Patent ID: 8290337

Claim:
A reproduction apparatus which reads and reproduces audio information and other information, from a recording medium where the audio information and the other information are recorded, the reproduction apparatus comprising: a reading section for reading, from the recording medium, the audio information and the other information, recorded in a different position, on the recording medium, from a position of the audio information; a capacity-lowering section for lowering a capacity of the audio information read by the reading section, by reducing a quantization bit number of the audio information when a tempo in the audio information is fast and by lowering a sampling frequency of the audio information when the tempo in the audio information is slow; an audio storing section for storing the audio information having a lowered capacity; an audio reproducing section for reproducing the audio information stored in the audio storing section; an other information storing section for storing the other information read by the reading section; and an other information reproducing section for reproducing the other information stored in the other information storing section, wherein the audio information includes first audio information and second audio information, the second audio information being continuously reproduced after the first audio information; and the capacity-lowering section lowers the capacity of the first audio information read by the reading section, such that a time for reproducing the first audio information is longer than a time required for reading the second audio information, during a period of time when the other information is reproduced by the other information reproducing section, and divides the first audio information read by the reading section into a first part whose capacity is lowered by a predetermined capacity-lowering ratio, a second part whose capacity is not lowered, and a third part corresponding to a predetermined interval between the first part and the second part, and whose capacity lowering ratio is gradually changed from the capacity-lowering ratio of the first part to a capacity-lowering ratio of the second part.