Patent ID: 7394972

Claim:
An optical disc reproduction apparatus comprising: an optical pickup that reads compressed data of video and audio recorded on an optical disc; storing means that stores a table containing identification information for identifying type of the compressed data read by the optical pickup; a demultiplexer that sorts the compressed data read by the optical pickup according to the type of the compressed data based on the identification information stored in the storing means; video reproducing means that reproduces video data based on the compressed data of video sorted out by the demultiplexer; audio reproducing means that reproduces audio data based on the compressed data of audio sorted out by the demultiplexer; and a controller that controls the optical pickup, the storing means, the video reproducing means, and the audio reproducing means, wherein the identification information stored in the storing means contains audio identification information for identifying type of the audio data, wherein the audio reproducing means has various audio decoders for reproducing compressed data of various types of audio read by the optical pickup, is configured to compare audio identification information contained in the compressed data of audio read by the optical pickup with the audio identification information stored in the table in order to identify type of the compressed data of audio read by the optical pickup and select, according to the identified type of the compressed data, a corresponding audio decoder from among the various audio decoders, and is furnished with no capability of outputting DTS audio on an analog basis but a capability of outputting DTS audio on a digital basis, wherein the controller includes: audio number checking means that checks whether an audio number of DTS audio on an optical disc is greater or smaller than an audio number of other audio; first reproduction starting means that, if the audio number checking means finds the audio number of the DTS audio to be greater than the audio number of the other audio, starts reproduction of the audio other than the DTS audio; output setting checking means that, if the audio number checking means finds the audio number of the DTS audio to be smaller than the audio number of the other audio, checks whether, during setup, DTS digital output is set for digital output or turned off; second reproduction starting means that, if the output setting checking means finds the DTS digital output to be set for digital output in a form of a bit stream, starts reproduction of the DTS audio assigned an audio number “1”; and third reproduction starting means that, if the output setting checking means finds the DTS digital output to be turned off, starts reproduction of audio, other than the DTS audio, assigned a smallest audio number among audio numbers “2” and greater.