Patent ID: 7218837

Claim:
A program-signal recording and reproducing apparatus for recording a program signal on a recording medium, and reproducing an already-recorded portion of the program signal which is being recorded on the recording medium, the apparatus comprising: time information generating means for generating time information in accordance with lapse of time; recording means for recording the time information generated by the time information generating means or time information indicating time at which the program signal is broadcasted on the recording medium together with the program signal; a head retrieval command input means for sequentially performing program head retrieval commands; and first head retrieval reproduction means for, when each of the program head retrieval commands is performed by the head retrieval command input means, obtaining present time information generated by the time information generating means and performing head retrieval reproduction of the program signal recorded at one of specific time points which are previous to and independent of the present time represented by the obtained present time information, and which are after a beginning of the recording of the program signal on the recording medium and in a duration of the recorded program signal; wherein the specified time points are sequentially selected by the first head retrieval reproduction means in response to the program head retrieval commands in an order such that first selected one of the specified time points is closer to the present time than others of the specified time points are wherein each of the specified time points has a minute part of one of (1) 00 and (2) 30.