Abstract: An information recording apparatus such as an optical disc that can avoid an unrecordable condition between a power-on operation and an available state for recording thereby to solve a problem that an image taking chance is missed in a recording step, wherein its constitution is such that: receiving a command to turn on the apparatus after switching, a system controller drives a power-supply circuit to activate a drive controller and a memory controller; if the optical disc is not replaced while in power-off operation by a sub-battery, the system controller issues a request for high-speed activation, based on information stored in an EEPROM, to the drive controller, and drives plural drive control units one after another thereby to establish an activation period confirmedly, allowing the memory controller to accept a request for a recording start from the system controller without waiting for a report of activation completion to be issued by the drive controller.

Abstract: A disc device in which recording is possible in a basic recording area in units of a subarea and startable at any position. Even if the recording cannot help stopping due to some external cause during recording on a disc-type recording medium that basically employs real-time sequential recording, the recording is re-openable at the position where the recording stopped when the external cause has disappeared. The disc device includes a reference clock counter that starts to count at the starting point of each basic recording area reference clocks read from the disc, and an address memory that holds an address of the basic recording area under recording. When the recording is stopped due to some external cause, the count of the counter and the address held by the address memory at that time are saved.

Abstract: A recording/playback device includes an information conversion unit converting video or audio information, received from an external source, to video or audio data for recording on a rewritable optical disk, a recording unit recording the video or audio data on said optical disk, and a playback unit playing back the video or audio data recorded on said optical disk, in which the optical disk has at least two recording layers and, when the video or audio data is recorded in two or more layers of the optical disk and then a part of the video data or audio data recorded in each layer is erased, a part of the video or audio data left unerased is moved so that a number of layers, in which the video or audio data left unerased is recorded, is reduced.

Abstract: A vehicle power unit comprises an engine managing circuit for detecting an engine start battery state quantity, which is an electrical quantity associated with in-vehicle battery conditions at engine start, and for determining in-vehicle battery conditions based on the detected engine start battery state quantity. Based on detected or inputted information, the engine managing circuit determines whether or not an in-vehicle battery has been exchanged. If the in-vehicle battery is determined as having been exchanged, a predetermined engine start prompting operation is performed as a control operation for prompting engine start after the exchange. The control operation includes giving a warning for prompting a driver's engine start operation after detecting battery exchange, and performing automatic engine start if engine start is yet to be performed. After performing the engine start, the voltage and current of the in-vehicle battery are measured.

Abstract: A first separating/combining birefringent element 10, first and second optical-path controlling birefringent elements 11, 12, and a second separating/combining birefringent element 13 are spaced apart. Between the first separating/combining birefringent element and the first optical-path controlling birefringent element, a first polarization rotating means 14 is arranged for changing a polarization direction from an orthogonal relationship to a parallel relationship, or from a parallel relationship to an orthogonal relationship. Also, between the second optical-path controlling birefringent element and the second separating/combining birefringent element, a second polarization rotating means 17 is arranged.

Abstract: The same contents having different recording rates are recorded on a multi-layer disk. A plurality of contents or the same contents having different recording rates are independently recorded respectively in different layers of an optical disk having a plurality of recording layers. In order to record a plurality of contents or the same contents having different recording rates in parallel at that time, recording on the multi-layer optical disk is conducted by repeating an operation of dividing each content into recording units, recording a recording unit of one kind of information in a recording layer, and recording a recording unit of the other kind of information in a different recording layer.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method as well as a storage device of the present invention transform intensity levels with consideration of both features of the intensity levels in an input image and human visual characteristics, wherein the present invention includes the steps of inputting wider dynamic range digital image data, generating a histogram of intensity levels of the image data, generating a histogram equalization LUT by cumulating the histogram, generating a visual characteristics LUT with reference to the histogram equalization LUT, generating a combined LUT by combining the histogram equalization LUT and the visual characteristics LUT, and correcting the image data.

Abstract: An information recording technique which, even when an interruption of recording operation takes place for some reasons, can make the most of the features of a recording medium and can record data on the medium with a good reliability. This can be realized by changing abnormality judging conditions according to the type of the recording medium and changing record resuming conditions after the interruption of the recording operation.

Abstract: When, in the course of recording data to a disk for each basic recording unit, the recording is stopped in the middle of a basic recording unit, data of the basic recording unit of the recording that was stopped remain held in memory. When recording resumes, the recording operation is restarted sequentially from the remaining data held in memory from the position at which recording was stopped. When the remaining data cannot be recorded, dummy data are recorded instead and playback is performed, skipping the dummy data section.

Abstract: Because a series of data is recorded continuously, the recording quality of data recorded in course of recording cannot be evaluated. Accordingly, the laser output cannot be controlled properly and there are a deterioration and dispersion of the recording quality. Further, when the recording lasts for a long time, the temperature in the vicinity of laser rises due to the heat from the inside of a disc drive and the recording quality is deteriorated. To solve this, a series of data to be recorded is split and recording is made intermittently in a split data unit. The recording quality is evaluated by reproducing the data recorded nearby before each split data is recorded using a duration and control is performed by reflecting the evaluation result in the laser output so that the recording quality can be maintained satisfactorily over a series of the whole data to be recorded.

Abstract: A disc device in which recording is possible in a basic recording area in units of a subarea and startable at any position. Even if the recording cannot help stopping due to some external cause during recording on a disc-type recording medium that basically employs real-time sequential recording, the recording is re-openable at the position where the recording stopped when the external cause has disappeared. The disc device includes a reference clock counter that starts to count at the starting point of each basic recording area reference clocks read from the disc, and an address memory that holds an address of the basic recording area under recording. When the recording is stopped due to some external cause, the count of the counter and the address held by the address memory at that time are saved.

Abstract: There are cases where image contents with a limited number of copies allow data transfer although not dubbing operations. Transfer of temporarily recorded data from a recording medium such as a hard disk to a recording medium such a DVD-R raises a problem of erasing hard disk data for transfer even in case of incomplete data transfer. The disclosure of the present invention therefore describes determination means for determining a result of data transfer based on a condition for the transfer of the above-mentioned data allows a failure in data transfer to be prevented. This eliminates a concern over erasing HDD data for transfer during an incomplete data transfer.

Abstract: A recording condition and a dubbing condition of a desired program that is to be broadcast are designated by using a remote controller. These conditions are stored in the information storage unit. In accordance with the recording condition, a controller permits a tuner to receive a program for which unattended recording is designated, and to record the program on an HDD. When a DVD is set in a dubbing unit and the dubbing operation is instructed by using the remote controller, a recorded program for which a dubbing condition stored in the information storage unit is applied can be dubbed. Then, the information for this program is displayed on a monitor so as to confirm the program and the dubbing condition, and to examine or correct CM skip if the CM skip is included in the dubbing condition. Thereafter, the dubbing operation is performed.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method as well as a storage device of the present invention transform intensity levels with consideration of both features of the intensity levels in an input image and human visual characteristics, wherein the present invention includes the steps of inputting wider dynamic range digital image data, generating a histogram of intensity levels of the image data, generating a histogram equalization LUT by cumulating the histogram, generating a visual characteristics LUT with reference to the histogram equalization LUT, generating a combined LUT by combining the histogram equalization LUT and the visual characteristics LUT, and correcting the image data.

Abstract: When, in the course of recording data to a disk for each basic recording unit, the recording is stopped in the middle of a basic recording unit, data of the basic recording unit of the recording that was stopped remain held in memory. When recording resumes, the recording operation is restarted sequentially from the remaining data held in memory from the position at which recording was stopped. When the remaining data cannot be recorded, dummy data are recorded instead and playback is performed, skipping the dummy data section.

Abstract: Because a series of data is recorded continuously, the recording quality of data recorded in course of recording cannot be evaluated. Accordingly, the laser output cannot be controlled properly and there are a deterioration and dispersion of the recording quality. Further, when the recording lasts for a long time, the temperature in the vicinity of laser rises due to the heat from the inside of a disc drive and the recording quality is deteriorated. To solve this, a series of data to be recorded is split and recording is made intermittently in a split data unit. The recording quality is evaluated by reproducing the data recorded nearby before each split data is recorded using a duration and control is performed by reflecting the evaluation result in the laser output so that the recording quality can be maintained satisfactorily over a series of the whole data to be recorded.

Abstract: There is provided a method for the detection of a base sequence of interest when amount of a sample DNA or RNA is little and plural base sequences of interest to be detected are present in the sample DNA or RNA. The Problem is solved by a method for the detection of an base sequence of interest in a sample DNA or RNA comprising the steps of (1) contacting a sample DNA or RNA to a probe DNAs or RNAs in an aqueous solution to form a hybridization complex; (2) isolating the hybridization complex; (3) dissociating the complex to recover the probe DNAs or RNAs; and (4) identifying the said probe DNAs or RNAs to detect an base sequence of interest in the sample DNA or RNA.

Abstract: A smoothing calculator determines a smoothed mean luminance value C1×?(t)+(1?C1)??(t?1) based on a mean luminance value ?(t) input at time t and a smoothed mean luminance value ??(t?1) read at time (t?1) from a buffer, and outputs the smoothed mean luminance value C1×?(t)+(1?C1)??(t?1) as the smoothed mean luminance value ?(t) of the mean luminance value ?(t). Coefficient C1 is greater than 0 but smaller than 1. Gradation conversion responsive to luminance variation from frame to frame in a moving image is thus achieved.

Abstract: When user data is recorded on a write-once medium, linking variations can be reduced that are produced as management information for managing the user data is updated by additionally recording on and off, thereby assuring the reliability of the reproduction compatibility of the DVD player. Before the final file of the management information is recorded, dummy data of a plurality of successive blocks are recorded at a time by a single operation, and then the final file is additionally recorded after the dummy data. Therefore, the linking precision can be prevented from being degraded in the linking portions of the management information, and thus the management information can be properly read when the DVD player makes compatible reproduction of the medium.

Abstract: A first end position in a widthwise direction of a medium at a first position in a lengthwise direction of the medium, while a second end position in the widthwise direction of the medium at a second position in the lengthwise direction of the medium, and a comparison of the detected first end position with the detected second end position is performed to make predetermined processing according to the compared result.