Patent ID: 7929061

Claim:
A signal processing apparatus comprising: inputting means for inputting a designated plurality of encoded data; encoded data selecting means for selectively outputting a designated plurality of encoded data from a plurality of encoded data which have been input by said inputting means; a plurality of decoding means for individually inputting the plurality of encoded data selected by said encoded data selecting means while decoding the encoded data which have been input; encoded data designating means for designating encoded data for said inputting means and for said encoded data selecting means in such a manner that in response to a reproduction output request, the encoded data requested to be reproduced and output and other encoded data which are selected in accordance with a predetermined rule and which differ from said encoded data requested to be reproduced and output are input individually to said plurality of decoding means for predecoding; and reproduction output controlling means for controlling said plurality of decoding means to output said encoded data requested to be reproduced and output following the decoding in response to said reproduction output request, wherein said predetermined rule stipulates that said plurality of encoded data, which have been input by said inputting means, are ranked in terms of a channel select time which is a time period measured from the time a request to select a channel corresponding to the requested encoded data is made until the requested encoded data are output, and that top-ranked encoded data are selected in descending order of the channel select times.