Writable storage medium, apparatus and method of recording to a storage medium

Abstract

A writable storage medium has a first storage area divided into a plurality of sectors having the same data capacity and a second storage area. The first storage area stores at least encoded moving picture data and encoded audio data. The second storage area stores at least first information indicating whether the audio data is silence data, second information indicating an encoding method by which the audio data has been encoded at a constant bit rate and third information indicating the number of audio channels related to the audio data. The first and second storage areas may further store encoded bitmap video data and data identification information indicating whether the bitmap video data is invisible data, respectively. The first information is detected to determine whether the first audio data is silence data. If the first audio data is judged as the silence data, second audio data to be after-recorded is encoded by the encoding method the same as the method for the first audio data at the bit rate the same as that for the first audio data in response to the second and third information. The encoded second audio data is written over the first audio data. The data identification information is detected to determine whether the first bitmap video data is invisible data. Second bitmap video data to be after-recorded is encoded if the first bitmap video data is judged as the invisible data. The encoded second bitmap video data is written over the first bitmap video data.