Abstract: An apparatus for reproducing information units recorded on a recording medium in a hierarchical structure having a plurality of levels. In the hierarchical structure, the information units are divided into a plurality of groups, and the groups are respectively assigned to the levels. The apparatus includes: an input device that receives an input instruction to designate one of the information units; a number determination device that determines the number of the information units included in each group; a level determination device that determines, on the basis of a determination of the number determination device, one of the levels to be searched in order to identify the designated information unit; and a reproduction device that identifies the designated information unit by searching the level determined by the level designation device, and reproduces the identified information unit.

Abstract: An image information reproducing apparatus generates a video signal carrying an original image from a read signal acquired from an image information recording medium, prepares a manually-input image to be superimposed on the original image in accordance with an operational input, thereby generating a manually-input image signal, generates a mixed image signal carrying a mixed image having the manually-input image superimposed on the original image, based on the video signal and the manually-input image signal, and stores the manually-input image signal in association with address information in the recording medium of a video signal corresponding to the original image on which the manually-input image is superimposed.

Abstract: An information recording medium includes: record information pieces logically independent of each other and constituting a hierarchical structure of hierarchical layers; layer information pieces for specifying one of the hierarchical layer; kind information pieces for indicating kinds of information relating to the record information pieces; a text group including layer related texts and record information related texts successively arranged in a mixed manner; text arrangement information pieces corresponding to the text group and arranged in pair with one of the layer information piece and the kind information piece corresponding to the text, the text arrangement information piece indicating a position of the text within the text group.

Abstract: An information recording medium includes: record information pieces logically independent of each other and constituting a hierarchical structure of hierarchical layers; layer information pieces for specifying one of the hierarchical layer; kind information pieces for indicating kinds of information relating to the record information pieces; a text group including layer related texts and record information related texts successively arranged in a mixed manner; text arrangement information pieces corresponding to the text group and arranged in pair with one of the layer information piece and the kind information piece corresponding to the text, the text arrangement information piece indicating a position of the text within the text group.

Abstract: An information recording apparatus is provided with a signal process device for generating and outputting content information including (i) identification information to identify each of partial record informations constructing whole record information to be recorded onto an information record medium and to indicate content of each of the partial record informations, and (ii) start position information indicating a start position on the information record medium of each of the partial record informations corresponding to the identification information, on the basis of control information inputted from the external to control a reproduction of the record information. The information recording apparatus is also provided with: a multiplex device for multiplexing the record information and the content information, to thereby generate and output multiplexed record information; and a record device for recording the multiplexed record information onto the information record medium.

Abstract: An information recording medium includes: record information pieces logically independent of each other and constituting a hierarchical structure of hierarchical layers; layer information pieces for specifying one of the hierarchical layer; kind information pieces for indicating kinds of information relating to the record information pieces; a text group including layer related texts and record information related texts successively arranged in a mixed manner; text arrangement information pieces corresponding to the text group and arranged in pair with one of the layer information piece and the kind information piece corresponding to the text, the text arrangement information piece indicating a position of the text within the text group.