Patent ID: 7746751

Claim:
A data recording apparatus for recording sampled audio data or video data onto a recording medium readable by an information processing apparatus, comprising: data analyzing means for analyzing input audio data; series-of-samples generating means for generating a series of samples by arranging samples of the audio data which are sampled with the same timing for a plurality of channels in a predetermined order on the basis of an analysis result by the analyzing means; element-packet generating means for generating an element packet by generating an audio frame by combining an even number of the series of the samples generated by the series-of-samples generating means such that first respective samples at a first time of the same timing from each of the plurality of channels are combined into a first group of samples and second respective samples at a second time of the same timing from each of the plurality of channels are combined into a second group of samples, and by adding header information including: (1) data indicating a channel configuration, (2) data indicating the number of sample bits, and (3) data indicating a sampling period to the audio frame; wherein the element packet can have a variable number of channel configurations of a variable number of odd or even channel configurations assigned for a plurality of channels; wherein the number of channels is an even number, and in each instance when the data indicating a channel configuration indicates an odd number of channels, a last channel is assigned data of all values 0, to convert the channel configuration to an even number of channels; and transmission-packet generating means for generating a transmission packet by splitting the element packet generated by the element-packet generating means into transmission packets composed of a predetermined number of bits.