Pioneer Corporation

Pioneer Electronic Corporation

Ko Atsumi

Gen Inoshita

Hiroyuki Isobe

Tomohiko Kimura

Takeaki Funada

Yoichi Yamada

Koichiro Sakata

Youichi Yamada

Tetsuya Kikuchi

Junichi Takagaki

Naomi Amemiya

Keitaro Kaburagi

Tatsuya Shiraishi

Yuuji Murai

Mituo Fukuda

An information playback apparatus is provided to obtain editing effects using an optical disc in the same sense as an analog record disc is manipulated. An audio editing apparatus for playing back an optical disc such as a CD is provided with a rotatable jog dial, detecting device for detecting the amount of rotation of the jog dial, and sensing device for sensing the presence or absence of a pressing force on the jog dial. When the jog dial is rotated while being depressed with a predetermined pressing force, processing for providing sound effects is performed on the playback data to be played back from the optical disc in response to the amount of rotation detected by the detecting device. It is thereby possible to provide the same feeling of operation as provided by rotating an analog record disc through hand operations to produce playback sounds.

Information playback apparatus

An audio signal processing apparatus comprises a signal processing section for processing audio signals fed from outside equipments, an operating section for producing commands in order for said signal processing section to process the audio signals, a storing memory for storing past operation data containing past operation information of the operating section, a controller for setting parameters in order for said signal processing section to process the audio signals in accordance with said past operation data stored in said storing memory.

Audio signal processing apparatus

A beat density detecting apparatus and an information playback apparatus are provided to detect distinctive characteristics that music or the like has and to provide the same as a novel information volume. Playback data read out from an information recording medium, such as an optical disc, and sub-code data containing the information of an elapsed track time indicating a recording position of the playback data are provided to a beat detecting unit and a beat position detecting unit, respectively. The beat detecting unit detects the number of occurrences of a change in amplitude at each predetermined frequency of the playback data, and the beat position detecting unit detects an elapsed track time from the sub-code data. Further, a beat density computing unit finds the number of occurrences with respect to the elapsed track time as the characteristics information of a beat density. By displaying the characteristics information of the beat density on a display unit in a way that the user or the like can visually recognize, it is possible to provide the distinctive characteristics that music or the like has not as instantaneous characteristics, but as the characteristics of a relatively long period, or the whole of the characteristics of a signal subject to audio playback.

Beat density detecting apparatus and information playback apparatus

An information playback apparatus is provided, which displays the status of playback in a way more suitable to the human sense as well as detects and then displays as new information the feature characteristic of audio information such as a music selection. The frequency of occurrence of variations in amplitude of audio information to be played back is measured at each predetermined frequency. The measured frequency of occurrence is displayed in a predetermined area of a display unit as the feature information of beat densities with respect to the playback elapsed time of the audio information to be played back. An index display unit is displayed in a substantially circular playback speed display unit. The amount of audio information to be sequentially played back corresponding to elapsed time is divided by a predetermined value to determine a remainder. The index display unit is displayed at an angular position corresponding to the remainder, while being rotatably moved along a virtual track, thereby displaying the status of playback.

Playback apparatus for displaying angular position based on remainder corresponding to elapsed time

An audio signal processing apparatus for changing a tempo of an input audio signal is disclosed. The apparatus includes a magnification designator capable of designating a plurality of different magnifications. A device is capable of automatically detecting a beat(s) per minute, BPM, or the audio input signal. The device may also detect a beat period of the input audio signal. The device also changes the BPM or beat period in accordance with a magnification designated by the magnification designator. Further, the device changes the tempo of the audio signal in accordance with the changed BPM and the changed beat period.

A reproducing system is produced for reproducing music recorded on a digital disc, and a rotating dial is provided to be rotated by a user.

System for reproducing information recorded on a disc

An information playback apparatus is provided to obtain sound effects by using an optical disc in much the same way an analog record is manipulated. A pressing pressure applied onto a rotatable jog dial is detected by providing a pressure sensing layer to the jog dial. When no pressing pressure is applied onto the jog dial, audio information is played back from an optical disc at a normal tempo. When an end of the jog dial at rest is pressed with a pressing pressure within a predetermined range, a tempo of a playback sound played from the audio information is changed in response to the pressing pressure. When an end of the jog dial at rest is pressed with a large pressing pressure, a tempo of a playback sound played from the audio information is changed in such a manner that playback of a playback sound is stopped eventually. When the pressing pressure is released from the jog dial at rest, a tempo of a playback sound played back from the audio information is changed in such a manner that a playback sound is eventually played back at the normal tempo. Also, a tempo of a playback sound is changed in various manners in response to a pressing pressure onto the jog dial by providing manipulation keys for adjusting a quantity of change when changing a tempo of a playback sound in response to the level of a detection signal.

Disclosed is an audio reproduction apparatus for reproducing music information recorded on a digital disk. This apparatus includes a rotatable body, a detection section for detecting a rotational state of the rotatable body, and a processing section for processing the music information to be reproduced in accordance with the rotational state detected by the detection section.

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Tokyo, Japan

Ko Atsumi