177results about "Direct reproducing/recording" patented technology

A method and apparatus to reproduce a media file including reading mapping information from a predetermined position of the media file, searching for a sound field effect file of the media file by referring to the mapping information, and setting an equalizer of the audio data on the basis of the sound field effect file. A user can reproduce a media file by using an optimized equalizer of each media file even though the user himself does not set the equalizer. Also, since an equalizer setting of the reproducing apparatus can be applied to another reproducing apparatus, a user can enjoy listening to a media file in the other reproducing apparatus under the same reproducing conditions as those of the reproducing apparatus.

The present invention relates to a USB storage device having a USB plug with top and bottom terminals, connection terminals of the USB plug being provided at both top and bottom sides so that an information terminal apparatus such as a PC, a notebook, an MP3 player and a digital camera, can be inserted in face-down / face-up manners, comprising a main unit and a cover unit, the main unit comprising a USB plug having connection terminals at both sides to be connected to a USB port of the information terminal apparatus to communicate data, and slide rails provided in a longitudinal direction to define a sliding range for rail protrusions of the cover unit; and the cover unit comprising rail protrusions inserted into the slide rails and provided at both ends of the cover unit toward the main unit so that the cover unit can rotatably move along with the slide rail. Therefore, since the USB storage device according to the present invention includes the connection terminals of the USB plug at top and bottom sides, it can be inserted into the information terminal apparatus in a face-down or face-up manner. Further, in the USB storage device according to the present invention, the sliding range for the rail protrusions provided on the cover unit is defined into the slide rails extending the corresponding main unit, thereby preventing the cover unit from being separated and missing.

A system and method for playing an audio file, and for providing a user with information on the other party's location by playing an audio file are disclosed. The system is provided with a first audio player and a second audio player, and each audio player is provided with a transceiver unit to receive a message regarding sharing of an audio file and location information transmitted from the other audio player; a location-sensing unit to sense relative location of the two audio players, i.e., the first audio player and the second audio player, based on received location information; a wireless communication unit to receive the audio file transmitted from the other audio player; and a play-management unit for playing the audio file if the sensed relative location is within a short distance.

The erasion level appending range of a file is instructed. According to this instruction, the erasion level is set. When this setting range does not agree with the cell unit of the current cell, the current cell is divided to set a sequence of divided cells. Playback management information of each of the divided cells and current cell is re-created, and erasion level information is appended to playback management information of the divided cell that belongs to the appending range.

The present invention relates to method and apparatus of recording a multi-channel data stream on a recording medium in such a manner that substreams of digital channels constituting the multi-channel data stream can be distinguished each other in reproduction. The present recording method records a multi-channel stream composed of substreams belonging to plural selected channels on a recording medium, unitizes the recorded stream to a single stream object, creates a piece of search information for each substream contained in the recorded multi-channel stream, and records the created plural pieces of search information on the recording medium. The present method makes it possible to selectively search and reproduce each substream among a multi-channel stream recorded on a recording medium, thereby improving use convenience of a recording machine such as a digital video recorder.

An adaptor for using a mini-sized memory card in an appliance having a slot for a regular-sized memory card is provided. This adaptor is formed with a base and a cover made of a resin material, a plurality of electrically conductive members fixed to the base so as to electrically contact a plurality of I / O terminals of the memory card in the adapter, and a metal shell held between the base and the cover. A memory-card storage room is provided by a space surrounded by the metal shell and the base. By use of the metal shell, it is possible to improve rigidity of the adaptor, obtain a reliable compatibility, and prevent that the thin, mini-sized memory card is damaged.

A communication system in which data stored in a memory card mounted in a host apparatus, such as a digital camera, can be sent to an external apparatus with ease without relying on operations carried out on the host apparatus. The memory card includes a communication control section controllable by the external apparatus so that data can be read out from a memory of the memory card and sent to the external apparatus in accordance with control executed by the external apparatus. Even if the host apparatus is a mobile apparatus such as a digital camera, picture data stored by the digital camera in the memory card can be sent to the external apparatus by wireless communication without the need to change the digital camera serving as the mobile apparatus specially by, for example, installing driver software. That is to say, the memory card can be applied to contemporary digital cameras.

A processing control method for a portable music playback apparatus includes the steps of determining whether a motion mode of the music playback apparatus is a steady-motion mode that is associated with motion of a user or an unsteady-motion mode that is not associated with the motion of the user by analyzing an output of a motion sensor installed in the music playback apparatus; and switching processing of the music playback apparatus in accordance with a determination result obtained by the determining step.

An adaptor for using a mini-sized memory card in an appliance having a slot for a regular-sized memory card is provided. This adaptor is formed with a base and a cover made of a resin material, a plurality of electrically conductive members fixed to the base so as to electrically contact a plurality of I / O terminals of the memory card in the adapter, and a metal shell held between the base and the cover. A memory-card storage room is provided by a space surrounded by the metal shell and the base. By use of the metal shell, it is possible to improve rigidity of the adaptor, obtain a reliable compatibility, and prevent that the thin, mini-sized memory card is damaged.

A digital audio recording / reproduction apparatus to record and reproduce a music file and to record a still image or video, and a method of providing a user interface therein, includes a controller to control the digital audio recording / reproduction apparatus and to display a user interface which displays a function to activate music playback and recording and reproducing functions of a still image or video, an input unit including buttons to reproduce a music file, to control reproduction of a music file, to capture a still image, to capture video, and to search a menu, a camera module to convert an input image into an electrical signal, a storage unit to store a music file and an image file input from the camera module according to a control by the controller, and an output unit to output a user interface screen, a music file stored in the storage unit, or an image file stored in the storage unit. Accordingly, a user can record an image using a camera or video function while listening to music.

A portable multimedia device and a method of operating the same enables operation of a display device by direct manipulation of a bracket housing a display window of a portable communication device such as an MP3 player, a portable multimedia player, or a digital camera. The portable multimedia device includes: a display bracket housing the display window; a PCB bracket installed at a rear surface of the display bracket and is movable within a limited range in a thickness direction; a PCB fixed in the PCB bracket between the display bracket and the PCB bracket; and a plurality of tact switches installed around a periphery of the PCB capable of contacting the rear surface of the display bracket. Each of the tact switches controls one or more function of the portable multimedia device.

A Multimedia (MMC) / Secure Digital (SD) form-factor compliant card apparatus can include a mode determining circuit connected to first and second pins of the card apparatus and configured to determine a type of host connected to the first and second pins based on comparing voltages at the first and second pins to an internal voltage level. Related adaptors and methods are also disclosed.

In the data structure, a data area of the recording medium stores a transport stream of at least video data. The transport stream is divided into transport packets. Each of the transport packets is associated with one of the multiple reproduction paths, and the transport packets of each reproduction path are interleaved with one another.

The present invention involves a digital audio player and a method for processing encoded digital audio data, wherein the digital audio data is encoded using one of a plurality of encoding formats. The audio data player has a hard disk or other data storage medium for storing data files, a microcontroller, buffer memory for anti-skip protection, and an audio decoder. The encoded audio data files and associated decoder files are downloaded from a personal computer or similar device to the audio data player hard drive. The player provides a menu-driven user interface for selection, sorting, and playback of stored audio data files. During playback, elapsed playback time is computed and displayed. For variable bit-rate audio data files, the audio data player generates an elapsed playback timekeeping map concurrently with playback and fast forward scan of audio data files. Concurrently with playback, forward scan, and reverse scan of the audio data file, the audio data player determines the compression ratio for each data portion traversed, and calculates a playback time for each data portion traversed.

A digital audio processor comprises at least one digital audio sample mapping module and produces a sequence of output digital audio sample values by applying a quasi time-invariant transfer function to each input digital audio sample value, the transfer function being arranged so that a ratio of root mean square signal level to peak signal magnitude is lower for the input digital audio signal than for a corresponding portion of the output digital audio signal.

A peripheral card includes a circuit board, various circuit elements on the circuit board, a set of user terminals, a set of test terminals, and an enclosure that covers a portion of the circuit board and the circuit elements. The enclosure does not cover the user terminals and test terminals. After the peripheral card is tested, the test terminals are covered with a conformal contact coating in order to prevent access to the test terminals.

A Multimedia (MMC) / Secure Digital (SD) form-factor compliant card apparatus can include a mode determining circuit connected to first and second pins of the card apparatus and configured to determine a type of host connected to the first and second pins based on comparing voltages at the first and second pins to an internal voltage level. Related adaptors and methods are also disclosed.

A peripheral card includes a circuit board, various circuit elements on the circuit board, a set of user terminals, a set of test terminals, and an enclosure that covers a portion of the circuit board and the circuit elements. The enclosure does not cover the user terminals and test terminals. After the peripheral card is tested, the test terminals are covered with a conformal contact coating in order to prevent access to the test terminals.

A reproducing means for performing reproduction processing on digital data which is read out from a predetermined recording medium recording the digital data, a manipulating means for making an instruction of reproducing the digital data inserted in the recording medium, a control means for reading the digital data from the recording medium in accordance with the reproduction instruction input with the manipulating means and sending it to the reproducing means, and for controlling the reproducing means to perform reproduction processing on the digital data, and a cylindrical case for containing the reproducing means and the control means are provided, and wherein the manipulating means is provided on one end side on one plane in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical case. Thereby the user can manipulate the manipulating means without taking out a portable recording and / or reproducing device from a bag or a pocket, thus making it possible to remarkably improve its manipulation.

A portable multimedia device and a method of operating the same enables operation of a display device by direct manipulation of a bracket housing a display window of a portable communication device such as an MP3 player, a portable multimedia player, or a digital camera. The portable multimedia device includes: a display bracket housing the display window; a PCB bracket installed at a rear surface of the display bracket and is movable within a limited range in a thickness direction; a PCB fixed in the PCB bracket between the display bracket and the PCB bracket; and a plurality of tact switches installed around a periphery of the PCB capable of contacting the rear surface of the display bracket. Each of the tact switches controls one or more function of the portable multimedia device.

The present invention relates to method and apparatus of recording a multi-channel data stream on a recording medium in such a manner that substreams of digital channels constituting the multi-channel data stream can be distinguished each other in reproduction. The present recording method records a multi-channel stream composed of substreams belonging to plural selected channels in a single stream object while grouping every partial stream of same channel to a data block and interleaving the data blocks of different channels each other, creates a piece of search information for each substream contained in the recorded multi-channel stream, and records the created plural pieces of search information on the recording medium. The present method makes it possible to selectively search and reproduce each substream among a multi-channel stream recorded on a recording medium, thereby improving use convenience of a recording machine such as a digital video recorder.

A communication system in which data stored in a memory card mounted in a host apparatus, such as a digital camera, can be sent to an external apparatus with ease without relying on operations carried out on the host apparatus. The memory card includes a communication control section controllable by the external apparatus so that data can be read out from a memory of the memory card and sent to the external apparatus in accordance with control executed by the external apparatus. Even if the host apparatus is a mobile apparatus such as a digital camera, picture data stored by the digital camera in the memory card can be sent to the external apparatus by wireless communication without the need to change the digital camera serving as the mobile apparatus specially by, for example, installing driver software. That is to say, the memory card can be applied to contemporary digital cameras.

In the data structure, a data area of the recording medium stores a transport stream of at least video data. The transport stream is divided into transport packets. Each of the transport packets is associated with one of the multiple reproduction paths, and the transport packets of each reproduction path are interleaved with one another. In the date structure, a navigation area stores at least one navigation data item. The navigation data item provides navigation information for reproducing more than one of the multiple reproduction paths. The navigation area also stores a separate map associated with each reproduction path, and each map provides position data for the video data of the associated reproduction path.

A portable data storage device is disclosed that includes an interface (3) for enabling the portable data storage device to be used for data transfer with a host computer (5), and an interface controller (2) for controlling the interface (3). There is also a master controller (7) for controlling the writing of data to and reading of data from a non-volatile memory (8, 9). The non-volatile memory is at least one single level cell (SLC) flash memory (8) and at least one multiple level cell (MLC) flash memory (9). The at least one single level cell flash memory (8) and at least one multiple level cell flash memory (9) are able to operate simultaneously for improving the speed of operation over onl multiple level cell flash memory.

A music reproducing apparatus includes: a Graphic User Interface (GUI) providing a guide for controlling an output of a music file, a display unit for displaying the GUI, a Beats Per Minute (BPM) providing unit for converting the music file into an analog form, and for separating a specific frequency component from the converted music file of the analog form to provide BPM information of the music file, and a control unit for comparing BPM information of at least two music files with each other according to the BPM information provided from the BPM providing unit to reproduce the music file by adjusting an output frequency.

A low-power digital audio decoding and playing system and method for computing devices provides a low-cost, low power-consumption, long-battery-life audio playing and decoding system, which may be used to play compressed audio files of various formats. A software only solution for such a system is provided

A caption MP3 player having a caption display function of displaying caption information in synchronism with corresponding audio information when the audio information is outputted on stereo, a caption MP3 data format and a method of reproducing the caption MP3 data are provided. The caption MP3 player includes a storage section to which the audio information and the corresponding caption information are inputted and stored therein, a signal separation section for separating the audio information and the caption information provided from the storage section, a control section for controlling storage and output of the information through the storage section and controlling the audio and caption information separated by the signal separation section to be synchronized with each other, and a caption output section for outputting the caption information synchronized with the audio information that corresponds to the caption information and is outputted from the audio output section.

A flash memory in which a code for debugging an optical drive and a code for controlling the optical drive are downloaded when required, the functions of the downloaded code are subsequently executed, and the executed code is then deleted. The flash memory includes a first area where a firmware operation module that is received from an external source is executed and deleted; and a second area allocated to store a code for loading the firmware operation module that is stored in the first area, a code for executing the firmware operation module that is stored in the first area, and a firmware code.

In a memory card with a newly-added module for performing data communication, data communication is stably performed without receiving a noise effect. As an embodiment of the present invention, a memory card 100 has a thin-plate-shaped holding member 20, a memory section 24 provided as buried in the holding member 20, plural first connection pieces 2-10 connected to the memory section 24, a data communication section 26 provided as buried in the holding member 20, and two connection pieces 11, 12 connected to the data communication section 26. The two second connection pieces 11, 12 are disposed at the end of a row part R1 on which only the plural first connection pieces 2-10 are aligned. One first connection piece 10 positioned at the end of the row part R1 is a ground terminal. That is to say, in the plural first connection pieces 2-10, the first connection piece 10 adjacent to the second connection piece 11 is a ground terminal.

The erasion level appending range of a file is instructed. According to this instruction, the erasion level is set. When this setting range does not agree with the cell unit of the current cell, the current cell is divided to set a sequence of divided cells. Playback management information of each of the divided cells and current cell is re-created, and erasion level information is appended to playback management information of the divided cell that belongs to the appending range.