JP4612826B2 - Storage device, storage method, computer-readable storage medium, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to access for browsing video data from an externally connected device such as a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a personal computer (PC), and a digital television (DTV). The present invention relates to a video storage device or an image generation processing device that generates a plurality of thumbnail images having different resolutions (sizes) associated with stored video data and provides them to each.

  In recent years, with the digitization of video equipment, efforts are being made to improve image quality in each field of photography, display, and storage.

  With digital cameras, it has become possible to shoot high-definition still images with high resolution exceeding 10 million pixels. With digital video camcorders, SD (Standard Definition) image quality (720 × 576 pixels) to HD (High Definition) image quality ( The shift of high image quality to 1440 × 1080 pixels) has begun. Furthermore, there is a growing need for high image quality with the same high resolution and high frame rate in surveillance cameras and network cameras.

  As a background to these high image quality, there is a plan to shift to a digital broadcasting system from 2011 in the broadcasting industry based on high-definition, and accordingly, high-resolution display of various displays is required.

  In the communications infrastructure, low-cost broadband services such as ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) and FTTH (Fiber To The Home), which have been widely used, are about to be accelerated to gigabit communications. On the other hand, the processing speed and display performance of mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) have been improved, and the speed has been increased by medium- and short-range wireless communication technologies such as IEEE802.16x broadband wireless infrastructure and IEEE802.11x, IEEE802.15x. Therefore, it is considered that seamless broadband communication is possible between various devices regardless of wired or wireless.

  As video image quality is improved, display resolution is increased, and broadband communication is seamless, video storage devices accurately store large-capacity and high-speed video data. High-performance image conversion function, high-speed data communication function and high-performance search capability for desired video data that can be converted into video data that conforms to the capabilities of the terminal equipment for external access requests and multi-access Will be needed.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of a video storage system constructed by a storage device. Reference numeral 1 denotes a storage device, which is a video input interface for capturing video data from a digital camera, digital camcorder, network camera, etc. 11 and an overview of the stored video data in response to a browsing request from an externally connected device. An access disk 8 in which information for confirmation is stored and an original data storage disk 9 for storing the input original video data are connected, and further connected to a network such as the Internet or an intranet. A mobile phone 18, a personal digital assistant (hereinafter referred to as PDA) 19, a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as PC) 20, and a digital television (hereinafter referred to as DTV) 21 are stored in the storage device 1 via the network. It is possible to view a video by making a browsing request in order to view the video data, confirming the outline of the desired video data, and retrieving the original data from the outline. The storage device 1 generates thumbnail image data that is first displayed at the time of access and stores it in the access disk 8 in order to improve the accessibility when browsing the input video data, and the original data is thumbnail image data. And stored in the original data storage disk 9. As described above, in the storage apparatus 1, it can be said that generation of associated thumbnail data is an important technique for quickly and easily searching for original data.

  Next, various video output devices can be considered as sources of input video data. Each will be described focusing on the relationship between video data and thumbnail data.

  The digital camera outputs main image data and its thumbnail image data in accordance with a file format defined in a digital still camera image file format standard (hereinafter referred to as the Exif standard) of the JEIDA (Japanese Electronic Industry Development Association) standard. Three types of structures are defined as image data: RGB uncompressed data, YCbCr uncompressed data, and JPEG compressed data. Thumbnail images are recorded as much as possible. Uncompressed thumbnails are TIFF ( Tagged Image File Format) and compressed formats are recorded in JPEG.

  A digital video camcorder (hereinafter referred to as “DVC”) is a DV (Digital Video) system defined in the consumer digital VCR SD standard. The screen size is 720 × 480 pixels, the frame rate is 30 fps, and the compression rate is 1/5. As for the data format, a unique method for each manufacturer is adopted. Also, a standard corresponding to HD has been proposed, and the image size is defined as 1440 × 1080 pixels, and the compression format is defined as MPEG2. In general, in this DV system, as a mechanism in which the storage device 1 stores video data from the DVC and generates an outline, a thumbnail, and the like, a method of analyzing and extracting a scene change or a shooting operation button Association with video data is performed based on on / off information and the like.

  In addition, network cameras that are beginning to become widely used for monitoring purposes are configured by various manufacturers because there are no standards that prescribe image size, frame rate, compression format, and the like. As typical and typical network camera specifications, the maximum image size is 640 × 480 pixels, the maximum frame rate is 30 fps, and the compression format is motion JPEG. The thumbnail image data can also be output by designating the resolution and compression rate.

  Now, in order to provide an effective description of the present invention, we will focus on monitoring applications as an example of use where such a system is actually needed. It will become clear later that the technology is effective in other applications.

  It is necessary to monitor the situation in various fields such as medical care, nursing care, school, public facilities, and pets in real time, and to accumulate video data as evidence data for confirming the decisive moment. In real-time monitoring, it is conceivable that multiple accesses are performed simultaneously from various terminals at various terminals. Also, as described above, the quality of the captured video image is required to have a high resolution and a high frame rate even in such a monitoring application. For example, accumulation of high-quality data of 30 fps with HD (1920 × 1080 pixels) of motion JPEG and generation of thumbnail image data to be associated therewith are essential. As the image quality is improved, it is important to increase the writing speed of video data to the disk and to generate the association data to the video data at high speed. In particular, there is a need for a thumbnail generation technology that is compatible with external display devices and applications with various specifications and that minimizes the browsing time lag.

  As a conventional thumbnail generation method, a plurality of frames are extracted from an input video signal, and the video signal to be processed by the video signal encoding unit by copying the extracted frames to a frame memory for thumbnail creation As a result, the thumbnail is generated by sending it to the video signal encoding unit. Further, in order to shorten the thumbnail display time, a thumbnail determination unit that determines whether the thumbnail image data included in the input image information is appropriate, and the thumbnail image data determined to be appropriate are displayed. An image generating device configured to generate display thumbnail image data based on the main image data included in the image information when it is used as thumbnail image data and determined to be inappropriate, In response to an image request from a telephone or a portable information terminal, a configuration has been proposed in which image data having a plurality of different resolutions suitable for an application for performing enlarged display is generated.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-284948 (pages 4 and 7 FIG. 2) JP 2003-78870 A (page 10 FIG. 4) Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-99357 (FIG. 12 on page 15)

  In order to generate and provide thumbnail image data associated with video data input at high resolution and high frame rate with high image quality in accordance with various display specifications requested to be viewed with minimal time lag, However, the conventional technique has the following problems.

  It is sufficient to have multiple processing units so that congestion (blocking) due to traffic does not occur in a series of processing steps that sample input video data, perform expansion and thinning processing, and encode it into a browsing video signal. That is uneconomical.

  Although it is possible to reduce the processing load and time lag by performing thumbnail generation processing based on the thumbnail image data included in the input video data, the thumbnail image data is included in the input video data. Since there is no guarantee, if there is no thumbnail image data, a thumbnail is generated from a main image having a large amount of data with high resolution, and stable thumbnail generation processing performance cannot be provided.

  In addition, in the configuration for generating a thumbnail that matches a request from a browsing terminal such as a mobile phone or a portable information terminal, the time lag from request to browsing is unstable as in the second problem, and the browsing property is inferior. There was a problem.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention accumulates video information input from a video output device, and transmits thumbnail image data in response to a video browsing request from a device having a display means via a network interface. In the storage method, a step of sequentially recording input video information on a recording medium, a generation step of automatically generating thumbnail image data of a plurality of different resolutions from the video information, and the thumbnail image data sequentially on the recording medium A step of storing, wherein the generation step analyzes the video information and determines whether the video information includes thumbnail image data generated by a video output device; and the determination If it is determined that the thumbnail image data is included in the process, at least the main information is obtained from the video information. When image data and thumbnail image data are separated and it is determined that the thumbnail image data is not included in the determination step, the image data and the thumbnail image data are separated in the separation step and at least the main image data from the video information. Main image temporary storage step for temporarily storing the main image data in the main image temporary storage unit, and thumbnail image temporary storage step for temporarily storing the thumbnail image data separated in the separation step in the thumbnail image temporary storage unit A plurality of thumbnail generation processing steps for generating thumbnail image data of different resolutions, information stored in the main image temporary storage means, and information stored in the thumbnail image temporary storage means Switching process for determining how to use in the process. In the switch process, the determination if it is determined to contain a thumbnail image data in the step, the use of the information stored in the thumbnail image temporary storing means in one of said plurality of thumbnail generation process And the information stored in the main image temporary storage means is used in any of the remaining thumbnail generation processing steps, and the determination step determines that thumbnail image data is not included. The information stored in the main image temporary storage means is used in the plurality of thumbnail generation processing steps. In the plurality of thumbnail generation processing steps, the thumbnail image temporary storage means or the main image determined in the switching step is used. Using thumbnail image data or main image data stored in image temporary storage means A storage method and the like characterized by generating thumbnail images of a plurality of sizes are provided.

  According to the storage apparatus of the present invention, as a first effect, means for sequentially recording input video information on a recording medium, means for automatically generating thumbnail image data of a plurality of different resolutions from the video information, Since thumbnails for browsing are stored in advance by having means for sequentially storing the thumbnail image data in a recording medium, it is possible to accurately respond to requests from browsing terminals such as mobile phones and portable information terminals. It is possible to respond quickly with minimal time lag.

  As a second effect, the input video information is analyzed and separated, and the separated information is separated from the means for determining whether the separated information includes thumbnail image data generated by the video output device. Means for temporarily storing each information, non-blocking switch means, and a plurality of thumbnail generation processing means, and means for controlling connection between the information temporary storage section and the plurality of thumbnail generation processing sections based on the determination result By providing the system, the system can be configured so that congestion (blocking) due to traffic does not occur in a series of processing steps that sample input video data, perform decompression and thinning processing, and encode it into a browsing video signal. Therefore, it is possible to effectively use processing resources and to provide an economical storage device.

  As a third effect, in the connection control means of the non-blocking switch, the means for recognizing the performance of the thumbnail generation means, that is, the processing capacity, the processing speed, the memory capacity necessary for the processing in advance, the separated information, the final Included in the input video data by having means for scheduling connection control based on the input of video information when the video information is input. By performing thumbnail generation processing based on the thumbnail image data, the processing load and time lag can be reduced. If the input video data does not contain thumbnail image data, high resolution It is possible to generate thumbnails efficiently even from the main image with a huge amount of data, It is possible to provide a boss was thumbnail generation processing performance.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a storage system, showing a configuration of a network camera and a storage apparatus according to the present invention.

  The storage system includes a network camera 11, a storage device 1, a mobile phone 18 having a browsing display, a personal digital assistant (hereinafter referred to as PDA) 19, and a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as PC) 20 via a network 22. And a digital television (hereinafter referred to as DTV) 21. The network 22 is composed of the Internet, for example.

  The storage device 1 is a server connected to the network 22, and includes a network interface 2, a control unit 3 that controls the entire system, a video input device interface 4 for capturing video, and original data that records input video data as it is. A storage disk 9 and an original data recording control unit 7 for controlling writing and reading of data to and from the disk, a thumbnail generation unit 5 for generating thumbnail image data from input video data, and recording thumbnail image data externally When there is a viewing request, the access data storage disk 8 for outputting the image first, the access data recording control unit 6 for controlling the writing and reading of data to the access data storage disk 8, and further browsing Video data for video into a compatible image format It consists of transcoder 10 for management.

  The network camera 11 includes an image capturing unit 12, a main image storage unit 13 that temporarily stores captured image data, a thumbnail generation unit 14 that generates thumbnail image data having a designated resolution based on the stored main image, and a main image. A multiplex (MUX) 15 that multiplexes data and thumbnail image data, a communication unit 16 for connecting to the storage device 1, and a camera control unit 17 that controls the entire network camera.

  First, the video data storage operation and external browsing operation of the storage device 1 and the network camera 11 will be described with reference to FIG.

<Storage of video data>
Video data captured by the imaging unit 12 of the network camera 11 is temporarily stored in the main image storage unit 13. The captured video has HD image quality, has a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels, is compressed into a motion JPEG format, and is output from the photographing unit 11. The thumbnail is generated from the temporarily stored main image data, thinned out, encoded again, for example, converted into a JPEG image. As the thumbnail resolution, a preset value is sent from the camera control unit 17 to the thumbnail generation unit 14. Here, the setting of the resolution value is a value determined that the connected storage device 1 is necessary, that is, the communication unit 16 in order to reduce the load of image conversion processing as much as possible for the storage device 1 to generate a thumbnail. It can also be a request value transmitted via However, if conversion to the requested resolution is not possible due to the processing load performance and the situation of the network camera, it is created with a resolution close to the required value. Thumbnail image data is generated based on this value. When the thumbnail image data is generated, the main image data and the thumbnail image data are multiplexed by the MUX 15 and sent out to the storage device 1 via the communication unit 16. Since the image data is taken at 30 fps, a communication speed of about 200 Mbps is required if the compression rate is 1 / 7.5 times, for example.

The storage device 1 receives the video data sent from the network camera 11 by the video input device interface 4 and sends it to the thumbnail generation unit 5 and the original data recording control unit 7 respectively. The original data recording control unit 7 can control the sequential writing of the video data input by the file system dedicated to the original data recording into the forward dimension data storage disk 9, so that the recording can be performed without reducing the speed of about 200 Mbps. Is possible. The thumbnail generation unit 5 separates the received video data into main image data and thumbnail image data, and the resolution of the requested thumbnail so that the thumbnail display is adapted to the external connection terminal requested to view is controlled by the control unit 3. Ri Contact set in advance in the, according to the value, to generate a different thumbnail image data of a plurality of resolutions. The generated thumbnail image data is recorded on the access data storage disk 8 via the access data recording control unit 6. The access data recording control unit 6 has a file system that supports random access, and information related to the original data is stored in the access data storage disk 8 via the control unit 3.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed structure of the thumbnail generation unit of the storage apparatus 1, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a thumbnail generation operation based on the block diagram.

  From here, the mechanism and operation of thumbnail generation, which is the greatest feature of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIGS.

As described with reference to FIG. 1, the storage apparatus 1 includes the video input device interface 4, the thumbnail generation unit 5, the control unit 3, the access data recording control unit 6, the access data storage disk 8, the original data recording control unit 7, the original data. The storage disk 9, the control unit 3, and the network interface 2 are included. The thumbnail generation unit 5 is a data separation unit 200 that separates input video data into main image data, thumbnail image data, and attached data. Here, the attached data includes various information when the original data is photographed, and indicates, for example, the manufacturer of the photographing camera, the photographing date and time, the compression format, and the image size. A thumbnail temporary recording unit 201 serves as a buffer memory that temporarily stores thumbnail image data separated by the data separation unit 200. A main image temporary recording unit 202 is a buffer memory that temporarily stores the separated main image data. A thumbnail size determination unit 203 compares the resolution of the temporarily recorded thumbnail image data with a preset resolution and controls the switch 204 described later based on the result. Reference numeral 204 denotes a switch (SW), which operates to connect and switch the buffers 201 and 202 of the temporarily recorded main image data and thumbnail image data to each processing block in the subsequent stage. The switch (SW) 204 has a structure of two inputs and three outputs and has a structure capable of multi-output connection with respect to the input. The thumbnail size determination unit 203 controls the connection control. Reference numerals 205 and 207 denote decoders that decode the compressed and input video data. A main image or thumbnail image compressed in the motion JPEG format is developed into original image data. 206 and 20 8, an image development memory 1 or 2, operates as a work memory required for each decoding.

Reference numerals 209 and 210 denote resolution conversion units, which perform thinning processing on the original image data developed by the decoder 205 or 207 and perform a conversion operation to a predetermined resolution. The resolution value is set by the control unit 3, and a plurality of resolution values can be set for each. Reference numerals 211 and 212 denote encoders, which compress the original image data reduced and converted by the resolution conversion unit 1 or 2 in the previous stage into a motion JPEG format and send it out as thumbnail image data. A selection circuit (SEL) 213 is connected to the switch (SW) 204, encoders 1, 211, and encoders 2 , 212, and sends out thumbnail image data encoded in the subsequent stage by the selection control of the control unit 3. The sent thumbnail image data is recorded on the access data storage disk 8 in accordance with the control of the file system by the access data recording controller 6 .

  Further detailed operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the video information is captured (step S301), it is separated into main image data, thumbnail image data, and attached data by the data separation unit 200 (step S302). The format of the input video information is predetermined, and includes index information indicating each data type. Therefore, three types of data are read out based on the index information and sent to the next processing block. The main image data is stored in the temporary storage unit 202, and the thumbnails are stored in the temporary storage unit 201.

  Here, the data separation unit 200 determines whether or not thumbnail image data is included in the input video data (step S303). If the thumbnail data is not included in the input video data, the thumbnail is created by using the main image data. Only the main image data is stored in the main image temporary storage unit 202 since it is performed on the basis of this. If included, the thumbnail size determination unit 203 detects the resolution of the thumbnail image data from the attached data, for example, obtains information of 320 × 240 pixels (step S304). Next, although not shown, the thumbnail size determination unit 203 reads the resolution information of the requested thumbnail set in advance in the nonvolatile memory connected to the control unit 3 (step S305). Information of the requested size shown in FIG. 5, 80 × 60, 160 × 120, 320 × 240, 640 × 480 is obtained. Subsequently, in order to perform appropriate image processing based on the information, it is determined to which processing block the main image data and thumbnail image data that are temporarily stored are sent to which processing block, and the switch 204 (SW ) Connection control scheduling is performed (step S306). Among the conditions for determining scheduling, the processing speed, processing capability, conversion format, memory capacity, etc. of each processing block can be considered, and combinations thereof can also be used as processing conditions.

  Now, since the resolution of the original thumbnail image data included in the input video data with respect to the requested thumbnail size is 320 × 240 pixels, the resolution (640 × 480) larger than the original thumbnail image data is one ( In step S307), it is found that the small resolution (80 × 60, 160 × 120) is two (step S313) and the same resolution (320 × 240) is one (step S319). That is, one image may be reduced from the main image data, two may be reduced from the original thumbnail image data, and one may be left unprocessed. Accordingly, first, the main image data storage unit 202 is connected to the decoder 2 207 (step S308), and the thumbnail image data temporary storage unit 201 is connected to the decoders 1 and 213 selection circuits (SEL) 205 (step S308). Step S314, Step S320). The decoder 2 of 207 decodes the main image data compressed to 1920 × 1024 pixel motion JPEG, and develops the original image data in the image development memory 2 of 208 (step S309). The resolution conversion unit 2 210 reads out the resolution value (640 × 480) of the required thumbnail required for conversion from the control unit 3 and stores it in the internal memory (step S310). Based on the value, a space thinning process is performed to reduce the size (step S311). The image data subjected to the reduction process is sequentially sent to the encoder 2 212, encoded in a preset compression format, here JPEG (step S312), and input to the selection circuit (SEL) 213. .

  Next, the decoder 1 205 decodes the 320 × 240 pixel JPEG format thumbnail image data and expands the original image data of the thumbnail in the image expansion memory 1 206 (step S315). The resolution conversion unit 1 209 reads the size (80 × 60, 160 × 120) necessary for the conversion from the control unit 3 and stores it in the internal memory (step S316). Subsequently, reduction processing is performed by space thinning based on the value (step S317). Here, the reduction processing order for a plurality of sizes can be made dependent on the size, and it is also possible to determine and set priorities based on statistics of browsing request information such as the connection status and connection frequency of externally connected devices. It is done. The image data subjected to the reduction processing is sequentially sent to the encoder 1 211. The encoder 1 211 encodes according to the set compression format, here JPEG (step S318), and sends it to the selection circuit (SEL) 213.

  If there is no original thumbnail image data in step 303, all the requested thumbnail images are generated from the main image. First, the thumbnail size determination unit 203 reads the thumbnail request data shown in FIG. 5 (step S321), and based on the result, performs switch control scheduling (step S322). For example, the switch (SW) 204 can be controlled so that the main image temporary storage unit 202 is connected to both the decoder 1 205 and the decoder 2 207 (step S323). Both decoders simultaneously perform expansion processing (step S324), and similarly to the above, reduction processing is performed by the resolution conversion units 1 and 2 in which the requested thumbnail size is set by the three control units (step S325) (step S326). . The reduced image data is sent to encoders 1 and 2 corresponding to the reduced image data, compressed into a JPEG format, and input to a selection circuit (SEL). The selection circuit (SEL) 213 is controlled in conjunction with the file system of the access data recording control unit 6 (step S328), and is controlled so as to efficiently write to the access data storage disk 8 (step S329). It is also conceivable that the access data recording control unit 6 has a buffer memory for matching the created thumbnail image data and disc access speed. The above-described processing is continued until all the data has been captured, and if it is determined that the data is complete (step S330), the process returns to the standby state (step S331).

  Here, the data flow will be described with reference to FIG.

  When original data (A) 230 is input as input video data, the same original data (A) 230 is transferred from the four video input device interfaces to the original data recording control unit 7 and the data separation unit 200. The original data recording control unit 7 sequentially records the original data (A) 230 on the original data storage disk 9. In the data separation of 200, each data is separated, and the thumbnail image data is sent to the thumbnail temporary storage unit 201, the main image is sent to the main image temporary storage unit 202, and the attached data is sent to the control unit 3. Further, the original thumbnail image data becomes thumbnail 1 from the thumbnail temporary storage unit 201 via the switch 204, and those having a size smaller than the resolution of the original thumbnail are generated as thumbnails 2 and 3, and those having a larger size are A thumbnail 4 is generated from the main image. Control of the selection circuit 213 is selected in the order of thumbnail generation, and is recorded as access data (A) 233 on the access data storage disk 8 by the access data recording control unit 6. At this time, when the thumbnails of the respective sizes are created from the three control units, the information associated with the attached data 1, 2, 3, 4 and the original data for each thumbnail is associated data (A) 232. Corresponding to the recorded original data (A) 231, the data is sequentially written into the access data storage disk by the six access data recording control units.

  Thereafter, the same recording process is performed for data that is sequentially input.

  Although the description is omitted in the present embodiment, various methods can be considered for the timing of creating thumbnail data corresponding to the original data. For example, by receiving alarm detection information from 11 network cameras, recording of input video data and creation of thumbnails are started, a trigger by a timer set in one storage device, and input image data There are motion detection and voice detection based on the analysis.

<Video data browsing operation>
Next, an operation for transmitting the stored video data in accordance with a request from the externally connected device will be described. FIG. 5 shows a list 500 of thumbnail request size examples of each terminal. For mobile phones, 80x60 pixels and 160x120 pixels for enlargement, for PDAs up to 320x240 pixels of QVGA size, for PCs, QVGA and VGA, 640x480 pixels, and VGA for DTV Yes. The thumbnail generator 5 is created for each video data input for all of these resolutions and recorded in the access data storage disk 8.

  The browsing operation flow will be described with reference to FIG.

  When a browsing request is received from the terminal (step S601), capability exchange is performed using a connection protocol with the terminal to acquire terminal information, particularly display capability (step S602). Next, the terminal type is determined (step S603), a suitable resolution is determined, the thumbnail image data is read from the access data storage disk 8, and sent to the terminal (step S604). Here, if the display capability of the terminal is unknown for some reason in the information acquisition, the preset resolution is used and the corresponding thumbnail image data is read from the access data storage disk 8 and transmitted ( Step S605). For example, thumbnail image data of typical QVGA size is transmitted as the resolution. When the video data information requesting browsing is received from the terminal (step S606), information associated with the original data recorded on the access data storage disk 8 and the thumbnail is read (step S607). If there is a request for switching from the thumbnail to the live video from the terminal before the playback of the video already recorded on the original data storage disk is started (step S608), the source data recording control unit 7 receives the input video. The data is recorded on the original data storage disk 9 and is also output to the transcoder 10 (step S610). In the case of a reproduction request, the corresponding video data is read from the original data storage disk 9 via the original data recording control unit 7 and output to the transcoder 10. The transcoder 10 transmits it while converting it into a desired compression format in accordance with the display capability of the browsing request terminal (step S611). Thereafter, the original video data continues to be sent to the requesting terminal until a disconnection request is received from the terminal. If there is a disconnection request from the terminal (step S612), the transmission is terminated and the standby state is restored (step S613).

  The embodiment of the present invention can be realized by, for example, a computer executing a program. Also, means for supplying a program to a computer, for example, a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM recording such a program, or a transmission medium such as the Internet for transmitting such a program is also applied as an embodiment of the present invention. Can do. The above program can also be applied as an embodiment of the present invention. The above program, recording medium, transmission medium, and program product are included in the scope of the present invention.

It is a system diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. It is a detailed block diagram of a thumbnail generation unit of the present invention. It is a flowchart of thumbnail generation of the present invention. 1 is a configuration diagram of a storage system. It is a figure which shows the request | requirement thumbnail list of this invention. It is a browsing operation | movement flowchart of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1: Storage device 3: Control unit 4: Video input device interface 5: Thumbnail generation unit 6: Access data recording control unit 7: Original data recording control unit 8: Access data storage disk 9: Original data storage disk

Claims (8)

In a storage device that accumulates video information input from a video output device and transmits thumbnail image data in response to a video browsing request from a device having a display unit via a network interface,
Means for sequentially recording input video information on a recording medium;
Generating means for automatically generating thumbnail image data of a plurality of different resolutions from the video information;
Means for sequentially storing the thumbnail image data in a recording medium;
Have
The generating means includes
A determination unit that analyzes the video information and determines whether the video information includes thumbnail image data generated by a video output device;
If the determination means determines that thumbnail image data is included, at least main image data and thumbnail image data are separated from the video information, and the determination means determines that thumbnail image data is not included. A separating means for separating at least main image data from the video information;
Main image temporary storage means for temporarily storing main image data separated by the separation means;
Thumbnail image temporary storage means for temporarily storing thumbnail image data separated by the separation means;
A plurality of thumbnail generation processing means for generating thumbnail image data of different resolutions;
Switch means capable of multi-output connection for selectively connecting the information stored in the main image temporary storage means and the information stored in the thumbnail image temporary storage means with the plurality of thumbnail generation processing means;
Have
When the determination unit determines that the thumbnail image data is included, the switch unit connects the thumbnail image temporary storage unit to any of the plurality of thumbnail generation processing units, and the main image temporary unit A storage means is connected to any one of the remaining thumbnail generation processing means, and if the determination means determines that thumbnail image data is not included, the main image temporary storage means is used to generate the plurality of thumbnails. Connected to the processing means,
The plurality of thumbnail generation processing means generate thumbnail images of a plurality of sizes using thumbnail image data or main image data stored in the thumbnail image temporary storage means or main image temporary storage means connected by the switch means. A storage apparatus characterized by:   The switch means generates thumbnail image data or main image data separated by the separation means based on the processing capacity, processing speed, and memory capacity required for the processing of the plurality of thumbnail generation processing means, and finally generates them. 2. The storage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a timing for sending to which thumbnail generation processing means among the plurality of thumbnail generation processing means is determined based on a plurality of types of necessary thumbnail image data. Means for generating data associating the video information with thumbnail image data created from the video information;
Means for recording the association data on a recording medium in which the thumbnail image data is stored;
The storage apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: The thumbnail generation processing means includes:
Decoding means for decoding the thumbnail image data or the main image data;
Conversion means for converting the resolution of the image data decoded by the decoding means;
Means for encoding the image data converted by the conversion means;
Have
The converting means includes
Reading means for reading resolution information of thumbnail image data that needs to be generated from the control means;
Resolution information storage means for storing at least one of the resolution information read by the reading means;
Means for collectively generating thumbnail image data based on resolution information stored in the resolution information storage means;
The storage apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   The means for sequentially recording the input video information on a recording medium and the means for sequentially storing the generated thumbnail image data on a recording medium are configured by different file systems. The storage device described in 1. In a storage method for storing video information input from a video output device and transmitting thumbnail image data in response to a video browsing request from a device having a display means via a network interface,
A process of sequentially recording input video information on a recording medium;
A generation step of automatically generating thumbnail image data of a plurality of different resolutions from the video information;
Sequentially storing the thumbnail image data in a recording medium;
Have
The generating step includes
Analyzing the video information and determining whether the video information includes thumbnail image data generated by a video output device; and
If it is determined that the thumbnail image data is included in the determination step, at least main image data and thumbnail image data are separated from the video information, and it is determined that the thumbnail image data is not included in the determination step. A separation step of separating at least main image data from the video information;
A main image temporary storage step of temporarily storing the main image data separated in the separation step in a main image temporary storage means;
A thumbnail image temporary storage step of temporarily storing the thumbnail image data separated in the separation step in a thumbnail image temporary storage means;
A plurality of thumbnail generation processing steps for generating thumbnail image data of different resolutions;
A switch step for determining how to use the information stored in the main image temporary storage means and the information stored in the thumbnail image temporary storage means in the plurality of thumbnail generation processing steps;
Have
In the switch step, when it is determined in the determination step that thumbnail image data is included, the information stored in the thumbnail image temporary storage means is used in any of the plurality of thumbnail generation processing steps. And when it is determined that the information stored in the main image temporary storage means is used in any of the remaining of the plurality of thumbnail generation processing steps and the determination step does not include thumbnail image data, The information stored in the main image temporary storage means is used in the plurality of thumbnail generation processing steps,
In the plurality of thumbnail generation processing steps, thumbnail images of a plurality of sizes are generated using the thumbnail image data or main image data stored in the thumbnail image temporary storage means or the main image temporary storage means determined in the switch step. A storage method characterized by: A computer storing a program for storing video information input from a video output device in a computer and executing processing for transmitting thumbnail image data in response to a video browsing request from a device having a display means via a network interface In a readable storage medium,
The program is stored in a computer.
A procedure for sequentially recording input video information on a recording medium;
A generation procedure for automatically generating thumbnail image data of a plurality of different resolutions from the video information;
A procedure for sequentially storing the thumbnail image data in a recording medium;
And execute
The generation procedure is as follows:
A determination procedure for analyzing the video information and determining whether the video information includes thumbnail image data generated by a video output device;
If it is determined that the thumbnail image data is included in the determination procedure, at least main image data and thumbnail image data are separated from the video information, and it is determined that the thumbnail image data is not included in the determination procedure. A separation procedure for separating at least main image data from the video information;
A main image temporary storage procedure for temporarily storing the main image data separated in the separation procedure in a main image temporary storage means;
A thumbnail image temporary storage procedure for temporarily storing the thumbnail image data separated in the separation procedure in a thumbnail image temporary storage means;
A plurality of thumbnail generation processing procedures for generating thumbnail image data of different resolutions;
A switch procedure for determining how to use the information stored in the main image temporary storage means and the information stored in the thumbnail image temporary storage means in the plurality of thumbnail generation processing procedures;
Have
In the switch procedure, when it is determined that the thumbnail image data is included in the determination procedure, the information stored in the thumbnail image temporary storage unit is used in any of the plurality of thumbnail generation processing procedures. And when it is determined that the information stored in the main image temporary storage means is used in any of the remaining thumbnail generation processing procedures and the determination procedure does not include thumbnail image data, The information stored in the main image temporary storage means is used in the plurality of thumbnail generation processing procedures,
In the plurality of thumbnail generation processing procedures, thumbnail images of a plurality of sizes are generated using the thumbnail image data or the main image data stored in the thumbnail image temporary storage means or the main image temporary storage means determined in the switch procedure. A computer-readable storage medium. In a program for storing video information input from a video output device in a computer and executing processing for transmitting thumbnail image data in response to a video browsing request from a device having a display unit via a network interface,
On the computer,
A procedure for sequentially recording input video information on a recording medium;
A generation procedure for automatically generating thumbnail image data of a plurality of different resolutions from the video information;
A procedure for sequentially storing the thumbnail image data in a recording medium;
And execute
The generation procedure is as follows:
A determination procedure for analyzing the video information and determining whether the video information includes thumbnail image data generated by a video output device;
If it is determined that the thumbnail image data is included in the determination procedure, at least main image data and thumbnail image data are separated from the video information, and it is determined that the thumbnail image data is not included in the determination procedure. A separation procedure for separating at least main image data from the video information;
A main image temporary storage procedure for temporarily storing the main image data separated in the separation procedure in a main image temporary storage means;
A thumbnail image temporary storage procedure for temporarily storing the thumbnail image data separated in the separation procedure in a thumbnail image temporary storage means;
A plurality of thumbnail generation processing procedures for generating thumbnail image data of different resolutions;
A switch procedure for determining how to use the information stored in the main image temporary storage means and the information stored in the thumbnail image temporary storage means in the plurality of thumbnail generation processing procedures;
Have
In the switch procedure, when it is determined that the thumbnail image data is included in the determination procedure, the information stored in the thumbnail image temporary storage unit is used in any of the plurality of thumbnail generation processing procedures. And when it is determined that the information stored in the main image temporary storage means is used in any of the remaining thumbnail generation processing procedures and the determination procedure does not include thumbnail image data, The information stored in the main image temporary storage means is used in the plurality of thumbnail generation processing procedures,
In the plurality of thumbnail generation processing procedures, thumbnail images of a plurality of sizes are generated using the thumbnail image data or the main image data stored in the thumbnail image temporary storage means or the main image temporary storage means determined in the switch procedure. The program characterized by doing.

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