Sony Corporation

Junichi Kudo

Akira Tange

Yoichiro Sako

Tetsu Watanabe

Katsuhiro Seo

Kiyoshi Ohmori

Tatsuya Inokuchi

Shunsuke Furukawa

Kaoru Kijima

Yoshimasa Utsumi

Tomihiro Nakagawa

Kazuko Sakurai

Mitsuru Toriyama

Keiichi Yamada

Makoto Akabane

Hajime Yano

Goro Shiraishi

Ryosuke Senoguchi

When the user designates the reproduction of searching audio data, the designated searching audio data and audio volume data are read from a searching data recording portion. The searching audio data is reproduced corresponding to the audio volume data. When the user designates the reproduction of main audio data, the selected audio data is read from a disc and reproduced. In addition, number-of-reproduction-times data, audio volume data, audio quality data, and time period data for the designated main audio data that are updated in the searching data storing portion. The searching audio data corresponding to the designated main audio data is read from the disc corresponding to the audio quality data and the time period data and recorded to the searching data storing portion.

Recording and reproducing apparatus, recording and reproducing method, and storage medium for displaying symbols and reproducing desired data

This invention is directed to a recording medium on which contents data of movie, etc. is recorded. At the position where reproduction is carried out prior to first data consisting of contents data in reproducing the first data, there is recorded second data like advertisement data in which contents concealment data for concealing contents data is buried. In reproduction of the first data recorded on this recording medium, contents concealment data is extracted from the second data, and cipher implemented to the first data which has been read out from the recording medium is decoded by using the extracted contents concealment data. Thus, the first data is reproduced subsequently to the second data.

Recording medium for data including concealment data and recording/reproducing method for such data

Recording and reproducing apparatus, recording and reproducing method, and storage medium

The present invention is intended to provide a text-to-speech synthesis apparatus, including a storage for storing phoneme data of a plurality of speakers; a selector for selecting one of the plurality of speakers in accordance with an operation performed by a user; a searcher for searching the storage for phoneme data of the speaker selected by the selector; a text-to-speech synthesis processor for linking the phoneme data of the speaker retrieved by the searcher to convert input data into a synthetic speech; and a fee-charge controller for controlling a fee-charge operation for the user in accordance with the phoneme data selected by the selector. Consequently, the user can perform text-to-speech synthesis on the desired input data such as drama data by use of the obtained phoneme data.

Text-to-speech synthesis system

The present invention provides a content-on-demand system capable of managing users' system-utilization frequencies such as download counts and connection times as well as changing the quality of a content transmitted from a server to a user in dependence on the system-utilization frequency of the user. Thus, a high-quality content or a highly functional content is provided to a user with a high system-utilization frequency. By differentiating contents provided to users in accordance with the system-utilization frequencies of the users, network businesses can be activated.

Server, distribution system, distribution method and terminal

A communication apparatus includes a storage unit, a receiving unit and a searching unit, all acting on speaker voice data. A communication system includes an accumulating unit, a requesting unit, a transmitting unit and a receiving unit, all acting on synthetic speech data.

Communication apparatus and system acting on speaker voices

When the user designates the reproduction of searching audio data, the designated searching audio data and audio volume data are read from a searching data recording portion. The searching audio data is reproduced corresponding to the audio volume data. When the user designates the reproduction of main audio data, the audio data is read from a disc and reproduced. In addition, the number-of-reproduction-times data corresponding to the number of times the audio data has been reproduced, audio volume data, audio quality data, and time period data for the designated main audio data are updated in the searching data storing portion. The searching audio data corresponding to the designated main audio data is read from the disc in accordance with the audio quality data and the time period data and recorded to the searching data storing portion.

A disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus including a signal recording/reproducing section for recording and/or reproducing information signals on a disc 64 mm in diameter housed in a cartridge main body to form a disc cartridge, a loading mechanism for loading or unloading the disc cartridge on or from the signal recording/reproducing section and a control circuit controlling the recording/reproducing operation of the recording/reproducing section. The disc has a signal recording part divided into plural signal recording zones of substantially equal line recording density across the inner and the outer peripheries of the disc. The signal recording/reproducing section, the loading mechanism and the control circuit are housed in a casing which is 70 mm or less in width, 100 mm or less in length and 24.5 mm or less in height and which is provided with a disc inserting opening. The apparatus may be reduced in size without decreasing the recording capacity.

Recording/reproducing apparatus that utilizes the servo clock signals to

A disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus including a signal recording/reproducing section for recording and/or reproducing information signals on a disc 86 mm in diameter housed in a cartridge main body to form a disc cartridge, a loading mechanism for loading or unloading the disc cartridge on or from the signal recording/reproducing section and a control circuit controlling the recording/reproducing operation of the recording/reproducing section. The disc has a signal recording part divided into plural signal recording zones of substantially equal line recording density across the inner and the outer peripheries of the disc. The signal recording/reproducing section, the loading mechanism and the control circuit are housed in a casing which is 101.6 mm or less in width, 150 mm or less in length and 25.4 mm or less in height and which is provided with a disc inserting opening. The apparatus may be reduced in size without decreasing the recording capacity.

Recording/reproducing apparatus that forms read and write clock signals

An optical recording apparatus includes a memory, a recording device, a detector and a controller. The memory stores input data in sequence at a first transmission rate, reads out the stored input data at a second transmission rate which is faster than the first transmission rate, and outputs the data read at the second transmission rate as a recording data in predetermined data units. The recording device adds a cluster connecting sector with a data length long enough to cover a distance to rearrange data through interleaving before and after the recording data in the predetermined data unit and or recording the interleaved data on an optical disc. The detector detects an abnormality of the recording operation and outputs an output signal as an abnormality detected result. The controller controls re-recording by the recording device corresponding to an output signal from the detector within a predetermined period thereafter which is chosen to ensure a sufficient buffer capacity in the memory to store inputted data during re-recording after a detected abnormality.

Optical disc recording apparatus which controls re-recording after a

An optical recording apparatus includes a memory, a recording device, a detector and controller. The memory stores input data in sequence at a first transmission rate and is read out the stored input data at a second transmission rate which is faster than the first transmission rate and outputs the data read at the second transmission rate as a recording data in predetermined data unit. The recording device adds a cluster connecting sector with a data length enough to cover a distance to rearrange data through interleaving before and after the recording data in the predetermined data unit and or recording the interleaved data on an optical disc. The detector detects the abnormality of the recording operation the recording device and outputs an output signal as an abnormality detected result. The controller controls the recording device corresponding to the output signal from the detector within a predetermined period.

A magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing apparatus in which a magneto-optical disc, a disc rotating and driving unit, an optical head device, an external magnetic field generating unit and a controlling device are contained as one in an outer casing. That is, the apparatus includes the disc rotating and driving unit which has a diameter of not more than 95 mm and in which the magneto-optical disc is housed and rotationally driven at a constant angular velocity, the optical head device for radiating a light beam to the magneto-optical disc, the external magnetic field generating unit arranged facing the optical head device with the magneto-optical disc in-between and adapted for applying a perpendicular magnetic field to the magneto-optical disc when recording information signals on the magneto-optical disc, the controlling device for controlling the disc rotating and driving unit, the optical head device and the external magnetic field generating unit and the outer casing having a width of not more than 101.6 mm, a depth of not more than 145 mm and a height of not more than 25.4 mm and adapted for accommodating the magneto-optical disc, the disc rotating and driving unit, the optical head device, the external magnetic field generating unit and the controlling device, for increasing the capacity for information signals and reducing the apparatus size.

Magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing apparatus

A disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus including a signal recording/reproducing section for recording and/or reproducing information signals on a disc 86 mm in diameter housed in a cartridge main body to form a disc cartridge, a loading mechanism for loading or unloading the disc cartridge on or from the signal recording/reproducing section and a control circuit controlling the recording/reproducing operation of the recording/reproducing section. The disc has a signal recording part divided into plural signal recording zones of substantially equal line recording density ac ross the inner and the outer peripheries of the disc. The signal recording/reproducing section, the loading mechanism and the control circuit are housed in a casing which is 101.6 mm or less in width, 150 mm or less in length and 25.4 mm or less in height and which is provided with a disc inserting opening. The apparatus may be reduced in size without decreasing the recording capacity.

Disc recording/reproducing apparatus

A magneto-optical disc recording/reproducing apparatus in which a magneto-optical disc, a disc rotating and driving unit, an optical head device, an external magnetic field generating unit and a controlling device are contained as one in an outer casing. That is, the apparatus includes the disc rotating and driving unit which has a diameter of not more than 67 mm and in which the magneto-optical disc is housed and rotationally driven at a constant angular velocity, the optical head device for radiating a light beam to the magneto-optical disc, the external magnetic field generating unit arranged facing the optical head device with the magneto-optical disc in-between and adapted for applying a perpendicular magnetic field to the magneto-optical disc when recording information signals on the magneto-optical disc, the controlling device for controlling the disc rotating and driving unit, the optical head device and the external magnetic field generating unit and the outer casing having a width of not more than 70 mm, a depth of not more than 100 mm and a height of not more than 25.4 mm and adapted for accommodating the magneto-optical disc, the disc rotating and driving unit, the optical head device, the external magnetic field generating unit and the controlling device, for increasing the capacity for information signals and reducing the apparatus size.

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Tokyo, Japan

Junichi Kudo