Apparatus and method for recording data in the residual recording capacity of recording media

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

0001The present invention relates to apparatus and method for recording data on a target storage medium selected from a plurality of storage media housed in a storage medium housing, and more particularly relates to an improved technique of controlling selection of the target storage medium on which data should he recorded.

0002A recorder with MD changer, in which a number of mini discs (MD's) can be housed, is one of known recorders including a disk housing where a plurality of storage media can be housed. The recorder with MD changer displays a list of MD's housed, prompts the user to select a preferred MD on which data should be recorded, and then records the data on the specified MD.

0003However, in using such a recorder with MD changer, even if the user does not want to specify any particular MD for recording data thereon, the user still must specify an MD for use in recording. Thus, such an operation might sometimes be troublesome for the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

0004An object of the present invention is providing apparatus and method for recording data in a target storage medium selected from a plurality of storage media by reference to the residual capacities of respective storage media even if the user does not specify any particular storage medium.

0005Specifically, a recording apparatus according to the present invention includes: a storage medium housing for housing a plurality of storage media; a drive for recording data, including at least video data, on a target storage medium selected from the storage media housed in the storage medium housing; an individual information manager for managing individual information of the respective storage media housed in the storage medium housing, the individual information including residual area information indicative of the size of a residual area on which data is recordable; and a controller for calculating the size of a residual area required for recording the data and selecting the target storage medium from the storage media housed in the storage medium housing by reference to the size calculated and the individual information of the respective storage media.

0006According to the present invention, the controller selects a target from the storage media housed in the storage medium housing by reference to the size calculated and the individual information of the respective storage media that is managed by the individual information manager. And the individual information includes the residual area information indicative of the size of a residual area on which data is recordable. Thus, a target storage medium can be appropriately selected in view of the residual capacities of the respective storage media.

0007In one embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus further includes an input section for receiving an instruction indicating whether or not a particular one of the storage media is specified. If the controller has received an instruction to specify a particular one of the storage media via the input section, then the controller selects the specified storage medium as the target storage medium. On the other hand, when no particular storage medium is specified, the controller selects at least one of the storage media, having a residual area large enough to record the data, as the target storage medium by reference to the residual area information included in the individual information.

0008In another embodiment of the present invention, the individual information manager manages attribute information, indicating whether or not each said storage medium housed in the storage medium housing is an unspecified storage medium to be used when no particular storage medium is specified, as a piece of the individual information for each said storage medium. If the controller has received the instruction to specify no particular storage medium via the input section, then the controller selects the target storage medium from the unspecified storage media by reference to the attribute information included in the individual information.

0009In still another embodiment, the individual information manager manages attribute information, indicating whether each said storage medium housed in the storage medium housing is read-only or rewritable, as a piece of the individual information for each said storage medium. And the controller selects the target storage medium from the rewritable storage media by reference to the attribute information included in the individual information.

0010In still another embodiment, the storage medium housing houses the respective storage media within a plurality of magazines, a predetermined number of the storage media being housed in each said magazine. The apparatus further includes an input section for receiving an instruction to specify a particular one of the magazines. The controller selects at least one of the storage media, having a residual area large enough to record the data, as the target storage medium from the magazine specified via the input section by reference to the residual area information included in the individual information.

0011In still another embodiment, the individual information manager manages identifier information, indicative of an identifier recorded on each said storage medium housed in the storage medium housing, as a piece of the individual information for each said storage medium. The apparatus further includes an input section for receiving an identifier of the target storage medium. If the controller has received the identifier of the target storage medium via the input section, then the controller selects one of the storage media, having the received identifier, as a qualified candidate of the target storage medium by reference to the identifier information included in the individual information.

0012In accordance with a recording method of the present invention, data, including at least video data, is recorded on a target storage medium selected from a plurality of storage media housed in a storage medium housing included in a recording apparatus. The method includes the steps of: managing individual information of each said storage medium housed, the individual information including residual area information indicative of the size of a residual area on which data is recordable; calculating the size of a residual area required for recording the data thereon; selecting the target storage medium from the housed storage media by reference to the size calculated and the individual information; and recording the data on the target storage medium.

0013According to the present invention, the target storage medium is selected by reference to the individual information (including the residual area information indicative of the size of a residual area on which data is recordable) of the respective storage media managed while the data is recorded. Thus, the target storage medium can be appropriately selected in view of the residual capacities of the respective storage media.

0014In one embodiment of the present invention, the method preferably further includes the step of receiving an instruction, indicating whether or not a particular one of the storage media is specified, from the outside of the recording apparatus during recording the data. The target selecting step includes the steps of: when a particular one of the storage media is specified, selecting the specified storage medium as the target storage medium; and when no particular storage medium is specified, selecting at least one of the storage media, having a residual area large enough to record the data, as the target storage medium by reference to the residual area information included in the individual information.

0015In another embodiment of the present invention, the method preferably further includes the step of managing attribute information, indicating whether or not each said storage medium is an unspecified storage medium to be used when no particular storage medium is specified, as a piece of the individual information for each said storage medium. The target selecting step includes the step of, when no particular storage medium is specified, selecting the target storage media from the unspecified storage media by reference to the attribute information included in the individual information.

0016In still another embodiment, the method preferably further includes the step of managing attribute information, indicating whether each said storage medium is read-only or rewritable, as a piece of the individual information for each said storage medium. The target selecting step includes the step of selecting the target storage media from the rewritable storage media by reference to the attribute information included in the individual information.

0017In still another embodiment, the respective storage media are housed within a plurality of magazines, a predetermined number of the storage media being stored in each said magazine. The method further includes the step of receiving an instruction to specify a particular one of the magazines from the outside of the recording apparatus. The target selecting step includes the step of selecting at least one of the storage media, having a residual area large enough to record the data, as the target storage medium from the specified magazine by reference to the residual area information included in the individual information.

0018In still another embodiment, the method preferably further includes the steps of: managing identifier information, indicative of an identifier recorded on each said storage medium, as a piece of the individual information for each said storage medium; and receiving an instruction to specify an identifier of the target storage medium from the outside of the recording apparatus during recording the data. The target selecting step includes the step of selecting one of the storage media having the specified identifier as a qualified candidate of the target storage medium by reference to the identifier information included in the individual information.

0019In accordance with another recording method of the present invention, data, including at least video data, is recorded on a target storage medium selected from a plurality of storage media housed in a storage medium housing included in a recording apparatus. The method includes the steps of: calculating the size of a residual area required for recording the data thereon; selecting some rewritable storage media from the storage media housed; selecting some unspecified storage media, to be used when no particular storage medium is specified, from the selected rewritable storage media; selecting some storage media, having respective residual areas equal to or larger than the calculated size, from the selected rewritable and unspecified storage media; selecting a storage medium, having a minimum or maximum residual area, from the selected storage media as the target storage medium; and recording the data on the target storage medium.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

0020<ul id="ul0001" list-style="none" compact="compact"><li>Figure <b>1</b> is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration of a recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.</li><li>Figure <b>2</b> is a diagram illustrating the contents of individual information managed by an individual information manager shown in Figure <b>1.</b></li><li>Figure <b>3</b> is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary disk-selecting operation performed by the recording apparatus shown in Figure <b>1.</b></li><li>Figure <b>4</b> is a schematic representation illustrating an exemplary message displayed on an output section shown in Figure <b>1.</b></li><li>Figure <b>5</b> is a schematic representation illustrating another exemplary message displayed on the output section shown in Figure <b>1.</b></li><li>Figure <b>6</b> is a flowchart illustrating the step <b>S20</b> of selecting a disk shown in Figure <b>3</b> in greater detail.</li><li>Figure <b>7</b> is a flowchart illustrating another exemplary disk-selecting operation performed by the recording apparatus shown in Figure <b>1.</b></li><li>Figure <b>8</b> is a schematic representation illustrating still another exemplary message displayed on the output section shown in Figure <b>1.</b></li><li>Figure <b>9</b> is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration of a recording apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.</li><li>Figure <b>10</b> is a diagram illustrating the contents of individual information managed by an individual information manager shown in Figure <b>9.</b></li><li>Figure <b>11</b> is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary disk-selecting operation performed by the recording apparatus shown in Figure <b>9.</b></li><li>Figure <b>12</b> is a flowchart illustrating a recording method according to the third embodiment of the present invention.</li><li>Figure <b>13</b> is a flowchart illustrating the step <b>S60</b> shown in Figure <b>12</b> in greater detail.</li><li>Figure <b>14</b> is a schematic representation illustrating an exemplary configuration of a system including a DVD recorder implemented as a recording apparatus according to the present invention.</li><li>Figure <b>15</b> is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the DVD recorder shown in Figure <b>14.</b></li></ul>

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

0021Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

EMBODIMENT 1

0022Figure <b>1</b> illustrates a system configuration of a recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure <b>1,</b> a changer <b>10</b> includes: a disk housing <b>11</b> (i.e., an exemplary storage medium housing); a disk drive <b>12;</b> and a changer controller <b>13</b> (i.e., an exemplary controller). The disk housing <b>11</b> can house a plurality of disks <b>1</b> (i.e., exemplary storage media). The changer controller <b>13</b> controls the operations of selecting a particular disk <b>1</b> from those housed in the disk housing <b>11</b> and inserting the disk <b>1</b> into the disk drive <b>12.</b> The disk drive <b>12</b> records data on the disk <b>1</b> inserted thereto. If necessary, the disk drive <b>12</b> may read data from the disk <b>1.</b> In this specification and the appended claims, the "data" refers to data including at least video data.

0023An individual information manager <b>21</b> manages individual information, including residual area information representing the size of a residual area (residual capacity) on which data is recordable, for each of the disks <b>1</b> housed in the disk housing <b>11.</b> An input section <b>22</b> receives an instruction from the user and then passes the instruction to a disk selection controller <b>23.</b> Following the instruction, the disk selection controller <b>23</b> controls the changer controller <b>13</b> over the selection of a disk <b>1,</b> which should be inserted into the disk drive <b>12</b> to record data thereon, by reference to the individual information of the respective disks <b>1</b> managed by the individual information manager <b>21.</b> An output section <b>24</b> displays a message, etc., thereon for the user. For example, the input section <b>22</b> may be implemented to include a remote controller and a receiver for receiving a signal transmitted from the remote controller. And the output section <b>24</b> may be implemented to include a display and a transmitter for transmitting a signal to the display.

0024Figure <b>2</b> illustrates the contents of individual information managed by the individual information manager <b>21</b> for each disk <b>1.</b> As shown in Figure <b>2,</b> the individual information manager <b>21</b> manages the individual information <b>INFi</b> of each disk <b>1</b> housed in the disk housing <b>11.</b> In this case, <b>i</b> is a natural number in the range from 1 to n, and <b>n</b> is the number of disks <b>1</b> that can be housed in the disk housing <b>11.</b> As shown in Figure <b>2,</b> each item of individual information includes: a disk label <b>LBL;</b> a disk identifier <b>ID;</b> residual area information <b>RGN</b>; and first and second attribute information <b>ATR1</b> and <b>ATR2.</b> The disk label <b>LBL</b> represents the name of a disk. The disk identifier <b>ID</b> is used for identifying a disk. The residual area information <b>RGN</b> represents the size of a recordable, residual area of a disk. And the first and second attribute information <b>ATR1</b> and <b>ATR2</b> represent respective attributes of the disk. In this embodiment, the first attribute information <b>ATR1</b> indicates whether the disk <b>1</b> in question is one of unspecified disks used when no particular disk is specified or a specified disk. The second attribute information <b>ATR2</b> indicates whether the disk <b>1</b> in question is read-only (ROM) or rewritable (RAM).

0025It should be noted that in an actually implemented package, each disk <b>1</b> is provided with a unique ID in this world. In this case, the disk ID is data meaningless to the user, unlike an identifier employed by the user to identify the disk. Accordingly, this disk ID is not displayed to the user.

0026Figure <b>3</b> illustrates an exemplary disk-selecting operation performed by the recording apparatus shown in Figure <b>1</b>. In this embodiment, it is supposed that the user performs a reserved recording of a TV program by using the recording apparatus shown in Figure <b>1.</b>

0027First, in Step <b>S11</b>, the disk selection controller <b>23</b> sets recording duration and bit rate. Specifically, the disk selection controller <b>23</b> makes the output section <b>24</b> display a message asking the user when the recording should be started, when the recording should be ended and what type of image quality is preferred. In response to the start and end times and the preferred image quality, which have been received from the user via the input section <b>22,</b> the disk selection controller <b>23</b> determines the recording duration and the bit rate. It should be noted that in performing a normal recording, not a reserved recording, a default value may be used as the recording duration and the user may be asked only of the image quality preferred.

0028Next, in Step <b>S12,</b> the disk selection controller <b>23</b> receives an instruction, indicating whether or not the user specifies a particular disk for recording data thereon, from the user via the input section <b>22.</b> Figure <b>4</b> illustrates an exemplary message displayed on the output section <b>24</b> in Step <b>S12.</b>

0029If the answer is "YES" in Step <b>S12,</b> then the disk selection controller <b>23</b> makes the output section <b>24</b> display a list of recordable disks by reference to the individual information <b>INTi</b> of the respective disks <b>1</b> managed by the individual information manager <b>21</b> in Step <b>S13.</b> Figure <b>5</b> illustrates an exemplary message displayed on the output section <b>24</b> in Step <b>S13.</b> In this case, unspecified disks may be excluded from the list of recordable disks by reference to the first attribute information <b>ATR1</b> of the individual information <b>INFi</b> managed by the individual information manager <b>21.</b> Alternatively, the unspecified disks may also be displayed as well. Furthermore, the sizes of residual areas and recordable times of respective disks may be displayed along with the names of the disks.

0030Then, in Step <b>S14,</b> the disk selection controller <b>23</b> receives the instruction to specify a particular disk for use in recording from the user via the input section <b>22.</b> Subsequently, in Step <b>S15,</b> the disk selection controller <b>23</b> controls the changer <b>10</b> such that data is recorded on the disk specified in Step <b>S14.</b>

0031On the other hand, if the answer is "NO" in Step <b>S12,</b> then the disk selection controller <b>23</b> selects an appropriate disk to be used for recording by reference to the individual information <b>INTi</b> of the respective disks <b>1</b> managed by the individual information manager <b>21</b> in Step <b>S20.</b> And then, in Step <b>S15,</b> the disk selection controller <b>23</b> controls the changer <b>10</b> such that data is recorded on the disk selected in Step <b>S20.</b>

0032Figure <b>6</b> illustrates the step <b>S20</b> of selecting a disk in greater detail.

0033First, in Step <b>S21,</b> a residual capacity <b>CR</b> required for recording is calculated based on the recording duration and the bit rate. Next, in Step <b>S22,</b> some of unspecified RAM disks are extracted. Specifically, the disk selection controller <b>23</b> extracts several disks with their first attribute information <b>ATR1</b> indicating their identity as unspecified disks and their second attribute information <b>ATR2</b> indicating their identity as RAM disks by reference to the individual information <b>INFi</b> managed by the individual information manager <b>21.</b>

0034Then, in Step <b>S23,</b> it is determined whether or not the total of the residual capacities of the disks extracted in Step <b>S22</b> is equal to or larger than the required recording capacity <b>CR.</b> If the total residual capacity is smaller than the required recording capacity <b>CR</b> (the "NO" branch from Step <b>S23),</b> then the output section <b>24</b> displays a message like "recording impossible" in Step <b>S28,</b> thereby aborting the processing. Alternatively, if the total residual capacity is equal to or larger than the required recording capacity <b>CR,</b> then the procedure advances to Step <b>S24.</b>

0035Subsequently, in Step <b>S24,</b> it is determined whether or not there are any disks having residual capacities equal to or larger than the required recording capacity <b>CR</b> among the disks extracted in Step <b>S22.</b> If there are any disks having residual capacities equal to or larger than the required recording capacity <b>CR</b> (i.e., the "YES" branch from Step <b>S24</b>), then a disk having the minimum residual capacity is selected from these disks in Step <b>S25</b> to complete the processing normally.

0036Alternatively, if there is no disk having a residual capacity equal to or larger than the required recording capacity <b>CR</b> (i.e., the "NO" branch from Step <b>S24</b>), then, in Step <b>S26,</b> a disk having the maximum residual capacity is selected from the disks extracted in Step <b>S22.</b> Then, the residual capacity of the disk selected in Step <b>S26</b> is subtracted from the required recording capacity <b>CR</b> to obtain a newly required recording capacity <b>CR'</b> in Step <b>S27</b> to return to Step <b>S24.</b>

0037In this embodiment, if there are several disks having residual capacities equal to or larger than the required recording capacity <b>CR,</b> then a disk having the minimum residual capacity is supposed to be selected in Step <b>S25.</b> Alternatively, a disk having the maximum residual capacity may be selected. Also, instead of selecting a disk having the maximum residual capacity in Step <b>S26,</b> a disk having the minimum residual capacity may be selected. Furthermore, if there are several candidate disks in Steps <b>S25</b> and <b>S26,</b> any of these may be selected.

0038Moreover, in this Step <b>S20</b> of selecting a disk, disks having residual capacities equal to or smaller than a predetermined value (e.g., disks having recordable times of 5 minutes or less) may be regarded as having no data recordable residual areas.

0039For example, in recording AV data on a disk, the AV data should be recorded in a continuous area of a predetermined size or more on the disk to ensure continuous reproduction of the AV data recorded. The minimum size of the continuous area is determined depending on the capacity of a buffer for a re-producing apparatus, e.g., about 7 MB. Accordingly, in Step <b>S20,</b> a disk may be selected by recognizing only continuous areas equal to or larger than the minimum size as residual areas on which AV data is recordable, and the other continuous areas, smaller than the minimum size, may be excluded.

0040More specifically, the individual information manager <b>21</b> manages a free list, on which information about the start and end addresses of respective residual areas on respective disks is managed in the form of a list, as a piece of the individual information. In response to a request of recording AV data, the disk selection controller <b>23</b> consults the free list managed by the individual information manager <b>21</b> to determine whether or not the total size of the AV data recordable residual areas on each disk is equal to or larger than the size required for recording the AV data requested. Based on the results of the size determination, the disk selection controller <b>23</b> selects some disk having an AV data recordable residual area equal to or larger than the required size and then writes the AV data thereon.

0041It should be noted that the individual information manager <b>21</b> may manage the AV data recordable residual areas (i.e., continuous areas of respective sizes equal to or larger than the minimum size) and the AV data non-recordable residual areas (i.e., continuous areas of respective sizes smaller than the minimum size) of respective disks. In such a case, the total size of the AV data recordable residual areas can be obtained by reference to these sizes without consulting the entire free list.

0042Figure <b>7</b> illustrates another exemplary disk-selecting operation performed by the recording apparatus shown in Figure <b>1.</b>

0043First, in Step <b>S31,</b> the disk selection controller <b>23</b> sets recording duration and bit rate. This Step <b>S31</b> is performed in the same way as the Step <b>S11</b> shown in Figure <b>3.</b>

0044Next, in Step <b>S32,</b> the disk selection controller <b>23</b> makes the output section <b>24</b> display a list of recordable disks by reference to the individual information <b>INTi</b> of the respective disks <b>1</b> managed by the individual information manager <b>21.</b> Figure <b>8</b> illustrates an exemplary message displayed on the output section <b>24</b> in Step <b>S32.</b> As shown in Figure <b>8,</b> the user may choose an option of "specifying no particular disk" instead of specifying a particular disk.

0045Then, in Step <b>S33,</b> the disk selection controller <b>23</b> receives the instruction to specify (or not to specify) a disk for recording from the user via the input section <b>22.</b> If the user has chosen to "specify no particular disk" (i.e., the "NO" branch from <b>S34</b>), then the disk selection controller <b>23</b> selects a disk by reference to the individual information <b>INFi</b> of the respective disks <b>1</b> managed by the individual information manager <b>21</b> as in Step <b>S20</b> shown in Figure <b>3.</b>

0046In this embodiment, recording is supposed not to be performed if the total residual area of all the disks is smaller than the residual area required for recording the data. Optionally, recording may be performed so far as it is possible, or until there is no residual capacity.

EMBODIMENT 2

0047Figure <b>9</b> illustrates a system configuration of a recording apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In Figure <b>9,</b> the same components as those shown in Figure <b>1</b> are identified by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, a disk housing <b>11A</b> includes a plurality of magazines <b>2</b>, each of which can house a predetermined number (e.g., three in Figure <b>9</b>) of disks <b>1.</b>

0048Figure <b>10</b> illustrates the contents of individual information managed by an individual information manager <b>21A</b> for each disk <b>1.</b> As shown in Figure <b>10,</b> the individual information manager <b>21A</b> manages the individual information <b>MINFi</b> of each disk <b>1</b> housed in the disk housing <b>11A</b> on the magazine basis. In this embodiment, <b>i</b> is also a natural number in the range from 1 to m, and <b>m</b> is the number of magazines <b>2</b> that can be housed in the disk housing <b>11A.</b> Each item of individual information <b>MINFi</b> includes: a magazine identifier <b>MID;</b> individual information items <b>INF1</b> through <b>INF3</b> of the three disks <b>1</b> housed in the magazine <b>2;</b> and magazine residual area information <b>MRGN.</b> The magazine identifier <b>MID</b> is used for identifying a magazine <b>2.</b> And the magazine residual area information <b>MRGN</b> represents the total of the residual capacities of the disks <b>1</b> housed in the magazine <b>2.</b> Like the individual information <b>INFi</b> shown in Figure <b>2,</b> each item of individual information <b>INF1</b> through <b>INF3</b> of the disks <b>1</b> includes: a disk label <b>LBL;</b> a disk identifier <b>ID;</b> residual area information <b>RGN;</b> and first and second attribute information <b>ATR1</b> and <b>ATR2.</b> The magazine residual area information <b>MRGN</b> is obtained by adding together the respective sizes of the residual areas represented by the residual area information <b>RGN</b> included in the individual information <b>INF1</b> through <b>INF3</b> of the disks <b>1</b> housed in the magazine <b>2.</b>

0049Figure <b>11</b> illustrates an exemplary disk-selecting operation performed by the recording apparatus shown in Figure <b>9.</b> In this embodiment, it is also supposed that the user performs a reserved recording of a TV program by using the recording apparatus shown in Figure <b>9.</b>

0050First, in Step <b>S41,</b> the disk selection controller <b>23A</b> sets recording duration and bit rate. This Step <b>S41</b> is performed in the same way as Step <b>S11</b> shown in Figure <b>3.</b>

0051Next, in Step <b>S42,</b> the disk selection controller <b>23A</b> makes the output section <b>24</b> display a list of recordable magazines <b>2</b> by reference to the individual information <b>MINTi</b> of the respective magazines <b>2</b> managed by the individual information manager <b>21A.</b> Subsequently, in Step <b>S43,</b> the disk selection controller <b>23A</b> receives the instruction to specify a particular magazine <b>2</b> used for recording from the user via the input section <b>22.</b>

0052Then, in Step <b>S44,</b> the disk selection controller <b>23A</b> selects a disk <b>1,</b> having a residual area large enough to record the data, as a target disk by reference to the residual area information <b>RGN</b> of the respective disks <b>1</b> included in the individual information <b>MINFi</b> of the magazine <b>2</b> selected in Step <b>S43.</b> Finally, in Step <b>S45</b>, the disk selection controller <b>23A</b> controls the changer <b>10A</b> such that the data is recorded on the disk selected as a disk for recording.

0053In this embodiment, a particular magazine is supposed to be always specified. If no magazine has been specified, however, then the selection of a magazine may be performed in the same way as the selection of a disk in the first embodiment.

EMBODIMENT 3

0054Figure <b>12</b> illustrates a recording method according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, it is also supposed that the user performs a reserved recording of a TV program by using the recording apparatus shown in Figure <b>1.</b> The individual information manager <b>21</b> uses the identifier information of each disk <b>1.</b>

0055First, in Step <b>S51,</b> the user inputs the number of a channel, on which the program to be recorded will be broadcast, and the date and time, when the program will be broadcast, to the recorder. Specifically, the disk selection controller <b>23</b> receives the channel number and the broadcast date and time via the input section <b>22.</b> Next, in Step <b>S52</b>, the disk selection controller <b>23</b> calculates recording duration and a residual capacity of the disk <b>1</b> required for recording.

0056Then, in Step <b>S53,</b> the disk selection controller <b>23</b> makes the output section <b>24</b> display the identifier information of respective disks <b>1</b> by reference to the individual information <b>INFi</b> managed by the individual information manager <b>21.</b> It should be noted that Steps <b>S52</b> and <b>S53</b> are not necessarily performed in this order, but may be performed concurrently, for example. That is to say, a residual capacity required for recording may be calculated while at the same time the output section <b>24</b> is made to display the identifier information of respective disks <b>1</b>. Thereafter, in Step <b>S54,</b> the user specifies the identifier of a disk <b>1</b> used for recording. Specifically, the disk selection controller <b>23</b> inputs the identifier of the disk <b>1</b> for recording via the input section <b>22.</b>

0057Next, in Step <b>S55,</b> the disk selection controller <b>23</b> determines whether or not there are any qualified candidate disks having not only the specified identifier but also the required residual capacity calculated in Step <b>S52</b> by reference to the individual information <b>INFi</b> managed by the individual information manager <b>21.</b> If it is determined that there are no candidate disks (i.e., the "NO" branch from <b>S55</b>), the user is required to set a new disk in Step <b>S60,</b> the details of which will be described later.

0058Alternatively, if there are any candidate disks (i.e., the "YES" branch from <b>S55</b>), then the disk selection controller <b>23</b> determines in Step <b>S56</b> whether or not the number of candidate disks is two or more. If there are two or more candidate disks (i.e., the "YES" branch from <b>S56</b>), then one of the candidate disks is selected as a disk for recording in Step <b>S57,</b> the details of which will also be described later. On the other hand, if there is only one candidate disk (i.e., the "NO" branch from <b>S56</b>), then the candidate disk is selected as the disk for recording in Step <b>S58.</b>

0059It should be noted that if the user specifies no identifier in Step <b>S54,</b> the same processing is performed using disks having no identifiers and having the required residual capacity as candidate disks.

0060Figure <b>13</b> illustrates the Step <b>S60</b> in greater detail.

0061First, in Step <b>S61,</b> the user is requested to set a new disk via the output section <b>24.</b> In this case, a "new disk" means a disk having an identifier specified by the user or a disk having no identifier. In response to this request, the user sets a new disk into the disk housing <b>11</b> in Step <b>S62.</b> And then the individual information of the newly set disk is stored in the individual information manager <b>21.</b>

0062Next, in Step <b>S63,</b> the disk selection controller <b>23</b> determines whether or not there is any candidate disk in the disk housing <b>11</b> by reference to the individual information <b>INFi</b> managed by the individual information manager <b>21.</b> If it is determined that there is some candidate disk (i.e., the "YES" branch from <b>S63</b>), then the candidate disk is selected as a disk for recording in Step <b>S64.</b>

0063Alternatively, if it is determined that there is no candidate disk (i.e., the "NO" branch from <b>S63</b>), then the disk selection controller <b>23</b> determines in Step <b>S65</b> whether or not there is any disk with no identifier recorded by reference to the individual information <b>INFi</b> managed by the individual information manager <b>21.</b> If it is determined that there is such a disk (i.e., the "YES" branch from <b>S65</b>), the specified identifier is recorded on the disk in Step <b>S66,</b> and the disk is selected as a disk for recording in Step <b>S67.</b> Alternatively, if it is determined that there is no disk with no identifier recorded (i.e., the "NO" branch from <b>S65</b>), then the procedure returns to Step <b>S61</b> to require the user to set a new disk.

0064It should be noted that a disk having only a specified identifier may be used as a candidate disk, instead of a disk having not only the specified identifier but also a required residual capacity. In such a case, only the identifier information included in the individual information <b>INFi</b> should be referred to, and the residual area information <b>RGN</b> does not have to be consulted.

0065In Step <b>S57,</b> a disk may be selected in the following manner, for example.

0066As a first possibility, a disk may be selected based on identifier recording date information, representing the date and time when an identifier was recorded, as a piece of the individual information <b>INFi</b> managed by the individual information manager <b>21.</b> In this case, either a disk having the oldest identifier or a disk having the newest identifier may be selected based on the identifier recording date information.

0067As another option, a disk may also be selected by reference to the residual area information <b>RGN</b> managed by the individual information manager <b>21.</b> In this case, either a disk having the largest residual area or a disk having the smallest residual area may be selected based on the residual area information <b>RGN.</b>

0068Furthermore, a disk may also be selected based on the data recording date information, representing the date and time when data was recorded, as a piece of the individual information <b>INFi</b> managed by the individual information manager <b>21.</b> In this case, either a disk having the oldest data or a disk having the newest data may be selected based on the data recording date information.

0069It should be noted that this third embodiment may be combined with the first or second embodiment. For example, in the third embodiment, the user is supposed to specify a particular disk. Alternatively, as described in the first embodiment, the user may select either the use of a particular disk or the use of an unspecified disk. If the user has selected the option of using an unspecified disk, the selection may be controlled in the same way as in the first embodiment.

0070Figure <b>14</b> illustrates a configuration of a system including a DVD recorder as an exemplary recording apparatus according to the present invention. In this example, a DVD rewritable disk (DVD-RAM disk) is used as an exemplary storage medium, or disk <b>1.</b> It should be noted that only DVD-RAM disks may be housed or both RAM's and ROM's may be housed within a single system.

0071As shown in Figure <b>14,</b> a DVD recorder <b>30</b> can house a plurality of disks <b>1</b> and is connected to a receiver <b>41</b> for receiving analog broadcast waves and to a display <b>42.</b> The DVD recorder <b>30</b> reproduces image and sound, which have been recorded on the disk <b>1,</b> on the display <b>42,</b> and records a TV program, which has been received at the receiver <b>41,</b> on the disk <b>1.</b> And the user can operate the DVD recorder <b>30</b> using a remote controller <b>43.</b>

0072Figure <b>15</b> illustrates an internal configuration of the DVD recorder <b>30</b> shown in Figure <b>14.</b> As shown in Figure <b>15,</b> the DVD recorder <b>30</b> includes: a changer <b>10;</b> a system controller <b>31;</b> a control bus <b>32;</b> an MPEG encoder <b>34;</b> an MPEG decoder <b>35;</b> a video signal processor <b>36;</b> a remote control signal receiver <b>37;</b> and an on-screen display (OSD) <b>38.</b> On the control bus <b>32,</b> a control signal is transferred. The MPEG encoder <b>34</b> encodes a signal received at the receiver <b>41,</b> while the MPEG decoder <b>35</b> decodes the output signal of the changer <b>10.</b> The video signal processor <b>36</b> processes the video signal output from the MPEG decoder <b>35.</b> The remote control signal receiver <b>37</b> receives a signal transmitted from the remote controller <b>43.</b> And the OSD <b>38</b> displays a message on the display <b>42.</b> A video signal output from the MPEG decoder <b>35</b> via the video signal processor <b>36</b> and an audio signal output from the MPEG decoder <b>35</b> are supplied to the display <b>42.</b>

0073The system controller <b>31</b> includes a CPU <b>31a</b> and a main memory <b>31b,</b> and performs various types of processing in accordance with the programs stored in the main memory <b>31b.</b> The system controller <b>31</b> is in charge of the operations of the disk selection controller <b>23</b> or <b>23A</b> and the individual information manager <b>21</b> or <b>21A</b> shown in Figure <b>1</b> or <b>9.</b> In this configuration, the remote control signal receiver <b>37</b> corresponds to the input section <b>22</b> and the OSD <b>38</b> corresponds to the output section <b>24.</b>

0074A file system in compliance with ISO/IEC 13346 is used for a DVD-RAM disk. In this case, volume identifier information and volume identifier recording date information are supposed to be recorded on a "basic volume descriptor" in accordance with ISO/IEC 13346. The user may choose an arbitrary character string as the volume identifier information and a time when the volume identifier was written is recorded as volume identifier recording date information on the basic volume descriptor.

0075When a disk <b>1</b> is set into the changer <b>10,</b> the information recorded on the basic volume descriptor and the size of the residual area are read out by the disk drive <b>12</b> and then stored in the main memory <b>31b</b> of the system controller <b>31.</b> The system controller <b>31</b> manages the volume identifier information, the volume identifier recording date information and the size of the residual area of each disk <b>1</b> as individual information.

0076As described above, the present invention makes it possible to appropriately select a target, on which data should be recorded, from a plurality of storage media housed in a housing in view of respective residual capacities thereof, even if the user does not specify any storage medium.