Disk playing method and device

Abstract: A method and apparatus for playing a composite disk containing separate audio-only and video-plus-audio portions (1a,1b) in which the time until the commencement of the playing of the video-plus-audio portion is reduced by determining when playing of only the video-plus-audio portion is designated, and moving a data detection point of the pickup immediately toward the lead-in area of that portion, whereupon reproduction is started immediately. In another embodiment, index data is directly read from the lead-in area of the video-plus-audio portion without reading similar data for the audio-only portion. When the playing of the video-plus-audio portion is completed, the pickup is stopped at a rest position corresponding to the lead-in area of the second region.

Description: A compact disk (CD) is an example of a data recording disk on which a digital signal is recorded. A CD is a small digital audio disk having a diameter of about 12 cm. Recently, another type of disk, referred to as a composite disk or CDV, has been placed on the market which has the same dimensions as a CD and on which an FM modulated video signal and a PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) signal are recorded in a multiplexed form in addition to another signal recorded solely in PCM form. In such a composite disk, as shown in Fig. 1, the two types of data are recorded in two respective distinct regions of the disk. In a first region 1a (hereinafter referred to as a CD region) in an inner circumferential portion of the disk, a PCM audio data signal is recorded, and in a second region 1b (hereinafter referred to as a video region), an FM modulated video signal and a PCM audio signal are recorded in multiplexed form. Higher frequency components are contained in the video signal relative to the PCM signal, the frequency spectrum of the signal recorded in the video region 1b being as shown in Fig. 2. In Fig. 2, the components designated by A are the PCM signal and those designated by B are the video FM signal. When a signal is recorded in the video region 1b, it is required to increase the rotational speed of the disk compared with the case of recording signal in the CD region 1a. Therefore, the video region 1b must be played at a higher rotational speed than the CD region 1a. As shown in Fig. 3, the rotational speed is several hundred r.p.m. for the CD region 1a, whereas the speed must be much higher for the video region, namely, about two thousand, several hundred r.p.m. at the innermost circumference of the video region 1b and about one thousand, several-hundred r.p.m. at the outermost circumference of the video region 1b. The composite disk is, as shown in Fig. 3, provided with a lead-in area for each of the CD region and the video region, and a TOC (Table of Contents), indicative of the contents of programs for the respective regions, is recorded in each of the lead-in areas. Further, identification data is contained in the TOC of the audio lead-in area which indicates whether the disk has a video region or not. When only the video region on a composite disk is to be played, the TOC data recorded in the lead-in area of the CD region is firstly read out to confirm that the disk includes the video region, and then the data detection point of the pickup is moved toward the lead-in area of the video region to start reading the data recorded in that area. However, in such a playing method, a step of reading the recording data in the lead-in area of the CD region is always required, thereby causing a delay in the start of the playing of the video region. Moreover, a so-called hi-fi video disk has recently been made available, which is a disk on which a frequency modulated video signal and a prescribed digital signal are recorded in a multiplexed form. In this type of disk, a signal record as in a conventionally known video disk and a digital audio signal in a CD format are superimposed and the resultant signal is recorded. In a reproducing apparatus for reproducing such a hi-fi video disk, a spindle servo is provided for controlling the rotation of a spindle motor which drives the disk on the basis of a phase difference between a horizontal sync signal included in the reproduced video signal and a reference sync signal so as to maintain a servo lock condition. However, since the servo lock range is narrow, typically in a range of -10% to 10% relative to the lock point (target rotational speed -- see Fig. 4A), a pull-in operation has been performed during the so-called rough servo period to force the speed of the spindle motor into a lock range based on the output of a frequency generator ganged with the spindle motor. As such, the conventional device is disadvantageous in that the cost of the device cannot be adequately reduced due to the fact that the lock range of the spindle servo is narrow and thus the frequency generator and associated components, which are generally expensive, are required. Also, the disadvantages of the hi-fi video disk also apply to the spindle servo during the reproduction of the video region of a composite disk. As mentioned above, in a CD player, index data indicative of the program contents of the disk, i.e., the TOC, is recorded in the lead-in area of the disk. When the disk is loaded in the CD player or when the playing of the disk is ended, the pickup, which is movable in the radial direction of the disk and mounted on a slider, is moved toward the lead-in area at the innermost circumferential portion of the disk. Upon detecting the arrival of the pickup at the lead-in area by a position sensor switch, the pickup is held in the lead-in area until a new operation instruction is received. The position where the pickup is held is referred to as the rest Position. In the case of a CDV disk, a lead-in area is provided for each of the CD region and the video region. A TOC indicative of the program contents is provided for each of the respective lead-in areas. Accordingly, since the lead-in area of the CD region is determined as the rest position of the pickup, a problem arises in that, when only the video region is to be played, particularly when the video regions of a plurality of CDV disks are successively to be played, the pickup must be moved to the lead-in area in the video region from the lead-in area of the CD region, whereby a considerable time delay occurs between issuing an instruction to commence the reproduction of the video region upon depressing a PLAY key and the actual commencement of reproduction. The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing, and, accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a composite disk playing method in which the playing of the video region is quickly started when the playing of only the video region is instructed. In accordance with the above and other objects, there is provided a method for playing a data recording disk having a first region in which only a digital signal is recorded and a second region in which a frequency modulated video signal and a digital signal are recorded in multiplexed form; characterised by determining when only the second region is designated for playing; and when only the second region is designated for playing, immediately moving the data detection point of a pickup towards a lead-in area of the second region and thereafter starting reading data from the lead-in area of the second region of the disk. There is further provided apparatus for reproducing data on a recording disk having a first region in which only a digital signal is recorded and a second region in which a frequency modulated video signal and a digital signal are recorded in multiplexed form; characterised by means for determining when only the second region is designated for playing; and when only the second region is designated for playing, causing the data detection point of a pickup to be moved immediately to a lead-in area of the second region and thereafter starting reading data from the lead-in area of the second region of the disk. A still further object of the invention is to provide a playing method for playing a data recording disk with which video reproduction can be quickly commenced when only the reproduction of the video region of the CDV disk is desired. The CDV disk to be played according to the present invention includes a first region (CD region) in which a digitised audio data signal is recorded and a second region (video region) in which a superimposed signal of a video data signal and a prescribed digital signal is recorded, and index data indicative of the recording contents is recorded in a lead-in area of each of the first and second regions. In the drawings:- Fig. 1 is a diagram showing recording areas of a composite disk; Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the frequency spectra of signals recorded in the video region of a composite disk; Fig. 3 is a diagram showing distinctions of recording regions of a composite disk; Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a disk playing apparatus to which a disk playing method of the present invention is applied; Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a disk playing method according to the invention executed by a CPU; Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing a disk playing device to which another embodiment of a playing method according to the present invention is applied; and Fig. 7 is a flowchart describing the operations of a microcomputer contained within a system controller shown in Fig. 6. Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a disk playing device to which the playing method according to the present invention is applied. In this figure, a disk 1 is driven for rotation by a spindle motor 2, and the data recorded thereon is sensed by an optical pickup 3. The pickup 3 incorporates; an optical system including a laser diode, an objective lens, and a photodetector; a focus actuator for moving the objective lens along the optical axis relative to the data recording surface of the disk 1; and a tracking actuator for shifting the beam spot (data detection point) of the beam emitted by the pickup 3 in the radial direction of the disk. The pickup 3 is mounted on a slider 4, which is freely movable in the radial direction of the disk. A slider motor 5 is provided as a driving source for the slider 4. The slider 4 is moved linearly by means of a transfer mechanism 6 composed of, for example, a rack and a pinion. An RF (Radio Frequency) signal outputted by the pickup 3 is supplied through an RF amplifier 7 to both a video data demodulating circuit 8 and digital data demodulating circuit 9. In the video data demodulating circuit 8, an RF signal fed from the RF amplifier 7 is demodulated to a video signal in a demodulating circuit 10, and thereafter the resultant signal is fed to both a time base correction circuit 11 and a sync signal separation circuit 12. In the separation circuit 12, a horizontal (H) sync signal and a vertical (V) sync signal, are extracted and separated. The time base correction circuit 11 which may be implemented, for example, with a variable delay element such as CCD (Charge Coupled Device), performs time base correction by changing the amount of delay imposed by a variable delay element in response to a control signal supplied from a time base control circuit 13. The time base control circuit 13 produces a control signal corresponding to phase differences between an oscillation output from a crystal oscillator (VCXO) 14 and its frequency division output and a horizontal sync signal and a color burst signal, the latter two being passed through the time base correction circuit 11. The crystal oscillator (VCXO) 14 oscillates in synchronization with, for example, the horizontal sync signal extracted by the separation circuit 12. An example of the specific arrangement of the time base control circuit 13 is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 56-102182. The video signal which has been subjected to time base correction is applied to one input of a selection switch 15 and is further supplied through a LPF (Low-Pass Filter) 16 to an A/D (Analog/Digital) converter 17. In the A/D converter 17, the video signal is sampled at a predetermined rate, and the sampled values are sequentially converted to digital data. The output data of the A/D converter 17 is supplied to a video memory 18, which may, for example, be a RAM (Random Access Memory). The video memory must have a storage capacity capable of storing at least one field of video data. Address and mode control of the video memory 18 are implemented by a memory control circuit 19. The memory control circuit 19 effects control so as to sequentially read out data stored at the respective addresses of the video memory 18 in accordance with clock pulses fed from a reference clock generation circuit 20. The memory control circuit 19 further controls the rewriting of the contents at the respective addresses of the video memory 18 in response to a write enable signal outputted from a system controller 21 (described below). The data read out of the video memory 18 is converted into an analog signal by a D/A (Digital/Analog) converter 22, and the resulting signal applied to an analog selection switch 15 via low-pass filter 23. The movable contact of the selection switch 15 is normally at the contact a so that the video signal directly fed from the time base correction circuit 11 is supplied to a video output terminal 24. The movable contact of the selection switch 15 is moved to the contact b in response to a change-over instruction from the system controller 21, thereby selecting the video signal fed through the video memory 18 and supplying it to the video output terminal 24. In the digital data demodulating circuit 9, on the other hand, a selection switch 25 is provided which is switched depending upon the region to be played (CD region or video region) when a composite disk is to be reproduced. The movable contact of the switch 25 is at the contact a when the CD region is played. The change-over of the movable contact of the switch 25 is performed in response to a change-over instruction generated from the system controller 21. For a composite disk, as previously described with reference to Fig. 3, the rotational speed of the disk varies greatly between the CD region and the video region. Furthermore, the PCM audio signal is preferably an EFM (Eight-to-Fourteen Modulation) signal superimposed on an FM modulated video signal for recording in the video region. However, the presence of an EFM signal adversely affects the lower frequency components of the FM video signal. For this reason, the EFM signal is recorded at a level several tens of dB lower than the level of the video carrier while maintaining a modulation degree of the same value (see Fig. 2). Accordingly, the frequency characteristics and amplitudes of the same EFM signal are different when playing the CD region and the video region. On the other hand, by appropriately switching the signal processing circuit of the reproduced EFM signal between the CD region and the video region a common demodulating circuit can be used. More specifically, when playing the CD region, the reproduced RF signal is an EFM signal, the frequency characteristic of which is compensated in an equalizer circuit 26 having a predetermined equalizing characteristic and then amplified with a predetermined gain by an amplifier 27. When playing the video region, on the other hand, only an EFM signal, which together with the FM video signal is contained in the reproduced RF signal, is extracted by an EFM extraction circuit 28 (which may be implemented with a LPF), and the frequency characteristic of the thus extracted EFM signal is compensated in an equalizer circuit 29 having an equalizing characteristic different from that of the equalizer circuit 26. Further, the output of the equalizer circuit 29 is amplified by an amplifier 30 which has a larger gain than the amplifier 27. Thus, an EFM signal is outputted which has the same frequency characteristic and amplitude as in the CD region. It is to be noted that the selection switch 25 is normally at the contact a when a compact disk being played. The reproduced EFM signal selected by the selection switch 25 is supplied to a modulation/correction circuit 31. In the circuit 31, the EFM signal is subjected to EFM demodulation and the resultant signal is rewritten in a memory, which may be a RAM. The RAM is controlled based on clock pulses generated by a reference clock generator 32 to perform deinterleaving through a data exchanging process and error correction using parity bits contained in the data. Further, a frame sync signal, detected from the corrected signal in the demodulation/correction circuit 31, is subjected to signal processing in an audio signal processing circuit 33 composed of a D/A converter and deglitching circuit, and thereafter supplied to audio output terminals 34L and 34R for left and right channels. Proximate to the path of movement of the pickup 3 in the radial direction of the disk there is provided a position detector 35 which detects the arrival of the beam spot emitted by the pickup 3 at a position corresponding to the vicinity of the boundary between the CD region and the video region of the composite disk and in response generates a detection signal. Conventionally known devices, such as an optical sensor, can be used as the position sensor 35. The detection signal outputted by the position sensor 35 is supplied to the system controller 21. The system controller 21 is constituted by a microcomputer inclusive of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read-On Memory), and RAM. To the system controller 21 are supplied: the horizontal sync signal, vertical sync signal and control data from the separation circuit 12; a frame sync signal from the demodulation/correction circuit 31; and disk designation data indicative of which disk is to be played and mode designation data indicative of which region of the composite disk is to be played, i.e., the CD region only, the video region only, or both regions. The designation data is supplied from an operation section 36. In the system controller 21, the CPU processes input signals in accordance with programs which have previously been stored in the ROM and controls various elements, such as the selection switches 15 and 25, the memory control circuit 19, the drive circuit 37 for driving the slider motor, and a display section 38. The CPU further monitors the frame sync signals from the demodulation/correction circuit 31 during the playing of the disk. It should be noted that, during the playing of the composite disk, rotational control of the spindle motor 2 is carried out, regardless of the playing region, on the basis of a spindle error signal produced in response to the frequencies of and the phase difference between the frame sync signal in the EFM signal and the reference clock. In playing a composite disk with the disk playing device arranged as described above, a description will next be made with reference to the procedures of the playing method of the present invention executed by the CPU constituting the system controller, this description being made with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 5 It is assumed that the disk has already been set at the proper playing position on the spindle. The following description of the playing procedure is directed to the case where the playing of only the video region is designated. Firstly, when the playing of only the video region is designated by the operation section 36 (Step S1), the CPU, upon reception of the mode designation data, immediately causes the spindle motor to accelerate to reach the maximum rotational speed for the video region (Step S2). At the same time, the CPU causes a carriage motor 5 to rotate at a high speed to thereby move the pickup 3 toward the video region at a high speed (Step S3). Thereafter, on the basis of the detection output of the position sensor 35, when it is judged that the beam spot (data detection spot) of the pickup 3 has reached the lead-in area of the video region (Step S4), the TOC data recorded in the lead-in area is read (Step S5). When it is judged that the TOC data in the video lead-in area has been read out (Step S6), judgment is made whether or not the desired address has been designated (Step S7). If affirmative, the beam spot of the pickup 3 is moved onto a track at the designated address (Step S8). Thereafter the playing operation of the program area is started (Step S9). In the case no address is designated, the procedure goes directly to step S9 and the program area following the video lead-in area is played. When it is judged that the playing of the program area has terminated (Step S10), a series of playing operations of the video region only is ended. In the case of designation of only the video region, it is possible to perform reproduction in several special modes such as search, scan, program play, and repeat. If only the video region is designated to be played but the disk in fact does not have a video region, the playing operation is stopped at the time when it is judged that no TOC data is read out in Step S6 since reading of TOC data cannot be performed in Step S5. Instead of ending the playing operation, the beam spot of the pickup 3 may be shifted to the lead-in area of the CD region so that, upon reading TOC data in that area, playing of the CD region may be started. In a device capable of playing a disk selected from among a plurality of disks, the playing operation of other disks may then be carried out. As described above, according to the disk playing method of the present invention, when only the video region of a composite disk is designated to be played, the data detection point of the pickup is immediately moved toward the lead-in area of the video region and reading of the recorded data is started from that lead-in area. Therefore, the playing of the video region can be quickly started. Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of a disk playing device to which this embodiment of a data recording disk playing method according to the present invention is applied. In the playing device, a disk 201 is rotationally driven by a spindle motor 202, and data recorded thereon is sensed by an optical pickup 203. Fine servo adjustment of the pickup 203 is performed by moving the data detecting spot in the tangential and radial directions relative to the recorded track. The pickup 203 is mounted on a slider 204 which is movable in the radial direction of the disk and used to carry out coarse adjustment. The slider 204 is linearly moved by a transfer mechanism, which may be a combination of a rack and pinion, to which a slider motor 205 is coupled as a driving source. The RF (Radio Frequency) signal outputted from the pickup 203 is supplied to both a video data demodulating circuit 208 and a digital audio data demodulating circuit 209 through an RF amplifier 207. A position sensor 210 is provided which is rendered on when the beam spot emitted from the pickup 203 reaches a lead-in area formed at the innermost portion of a CD or CDV disk during the movement of the pickup 203 along its path in the radial direction of the disk. When the position sensor switch 210 is rendered on, a high-level signal is supplied to a system controller 213. A position sensor 214 is provided proximate the path of the pickup 203 which detects when the beam spot emitted by the pickup 203 has entered a position corresponding to the lead-in area of the CDV disk and generates a detection signal at that time. The generation of the detection signal by the position sensor 214 indicates that the pickup 203 has reached the lead-in area of the video region. An optical sensor, sliderpot, mechanical switch, etc., all of which are conventionally known, can be used as the position sensor 214. The detection output from the position sensor 214 is supplied to a system controller 213. The system controller 213 is constituted with a microcomputer inclusive of a CPU and RAM. To the system controller 213 are supplied horizontal sync signals, vertical sync signals and control data, all of which are extracted by the video data demodulating circuit 208, and control data from the digital audio data demodulating circuit 209. Various types of instruction data are further supplied to the system controller 213 from an operation section 215. In the operating section 215 there are provided a play key, a track key, a program key, a stop key, a CDV designation key for designating that a CDV disk has loaded, and a region designation key for designating which region of the CDV disk is to be reproduced, i.e., only the CD region, only the video region, or both the CD and video regions. In accordance with the operations of these keys, instruction data are supplied to the system controller 213. In the system controller 213, the CPU carries out processing of the input signals in accordance with a program previously stored in the ROM, and controls a driving circuit (not shown) for driving a spindle motor 202, a driving circuit 216 for driving a slider motor 205, and a display section 217. Next, a disk playing operation in accordance with the playing method of the present invention executed by the microcomputer constituting the system controller 213 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 7. Upon detecting that the disk is correctly set at the playing position by means of a switch (not shown), the microcomputer firstly judges whether or not the disk being set is a CDV disk based on the operation of the CDV designation key 218 (Step 301). When it is judged that it is not a CDV disk, meaning that the disk is a CD disk, the slider motor is driven so that the pickup 203 is moved toward the lead-in area position in the innermost circumferential portion of the disk (Step 302). It is judged whether or not the pickup 203 has reached the lead-in area based on the on or off state of the position sensor switch 210 (Step 303). When it is judged that the pickup 203 has reached the lead-in area in the innermost circumferential portion, the TOC data recorded in the lead-in area is read (Step 304). Based on this TOC data, it is decided whether the disk to be played is a CDV disk or not (Step 305). When it is judged that the disk to be played is not a CDV disk, indicating that a CD disk is to be played, the procedure is shifted to a CD play mode sub-routine (Step 306) so as to perform CD playing with the lead-in area at the innermost circumferential portion of the disk being the rest position of the pickup 203. Upon completion of the disk playing operation in the CD mode, the pickup 203 is moved toward the lead-in area at the innermost circumferential portion of the disk by driving the slider motor 205 with the motor drive circuit 216 (Step 307). It is judged whether the pickup 203 has reached the lead-in area in the innermost circumferential portion based on the on or off state of the position sensor switch 210 (Step 308). When the pickup 203 has reached the lead-in area, the driving of the slider motor 205 is stopped (Step 309) and the lead-in area of the innermost circumferential position of the disk then serves as the rest position of the pickup 203. In Step 301, on the other hand, when it is judged that a CDV disk is present based on the operation of the CDV designation key 218, it is then judged whether or not the playing region designated by the region designation key 219 in the operation section 215 is the video region only (Step 310). If the video region only has not been designated, the slider motor 205 is driven by the motor drive circuit 216 so that the pickup 203 is moved toward the lead-in area of the CD region at the innermost circumferential portion of the disk in order to play the CD region (Step 312). It is again judged whether or not the pickup 203 has reached the lead-in area in the CD region based on the on or off state of the position sensor switch 210 (Step 313). When judgment is made that the pickup 203 has reached the lead-in area of the CD region, the TOC data recorded in the lead-in area is read out (Step 314), and it is judged, based on the contents of the TOC data, whether or not the disk being played is a CDV disk (Step 315). When judgment is made that the loaded disk is not a CDV disk, in the case where it is indicated that a CD disk is loaded, it is regarded that the CDV designation key has been erroneously operated and the procedure is shifted to the CD play mode in Step 306. In this case, while cancelling the instruction contents inputted by the CDV designation key 218, it is indicated by a display section 217 that the loaded disk is a CD disk. On the other hand, when it is judged that a CDV disk is loaded, the procedure is shifted to the CD region playing mode sub-routine (Step 316) in order to play the CD region. During the playing of the CD region where only audio data is reproduced, a blue color screen, for example, may be made to appear on the television monitor (not shown) based on blue color screen data generated by a character generator (not shown) provided in the video data demodulating circuit 207. When the disk playing operation in the CD region playing mode is terminated, it is judged whether the playing region designated by the region designation key 219 is the CD region only (Step 317), and if this is the case, the lead-in area at the innermost circumferential portion of the disk is determined as the rest position of the pickup 203 in order to move the pickup 203 to that area through steps 307, 308 and 309. When it is judged that not the CD region only has been designated in Step 317, in the case where it is indicated that the playing of both the video and CD regions is designated, the rotational speed of the spindle motor 2 is accelerated to a maximum speed (about 2700 rpm) in the video region (Step 318). Judgment is made as to whether or not the pickup 205 has reached the lead-in area of the video region based on the output signal of the position sensor 214 (Step 319). In Step 310, when it is judged that only the video region is designated, the rotational speed of the spindle motor 202 is accelerated to reach the maximum speed in the video region to reproduce the video region (Step 320), at the completion of which the pickup 203 is moved toward the lead-in area of the video region by driving the slider motor 205 with the motor drive circuit 216 (Step 321). Then, the procedure is shifted to Step 319. Upon arrival of the pickup 203 at the lead-in area of the video region, the TOC data recorded in this lead-in area is read (Step 322), and judgment is made as to whether or not the TOC data can be read (Step 323). In the case where TOC data cannot be read, it is regarded that the CDV designation key 218 has been erroneously operated and a CDV disk not loaded. The procedure then is shifted to Step 307. When TOC data is read, the procedure is shifted to the video region playing mode sub-routine in order to play the video region (Step 324). In the video region, the video data subjected to FM modulation and the PCM audio data recorded in superimposed form are reproduced. When the disk playing operation of the video region is terminated, the slider motor 205 is driven by the motor drive circuit 216 to move the pickup 203 toward the lead-in area of the video region (Step 325) while judgment is made as to whether or not the pickup 203 has reached the lead-in area of the video region based on the output signal of the position sensor 214 (Step 326). When the pickup 203 has reached the lead-in area of the video region, the driving of the slider motor 205 is terminated (Step 327) and the lead-in area of the video region is set to be the rest position of the pickup 203. The data recording disk playing method according to this embodiment of the present invention is applicable not only to a device in which a single disk is accommodated but also to a device in which a plural number of disks can be accommodated. In the latter case, if only the video region of a CDV disk selected from among the plurality of disks is to be repeatedly played, since the pickup reads the TOC data from the lead-in area of the video region, commencement of video reproduction can be quickly implemented compared with the case where the rest position of the pickup is set to the lead-in area of the CD region at all times. The present invention can further be applied to a device capable of playing disks of different dimensions and signal formats from a CDV disk. As described, according to the data recording disk playing method of this embodiment of the present invention, when it is detected that the playing of only the second region of the CDV disk is designated, the index data is directly read from the lead-in area of the second region without reading the index data from the lead-in area of the first region, and the pickup is stopped at a position corresponding to the lead-in area of the second region at the time when the playing of the second region is terminated. Therefore, when reproduction of only the video region of the CDV disk is desired, the reproduction of the video region can be quickly started.

Claims: A method for playing a data recording disk (1) having a first region (1a) in which only a digital signal is recorded and a second region (1b) in which a frequency modulated video signal and a digital signal are recorded in multiplexed form; characterised by determining when only the second region (1b) is designated for playing; and when only the second region is designated for playing, immediately moving the data detection point of a pickup (3) towards a lead-in area of the second region and thereafter starting reading data from the lead-in area of the second region of the disk. The method of claim 1, further characterised by attempting to read table-of-contents information recorded in the lead-in region, when the pickup (3) reaches the lead-in area of the second region (1b), and if no table-of-contents information can be read from the lead-in area, terminating playing of the second region and moving the pickup to play the first region (1a). A method for playing a composite data recording disk having a first region (1a) in which only a digital data signal is recorded and a second region (1b) in which a video data signal and a digital signal are recorded in superimposed form, in which index data indicative of recording contents is recorded in a lead-in area of each of the first and second regions, characterised by detecting when a play designation of only the second region of said composite data recording disk is detected; and when play designation of only the second region is detected, directly reading the index data from the lead-in area of the second region with a pickup (3) without reading the index data from the lead-in area of said first region; detecting when playing of the second region is terminated; and when playing of the second region is terminated, stopping the pickup at a position corresponding to the lead-in area of the second region. The method of claim 3, further comprising the initial steps of: detecting whether or not the disk is a composite disk; and when the disk is a composite disk, immediately moving the pickup to the lead-in area of the second region, and otherwise moving the pickup to the lead-in area of the first region. The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of: determining whether the index data of the lead-in area of the second region indicates that the disk is a composite disk; and, if the disk index data indicates that the disk is not a composite disk, moving the pickup to the lead-in area of the first region. Apparatus for reproducing data on a recording disk (1) having a first region (1a) in which only a digital signal is recorded and a second region (1b) in which a frequency modulated video signal and a digital signal are recorded in multiplexed form; characterised by means (21) for determining when only the second region (1b) is designated for playing; and when only the second region is designated for playing, causing the data detection point of a pickup (3) to be moved immediately to a lead-in area of the second region and thereafter starting reading data from the lead-in area of the second region of the disk.

Inventors: ISHII HIDEHIRO C O PIONEER ELE, IZUMO TAKESHI C O PIONEER ELEC, KATAKAMI KAZUHIKO PIONEER ELEC, SHINOHARA MASAYORI PIONEER ELE, TAKEYA NORIYOSHI PIONEER ELECT, WATANABE OSAMU C O PIONEER ELE, YOSHIDA MASAO C O PIONEER ELEC, YOSHIO JUNICHI C O PIONEER ELE, ISHII, HIDEHIRO C/O PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORPORATION, IZUMO, TAKESHI C/O PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORPORATION, KATAKAMI, KAZUHIKO PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORPORATION, SHINOHARA, MASAYORI PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORPORATION, TAKEYA, NORIYOSHI PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORPORATION, WATANABE, OSAMU C/O PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORPORATION, YOSHIDA, MASAO C/O PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORPORATION, YOSHIO, JUNICHI C/O PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORPORATION
Applicants: PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORP, PIONEER ELECTRONIC CORPORATION
Application year: 1988
Main classification: G11B27
IPC codes: G11B20, G11B27, H04N9, G11B19