Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Osamu Okauchi

Tadashi Nakamura

Masanori Itoh

Yasuyuki Kurosawa

The data processor of the present invention can play back video and audio synchronously from an optical disk, on which video and audio data are stored in different areas. Each area consists of one or more unit areas. The data processor includes: a playback control section for giving instructions on how to read the video and audio data and how to play back the video and audio based on the read data; a head for reading the data from one of the unit areas after another in accordance with the instructions; and audio and video buffers for retaining the audio and video data read. The playback control section instructs that the audio data be read from a predetermined one of the unit areas to the audio buffer memory, and then instructs that the video data, which is to be played back over first and second periods of time, be read from a number n (where n is an integer equal to or greater than two) of unit areas to the video buffer. The first period of time is (n+2) times as long as the maximum amount of time to move the head, and the second period of time is taken to read the audio data from the next unit area.

Data processing device

A data processor includes a stream assembling section which divides video and audio data into a plurality of packets, and makes a plurality of data units, in each of which a video packet representing a fraction of the video data and an audio packet representing a fraction of the audio data are multiplexed together to generate a data stream composed of a plurality of data units; and a writing section for writing the data stream on a storage medium. The stream assembling section determines what video packets and audio packets are included in each data unit, and if a portion of audio data, which is associated with the video data stored in a predetermined data unit, is missing from the predetermined data unit, then copied data, obtained by copying partial audio data including at least that missing portion of the audio data, is put into the data stream.

Growing community of inventors

Hirakata, Japan

Osamu Okauchi