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Method for managing recorded streams in a rewritable recording medium

Method for managing recorded streams in a rewritable recording medium description/claims

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/525,923, filed on Sep. 25, 2006, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/446,852, filed on May 29, 2003 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,206,892 B2), the entire contents of these applications are hereby incorporated by reference. Priority is claimed under 35 U.S.C. § 120; and this application claims priority of Application No. 10-2002-0031749 filed in Korea on Jun. 5, 2002 under 35 U.S.C. § 119.

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method for automatic timed deletion of video and audio streams stored in a recording medium such as a rewritable optical disc.

2. Description of the Related Art

Recently, in accordance with rapid advancement of standardization of a novel high density rewritable recording medium such as ‘Blu-ray Disc Rewritable’ (hereinafter referred to as BD-RW) where high quality video and audio data can be recorded for many hours, it is expected that related products are soon developed and released to consumer market.

FIG. 1 illustrates a partial structure of an optical disc apparatus such as a video disc recorder (VDR) which records signals in a recording medium such as BD-RW or plays signals thereof. The said optical disc apparatus may comprise an optical pickup 2 to read out recorded signals from the recording medium such as BD-RW 1 or to record processed data streams from external inputs; a VDR system 3 to process signals read out from the optical pickup 2 for playback or to transform external data streams into those suitable for recording; and an encoder 4 to encode analog signals from external sources to output to the VDR system 3.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, clips of A/V streams recorded in the BD-RW 1, for example, a first clip of A/V stream (Clip 1 A/V Stream) and a second clip of A/V stream (Clip 2 A/V Stream), each of which is recorded consecutively are managed by a first real playlist (Real PlayList 1) and a second real playlist (Real PlayList 2) generated automatically at the time of recording respective A/V streams, wherein respective play control information to read out and play is contained.

In addition, a playlist making access to sections selectively chosen from a part or whole of the A/V stream clips recorded in said manner can be generated, which is termed as a virtual playlist. Referring to FIG. 2, within the virtual playlist, a playitem of main path (PlayItem) to read out and play the first clip of A/V stream associated with the first real playlist and a sub playitem of subpath (Sub PlayItem) to read out and play the second clip of A/V stream associated with the second real playlist can be recorded and managed.

Accordingly, while performing a series of play operations of reading out and playing the first clip of A/V stream managed by the first real playlist, the optical disc apparatus of VDR system 3 can select and play the second clip of A/V stream managed by the second real playlist upon user request.

On the other hand, the VDR system 3, in response to user request, may delete or edit a part of the first clip of A/V stream or second clip of A/V stream. As depicted in FIG. 3, in case a part of the second clip of A/V stream is deleted, the remaining part of the partially deleted A/V stream is broken up into an A/V stream of second clip and an A/V stream of third clip with corresponding second real playlist and third real playlist generated and further managed, wherein play control information to read out and play the A/V streams are incorporated.

In order to allow a user to randomly select, edit and play real playlists managed by said procedure, a virtual playlist is generated and recorded, wherein the playitem of main path to read out and play the A/V stream of first clip associated with the first real playlist and sub playitem of sub path to read out and play the A/V stream of third clip associated with the third real playlist can be recorded and managed at the same time. Consequently, in response to user request, the VDR system 3 of the optical disc apparatus, while performing a series of play operations of reading out and playing the A/V stream of the first clip associated with the first real playlist, can select and play the A/V stream of the third clip associated with the third real playlist.

Because an optical disc apparatus of said kind, in response to user request, allows random edition of recorded clips of A/V streams and playing clips of the A/V streams, however, user's unlimited playback or illegal edition of proprietary television programs or movies are made possible, where copyright protection and payment are essential. Presently, however, an effective means to prohibit such behavior is yet to be prepared.

By taking these aspects into account, the present invention is directed to provide a method and device for automatic timed deletion of clips of A/V streams in order to protect copyright and secure payment to proprietary television programs and movies which are recorded in a recording medium such as a high density optical disc (BD-RW). The invention provides a method for managing recorded streams in a recording medium, thereby a user's unlimited playback or illegal edition of digital contents recorded in a recording medium can be prohibited, where copyright protection is required.

A method of managing recorded streams in a rewritable recording medium to in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention comprises the following steps: recording a clip of data stream with time continuity in a rewritable recording medium; and recording additional management information in a playlist in order for automatic deletion of the clip of data stream after predetermined time.

Another method for managing recorded streams in a rewritable recording medium according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises the following steps: searching for and checking an automatic deletion flag and deletion time information included in a playlist corresponding to a clip of data stream recorded with time continuity in a rewritable recording medium; and determining to conduct an automatic deletion of the clip of data stream with reference to the automatic deletion flag and deletion time information.

Accordingly to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of managing digital content, comprising: receiving digital content and protection information for protecting the digital content; obtaining flag information associated with time information; obtaining the time information indicating one of a relative time and an absolute time based on the flag information; and managing the digital content according to the time information, wherein the managing step prevents use of the digital content upon an expiration of the time indicated in the time information.

Accordingly to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for managing digital content, comprising: a receiver configured to receive digital content and protection information for protecting the digital content; and a controller configured to obtain flag information associated with time information, to obtain the time information indicating one of a relative time and an absolute time based on the flag information, and to manage the digital content according to the time information, wherein the managing of the digital content prevents use of the digital content upon an expiration of the time indicated in the time information.

These and other objects of the present application will become more readily apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

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