Information recording medium, device and method for playing back 3d images

Abstract

A recording medium allows random access to be performed in playing back 3D graphics. The recording medium includes a digital stream area where a digital stream including temporally-arranged GOP pairs is recorded, and a map information area where map information is recorded. The map information indicates entry addresses in one to one correspondence with entry times on a time axis of the digital stream, and each entry address shows a beginning of a corresponding GOP pair region in the digital stream area. Each GOP pair includes first-type and second-type GOPs, wherein each first-type GOP is data indicating a plain view picture set to be played back from a corresponding entry time, and each second-type GOP is data to be played back with a corresponding first-type GOP to provide a stereoscopic view. The data indicates a difference between a stereoscopic picture set and the plain view picture set.

1 - 8 . (canceled) 
     
     
         9 . A recording medium comprising:
 a digital stream area in which a digital stream is recorded, the digital stream including a plurality of temporally-arranged GOP pairs; and   a map information area in which map information is recorded, the map information indicating entry addresses in one to one correspondence with entry times on a time axis of the digital stream, each of the entry addresses showing a beginning of a corresponding one of GOP pair regions in the digital stream area, wherein   each of the GOP pairs is composed of a first-type GOP and a second-type GOP,   each first-type GOP is data indicating a set of plain view pictures to be played back from a corresponding one of the entry times, and   each second-type GOP is data to be played back together with a corresponding one of the first-type GOPs to provide a user with a stereoscopic view of the digital stream, the data indicating a difference between a set of stereoscopic pictures and the set of plain view pictures.   
     
     
         10 . The recording medium of  claim 9 , wherein
 each of the first-type GOPs and each of the second-type GOPs are divided into a first-type set of packets and a second-type set of packets, respectively,   the first-type sets of packets and the second-type sets of packets are multiplexed together, all of the packets being assigned with consecutive packet numbers according to an order of multiplexing,   a header packet from among each of the first-type sets of packets precedes, on the digital stream, a header packet from among a corresponding one of the second-type sets of packets, and   each of the entry addresses in the map information is represented as one of the packet numbers assigned to a header packet from among a corresponding one of the first-type sets of packets.   
     
     
         11 . The recording medium of  claim 10 , wherein
 each of the second-type sets of packets divided from a corresponding one of the second-type GOPs is located before a next one of the entry addresses that is immediately next to one of the entry addresses that relates to a corresponding one of the first-type GOPs.   
     
     
         12 . The recording medium of  claim 10 , wherein
 each of the second-type sets of packets divided from a corresponding one of the second-type GOPs precedes an end packet of a corresponding one of the first-type GOPs.   
     
     
         13 . The recording medium of  claim 9 , wherein
 pictures of each of the first-type GOPs are in one to one correspondence with pictures of each of the second-type GOPs, and   a display time of a certain picture of each of the second-type GOPs is a value obtained by adding a display time of a corresponding one of the pictures of a corresponding one of the first-type GOPs to a value obtained by dividing 1 by a frame rate of the corresponding one of the first-type GOPs multiplied by 2.   
     
     
         14 . A recording medium comprising:
 a generating unit operable to generate a digital stream, and   a recording unit operable to record the generated digital stream in the recording medium, wherein   the digital stream includes (i) at least one first-type GOP which is data indicating a set of plain view pictures to start being played back at an at least one entry time on a time axis of the digital stream, (ii) at least one second-type GOP which is data to be played back together with the at least one corresponding first-type GOP to provide a user with a stereoscopic view of the digital stream, the data indicating a set of differential pictures between a set of stereoscopic pictures and the set of plain view pictures, and (iii) map information indicating an at least one entry address in one to one correspondence with the at least one entry time in a recording area of the digital stream, and   the generating unit divides the at least one first-type GOP and the at least one second-type GOP into a plurality of packets, and multiplexes together the plurality of packets such that a header packet from among packets divided from the at least one first-type GOP precedes, on the digital stream, a header packet from among packets divided from the at least one corresponding second-type GOP.   
     
     
         15 . A playback apparatus for playing back a digital stream in which at least one first-type GOP and at least one second-type GOP are divided into a plurality of packets and are multiplexed together, the at least one first-type GOP being data indicating a set of plain view pictures to start being played back at an at least one entry time on a time axis of the digital stream, and the at least one second-type GOP being data to be played back together with the at least one first-type GOP to provide a user with a stereoscopic view of the digital stream, the data indicating a set of differential pictures between a set of stereoscopic pictures and the set of plain view pictures, the playback apparatus comprising:
 a video decoder operable to decode the at least one first-type GOP and the at least one second-type GOP to obtain moving pictures;   a first video plane that stores moving pictures obtained by decoding the at least one first-type GOP;   a second video plane that stores moving pictures obtained by decoding the at least one second-type GOP;   a display unit; and
 an output unit operable to output, to the display unit, the moving pictures stored in the first video plane and the moving pictures stored in the second video plane alternately, wherein 
 each of the packets includes a packet ID showing whether data included in the packet relates to the at least one first-type GOP or the at least one second-type GOP, and 
 the video decoder outputs the decoded moving pictures to: (i) the first video plane when the packet ID shows that the data relates to the at least one first-type GOP; and (ii) the second video plane when the packet ID shows that the data relates to the at least one second-type GOP. 
   
     
     
         16 . A playback method that plays back a digital stream in which at least one first-type GOP and at least one second-type GOP are divided into a plurality of packets and are multiplexed together, the at least one first-type GOP being data indicating a set of plain view pictures to start being played back at an at least one entry time on a time axis of the digital stream, and the at least one second-type GOP being data to be played back together with the at least one first-type GOP to provide a user with a stereoscopic view of the digital stream, the data indicating a difference between a set of stereoscopic pictures and the set of plain view pictures, the method comprising the steps of:
 decoding the at least one first-type GOP and the at least one second-type GOP to obtain moving pictures; and
 outputting, to a display device, moving pictures obtained by decoding the at least one first-type GOP in a first video plane, and moving pictures obtained by decoding the at least one second-type GOP in a second video plane alternately, wherein 
   each of the packets includes a packet ID showing whether data included in the packet relates to the at least one first-type GOP or the at least one second-type GOP, and   the video decoder outputs the decoded moving pictures to: (i) the first video plane when the packet ID shows that the data relates to the at least one first-type GOP; and (ii) the second video plane when the packet ID shows that the data relates to the at least one second-type GOP.