Patent ID: 8059509

Claim:
Optical disk drive for determining a disk characteristic of an optical disk comprising an information layer comprising a track, the optical disk drive comprising: an optical pickup unit arranged to: generate a beam, direct the beam to the optical disk for forming an incident beam, sense a reflected beam produced by the optical disk with a sensor upon receiving the incident beam with the sensor, produce a sensor output signal from sensing the reflected beam, focus the incident beam into a spot on the information layer, position the spot at a radial position along the optical disk, and track the track with the spot, a tray of a loader mechanism arranged to receive the optical disk, a loader motor of the loader mechanism arranged to: move the tray from a first position to a second position in a tray movement phase, wherein the second position is different from the first position, and a controller arranged to: receive the sensor output signal during at least one part of the tray movement phase, and perform a disk recognition preparation from at least the sensor output signal received during the at least one part of the tray movement phase.