Abstract: A personal recorder/playback system (10) includes a recording agent (32) configured to transparently receive multiple audio/visual streams from analog and/or digital sources. The streams are temporarily stored in queues (52,54) for subsequent analysis. The streams, after analysis, are either discarded, stored permanently in an audio/visual collection (48,50), or used to improve the quality of previously stored streams in the collection. The recording agent (32) provides features such as virtual channels (42) and a “top-ten” list (38) of most popular stored audio/visual streams.

Abstract: A combination is disclosed of a magnetic record carrier and an apparatus for recording a digital information signal in a track on the record carrier. The apparatus includes an input terminal for receiving the digital information signal, an encoding unit for encoding the digital information signal so as to obtain a digital channel signal suitable for recording, and a writing unit for writing the digital channel signal in the track on the record carrier. The writing unit includes at least one write head having a specific gap width. The apparatus is adapted to write the digital channel signal in the record carrier with a bit-length which is smaller than 0.25 .mu.m, and the record carrier has an oblique easy-axis angle between 30.degree. and 42.degree. with regard to the longitudinal direction of the track and in a plane perpendicular to the record carrier.