Disk player having automatic control based upon audio disk or memory disk determination

Abstract

An audio disk/memory disk player. At the time of playing a disk, TOC information in a lead-in area will be read out first after loading of the disk is complete. The player determines whether the disk to be played is an audio disk (CD) or a memory disk (CD-ROM) based on identifying information in the TOC information. If the disk is the memory disk, the operation goes directly to a pause mode so that upon reception of a read command transition to the searching for a designated address is promptly executed to quickly read out the desired data. Only when the disk being played is the audio disk, the audio system is changed to the audio disk from another source, thus permitting a user to view a map while listening to the previous source. When playing for an area having a series of group information recorded is complete in special play mode, the mode is quickly changed to the pause mode in the case of the memory disk to wait for the read command, thus ensuring quick reading of designated map data. If the disk discrimination result indicates the memory disk, a muting process is performed to inhibit a sound generation from a loudspeaker. If in this case there are operation commands originating from erroneous confirmation by the user, at least one of the commands is ignored.