Method for direct recording and playback of multiple data tracks and signals

Abstract

A process for recording and playing audio, video and/or data signals simultaneously from a recording medium includes the steps of initially acquiring a plurality of audio, video and/or data signals. Incremental temporal segments of each signal are taken and assembled into a single composite data frame in memory, and the composite frame is recorded in a permanent or erasable recording system. For example, the first 100 ms of each signal comprises the first incremental temporal segments, and all of these first segments of all signals are recorded in a predetermined order in the first composite frame. The second composite frame consists of the second 100 ms segments of the same signals, which are recorded in the same order as the first composite frame. This process is reiterated until the entire lengths of all of the signals are recorded in such composite frames. Alternatively, each composite frame may be subdivided in sub-sections, each sub-section comprised of time-slices of the segments of the signals held in memory. If the frames are recorded on a data disk, they are placed in contiguous order, to the greatest extent possible, to minimize the seek time of the disk drive read/write heads. For playback, the composite frames are read from the recording system as a data stream that is loaded into memory, where each frame is read out, disassembled, and defined as separate signals corresponding to the plurality of signals that were initially recorded.