Patent ID: 7640270

Claim:
A storage medium for use with a reproducing apparatus, the storage medium storing: audio-visual data; and metadata organized in a data structure that enables the reproducing apparatus to search for desired audio-visual data in the audio-visual data stored in the storage medium; wherein the metadata comprises: a common volume identifier identifying a volume comprised of a plurality of discs from which the reproducing apparatus creates a disc library when the discs are loaded into the reproducing apparatus, the storage medium being one of the discs from which the disc library is created, the common volume identifier being stored in each of the discs from which the disc library is created, including in the storage medium that is one of the discs from which the disc library is created; a first element indicating a number of the discs constituting the volume, the first element being stored in each of the discs from which the disc library is created, including in the storage medium that is one of the discs from which the disc library is created; and a second element indicating a sequence order in the volume of the storage medium that is one of the discs from which the disc library is created, the second element being stored in the storage medium that is one of the discs from which the disc library is created; and wherein when the storage medium is loaded into the reproducing apparatus, the reproducing apparatus reads the common volume identifier from the storage medium and creates or accesses the disc library using the common volume identifier.