Method for recording and reproducing data

Claim 2

The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein at least one of the data blocks is divided into a plurality of groups of data, and wherein the block header of the data block has control information that represents divided positions of the groups of data of the data blocks.

Claim 3

A reproducing apparatus for reproducing a data unit having a plurality of types of data blocks, the apparatus comprising: input means for inputting the data unit; data unit dividing means for dividing the data unit into data blocks corresponding to a unit header disposed at the data unit that is input by said input means; data block dividing means for dividing the data block into groups of data corresponding to the block header when the block header is disposed at the divided data blocks; and reproducing control means for reproducing only a predetermined one of the groups divided by said data block dividing means.

Claim 6

The method as set forth in claim 5, wherein the sound data block and the sub-picture data block are adjacently disposed, the effective block length thereof being fixed, the boundary of the sound data block and the sub-picture data block being variable in the range of the effective block length.

Claim 7

The method as set forth in claim 5, wherein the data blocks of the data unit that are processed chronologically independent from other data blocks and disposed at predetermined intervals are disposed in a plurality of data units so as to process a set of the data blocks as one data block, and wherein the unit header of the data units has information that identifies the position of the data blocks of a predetermined data unit in the set of the data blocks.

Claim 8

The method as set forth in claim 5, wherein the sound block header of the sound data block further includes stream position information and stream construction information, the stream position information being adapted for identifying the start point, size, and presence/absence of the sound stream data, the stream construction information being adapted for identifying the construction of sound stream data.

Claim 9

The method as set forth in claim 9, wherein the sound stream data is a set of a plurality of frame data divided by a predetermined time unit, and wherein the stream construction information includes information that represents whether or not the pattern of each of the frame data of the sound stream data is the same.

Claim 10

The method as set forth in claim 5, wherein the sub-picture block header of the sub-picture data block further includes channel position information and channel display control information, the channel position information is adapted for representing the start point, size, and presence/absence of each of the sub picture channel data, the channel display control information being adapted for identifying the display control state of each of the sub-picture channel data.

Claim 11

The method as set forth in claim 10, wherein the sub-picture channel display control information is adapted for identifying each of sub-picture channel data as the following display control modes: an immediate display mode for displaying the sub-picture channel data of a particular data unit in the time period of the data unit; a data hold mode for displaying the sub-picture channel data of a particular data unit in the time period of another data unit with a designated start time; a hold data display mode for issuing information of the start of the display of the sub-picture channel data being held; and a display clear mode for issuing information of the clear of the sub-picture channel data being displayed.

Claim 12

The method as set forth in claim 5, wherein the unit header has identification information of a predetermined data unit, the identification information comprising: a program number that represents a program of the predetermined data unit in a set of data units; a data unit number that represents a reproduction start time of the predetermined data unit in the program; and information that represents a physical start address of the predetermined data unit and a physical start address of another data unit spaced apart therefrom by ± n.

Claim 13

The method as set forth in claim 12, wherein the physical start address of the other data unit spaced apart from the predetermined data unit by ± n is represented by a relative sector number measured from the predetermined data unit or by a relative sector number measured from a boundary when the other data unit is not present in the boundary of the program.

Claim 14

The method as set forth in claim 5, wherein the unit header has reproducing control information necessary for reproducing a predetermined data unit, the reproducing control information including a program number of a program that can be reproduced as a next program.

Claim 15

The method as set forth in claim 5, wherein the unit header has reproducing control information necessary for reproducing a predetermined data unit, the reproducing control information including an effect setting flag for providing an effect to picture data and sound data of the data unit.

Claim 16

The method as set forth in claim 5, wherein the picture stream data of the main picture data block is composed of a group of a predetermined number of pictures compressed corresponding to MPEG system, the unit header further including the total number of frames of the main picture data block being reproduced and information that represents a display start frame number of a reference screen of the picture data.

Claim 17

The method as set forth in claim 5, wherein the sub-picture data blocks are disposed in N data units (where N is any integer that is equal to or larger than 2), the unit header further including information that represents the total number of frames of the N data units of the main picture data blocks being reproduced and a display start frame number of a reference screen in the last one of the N data units.

Claim 18

A reproducing apparatus for reproducing a data unit having a plurality of types of data blocks, comprising: frame number counting means for counting a reproduced frame number of a main picture corresponding to a reproduced output signal of the main picture; reproducing process means for inputting the reproduced frame number that is output from said frame number counting means and reproducing sound data or sub-picture data in synchronization with the reproduction of the main picture corresponding to the reproduced frame number; first comparing means for comparing the reproduced frame number obtained by said frame number counting means with the total number of frames of the main picture data block read from a unit header and resetting said frame number counting means when the reproduced frame number and the total number of frames match; reference screen detecting means for detecting the start of the reproduction of the reference screen corresponding to the reproduced data of the main picture; second comparing means for comparing the reproduced frame number obtained by said frame number counting means with a display start frame number of the reference screen that is read from the unit header when the start of the reproduction of the reference screen is detected by said reference screen detecting means; down-counting means for counting down the difference between the reproduced frame number and the display start frame number of the reference screen at intervals of the frame display when the reproduced frame number is larger than the display start frame number of the reference screen; storing means for storing reproduced data of a sub-picture of one frame prior; switching means for switching reproduced data between sub-picture of one frame prior stored in said storing means and sub-picture of the present frame; and means for controlling said switching means to select the reproduced data of the sub-picture stored in said storing means and stop the counting operation of said frame number counting means when the difference held by said down-counting means is other than 0.

Claim 19

The reproducing apparatus as set forth in claim 18, wherein said reproducing process means comprises: decoding means for decoding sound data or sub-picture data and obtaining a sound output or a sub-picture output; and buffer means for storing pre-decoded sub-picture data of the present frame, wherein said storing means is adapted for storing pre-decoded sub-picture data of one frame prior, and wherein said switching means is adapted for selecting sub-picture data stored in said storing means and outputting the selected sub-picture data to said decoding means when the difference counted by said down-counting means is other than 0 and for selecting sub-picture data of the present frame and outputting the selected data to said decoding means when the difference counted by said down-counting means is 0.

Claim 20

The reproducing apparatus as set forth in claim 18, wherein said reproducing process means has decoding means for decoding sound data or sub-picture data and outputting decoded sound or decoded sub-picture, wherein said storing means is adapted for storing reproduced sub-picture data of one frame prior obtained by said decoding means, and wherein said switching means is adapted for selecting sub-picture data stored in said storing means and outputting the selected sub-picture data when the difference counted by said down-counting means is other than 0 and for selecting sub-picture data of the present frame that is output from said decoding means and outputting the selected data when the difference counted by said down-counting means is 0.

Claim 21

The reproducing apparatus as set forth in claim 18, the apparatus further comprising: reproduction controlling process means for determining whether or not a sub-picture reproduction controlling process is present between a reproducing start frame of the reference screen and a reproduced frame obtained by said frame number counting means when the display start frame number of the reference screen is larger than the reproduced frame obtained by said frame number counting means corresponding to the compared result of said second comparing means; reproducing process forcing means for forcedly performing the reproducing control process when it is determined that there is the reproduced control process; and setting the reproduced start frame number of the reference screen to said frame number counting means after said reproducing control process is completed.