JP2008199502A - Video camera - Google Patents

Abstract

A desired video content can be easily and reliably selected from an enormous number of video content recorded on a large-capacity recording medium.
Video content obtained by a sensor is encoded and then recorded with content management information such as shooting time information from a clock, shooting position information from a GPS unit, and camera identification information. Recording is performed on the optical disk 14 by the drive 10. When the desired video content is selectively reproduced from the optical disc 14, the system controller 5 reads the content management information from the optical disc 14, and based on this, a video content selection screen is created and displayed on the display unit 12. Is done. In this video content selection screen, video content can be selected within the range where the shooting date and time and the shooting location are specified. By making this range changeable, the shooting date and time and shooting location range for selecting the video content can be changed. Can be squeezed.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a home video camera, and more particularly to a video camera having a recording / playback function.

  Currently, home video camera products are changing from those using tape as a recording medium to those using a disk medium such as a DVD disk or a hard disk or a memory card as a recording medium. For DVD discs, products capable of shooting for about one hour and for video cameras using a hard disc for several hours have been commercialized. The capacity of the installed hard disk has increased year by year, and as of 2006, recording for about 7 hours is possible with a capacity of 30 GB. As for memory cards, the increase in storage capacity has progressed, and there is also a product capable of recording for about 1.5 hours with a 4 GB memory card. As for optical discs, the transition from DVD to Blu-ray discs is also expected, and it is possible to record about five times the current capacity per disc. Further, next-generation optical discs are being studied, and further increase in storage capacity is expected.

  In another aspect, the communication bandwidth that can be used by general users is increasing due to the advancement of wireless communication technology. At present, the bandwidth required for video camera video content for real-time transmission is about 10 Mbps, but a service for general users to transmit this wirelessly is not provided. Although voice communication of a cellular phone can use about several hundred kbps, it is insufficient for transmitting the video content of the video camera. In the future, wireless communication services such as mobile phone services or hotspots are expected to expand in the direction of increasing the transmission bandwidth available to general users.

  As another aspect of the video camera, the recording format of the video content is changed with the change of the recording medium. In the case of a tape medium, the recording data is an analog system, but in an optical disk or a hard disk, the video content is digital data. One of the characteristics of digital data is that it is easy to move on the network. Of course, removable optical disks have portability as recording media, and even when using built-in media, content can be ported by using the above-mentioned wireless network service with expanded bandwidth. Can have.

  By the way, as described above, it is necessary to select desired video content from video content recorded on the media so that the video content can be played back. A method is generally used in which a user can select video content by displaying content identification information such as a representative image (generally called a thumbnail) or a title character string on the screen.

  As another method, there is known a method that enables selection using video information when video content shot and recorded by a video camera is selected and played back (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .

In this method, a plurality of maps are divided and stored in advance (maps), a map number is set for each map, and a divided map number is set for each divided map. When recording on a recording medium, the map number of the map including the shooting location and the map division number on the map are recorded on the recording medium in association with the recording position of the video content, and the desired video content is recorded on the recording medium. First, the map number of each video content recorded on the recording medium, the divided map number, and the recording address of the corresponding video content are read from the recording medium and stored in the memory. In addition, the map number is displayed in a list on the screen of the playback device, and the map number including the imaging position of this video content is displayed from this list If specified, it displays this map consisting division map, the division map corresponding with this map is designated, in which the video content from the corresponding recording address is reproduced.
JP 07-288725 A (paragraphs [0069] to [0075])

  As described above, the capacity of media will increase in the future, and a long-time video will be recorded on one medium used in a video camera. Video cameras are used differently from home video recorders that record TV broadcasts, and the minimum unit of video content (generally a recording unit called a scene) is several tens of minutes from short-time content in seconds. About content is common. If the minimum unit of video content is shortened, video content of a huge number of different scenes will be recorded on the same capacity medium. Whereas the minimum recording unit of TV broadcast is about 30 minutes, if the minimum unit of the video camera is 15 seconds, it corresponds to 120 times the number of recording units (scenes). As the capacity of media increases, the number of recordable units (number of scenes) increases in proportion to the capacity.

  As described above, as a method of selecting (searching) video content recorded on a medium, a home video recorder displays a list of content identification information such as thumbnails of video content or title character strings as described above. By displaying the above, a method has been adopted so that the user can select the video content. However, in the video camera, as described above, the number of recording units of the content to be recorded increases. When the method is applied, there is a high possibility that the operation environment becomes inconvenient.

  In addition, in the method described in Patent Document 1, in order to be able to select a desired video content with certainty, it is necessary to accurately store the shooting location (division map). When a large number of video contents are recorded on the same recording medium, a large number of shootings may be performed at different shooting dates and times in the same divided map area. Even if one divided map is designated, It takes time and effort to select the desired video content. For this reason, even with this method, there is a high possibility that the operating environment will be inconvenient.

  Therefore, the first problem is to enable the video camera to select the target video content in a short time and with few operations.

  Another feature of video camera content is that it is associated with certain special events, such as children's birth, sports day, weddings, and travel. As a result, the contents of the event, the recording date and time, and the recording location become important related information of the content. Conventionally, only the recording date and time is automatically recorded including the related data of the video content, and is used as information when selecting the video content.

  However, even in the characteristics of such video content of a video camera, the increase in the capacity of the media causes a situation where it is difficult to select the recorded video content. Increasing the capacity of the media makes it possible to record a large number of the above events, and the recording date and time can be considered to extend from a current period of several days to a period of several years or several decades. As for the recording location, it is quite possible to have a global scale from one location. For this reason, as described above, it is inconvenient to select content based only on the recording date and time.

  Conventionally, it is possible to give titles or classification names to content by editing operations as post processing, but this editing operation, which is different from shooting operations, imposes additional operations on the user. Tend to be shunned by users.

  Therefore, with the video camera, it is possible to select the video content corresponding to the video content characteristics other than the recording date and time described above, that is, the video content attributes such as the content content and the recording location without imposing a burden on the user. It is the second problem to be able to do this.

  Furthermore, due to the increase in capacity of recording media and the expansion of network bandwidth, the video content of video cameras stored in the recording media is not limited to the video content shot by the same single camera, but a plurality of cameras. It is also possible that video content shot by a plurality of photographers is mixed in one recording medium.

  Accordingly, a third problem is to enable easy and reliable selection of video content shot by a plurality of cameras.

  In view of these first to third problems, the first object of the present invention is to provide a desired video out of a large variety of video contents recorded in response to the increase in capacity of recording media. It is an object of the present invention to provide a video camera capable of easily and surely selecting contents.

  Further, the second object of the present invention is that even if video content recorded on a recording medium is taken by a plurality of cameras and overlapped in time, the content is An object of the present invention is to provide a video camera that enables angle reproduction, that is, multi-viewpoint video reproduction.

  Furthermore, if it becomes possible to record video content over several years due to the increase in capacity of media, it is expected that events will be filmed with a certain degree of periodicity during the season or at certain times of the year. Specifically, there are school entrance ceremonies, graduation ceremonies, sea bathing, autumn vacation trips, and so on. Also, many video camera users may take pictures of a child's growth.

  A third object of the present invention is to provide a video camera capable of easily and surely selecting content corresponding to shooting at an event repeated every year.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a photographing means and management information adding means for acquiring content management information relating to video content obtained by photographing with the photographing means and adding the content management information to the video content. Recording and reproducing means for recording and reproducing the video content to which the content management information is added on a recording medium, user input means for receiving an instruction operation from a user, and video content recorded on the recording medium Of these, a selection means for selecting the video content to which the content management information satisfying a predetermined condition is added, and a display means for displaying the video content, under the instruction operation accepted by the user input means The video content selected based on the instructed predetermined condition is reproduced from the recording medium and displayed on the display means. It is characterized in that.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the predetermined condition is shooting time information indicating a shooting time and shooting position information indicating a shooting location.

  The present invention also provides a photographing means, a recording / reproducing means for recording and reproducing video content obtained by photographing with the photographing means, a user input means for receiving an instruction operation from a user, and the recording Information recording means for acquiring camera identification information for identifying a video camera that has been shot, shooting time information indicating a shooting time, and shooting position information indicating a shooting location when the video content is recorded by the playback means; Display means for displaying the reproduced video content, and processing means for processing the video content, the camera identification information, the shooting time information, and the shooting position information, and acquiring the information at the time of shooting by the shooting means The camera identification information and the shooting position information acquired by the means are recorded as content management information by the recording / playback means together with the video content. It is an.

  The present invention also provides a photographing means, a recording / reproducing means for recording and reproducing the video content obtained by photographing with the photographing means, and a recording / reproducing means for recording the video content with the recording / reproducing means. Information acquisition means for acquiring camera identification information for identifying the video carla, shooting time information indicating the shooting time, and shooting position information indicating the shooting location, user input means for receiving an instruction operation from the user, and recording / reproducing means Display means for displaying reproduced video content, storage means for holding map information, and processing means for processing the video content, the camera identification information, the shooting time information, the position information, and map information, At the time of shooting by the imaging means, the camera identification information, the shooting time information, and the shooting position information acquired by the information acquisition means are used as content management information. Video content recorded by the recording / reproducing means together with the content, and the camera identification information or the photographing time information or the photographing position information from the recording / reproducing means matches a certain condition based on the instruction operation accepted by the user input means This is characterized in that it is configured to be playable.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the recording medium is a removable disk. The present invention further includes wireless network means for enabling communication with another video camera, and through the wireless network means. The video content and content management information acquired from the other video camera can be recorded and played back by the recording / playback means, and the video content can be recorded based on the camera identification information or the shooting position information of the content management information. , And can be selectively reproduced.

  The present invention also enables the video content to be sent together with the content management information to one or more other video cameras via the wireless network means and recorded on the recording / playback means of the one or more other video cameras. It is a characteristic.

  Further, the present invention displays a content selection screen on the display means, and the content selection screen is based on the shooting time information in the content management information, and the video content on the timeline representing the passage of time and date. Including a time scale in which content points representing the content are displayed at a position corresponding to the shooting time and a predetermined period of the timeline, and the period is changed based on an instruction operation accepted by the user input means The display condition period frame to be enabled and an image representing the video content corresponding to the content point are displayed for each content point in the display condition period frame to indicate the certain condition, and the display condition Any one of the content points within the period frame is instructed based on the instruction operation accepted by the user input means. And by, the video content corresponding to the indicated the content point is reproduced from said recording and reproducing means in which wherein it is displayed on the display means.

  Further, the present invention displays a content selection screen on the display means, and the content selection screen is based on the shooting time information in the content management information, and the video content on the timeline representing the passage of time and date. Including a time scale in which content points representing the content are displayed at a position corresponding to the shooting time and a predetermined period of the timeline, and the period is changed based on an instruction operation accepted by the user input means Content representing the video content photographed in the region where the photographing location is represented on the map on the map representing the region on the basis of the display condition period frame to be enabled and the photographing position information of the content management information The predetermined area includes a point and a predetermined area of the map, and the instruction is accepted by the user input means. A display condition area frame that can change the size of the area is displayed to indicate the certain condition, and an instruction received by the user input means for any one of the content points within the display condition period frame When instructed under operation, the video content corresponding to the instructed content point is reproduced from the recording / reproducing means and displayed on the display means.

  In addition, the present invention provides the map, the content point, and the display condition area on the video content selection screen by receiving a predetermined instruction operation by the user input means while the video content selection screen is displayed. Instead of the map on which the frame is displayed, an image representing the video content corresponding to the content point is displayed for each content point in the display condition period frame on the time scale. It is.

  According to the present invention, video content is extracted and played back based on information such as shooting date and time, shooting location, and photographer. Therefore, it is convenient to record and play a huge number of video content on a large capacity recording medium. A good user interface can be provided. Further, it is possible to provide a more attractive video content recording medium by recording content simultaneously shot by a plurality of video cameras on one recording medium and switching and reproducing the content.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of a multi-view video camera according to the present invention, in which 1 is a video camera body, 2 is an optical lens, 3 is a sensor, 4 is an encoder / decoder, 5 is a system controller, 6 is a memory, 7 is a map information memory, 8 is a GPS (Grobal Positioning System) unit, 9 is a clock, 10 is a recording drive, 11 is a wireless interface unit, 12 is a display unit, 13 is a user input unit, and 14 is an optical disk. is there.

  In the figure, the video camera body 1 obtains a map information memory 7 storing map information of each region and GPS information together with a camera unit including an optical lens 2 and a sensor 3, and the current position of the video camera body 1. And a GPS unit 8 that generates information on the shooting direction (camera direction), a clock 9 that generates and outputs current date and time information, and a removable recording medium 14 (here, an optical disk) are detachable and attached. A recording drive 10 is provided for driving the optical disk 14 to record and reproduce video content captured by the camera unit. Further, a display unit 12 is provided for displaying video content shot by the camera unit and video content reproduced from the optical disc 14 and also displaying a search screen for searching for video content recorded on the optical disc 14. Information on the operation performed by the user based on the screen displayed on the display unit 12 is input from the user input unit 13 as an operation unit and supplied to the system controller 5. The memory 6 is used as a buffer when processing video content and the like. Furthermore, the video camera main body 1 is provided with a wireless interface unit 11 and can transmit and receive information such as video content with an external device (not shown). These parts are controlled by the system controller 5.

  An optical image to be imaged is captured by the sensor 3 through the lens 2 to obtain a video signal as an electrical signal. This video signal is supplied to the encoder / decoder 4, converted to digital video data using a memory 6 that also functions as a buffer under the control of the system controller 5, subjected to encoding processing such as compression processing, and the system controller 5. To be supplied. The digital video data supplied to the system controller 5 is supplied to the recording drive 10 while being buffered in the memory 6, and is recorded as video content on the optical disk 14 attached thereto. When the video content obtained by the camera unit is displayed on the display unit 12, the compressed digital video data is decoded by the encoder / decoder 4 using the memory 6 as the buffer 6 and the like. The video content is processed and supplied to the display unit 12 to display the video content.

  Here, when recording start is instructed from the user input unit 13 and the digital video data of the video content is recorded on the optical disc 14, the system controller 5 requests information from the GPS unit 8 and the clock 9 to 8 acquires position information (shooting location information) representing the current position of the video camera body 1 and date / time information (shooting time information) representing the current date and time from the clock 9, and manages content in the video content recorded on the optical disk 14. Add as information.

  Further, the system controller 5 assigns a scene number to each video content to be recorded on the optical disc 14, adds it as content management information to the video content to be recorded on the optical disc 14, and identifies a video camera to be photographed. Similarly, photographer information such as information and the name of the photographer is added to the video content recorded on the optical disc 14 as content management information.

  When the recording end instruction is received from the user input unit 13, the system controller 5 takes in position information indicating the shooting location at this time from the GPS unit 8, and the video camera body moves to the shooting location at the end of the recording. If the shooting location is different from the shooting location at the start of shooting, the position information at the end of shooting is recorded on the optical disc 14 as the content management information of the recorded video content.

  The user input unit 13 selects a recording start / stop button, a shooting mode switching switch for switching shooting modes such as moving image shooting and still image shooting, and video content from the optical disk 14 mounted on the recording drive 10 in the order of recording or is selected. A disc navigation button for displaying a video content selection screen for selecting a video content desired to be played out of the video content recorded on the optical disc 14 as well as a playback button for playing back the video content. Operation buttons such as a left / right and up / down scroll buttons for operation on the content selection screen, and a cross button and a determination button for cursor operation are provided. Operation information input from the user input unit 13 is supplied to the system controller 5, and processing corresponding to the user operation is executed. The memory 6 is used as a buffer when processing digital video data as described above, and is also used as a storage location for programs used by the system controller 5 and various data.

  As described above, the display unit 12 displays a video to be shot when shooting, and displays the video to be played back when playing back video content from the optical disc 14 and is necessary for the user to confirm. It is also used as a display destination of various types of shooting data such as date and time, recording time, and remaining amount. The wireless interface unit 11 is an interface for transmitting or receiving digital video data or other data to or from a partner via a wireless network (not shown). Instead of recording the captured digital video data on the optical disk 14 by the recording drive 10, the digital video data is sent to the other party (for example, another recording / reproducing apparatus or server) via the wireless network, and the digital video data is recorded there. It is also possible to do so.

  When the user input unit 13 gives an instruction to reproduce the desired video content recorded on the optical disc 14 selected on the video content selection screen described later with the desired optical disc 14 mounted in the recording drive 10. The system controller 5 controls the recording drive 10 to reproduce the selected digital video data from the optical disk 14. The reproduced digital video data is buffered in the memory 6, decoded by the encoder / decoder 4, supplied to the display unit 12 as a video signal, and displayed.

  When the user selects video content recorded on the optical disc 14, the system controller 5 controls the recording drive 10 by performing an operation of requesting a video content selection screen from the user input unit 13. The content management information is read from the optical disk 14 and the video content selection screen is used by using the content management information or by using the map information including the shooting location according to the shooting location information in the content management information in the map information memory 7. Is generated and displayed on the display unit 12. By instructing the selection of the desired video content on the video content selection screen, the selected video content is reproduced from the optical disc 14 as described above, decoded, and displayed on the display unit 12.

  As will be described later, the video content selection screen is created by using map information based on the shooting date / time information and shooting location information of the content management information, and the desired video content can be selected from the shooting date / time and the shooting location on the map. Like that.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a specific example of the format of information recorded on the optical disk 14 in FIG. 1, wherein 20 is a file area of content management information, M ₁ , M ₂ , M ₃ ,. Is the scene number, 22 is the shooting date / time information, 23 is the shooting location information, 24 is the camera orientation information, 25 is the camera identification information, 26 is the photographer information, 30 is the file area of the video content, C ₁ , C ₂ , C ₃ Is video content.

In FIG. 2A, an optical disc 14 is formatted by a UDF (Universal Disc format) file system, and is provided with a file area 20 for content management information and a file area 30 for video content. In the area 30, video contents C ₁ , C ₂ , C ₃ ,... (Hereinafter collectively referred to as video contents C) recorded on the optical disc 14 as described above are stored in a file format. In the content management information file area 20, content management added to the video contents C ₁ , C ₂ , C ₃ ,... Registered in the video content file area 30 at the time of recording as described above. Information M ₁ , M ₂ , M ₃ ,... (Hereinafter collectively referred to as content management information M) is registered in a file format. For this reason, although not shown, data related to the file system is recorded separately.

Here, the content management information M ₁ corresponds to the video content C ₁ as described above, and the content management information M ₂ corresponds to the video content C ₂ as described above. As described above, the management information M ₃ corresponds to the video content C _3, and the same applies hereinafter. The content management information M of each video content C is registered together in the file area 20 of the content management information. The The content management information M in the content management information file area 20 and the video content C in the video content file area 30 are obtained by adding, for example, a scene number of the corresponding content management information to the video content. It is matched by putting. Alternatively, the recording start position (recording start address) and the recording end position (recording end address) of the corresponding video content C on the optical disc may be added to the content management information M.

  The content management information M in the file area 20 of the content management information M is added by the system controller 5 (FIG. 1) when recording video content on the optical disc 14 (FIG. 1), as shown in FIG. 2 (b). 1 includes a scene number 21, shooting date / time information 22, shooting location information 23, camera orientation information 24, camera identification number 25, and photographer information 26. The photographer information 26 in FIG. When used, the name of the photographer input by the user's operation from the user input unit 13 is held in the system controller 5 and added to the video content C recorded on the optical disc 14 as photographer information. . Therefore, by inputting the photographer information for each photographer who uses the multi-view video camera, the photographer information of the actual photographer of the video content C is added to the corresponding content management information M of the video content C. Will be included.

  Note that similar content management information M is added to video content C from other devices such as a multi-view video camera received by the wireless interface unit 11, and a new scene number is added to the optical content C. 14 is recorded. In this case, the scene number is the number next to the scene number assigned to the video content recorded on the optical disc 14 last. Therefore, for example, in the system controller 5, the scene number assigned to the video content C recorded on the optical disk 14 is registered. The camera identification information 25 in the content management information M corresponds to this other multi-view video camera.

  Further, as described above, the video content obtained by shooting while moving is made up of the shooting location information 23 as information indicating the shooting start location and information indicating the shooting end location. .

  When the user performs an operation for requesting a video content selection screen from the user input unit 13, the system controller 5 reads all content management information in the file area 20 (FIG. 2) of the content management information M from the optical disk 14, A video content selection screen is created based on predetermined content management information M written in the memory 6 and displayed on the display unit 12. When the user selects the desired video content C based on this video content selection screen, the system controller 5 obtains the scene number for the selected video content C from the content management information recorded in the memory 6, The video content of this scene number is retrieved and read out and displayed on the display unit 12.

  In this video content selection screen, a thumbnail of the video content C is also used as will be described later. As this thumbnail, for example, one screen of the first frame or field of the video content is used.

  Next, a specific example of a video content selection screen displayed on the display unit 12 and a video content selection method using the screen will be described.

  FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a specific example of the video content selection screen displayed on the display unit 12, where 40 is a video content selection screen, 41 is a time scale, 42 is a display condition period frame, and 43 is time. The range designation unit 44 is a cursor, 45a to 45d are thumbnails, and parts corresponding to those in FIG.

  3B is a diagram showing details of the time scale 41 and the time length designation unit 43 in FIG. 3A, in which 43a is a time range designation line, 46a and 46b are time lines, and 47a to 47d are contents. Point 48 is a range designation mark, and parts corresponding to those in FIG.

  In FIG. 1, when the above-described disc navigation button is operated in a state where the optical disc 14 is loaded in the recording drive 10 for playback of video content, the system controller 5 receives the content management information 20 (FIG. 2) from the optical disc 14. The video content selection screen is read to create a video content selection screen, and the video content selection screen 40 shown in FIG. 3A is displayed on the display screen of the display unit 12.

  On the video content selection screen 40, for example, a time scale 41 that extends horizontally along the upper side is displayed on the upper side of the display screen, and the time scale 41 is displayed along the time scale 41 in the horizontal direction. A movable display condition period frame 42 is displayed. In addition, a time range specifying unit 44 for changing a display period (time range) on the time scale 41 is displayed on the right side of the time scale 41, for example. The movement of the display condition period frame 42 along the time scale 41 is performed by operating the scroll button (for example, the cross key in the left-right direction) described above, and the change of the time range in the time range specifying unit 44 is as follows. This can be done by operating the cursor 45 with the up / down cross key and the enter key.

  Further, the video content that is shot and recorded on the optical disc 14 within the period specified in the display condition period frame 42 according to the position of the time range displayed on the time scale 41 and the display condition period frame 42. Thumbnails 45a to 45d are displayed (here, it is assumed that photographing has been performed four times within the period specified in the display condition period frame 42). Such a thumbnail is one screen of these video contents read from the optical disc 14 as described above.

  In FIG. 3B, the time scale 41 includes a time line 46 for each shooting year of video content recorded on the optical disc 14 (FIG. 1) mounted in the recording drive 10 within a predetermined period. ,Is displayed. Here, it is assumed that the video content shot in 2005 and the video content shot in 2006 are recorded on the optical disc 14, and accordingly, the timeline 46a and 2006 for the video content shot in 2005 are recorded. It is assumed that the timeline 46b for the video content photographed at the same time displays, for example, the same month portion for one month.

  In the timelines 46a and 46b, if video content that is the shooting date and time is recorded on the optical disc 14 within the displayed period, the content point 47 for these video content corresponds to the shooting date and time. It is displayed at the position. Here, the time lines 46a and 46b display the parts of May 2005 and May 2006. In May 2005, it is assumed that six video contents have been shot, and the time line 46a Then, six content points 47 corresponding to these video contents are displayed at positions corresponding to the respective shooting dates and times. In May 2005, it is assumed that six video contents are being shot, and the timeline In 46b, two content points 47 corresponding to these video contents are displayed at positions corresponding to the respective shooting dates and times.

  The display condition period frame 42 is displayed so as to surround a part of all displayed time lines 46. As shown in FIG. 3A, video content thumbnails 45a, 45b, 45c, and 45d corresponding to content points 47a, 47b, 47c, and 47d within the time range enclosed by the display condition period frame 42 are selected. It is displayed on the screen 40. In this case, in order to associate the content points 47a to 47d in the display condition period frame 42 with the thumbnails 45a to 45d, for example, scene numbers of video content corresponding to these are added. Alternatively, the content points 47 a to 47 d in the display condition period frame 42 may be displayed in different colors, and the same color mark may be displayed on the corresponding thumbnail 45.

  The display condition period frame 42 can be moved in the left-right direction along the timeline 46 by operating the left-right scroll button. Even if the display condition period frame 42 reaches the right end of the timeline 46 by the right direction operation of the scroll button, if the right direction operation of the scroll button is further continued, the display condition period frame 42 is fixed at that position. The time line 46 is scrolled to the left as it is, and the new time range portion of the time line 46 appears sequentially from the right side of the time scale 41 and displayed. Similarly, even if the display condition period frame 42 reaches the left end of the timeline 46 by the left operation of the scroll button, if the left operation of the scroll button is further continued, the display condition period frame 42 is fixed at that position. The timeline 46 is scrolled to the right as it is, and new time range portions of the timeline 46 appear sequentially from the left side of the time scale 41 and displayed. By such a scrolling operation, an arbitrary time range can be designated in the display condition period frame 42.

  The time range specifying unit 43 is for changing the horizontal width (time width) of the display condition period frame 42 displayed on the time scale 41. For example, the time range specifying unit 43 extends in the vertical direction, and the vertical range. The time range designation mark 48 is movable along the time range designation line 43a by the operation of the scroll button. The time range line 43a corresponds to a change in the position of the time range designation mark 48 along the longitudinal direction. The time scale unit can be changed from day unit (Day) to week unit (Week), month unit (Month), year unit (Year). Here, the time range designation mark 48 is the time range designation. Table displayed on the time scale 41 as being set at a position between the week unit (Week) and the month unit (Month) in the section 43 The horizontal width (time width) of the indicated condition period frame 42 is set to about 1/3 month.

  When the content point 47 within the display condition period frame 42, for example, the content point 47a is designated with the cursor 44 by the above-described operation of the cross button and the enter button or the play button is operated, the video content for the content point 47a is transferred from the optical disc 14. It is reproduced, decoded by the encoder / decoder 4 (FIG. 1), and supplied to the display unit 12. Thereby, the reproduced video content is displayed on the display unit 12.

  When the video content selection screen 40 shown in FIG. 3A is displayed, the system controller 5 (FIG. 1) reads the photographer information 26 in the content management information 20 (FIG. 2) from the optical disc 14, and this shooting is performed. The name of the photographer in the person information 26 may be displayed on each thumbnail 45 displayed on the video content selection screen 40. In this case, the photographer of the video content corresponding to the displayed thumbnail 45 can also be confirmed.

  In this way, it becomes possible to select (search) the video content recorded on the optical disc 14 from the shooting date and time, and to select desired video content from an enormous number of video content from a simple search condition of shooting date and time. It is possible to provide a user interface that can be selected reliably and easily and is easy to use.

  Furthermore, since the thumbnails of the video content at the shooting date and time within the designated period are displayed, it is possible to select the desired video content more easily and reliably.

  Further, the camera identification information 25 (for example, the camera number and the name of the camera owner) of the video camera that shot the video content corresponding to the thumbnail is displayed on the thumbnail, thereby confirming the video camera that shot the video content. Similarly, more reliable selection of video content is possible.

  4A is a diagram showing another specific example of the video content selection screen displayed on the display unit 12 shown in FIG. 1, wherein 40a is a video content selection screen, 50 is a map, and 47a ′ to 47d ′ are. Content points, 51a to 51e are content points, 52 is a continuous shooting bar, 53 is a display condition area frame, and parts corresponding to those in FIG.

  FIG. 4B is an enlarged view of the time scale 41 and the time range specifying unit 43 in FIG. 4A, and the same reference numerals are given to the portions corresponding to FIG. Is omitted.

  In this specific example, the video content recorded on the optical disc can be selected (searched) using the map together with the time scale 41.

  4A, on the video content selection screen 40a, as with the video content selection screen 40 shown in FIG. 3B, a time scale 41 and a time range designation unit 43 are displayed, and a map 50 is graphically displayed. A content point 51 indicating the shooting location of the video content is displayed. At this time, the thumbnail of the video content such as the video content selection screen 40 shown in FIG. 3B is not displayed.

  The map 50 represents an area including the shooting location of the video content recorded on the optical disc 14, and the shooting location information 23 (FIG. 1) in the content management information 20 read from the optical disc 14 by the system controller 5 (FIG. 1). Based on 2), the map information of the area including the shooting location represented by the shooting location information 23 is read from the map information memory 7, and the content point 51 indicating the shooting location is added to the map information and displayed in graphic form. is there. When there are a plurality of shooting locations in this area, content points of video content shot at all the shooting locations are added and displayed.

  In addition, for example, a circular display condition area frame 53 is also displayed on the map 50 at the same time. The display condition area frame 53 indicates a shooting area where video content can be selected within the area of the displayed map 50, and corresponds only to the content point 51 existing in the display condition area frame 53. Only video content can be reproduced from the optical disc 14. Here, only the video content corresponding to the content points 51 a to 51 d can be selected so as to be reproducible from the optical disc 14.

  As described above, when video content is shot while moving, the shooting location information 23 (FIG. 2) of the content management information includes the shooting location at the start of recording as described above. It is represented by position information indicating the shooting location at the end of shooting. In this case, content points 51d and 51e are set at the shooting start position and the shooting end position based on the shooting location information 23, and a continuous shooting bar 52 is set between the content points 51d and 51e. Is displayed. For such video content, when at least a part from the content point 51 d at the shooting start position to the content point 51 e at the shooting end position exists in the display condition area frame 53, the video content is played from the optical disk 14. To be able to select.

  On the other hand, when there is a content point 47 in the display condition period frame 42 of the time scale 41 that has the same video content as any of the content points 51 in the display condition area frame 53 (hereinafter, these two content points are These content points are displayed with the same coloring, for example, and clearly indicate that the video content is common. Content points other than the corresponding content points are displayed in achromatic colors. Note that the scene number added to the corresponding video content may also be displayed at the content point 51 displayed on the map 50, and the same scene number is naturally displayed at the corresponding content point.

  Therefore, for example, in the time scale 41, as shown in FIG. 4B, for example, content points 47a ′, 47b ′, 47c ′, 47d ′ exist in the display condition period frame 42, and Assuming that the content point 47c ′ forms a corresponding content point with the content point 51a in the display condition period frame 42, the content point 47c ′ and the content point 51a are displayed in the same color. As a result, it can be seen that the corresponding video content corresponding to the corresponding content points 47 c ′ and 51 a was taken at the location indicated by the map 50 on the date indicated by the time scale 41.

  Here, the map 50 displayed on the video content selection screen 40a can change the area, and can reduce or enlarge the area.

  That is, in the initial display state when the display instruction of the video content selection screen 40a is given, for example, a world map in which each country is classified is displayed, and a content point is displayed in the region of the country where the image is taken. . When the region of the country where the content point is displayed is designated with the cursor 44 and the determination operation is performed (hereinafter, this operation is referred to as determination with the cursor 44), a map 50 of this country is displayed, and the city or region where the image was taken is displayed. Content points are displayed in such areas as. Therefore, when the desired area where the content points are displayed is determined by the cursor 44, a map 50 of this area is displayed. In this way, every time the predetermined position where the content point of the displayed map 50 is displayed is determined by the cursor, the displayed area is narrowed down. The above operation unit is provided with a “return” button. By operating this button, the display returns to the previous video content selection screen 40a, and the displayed map 50 is wide. It represents an area.

  4A and 4B, the content point 47 in the display condition period frame 42, for example, the content point 47c ′ is designated by the cursor 44, or the content point 51 in the display condition period frame 53 is displayed. For example, when the content point 51a is designated by the cursor 44 and the enter button or the play button is operated, the video content corresponding to the content point 47c ′, 51a is reproduced from the optical disc 14 and decoded by the encoder / decoder 4 (FIG. 1). To the display unit 12. Thereby, the reproduced video content is displayed on the display unit 12.

  Further, if the above-described disc navigation button is operated before such selection and playback operations, the content within the display condition period frame 42 in the time steal 42 instead of the map 50 as shown in FIG. The process shifts to a state in which thumbnails of video contents corresponding to the points 47a ′ to 47d ′ are displayed. In this case, the content point 51a on the map 50 and the content point 47a ′ forming the corresponding content point are displayed in the specific color, but the thumbnail of the video content corresponding to the content point 47a ′ The same color mark is displayed, indicating that the thumbnail is a video content corresponding to the content point having the corresponding content point on the map 50. The details of the video content corresponding to the content point can be confirmed by the thumbnail.

  In this case, similarly to the specific example shown in FIG. 3, the scene number of the video content corresponding to the content points 47 ′ and 51 may be displayed, and the photographer's information (name, etc.) Camera identification information may be displayed.

  In this way, in this other specific example, the same effect as in the previous specific example can be obtained, but the desired video content recorded on the optical disc 14 is further selected (searched) from the shooting date and time and the shooting location. The desired video content can be selected (searched) under more narrowed conditions, and the video content can be selected (searched) more reliably and easily.

  In this way, since the video content to be played can be narrowed down from the shooting date and time and the shooting location, the shot video content can also be narrowed down from the event to be shot, such as an elementary school opening ceremony or entrance ceremony As a video content that captures events such as sports events, video content to be selected from the shooting date and time such as April and October and the shooting location such as elementary school can be narrowed down, and a new search method will be provided. Become.

  By applying the present invention, it is possible to make a video content playback method easy to use in a video camera equipped with a large-capacity medium. Alternatively, a large-capacity recording medium that is a recording location can be suitable for video camera content. In the case of removable media, even if the capacity is increased, the media can be easily used.

It is a block block diagram of 1st Embodiment of the multiview video camera by this invention. It is a figure which shows a specific example of the format of the recording information with the optical disk in FIG. It is a figure which shows a specific example of the video content selection screen displayed on the display part in FIG. It is a figure which shows the other specific example of the video content selection screen displayed on the display part in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Video camera body 2 Optical lens 3 Sensor 4 Encoder / decoder 5 System controller 6 Memory 7 Map information memory 8 GPS part 9 Clock 10 Recording drive 11 Wireless interface part 12 Display part 13 User input part 14 Optical disk 20 Content management information file area 30 Video content file area 40, 40a Video content selection screen 41 Time scale 42 Display condition period frame 43 Time range designation part 43a Time range designation line 44 Cursor 45a-45d Thumbnail 46a, 46b Time line 47a-47d, 47a'-47d 'Content point 48 Range designation mark 50 Map 51a-51e Content point 52 Continuous shooting bar 53 Display condition area frame

Claims (10)

Photographing means;
Management information adding means for acquiring content management information related to video content obtained by shooting with the shooting means, and adding the content management information to the video content;
Recording and reproducing means for recording and reproducing the video content with the content management information added thereto on a recording medium;
User input means for receiving an instruction operation from a user;
A selection means for selecting video content to which the content management information satisfying a predetermined condition is selected from video content recorded on the recording medium;
Display means for displaying the video content, and playing back the video content selected based on the predetermined condition instructed under the instruction operation received by the user input means from the recording medium, A video camera characterized by displaying on the display means. The video camera of claim 1,
2. The video camera according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is shooting time information indicating a shooting time and shooting position information indicating a shooting location. Photographing means;
Recording and reproducing means for recording and reproducing video content obtained by photographing with the photographing means on a recording medium;
User input means for receiving an instruction operation from a user;
Information acquisition means for acquiring camera identification information for identifying a video camera that has been shot, shooting time information indicating a shooting time, and shooting position information indicating a shooting location when the video content is recorded by the recording / playback means;
Display means for displaying video content reproduced from the recording / reproducing means;
Processing means for processing the video content, the camera identification information, the shooting time information, and the shooting position information, and the camera identification information and the shooting position acquired by the information acquisition means at the time of shooting by the shooting means A video camera, wherein information is recorded as content management information together with the video content by the recording / reproducing means. Photographing means;
Recording and reproducing means for recording and reproducing video content obtained by photographing with the photographing means on a recording medium;
Information acquisition means for acquiring camera identification information for identifying a captured video carra, shooting time information indicating a shooting time, and shooting position information indicating a shooting location when the video content is recorded by the recording / playback means;
User input means for receiving an instruction operation from a user;
Display means for displaying video content reproduced from the recording / reproducing means;
Storage means for holding map information;
And processing means for processing the video content, the camera identification information, the shooting time information, the position information, and the map information, and the camera identification information acquired by the information acquisition means at the time of shooting by the imaging means The shooting time information and the shooting position information are recorded as content management information by the recording / playback unit together with the video content, and the camera identification information, the shooting time information, or the shooting position information is recorded from the recording / playback unit by the user input unit. A video camera that is configured to be able to select and play back video content that matches a certain condition based on the instruction operation received in. The video camera according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A video camera, wherein the recording medium is a removable disk. The video camera according to claim 3 or 4,
Comprising wireless network means for enabling communication with other video cameras;
The video content and content management information acquired from the other video camera via the wireless network means can be recorded and played back by the recording / playback means, and the video content can be recorded in the camera identification information or the content management information. A video camera characterized by being selectively reproducible based on shooting position information. The video camera according to claim 5.
A video camera characterized in that the video content is sent to one or more other video cameras together with the content management information via the wireless network means, and can be recorded on recording / reproducing means of the one or more other video cameras. . The video camera according to any one of claims 2 to 7,
A content selection screen is displayed on the display means;
The content selection screen is
Based on the shooting time information in the content management information, a time scale that displays a content point representing the content at a position corresponding to the shooting time of the video content on a timeline representing the passage of time,
A display condition period frame that includes a predetermined period of the timeline and that can change the period under an instruction operation accepted by the user input means;
For each content point within the display condition period frame, an image representing the video content corresponding to the content point is displayed to indicate the certain condition,
By instructing any one of the content points within the display condition period frame under an instruction operation accepted by the user input means, the video content corresponding to the instructed content point is recorded. A video camera which is reproduced from a reproducing means and displayed on the display means. The video camera according to any one of claims 2 to 7,
A content selection screen is displayed on the display means;
The content selection screen is
Based on the shooting time information in the content management information, a time scale that displays a content point representing the content at a position corresponding to the shooting time of the video content on a timeline representing the passage of time,
A display condition period frame that includes a predetermined period of the timeline and that can change the period under an instruction operation accepted by the user input means;
Based on the shooting position information of the content management information, on the map representing the area, a content point representing the video content shot in the area where the shooting location is represented by the map,
A display condition area frame that includes an area of a predetermined area of the map and that can change the area of the predetermined area under an instruction operation received by the user input means The conditions of
By instructing any one of the content points within the display condition period frame under an instruction operation accepted by the user input means, the video content corresponding to the instructed content point is recorded. A video camera which is reproduced from a reproducing means and displayed on the display means. The video camera according to claim 9, wherein
The map, the content point, and the display condition area frame are displayed on the video content selection screen when a predetermined instruction operation is received by the user input means while the video content selection screen is displayed. A video camera characterized in that, instead of a map, an image representing the video content corresponding to the content point is displayed for each content point within the display condition period frame on the time scale.

Images