Patent ID: 6690882
Filing Date: 2004-02-10
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
A method of operating a disk drive that is adapted for storing an audiovisual data stream on a disk and for rapidly reading or writing successive portions of the audiovisual data stream in response to commands that arrive from a host under a variety of operational circumstances including other drive operations and includes the step of setting a default operating mode for responding to the commands which gives standard precedence to transferring the audiovisual data stream relative to attending to another drive operation, the default operating mode including a read continuous mode which causes the disk drive to continuously read successive portions of a subsequently requested audiovisual data stream without regard to error, the method comprising the further steps of:receiving a new transfer command requiring the transfer of a data segment associated with the audiovisual data stream; determining an absence or presence of an urgent condition with regard to the new transfer command; according standard precedence to processing the audiovisual data stream associated with the new transfer command as specified by the default operating mode in the determined absence of the urgent condition; and according urgent precedence to processing the audiovisual data stream associated with the new transfer command over attending to the other drive operation in the determined presence of the urgent condition without regard to the default operating mode.