Apparatus and method for reproducing storage medium that stores metadata for providing enhanced search function

Abstract

An apparatus and method for reproducing a storage medium that stores metadata are provided for an enhanced search function using various search keywords of audio-visual (AV) data. The apparatus includes: a search unit for searching for scenes matching a search keyword by conducting an enhanced search function on the AV data with reference to metadata which contains information regarding at least one search keyword for each of the scenes of the AV data; and a reproducing unit for reproducing the AV data corresponding to at least one scene found by the search unit. The metadata may include information regarding an entry point and / or duration, angles, etc. of each scene. Hence, the enhanced search can be conducted using various search keywords. Further, search results can be reproduced according to diverse scenarios, and the enhanced search function can be provided for movie titles that support multiple angles or multiple paths. Moreover, metadata can be created in multiple languages, thereby enabling the enhanced search function to support multiple languages.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. §119 from Korean Patent Application No. 2005-1749, filed on Jan. 7, 2005, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]The present invention relates to reproducing audio-visual (AV) data recorded on a storage medium, and more particularly, to a storage medium including meta data to provide an enhanced search function, an apparatus and method for reproducing AV data from a storage medium that stores metadata for providing an enhanced search function.[0004]2. Related Art[0005]Storage media, such as DVDs and Blu-ray discs (BDs), store audio-visual (AV) data composed of video, audio, and / or subtitles that are compression-encoded according to standards for digital video and audio compression, such as a MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group) standard. Storage media ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0018]The enhanced search function may be enabled when the AV data is reproduced along a main playback path defined by an author and may be disabled when the AV data is reproduced along a side playback path defined by a user.

[0024]In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of reproducing AV data stored in an information storage medium. Such a method comprises searching for scenes matching a search keyword by conducting an enhanced search function on the AV data with reference to metadata which contains information regarding at least one search keyword for each of the scenes of the AV data; and reproducing the AV data corresponding to a scene found.

Problems solved by technology

However, in such a storage medium, there is no method for jumping to an arbitrary scene according to a search condition (e.g., scene, character, location, sound, or item) desired by a user and reproducing the scene.

In other words, a typical storage medium does not provide a function for moving to a portion of the AV data according to a search condition (e.g., scene, character, location, sound, or item) set by the user and reproducing the portion.

Therefore, the storage medium cannot offer diverse search functions.

Since AV data is compression-encoded and recorded on a conventional storage medium according to an MPEG 2 standard and multiplexed, it is difficult to manufacture a storage medium that contains metadata needed to search for a moving picture.

In addition, once a storage medium is manufactured, it is almost impossible to edit or reuse AV data or metadata stored on the storage medium.

Further, a currently defined playlist mark cannot distinguish multiple angles or multiple paths.

Therefore, even when AV data supports multiple angles or multiple paths, it is difficult to provide diverse enhanced search functions on the AV data.

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