the managing step prevents use of the digital content upon
an expiration of the time indicated in the time information.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the time indicated in the time
information is a time after which accessibility of the digital
content is considered expired, the accessibility including a
playback or editing of the digital content.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the managing step includes:
comparing the relative time and a predetermined time; and
controlling a playback of the digital content based on a result of
the comparing step.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the controlling step includes
deleting the digital content based on the result of the comparing
step.
5. The method of claim 3, wherein the predetermined time is a
current elapsed time from an initial playback time of the digital
content.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the protection information is
related to at least one of the flag information and the time
information, and the managing step further manages the digital
content based on the protection information.
7. An apparatus for managing digital content, comprising: a
receiver configured to receive digital content and protection
information for protecting the digital content; and a controller
configured to obtain flag information associated with time
information, to obtain the time information indicating one of a
relative time and an absolute time based on the flag information,
and to manage the digital content according to the time
information, wherein the managing of the digital content prevents
use of the digital content upon an expiration of the time indicated
in the time information.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the time indicated in the time
information is a time after which accessibility of the digital
content is considered expired, the accessibility including a
playback or editing of the digital content.
9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured
to compare the relative time and a predetermined time, and to
control a playback of the digital content based on the comparison
results.
10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured
to delete the digital content based on the comparison results.
11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the predetermined time is a
current elapsed time from an initial playback time of the digital
content.
12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the protection information is
related to at least one of the flag information and the time
information, and the controller is further configured to manage the
digital content based on the protection information.
Description
[0001] This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/525,923, filed on Sep. 25, 2006, which is a
divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/446,852, filed on
May 29, 2003 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,206,892 B2), the entire contents
of these applications are hereby incorporated by reference.
Priority is claimed under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 120; and this
application claims priority of Application No. 10-2002-0031749
filed in Korea on Jun. 5, 2002 under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to a method for automatic
timed deletion of video and audio streams stored in a recording
medium such as a rewritable optical disc.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Recently, in accordance with rapid advancement of
standardization of a novel high density rewritable recording medium
such as `Blu-ray Disc Rewritable` (hereinafter referred to as
BD-RW) where high quality video and audio data can be recorded for
many hours, it is expected that related products are soon developed
and released to consumer market.
[0006] FIG. 1 illustrates a partial structure of an optical disc
apparatus such as a video disc recorder (VDR) which records signals
in a recording medium such as BD-RW or plays signals thereof. The
said optical disc apparatus may comprise an optical pickup 2 to
read out recorded signals from the recording medium such as BD-RW 1
or to record processed data streams from external inputs; a VDR
system 3 to process signals read out from the optical pickup 2 for
playback or to transform external data streams into those suitable
for recording; and an encoder 4 to encode analog signals from
external sources to output to the VDR system 3.
[0007] As illustrated in FIG. 2, clips of A/V streams recorded in
the BD-RW 1, for example, a first clip of A/V stream (Clip 1 A/V
Stream) and a second clip of A/V stream (Clip 2 A/V Stream), each
of which is recorded consecutively are managed by a first real
playlist (Real PlayList 1) and a second real playlist (Real
PlayList 2) generated automatically at the time of recording
respective A/V streams, wherein respective play control information
to read out and play is contained.
[0008] In addition, a playlist making access to sections
selectively chosen from a part or whole of the A/V stream clips
recorded in said manner can be generated, which is termed as a
virtual playlist. Referring to FIG. 2, within the virtual playlist,
a playitem of main path (PlayItem) to read out and play the first
clip of A/V stream associated with the first real playlist and a
sub playitem of subpath (Sub PlayItem) to read out and play the
second clip of A/V stream associated with the second real playlist
can be recorded and managed.
[0009] Accordingly, while performing a series of play operations of
reading out and playing the first clip of A/V stream managed by the
first real playlist, the optical disc apparatus of VDR system 3 can
select and play the second clip of A/V stream managed by the second
real playlist upon user request.
[0010] On the other hand, the VDR system 3, in response to user
request, may delete or edit a part of the first clip of A/V stream
or second clip of A/V stream. As depicted in FIG. 3, in case a part
of the second clip of A/V stream is deleted, the remaining part of
the partially deleted A/V stream is broken up into an A/V stream of
second clip and an A/V stream of third clip with corresponding
second real playlist and third real playlist generated and further
managed, wherein play control information to read out and play the
A/V streams are incorporated.
[0011] In order to allow a user to randomly select, edit and play
real playlists managed by said procedure, a virtual playlist is
generated and recorded, wherein the playitem of main path to read
out and play the A/V stream of first clip associated with the first
real playlist and sub playitem of sub path to read out and play the
A/V stream of third clip associated with the third real playlist
can be recorded and managed at the same time. Consequently, in
response to user request, the VDR system 3 of the optical disc
apparatus, while performing a series of play operations of reading
out and playing the A/V stream of the first clip associated with
the first real playlist, can select and play the A/V stream of the
third clip associated with the third real playlist.
[0012] Because an optical disc apparatus of said kind, in response
to user request, allows random edition of recorded clips of A/V
streams and playing clips of the A/V streams, however, user's
unlimited playback or illegal edition of proprietary television
programs or movies are made possible, where copyright protection
and payment are essential. Presently, however, an effective means
to prohibit such behavior is yet to be prepared.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0013] By taking these aspects into account, the present invention
is directed to provide a method and device for automatic timed
deletion of clips of A/V streams in order to protect copyright and
secure payment to proprietary television programs and movies which
are recorded in a recording medium such as a high density optical
disc (BD-RW). The invention provides a method for managing recorded
streams in a recording medium, thereby a user's unlimited playback
or illegal edition of digital contents recorded in a recording
medium can be prohibited, where copyright protection is
required.
[0014] A method of managing recorded streams in a rewritable
recording medium to in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention comprises the following steps: recording a clip of data
stream with time continuity in a rewritable recording medium; and
recording additional management information in a playlist in order
for automatic deletion of the clip of data stream after
predetermined time.
[0015] Another method for managing recorded streams in a rewritable
recording medium according to an embodiment of the present
invention comprises the following steps: searching for and checking
an automatic deletion flag and deletion time information included
in a playlist corresponding to a clip of data stream recorded with
time continuity in a rewritable recording medium; and determining
to conduct an automatic deletion of the clip of data stream with
reference to the automatic deletion flag and deletion time
information.
[0016] Accordingly to another embodiment of the present invention,
there is provided a method of managing digital content, comprising:
receiving digital content and protection information for protecting
the digital content; obtaining flag information associated with
time information; obtaining the time information indicating one of
a relative time and an absolute time based on the flag information;
and managing the digital content according to the time information,
wherein the managing step prevents use of the digital content upon
an expiration of the time indicated in the time information.
[0017] Accordingly to another embodiment of the present invention,
there is provided an apparatus for managing digital content,
comprising: a receiver configured to receive digital content and
protection information for protecting the digital content; and a
controller configured to obtain flag information associated with
time information, to obtain the time information indicating one of
a relative time and an absolute time based on the flag information,
and to manage the digital content according to the time
information, wherein the managing of the digital content prevents
use of the digital content upon an expiration of the time indicated
in the time information.
[0018] These and other objects of the present application will
become more readily apparent from the detailed description given
hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed
description and specific examples, while indicating preferred
embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration
only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and
scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the
art from this detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a
further understanding of the invention, illustrate the preferred
embodiments of the invention, and together with the description,
serve to explain the principles of the present invention.
[0020] In the drawings:
[0021] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a partial structure of an
optical disk apparatus such as a video disk recorder (VDR);
[0022] FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are diagrams depicting a situation wherein
clips of A/V streams recorded in a rewritable optical disc (BD-RW),
real playlists and a virtual playlist are associated;
[0023] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the file structure of a
rewritable optical disc (BD-RW);
[0024] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the syntax of a real
playlist with automatic deletion flag (time_bomb_flag) recorded by
the method for managing recorded streams according to an embodiment
of the present invention; and
[0025] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the operational flowchart
of the method for managing recorded streams in a rewritable
recording medium according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0026] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention
for managing recorded streams in a recording medium such as a
rewritable medium will be described in detail with reference to
appended drawings.
[0027] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the file structure of a
rewritable optical disc (BD-RW). As shown in FIG. 4, the BD-RW
employs a fixed file structure comprising: a root directory at the
top of the file structure; at least more than one DVR directories
beneath the root directory; a single `info.dvr` file, `menu.tidx`
files, and `mark.tidx` files under the DVR directory; PLAYLIST
subdirectory where multiple real and virtual playlist files
(*.rpls, *.vpls) are placed; CLIPINF subdirectory where multiple
clip information files (*.clpi) are placed; and STREAM subdirectory
where multiple record data stream files (*.m2ts) corresponding to
respective clip information files are placed.
[0028] On the other hand, record data stream files recorded in the
STREAM subdirectory, more specifically, various play control
information for `01001.m2ts` and `02002.m2ts` files are recorded in
`01001.clpi` and `02002.clpi` files respectively, which are placed
in the CLIP subdirectory; playlist information which determines
serial playing of the `01001.m2ts` and `02002.m2ts` files and order
of playing can be recorded in `01001.rpls` file placed in the
PLAYLIST subdirectory.
[0029] As depicted in FIG. 5, within the playlist files (*.rpls,
*.vpls), more specifically, in the syntax of a real playlist file
(xxxx.rpls), recorded are a version number; start addresses of
playlist, playlist mark, and maker private data; and playlist of
user interface application information (UIAppInforPlayList) wherein
one bit automatic deletion flag (time_bomb_flag) and corresponding
deletion time information (expire_time_info) in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention are included. In case the
automatic deletion flag is set to `1` in order to prohibit a user's
arbitrary unlimited playback or edition of a clip of A/V stream
where copyright protection and security for payment are needed,
deletion time information is added to automatically delete the
corresponding clip of A/V stream; to this purpose, one bit
allocated from four bits of reserved area for word alignment by
predetermined record size or from another reserved area can be used
as the automatic deletion flag.
[0030] In addition, the deletion time information can be added as
absolute time information irrespective of start time of playing or
relative time information counted from the start of playing, which
automatic deletion flag and information of deletion time can be
included in a received A/V stream. If not included in the received
A/V stream, a disc recorder can set up deletion time and record the
automatic flag activated. In this case, deletion time may be
assigned by a predetermined value, for example, `after 96
hours`.
[0031] After recording in this manner, by searching and identifying
deletion time information which is stored together with the
automatic deletion flag, the optical disc apparatus of VDR system
(3) automatically deletes the corresponding clip of A/V stream,
thereby preventing user's unlimited playback or arbitrary edition
thereof, where the automatic deletion flag is set to `1`. This
procedure is further described in the following.
[0032] FIG. 6 illustrates the operational flow of the method for
managing record streams in a rewritable recording medium according
to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 6, in
case a user sends a play request for a clip of A/V stream (S30)
among the clips of A/V streams stored in the BD-RW 1, the VDR
system 3 searches for a playlist corresponding to the clip of A/V
stream, after which it identifies a user interface application
information playlist (UIAppInfoPlayList) included therein
(S31).
[0033] Subsequently, the VDR system 3 searches for and checks the
automatic deletion flag (time_bomb_flag) included in the user
interface applications information playlist (S32); in case when the
automatic deletion flag is set to `1`, it searches for and checks
the deletion time information (expire_time_infor) linked with the
automatic deletion flag (S34).
[0034] Thereafter, with reference to the checked deletion time
information, in case the absolute time information which is
independent of start time of playing coincides with or precedes
present time (S35), the clip of A/V system is considered to be a
proprietary television program or movie with copyright protection
or payment required, thereby the A/V stream is deleted (S36). On
the contrary, when the identified automatic deletion flag
(time_bomb_flag) is found to be `0` or the deletion time
information (expire_time_info) is set after present time, the VDR
system 3 performs an ordinary play operation upon user request
(S37).
[0035] On the other hand, in case the deletion time information
(expire_time_infor) is recorded as a relative time information
counted from the start of the initial play of the clip of A/V
stream, elapsed time from the initial play of the clip of A/V
stream is counted and compared with deletion time information.
Subsequently, when the elapsed time counted from the initial play
coincides with or exceeds the deletion time information, the A/V
stream is deleted, whereas the elapsed time counted from the
initial play is less than the deletion time information, an
ordinary play operation upon user request is performed.
[0036] Moreover, by adding edition protection flag
(edit_protect_flag) to prevent partial deletion or unauthorized
edition of the corresponding clip of A/V stream to the user
interface application information playlist (UIAppInfo PlayList),
thereafter enabling the edition protection flag and the automatic
deletion flag and deletion time information to be related each
other, copyright protection and secured payment for proprietary
television programs or movies can be made effective.
[0037] The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of
the present invention has been presented for purposes of
illustration. Thus, those skilled in the art may utilize the
invention and various embodiments with improvements, modifications,
substitutions, or additions within the spirit and scope of the
invention as defined by the following appended claims.
* * * * *