Image playback apparatus, image recording apparatus, and methods thereof
OwnerKenji Toyoda, Hideo Hibinoinventors
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Abstract
An image playback apparatus and in image recording apparatus are designed to permit image playback from a selected position in an image file recorded to a directly accessible memory, such as a magnetic disk. During recording of an image file, the user can designate one or more candidate playback start positions in the file, and corresponding pointers are stored as part of the image file. When the file is to be played back, the playback apparatus accesses the pointer(s) and allows the user to select playback from the corresponding position(s) in the image file. Also the playback apparatus can rewrite pointers in an image file, whereby the user can designate candidate starting positions for future playback of the file.
Claims26
An image playback apparatus comprising:
- image playback means for directly accessing an image file on a recording medium, and reading out and playing back the image file;
- and
- position acquiring means for acquiring positional information indicating a playback position of the image file from a storage location determined based on a file format of the image file,
- wherein said image playback means starts playing back the image file from the playback position indicated by the positional information acquired by said position acquiring means.
An image recording apparatus comprising:
- image writing means for writing image information, provided from outside, as an image file in a directly accessible recording medium;
- position designating means for designating a position on the image file in accordance with a designating instruction given from outside during writing of the image file by said image writing means;
- and
- position recording means for storing positional information indicating the position designated by said position designating means, at a storage location determined based on a file format of said image file.
An image playback apparatus comprising:
- an image playback portion which directly accesses an image file on a recording medium, and reads out and plays back the image file;
- and
- a position acquiring portion which acquires positional information indicating a playback position of the image file from a storage location determined based on a file format of the image file,
- wherein said image playback portion starts playing back the image file from the playback position indicated by the positional information acquired by said position acquiring portion.
An image recording apparatus comprising:
- an image writing portion which writes image information, provided from outside, as an image file in a directly accessible recording medium;
- a position designating portion which designates a position on the image file in accordance with a designating instruction given from outside during writing of the image file by said image writing portion;
- and
- a position recording portion which stores positional information indicating the position designated by said position designating portion, at a storage location determined based on a file format of said image file.
An image playback method comprising:
- providing a directly accessible storage medium having stored thereon an image file and positional information indicating a playback-starting position of said image file other than a beginning of said image file;
- acquiring said positional information;
- and
- starting playback of said image file from the playback-starting position indicated by said positional information.
An image recording method comprising:
- writing image information as an image file on a directly accessible recording medium;
- and
- recording a playback-starting position of the image file on said recording medium in accordance with a designating instruction given at an operator's discretion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.