Patent ID: 7133334

Claim:
A playback device for playing back digital audio information signals partitioned along a string of uniform-sized blocks, the digital audio information signals representing variable-rate encoded audio information, arranged in successive non-uniform sized audio units, wherein an audio unit contains audio data for replay for a predetermined duration, the blocks include block headers containing information related to the audio units in a block, the audio units are divided in successive non-uniform sized audio packets having a size not larger than the size of a block for fitting one or more audio packets into a block, the audio packets are distributed among the blocks, and the block header indicates the actual content of each block of multiple blocks with respect to the presence of the start of an audio unit in the block, said playback device comprising: reading means for reading said string of uniform-sized blocks; data selection means for selecting one or more of said blocks containing an audio unit, and for determining a location of a start of said audio unit in one block of said one or more of said blocks using the block headers of the blocks; and assembling means for assembling subsequent audio packets in said one or more of said blocks to form said audio unit using said block headers.