Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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APPARAT~S AND ME~HODS FOR VOICE TITLES
Back~round of the Inve~tion
~ield of the Invention
This invention relates generally to video cassette recorder
systems and camcorders and methods and apparatus for recording
and reproducing titles for programs recorded thereon.
Pescription of the Related Art
Video cassette recorders and camcorders use video tape,
which by its nature is a sequential medium that is recorded and
accessed sequentially. Mass storage devices that can only be
accessed sequentially, include: analog audio tapes used for audio
cassette drives; video tapes used with video cassette recorders
(VCRs); digital audio tapes; digital tape drives and tape backup
cassette drives for use with computers; and analog tape drives
for instrumentation purposes. All of these devices use magnetic
tape as the storage media. The big advantage of sequential
medium, such as tape, is low cost compared with random access
devices, such as semiconductor random access memory.
It is desirable to know the contents and location of
programs on a tape. A directory recorded on the tape or stored
in an apparatus can be used to access a particular program on the
tape, as disclosed in continuation-in-part application Serial No.
08/17G,852.
Owners of tapes desire to title programs on the tapes to
enable rapid identification and access of the program thereon.
One method is to title a tape and programs on the tape by hand
by writing titles on a label fastened to the tape cartridge or
its box. However, the tape can become separated from the box,
or the label may fall off. Some tape owners repeatedly record
over the same tape and prefer not to use permanent labels.
Computer tapes may contain hundreds of records or files and
handwriting or updating the index onto the box is not practical.
Placing a descriptive title on the tape itself presents
other problems. Video titling for a program such as a movie is
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1 well known, but these titles are part of the movie and a typical
home user cannot modify or edit these titles and the user must
play the movie to access the title. Professional video titling
systems include the well-known Chyron system. Typically these
systems include a complete computer, a complex, high-resolution
character generator, a special effects generator for making
shadows, italics and other effects, and a video interface to
generate a video signal. Such systems are too expensive and
complicated for the home video market.
Some videocassette recorders (VCRs) and camcorders are
equipped with simple character generators for displaying simple
block letters and numbers, either superimposed over a recorded
video signal or recorded and mixed with the picture signal. A
typical camcorder application is to add characters representing
the recording date and time to a video signal as it is being
recorded, thereby adding a "date stamp." In VCRs, the character
generator can be used to show programming information such as
channel, date, and time on screen as the VCR is being programmed
to record programs at a future date. However, currently there
is no simple way to add titles to tapes or programs recorded on
the VCR.
Another problem with prior art titling systems is data input
and editing. With Chyron systems, a full-size typewriter-style
keyboard is used which is inappropriate for home use and slow for
poor typists. Editing of a title is impractical with most
home-generated titles, because the title is recorded as a video
image on the tape. Also, there are many situations, where adding
a title by entering characters is not at all convenient.
Summary of the Invention
In accordance with the present invention, an apparatus for
providing voice titles for recorded programs includes a means for
recording on a sequential recording medium having an audio
recording portion and a control recording portion, a means for
indicating a start of a voice title, a means for recording the
start indication on the control recording portion of the
sequential medium, a means for entering a voice title, a means
for recording the entered voice title onto the audio recording
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1 portion of the sequential medium sequentially following the
recorded indication of the start of the voice title in the
control recording portion, a means for indicating an end of the
voice title, and a means for recording the end indication onto
the control recording portion of the sequential medium
seguentially following the recorded voice title in the audio
recording portion. An embodiment of the apparatus includes a
means for digitizing the entered voice title and a means for
storing the digitized voice title in a random access memory.
lo Another embodiment of the apparatus includes a means for
synthesizing a voice from the stored digitized voice title.
In one embodiment of the invention voice titles are
integrated with video segments recorded on a camcorder. The
voice titles are digitized by an analog to digital converter and
encoded by a vertical blanking interval encoder for recording in
the vertical blanking interval lines of the video segment. It
is another object of the invention that a date and time read from
a clock in a camcorder can be recorded in the vertical blanking
interval of a video segment.
In accordance with the present invention an apparatus for
providing voice titles for video segments on a seguential medium
includes means for recording an index mark at the start of a
video segment onto the sequential medium for marking the start
of the video segment, means for indicating the start of a voice
title, means for recording a voice title onto the sequential
medium in the vertical blanking interval of the video segment and
means for indicating an end of the voice title. The apparatus
further includes means for recording a voice title present
indicator into the sequential medium in the vertical blanking
interval of the video segment. A time-of-recording, which can
include a date of recording, is also recorded onto the seguential
medium in the vertical blanking interval of the video segment.
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1 Brief Descri~tion of the Drawinqs
FIG. 1 is an illustration of a prior art method of adding
a title to a program recorded on a camcorder;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a camcorder including the
capability for voice titles according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a graphical representation of the format of the
information recorded on the magnetic tape in the camcorder of
FIG. 2 with the voice title in the audio track and markers in the
control track according to the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an indexing video
cassette recorder that provides indexing of recorded programs
using a directory and that has the capability for voice titles
for programs according to the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the digitizer shown in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the voice synthesizer shown in
FIG. 4;
FIG. 7 is a schematic conceptually illustrating volume data
including a volume voice title stored in the RAM of the directory
controller of FIG. 4 according to the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a schematic conceptually illustrating a structure
of directory data for programs including program voice titles
stored in the RAM of the directory controller of FIG. 4 according
to the present invention;
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the steps employed to index a
previously recorded tape in an indexing VCR that uses TPA packets
according to the present invention;
FIG. 10 is a schematic view of an embodiment for storing TPA
packet and VISS marks in the control track of a tape to assist
in the accessing of programs on the tape according to the present
invention;
FIG. 11 shows the format of a TPA packet according to the
present invention;
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the steps employed to add
voice title to a program being recorded on a camcorder or a VCR
according to the present invention;
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the steps employed to detect
a voice title and digitize the voice title for storing it into
a directory according to the present invention;
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FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the steps employed to use
voice titles for access of a program to play according to the
present invention;
FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a camcorder including the
capability for voice titles and including a memory for storing
digitized voice titles according to the present invention;
FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a camcorder having the
capability of recording voice titles in the vertical blanking
interval of video segments recorded onto a sequential medium
according to the present invention;
FIG. 17 is a screen display of a segment directory according
to the present invention; and
FIG. 18 is an alternative screen display of a directory that
combines voice titles and textual titles.
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1 Detailed DescriDtion of the specific Embodiments
Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly, to
FIG. 1, there is shown an illustration of a prior art method of
adding a title to a program recorded on a camcorder. For
example, the SONY Handycam CCD-F330 is a camcorder that allows
a user to superimpose a time and date and also a title onto a
program being recorded. To record a date or time the user pushes
a DATE SET or TIME SET button and the time or date are recorded
along with the program. Later when the recording is played, the
date or time is visible on a monitor.
To record a title the user first stores a title into the
camcorder. This is done by drawing the title on a title card and
then focusing the camera on the title card and pressing a MEM
TITLE button. Then while recording a program, the stored title
can be superimposed on the program by pressing a TITLE button.
As shown in FIG. 1, the memorized title 102 is superimposed on
the program being recorded, represented by frame 100, to form a
composite recording 103. This method of titling has limited
utility and requires that a title card be made so that the title
can be memorized.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a camcorder 200 including the
capability for voice titles according to the present invention.
The camcorder 200 has the conventional elements of a
camcorder including: a lens 202 and camera electronics 204; a
25microphone 224 and amplifier 226; a write head 210 which can
write on a tape 212 and a read head 228 that can read the tape
212; video electronics 230; and monitor 232. In many camcorders
it is possible to record the time or the date on the video track.
Clock 205 provides the time or date 206 which can be superimposed
onto the video via adder 208. Many conventional camcorders
include a video out 234 and audio out 235 which can be used to
output the video and audio to a video cassette recorder or to a
television monitor. Camcorder 200 is controlled by
microcontroller 214. Control buttons 216 including record button
35218 and play button 220 are inputs to microcontroller 214. Voice
title button 222 is provided to allow a user to indicate that the
following audio is a voice title. In one embodiment the user
presses voice title button 222 once and then records a title by
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1 speaking into the microphone 224, and then pushes the voice title
button 222 again to indicate the end of the voice title. The
voice title is recorded onto the audio track of tape 212.
FIG. 3 is a graphical representation of the format of the
information recorded on a tape, such as tape Z12 in the camcorder
200 of FIG. 2, showing a voice title 250 recorded in an audio
track 242 and voice title markers 252 and 254 recorded in the
control track 246 according to the present invention. (Instead
of recording voice title 250 in audio track 242, it could be
recorded in the vertical blanking interval of the video signal
before, during, or after recording. The tape 212 can be 8 mm
tape used in some camcorders, a BETA format tape, or a VHS format
tape, all of which use the same general tape layout. The tape
212 is divided into three areas. A narrow strip running along
the upper edge of the tape 212 is an audio track 242 which
contains audio signals. A second narrow strip running along the
bottom edge of the tape is a control track 246 which contains
control signals. The middle area 244 is for video signals which
are recorded in pairs of parallel fields going up and down the
width of the tape at a slight angle.
Various signals can be recorded in the control track
including VISS marks, which are described below in relation to
FIG. 10, and voice title (VT) marks 252 and 254, as shown in FIG.
3. The VT mark 252 and VT mark 254 indicate the beginning and
the end, respectively, of voice title 250, which is recorded in
the audio track 242. The first time the user presses the voice
title button 222, the VT mark 252 is recorded, and the second
time the user presses the voice title button 222, the VT mark 254
is recorded.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an indexing video
cassette recorder 10 that provides indexing of recorded programs
using a directory and that has a voice title capability according
to the present invention. The indexing VCR 10 includes a video
cassette reader/recorder (VCR) function with a directory
controller function 30. External to the indexing VCR 10 is a
television monitor 50 and a remote controller 75. The VCR
function is a video tape reader/recorder means and uses any one
of many different recording technologies such as BETA, VHS, super
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1 VHS, 8 mm, VHS-C or any other popular technologies. In
particular, VHS-C indexed tapes can be played directly on a VHS
indexing VCR with full index functioning. The cassette 40 is a
conventional video cassette having a magnetic tape 42 packaged
in a cartridge 40a or cassette housing (hereafter called
cassette) and transported between a feeding spindle 40b and a
takeup spindle 40c. Even though the size and design of the
housing is different for different types of recording technology,
the basic information that goes on the tape itself is similar.
The technology and operation of a VCR are well understood in the
art.
The indexing VCR 10 has a button control panel 3 with
control buttons, including LOAD 3a, PLAY 3b, STOP 3c, RECORD 3d,
EJECT 3e, and VOICE TITLE 3f for controlling the operation of the
VCR. The LOAD button 3a is optional and is not used on machines
which load automatically. The VCR control logic circuit 21
receives control signals from the button control panel 3 and
controls the overall operation of the VCR by sending control
signals to a motor and mechanical control logic circuit 5, a
video logic circuit 7, a position logic and counter circuit 9,
and a control and audio track head logic circuit 11, as well as
to the microprocessor controller 31 of the directory controller
30.
The motor and mechanical control logic circuit 5 controls
loading and ejecting of the cassette 40 and also controls
movement of the video tape 42 within the video cassette 40 during
recording, reading (playback), fast forward, and rewind. The
video logic circuit 7 controls the operation of a video
read/write head drum 13 in reading from or recording video
signals to the tape 42. The electrical signals are magnetically
coupled between the video logic circuit 7 and the video head drum
13 using a winding 14. The position logic and counter circuit
9 monitors tape movement through a cassette tape movement sensor
22 and generates signals that represent tape position. The
control and audio track head logic circuit 11 controls writing,
reading, and erasing of signals on the control or audio track of
the tape 42 through the write head 19, the read head 17, and the
erase head 15.
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1 The directory controller 30 includes a microprocessor
controller 31, a random access memory (RAM) 33 and a directory
input/output display and control panel 32. Preferably the
microprocessor controller 31 comprises an integrated circuit
microprocessor, a program store 3la, such as a read-only-memory
(ROM), for storing a control program to implement methods of the
invention, and a clock 31b for generating a clock signal for
timing functions and providing the time. The time may be set
using the directory input/output display and control panel 32 in
a manner known in the art. The microprocessor controller 31
controls the operation of the directory controller 30 and
interfaces with the VCR control logic circuit 21 to implement the
necessary functional capabilities for reading, updating and
writing the directory. The microcontroller processor 31 in the
indexing VCR lo performs all indexing functions and human
interface, interprets (e.g. tab, indent, screen format,
attributes) and processes the auxiliary information display.
The RAM 33 is a conventional random access semiconductor
memory which interfaces directly with the microprocessor
2 0 GontrolleE 31. The RAM 33 is pre~erably non-volatile.
Alternatively, the RAM 33 has a battery backup. The battery
backup should maintain the contents of the memory for a
predetermined time, e.g., 7 days, after the loss of power. The
retention time may be shorter, if the indexing VCR uses an
automatic backup of the memory onto video tape. A portion of the
RAM 33, shown as system data 33b, is used for storing the system
software of the microprocessor controller 31. The RAM 33 is also
used for storing the program directory 33a. Portions of the RAM
33 are used as memory for digitized voice titles. The size of
the RAM 33 is at the discretion of the manufacturer. However,
the RAM 33 preferably can store the directory of at least 400
tapes. Accordingly, the RAM 33 has preferably at least 256
kilobits of memory for library storage. Effective memory size
of the RAM 33 may be increased by using well known data
compression techniques. Data recorded in the RAM 33 may be
encoded or scrambled.
The directory input/output display and control panel 32 has
an alphanumeric keyboard 32a and special function keys, such as
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1 a SEARCH key 32b for commanding searches for data in the
directory 33a and on the tape 42, a MODIFY key 32c ~or modifying
or deleting directory information in the RAM 33, and an ENTER key
32d for entering program directory information. Instead of
providing special function keys, functions can also be initiated
by entering predefined sequences of conventional keys on the
alphanumeric keyboard 32a.
A display 32e is a conventional liquid crystal or other type
display for displaying data being entered on the keyboard 32a,
and to display the directory or other information stored in the
RAM 33. Alternately, data can be shown on-screen a television
display 50a. The directory information stored in the RAM 33 is
processed by the microprocessor controller 31.
The VCR 10 additionally comprises a character generator
circuit 23 coupled to the VCR control logic circuit 21 and to a
character generator read-only memory (ROM) 25. Character
generators are well-known in the art. Typically, the character
generator ROM 25 stores a data table representing pixel or bit
patterns of a plurality of alphanumeric characters, such as the
Roman alphabet and the Arabic numerals. Upon command by the VCR
control logic circuit 21 and the character generator circuit 23,
the data in the character generator ROM 25 is read and placed in
an output signal to a video display, such as television 50, at
a position on the display determined by coordinates generated by
the microprocessor controller 31, or the characters could be sent
to display 32e. The end result is visual display of a
alphanumeric character on the display screen.
As shown in FIG. 4, vertical blanking interval (VBI) signal
decoder 60a is coupled to the output of a tuner 61, which is
generally included in the majority of consumer VCRs for
off-the-air recording. The vertical blanking interval is the
time that the beam on a television is retracing from the bottom
to the top of the screen. During this interval video is not
written to the screen, thus, information can be sent during the
vertical blanking interval. The tuner 61, which receives a
broadcast TV signal from an antenna 63, a cable TV signal source
64, or a satellite receiver system, provides the signals to a VBI
decoder 60a which decodes data recorded on the VBI of the
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1 received video signal. In some applications, a VBI encoder 60b
encodes data onto the VBI of the video signal that is to be
recorded onto the video tape 42.
Directory data can be encoded in the VBI and retrieved by
the VBI decoder 60a and provided to the directory controller for
storage in RAM 33. For example, the directory data can include
the program name and the program type. Note that directory data
can also be entered into RAM 33 by using keypad 32a.
A decoder signal line 65 is coupled f,rom the decoder to the
VCR control logic circuit 21 to carry decoded V8I data to the
control logic circuit. The VCR control logic circuit 21 is
commanded by the microprocessor controller 31 to pass the decoded
data to the directory 33a under control of a stored program in
the RAM 33. The stored program then causes the VBI information
to be stored as in the directory. The directory data can be
displayed on the television 50 or the display 32e.
The indexing video cassette recorder 10 shown in FIG. 4 also
has a voice title capability. The voice title capability is
provided by microphone 264 which is coupled to VCR control logic
21, digitizer 262 which is coupled between VCR control logic 21
and RAM 33, and voice synthesizer 260 which is coupled between
RAM 33 and VCR control logic 21. The user of indexing VCR 10 can
record a voice title on the tape 42 by pressing voice title
button 3g and speaking a title into microphone 264. The end of
the voice title is indicated by again pressing voice title button
3g. The voice title is recorded on tape 42 in the audio track
and the voice title markers are recorded in the control track of
tape 42 in the same manner as shown in FIG. 3. In an alternate
embodiment, a button is provided on remote controller 75 for
indicating a voice title. The button on the remote controller
would operate in the same manner as voice title button 3g. As
shown in FIG. 4, inputs are provided to microprocessor controller
31 for inputting the camcorder video out 234 and the camcorder
audio out 235.
Voice titles entered via microphone 264 are digitized by
digitizer 262 and stored in RAM 33. FIG. 5 is a block diagram
of the digitizer 262 shown in FIG. 4. The digitizer may be as
simple as an analog to digital converter 270, or may include
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1 additional digital signal processing functions such as filtering.
The digital output of the analog to digital converter 270 can be
compressed by digital compressor 272 before being sent to RAM 33
in order to save memory.
Upon command the voice titles can be read from RAM 33 and a
voice output synthesized in voice synthesizer 260 and output to
a speaker in television 50. Alternatively, a speaker (not shown)
can be provided internal to the VCR 10. FIG. 6 is a block
diagram of the voice synthesizer 262 shown in FIG. 4. The voice
synthesizer includes a digital to analog converter 278 and can
include a-digital decompressor 274 for decompressing a compressed
voice title. The digital compressor 272 and the digital
decompressor 274 may include various digital signal processing
functions, such as filtering, which are well known in the art.
In another embodiment of the indexing VCR 10 shown in FIG.
4, the remote controller 75 not only has a transmitter 84 for
transmitting commands to the indexing VCR that are received by
remote signal receiver 29, but can also receive signals
transmitted by transmitter 88 in indexing VCR 88 via receiver 86
in remote controller 75. In a particular embodiment the remote
controller has a microphone 80 which can be used by the user to
enter a voice title. Keys on the remote controller are used to
mark the beginning and the end of the voice title. The remote
controller transmits the audio via transmitter 84 to receiver 29
in the indexing VCR 10. In another embodiment, a voice title
that is synthesized from the voice title stored in RAM 33 is sent
to transmitter 88 and transmitted in a wireless manner to
receiver 86 in remote controller 75 and then sent to speaker 82.
By including a microphone 80 and a speaker 82 in the remote
controller 75 that has bi-directional wireless communication to
the indexing VCR 10, the user has the capability of remotely
entering and reviewing voice titles. This can be very useful if
the user is across the room from the VCR when the user desires
to enter a voice title.
The format of the directory and the voice title storage in
RAM 33 is now described by referring to FIGs. 7 and 8. FIG. 7
is a schematic conceptually illustrating volume data including
a volume voice title 288 stored in the RAM 33 of the directory
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1 controller 30 of FIG. 4 according to the present invention. FIG.
8 is a schematic conceptually illustrating a structure of
directory data for programs including program voice titles stored
in the RAM 33 of the directory controller 30 of FIG. 4 according
S to the present invention.
A library 280, as shown in FIG. 7, is stored in the RAM 33
and the library 280 stores directories of tapes, which users of
the VCR 10 have archived. Each volume 282a, 282b, 282c
corresponds to a tape and within each volume is a directory to
the programs on the tape. The first volume 282a has a pointer
284 to the second volume 282b and so on. The first volume also
has a volume voice title pointer 286 that points to the volume
voice title 288. When the user is scanning through the library,
the voice title of each volume can be accessed and sent to voice
synthesizer 260 and then to the TV 50 speaker via VCR control
logic 21.
FIG. 8 is a detailed view of the contents of volume 282a.
The first entry 300 is a volume number, which is followed by the
address of the next volume 284. This is followed by the address
304 of the first program entry in the volume. The volume voice
title pointer 286, as explained above, points to the volume voice
title 288. For each program recorded on the cassette tape, there
is a corresponding directory entry 310. For purposes of
illustration, FIG. 8 shows the entry 310 for only program 1.
Each entry 310 stores: a title or program name 312; a program
address 313, which contains an address on the tape for the
beginning of the program; a program length value 314, which
stores the length of the recorded program; an optional program
type field 315, which stores the category of the recorded
program; an optional program audience field 316, which stores the
recommended audience of the program; an optional recording speed
317, which stores the speed at which the program is recorded; a
program voice title pointer 318, which points to the location of
the program voice title 330; and a next program entry address
320, which points to the next program entry.
A current tape location (not shown) is also stored in the
directory for indicating the position from the beginning of the
tape 42 in the cassette 40 when the tape is ejected. This field
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1 is used for setting a tape counter when the tape is reloaded into
VCR 10.
Each item in the directory can be modified through the use
of the buttons on the keyboard 32a and the special function keys
32b, 32c, 32d of the directory controller 32, and as indicated
above, the directory may be written from data decoded from the
VBI.
The volume voice titles stored in the directory can be used
by the user to determine the tapes stored in the directory and
to select a tape to play. Then the user can use the program
voice titles to select a program to play.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the steps employed to index a
previously recorded tape in the indexing VCR 10 using TPA packets
and VISS marks and is another method of generating a directory
for a tape. In this method a directory for the tape is created
and stored in the RAM 33. Tape identification, program number
and absolute address (TPA) packets and VISS marks are recorded
on the control track 246 of the tape, as shown in FIG. lO.
The user inserts the un-indexed recorded tape, which for
example could be a tape recorded on a camcorder, into the VCR 10
and actuates the re-indexing by entering a command via keypad 32a
or by selecting the indexing operation from a set of choices
displayed on directory display 32e (step 401). The
microprocessor controller 31 assigns a tape identification number
(TID) (step 402). (The microprocessor controller 31 also
displays the tape number to the user so that when the user ejects
the tape he may write the tape number onto the cassette housing.)
The microprocessor controller 31 co ~n~ the VCR to rewind the
tape to the beginning of the tape (step 403). The microprocessor
controller 31 displays an instruction for the user to advance the
tape to the start of the first program (step 404). During such
tape movement, the microprocessor controller 31 measures the
absolute address using, for example, the method described in
pending patent application serial No. 08/167,285, filed December
15, 1993, our reference No. 25845/LWT, which is incorporated
herein by this reference, as though set forth in full (step 405).
In response to an INDEX command from the user, the microprocessor
controller 31 writes a VISS mark in the control track 246 (step
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1 406). The microprocessor controller 31 then displays on the
display 32e a prompt to the user to enter the title of the first
program or show on the tape (step 407). The microprocessor
controller 31 assigns a program number to the program (step 408).
- The microprocessor 31 then stores the directory information in
the RAM 33 at a location in the volume corresponding to the TID
(tape identification number) (step 409). Then in step 414 TPA
packets are written into the control track as shown in FIG. 10.
FIG. 11 shows the format of a TPA packet according to the present
invention. TPA packets continue to be written while the tape
is advanced and the absolute address is measured for each TPA
packet written. Then the user indicates that the last program
on the tape has been reached by pressing a button that is not
used for entering a title, for example the search button 32b and
the indexing VCR exits the reindexing routine (step 411).
Otherwise, the microprocessor controller 31 then prompts the user
on the display 32e to fast forward (FF) the tape to the
beginning of the next program (step 412). Note that throughout
this description the indexing could be performed by remote
control and the display of instructions can be performed by TV
50.
The tape has now been indexed with VISS marks at the
beginning of each program and TPA packets, as shown in FIG. 10.
The associated directory information is stored in the RAM 33 of
the VCR 10. The operation of the VCR 10 when an indexed tape is
inserted therein is described in continuation-in-part of
application Serial No. 08/176,852, which also describes other
methods of indexing.
Now the methods for recording and retrieving voice titles
for a program recorded on a camcorder or a VCR are described with
reference to FIGs. 12 through 14.
In step 500 of FIG. 12 it is assumed that the camcorder or
VCR are in the record mode. In step 502 it is determined whether
a voice title button is pushed. If a voice title button has been
pushed then the camcorder/VCR records a voice title voiced by a
user on the tape in step 504. In step 506 the user pushes a
voice title button again to mark the end of the voice title. The
result is a recorded voice title as shown in FIG. 3.
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1 FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing the steps employed to detect
a voice title and digitize the voice title for storing it into
a directory. In step 510 it is determined whether the tape is
being played for the first time in the VCR. Then in step 512 it
is determined whether a voice title mark is detected in the
control track of the tape. If a voice title mark is detected,
then in step 514 the voice title is converted from analog to
digital and possibly compressed. When the voice title end mark
is detected in step 515, the entire voice title is stored with
the program directory information in the directory memory. The
program number associated with the voice title can be determined
by reading the TPA packet adjacent to the voice title on the
tape.
FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing the steps employed to use
voice titles for accessing programs to play. In step 520 the
user accesses the directory memory. Then in step 522 the user
selects any program in the directory by means of an onscreen
cursor and in step 524 a voice title for the program entry is
accessed from the directory memory responsive to a voice title
play command generated by pressing an assigned button on remote
75. Then in step 526 a voice is synthesized from the accessed
voice title by decompression and digital to analog conversion.
Then in step 528 the synthesized voice is sent to a speaker and
then in step 530 the user can either select the program
corresponding to the voice title or can proceed to listen to the
next voice title in the directory. If the user selects to play
the program, then in step 532 the program address in the
directory is used the access the program on the tape and then the
VCR is put into a play mode.
FIG. 15 is a block diagram of an alternate configuration of
a camcorder that includes a memory for storing digitized voice
titles. FIG. 15 is very similar to FIG. 2, except that a digital
memory 154 has been added to the camcorder. An analog to digital
converter and digital compressor 552 is coupled to amplifier 226
for digitizing audio input and is coupled to memory 554 in order
to store the digitized audio into the memory. The memory can
also be used to store a directory in the same manner as RAM 33
of FIG. 4. Upon command a voice title can be read from memory
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1 554 and decompressed and sent to digital analog converter 556 and
output via audio electronics 562 to speaker 564. Note that the
audio amplifier 226 is coupled to the write head to write the
audio onto tape 212 and that the read head 228 is coupled to
speaker 564. In operation the user would press voice title
button 222 to record a title, and then speak into microphone 224.
The spoken title would be digitized and stored in memory 554.
. The voice titles in memory 554 can be accessed in the manner
indicated in FIG. 14 by using controls 216.
FIG. 16 is a schematic of a camcorder similar to the
camcorder shown in FIG. 15, except that the camcorder of FIG. 16
has a vertical blanking interval encoder 600. The vertical
blanking interval line encoder 600 receives an input from analog
to digital (A/D) converter 552 and also an input from the
time/date 206 that is read from cloc~ 205. The VBI encoder 600
has an interface to microcontroller 214. In one embodiment a
memory 602 is accessible via the VBI encoder 600 and the
microcontroller 214. To record a voice title onto tape 212, the
user presses voice title button 222 and speaks into microphone
224. The voice title is digitized by A/D converter 552 and
possibly compressed and then the digitized voice title is encoded
by vertical blanking interval encoder 600 and written into the
vertical blanking interval lines in the video segment being
recorded on tape 212. In FIG. 16 the path for writing VBI
encoded information onto the tape is shown to be via
microcontroller 214 which has an interface to write head 210.
The VBI encoder 600 can also be used to record a time/date stamp
read from time/date 206 into the vertical blanking interval lines
of a video segment being recorded on the tape 212.
If a voice title is recorded onto tape 212 then the
microcontroller 214 can also record a voice present indicator
into the vertical blanking interval lines of the video segment
being recorded on the tape. The microcontroller sends the voice
title present indicator to the VBI encoder 600 which encodes the
voice title present indicator for writing it into the vertical
blanking interval lines of the video segment.
A voice title recorded in the vertical blanking interval
lines of a video segment can be reviewed by a user by sending
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1 controls to microcontroller 214 which can access the proper
position of the tape 212 and via the read head 228, a vertical
blanking interval decoder 604 can extract the voice title from
the video segment and the voice title can be "spoken" by speaker
564.
FIG. 17 shows a display of a segment directory on a display
which could be a television or a display on the camcorder or VCR.
As shown, a segment directory contains the date and time of each
segment, the length of each segment and whether or not a voice
title is available for the segment. The user selects a segment
for playing by moving a cursor 692 to the desired segment. In
FIG. 21 the cursor 692 is at a segment which was recorded on
January 31, 1994 at the time 15:50:10. The length of the segment
is 45 minutes and a voice title is available as indicated by the
Y (699).
FIG. 18 shows an alternative, hybrid format in a screen
display 640. In this format a reference to the voice titles such
as shown at 642 and a reference to the textual titles such as
shown at 644 are combined in the same directory. If desired the
information in FIG. 17 could also be incorporated in the format
of FIG. 18. The reference to each voice title on the screen is
linked to the memory address of the corresponding compressed
digitized voice title data stored in RAM 33 by the described
pointers. Thus, when the user selects a voice title reference
on the screen with a cursor 646, the title is audibly reproduced
by the speaker as a substitute for the text titles displayed on
the screen. Thus, in either case, the user can decide whether
to retrieve and play a stored video program based on its title.
The described embodiments of the invention are only
considered to be preferred and illustrative of the inventive
concept, the scope of the invention is not to be restricted to
such embodiments. Various and numerous other arrangements may
be devised by one skilled in the art without departing from the
spirit and scope of this invention. It is therefore intended by
the appended claims to cover any and all such applications,
modifications and embodiments within the scope of the present
nvention .
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