Patent ID: 8200062

Claim:
A playback apparatus for obtaining a video signal from video information read out from a recording medium and outputting the obtained video signal to a display apparatus, the playback apparatus comprising: a video signal judging unit operable to read supplementary information, which indicates whether a frame frequency of the video signal is a first frame frequency or a second frame frequency, from the recording medium and judge whether the video signal is of the first frame frequency or of the second frame frequency; a mode setting unit operable to set an operation mode of the playback apparatus to either a continuation mode in which there are no switching between frame frequencies during playback or a non-continuation mode in which switching between frame frequencies is allowed during playback, as selected by a user; a playback unit operable to, if the mode setting unit sets the operation mode to the continuation mode, if the video signal judging unit judges that the obtained video signal is of the first frame frequency, output the obtained video signal and if the video signal judging unit judges that the obtained video signal is of the second frame frequency, generate a video signal of the first frame frequency by converting the obtained video signal and output the generated video signal; and a sync control unit operable to, in a state where the mode setting unit has set the operation mode to the non-continuation mode, before switching a frame frequency of the video signal that is output during a playback, execute a synchronization process with the display apparatus in accordance with a frame frequency after the switching, wherein the first frame frequency is not an integral multiple of the second frame frequency.