Abstract: Methods, computer systems, and computer program products are provided for operating a tape drive comprising a tape medium with a plurality of record groups stored thereon. Access sequence for the plurality of record groups is provided. The tape medium is positioned for reading a record group in the access sequence before a seek command for the record group in the access sequence is received.

Abstract: In a tape drive having a rotatable take-up reel supporting an end of an elongate tape, a drive control system for rotating the take-up reel and for rotating a tape supply reel of a removable tape cartridge. The drive control system is arranged to tension and move the elongate tape between the reels. At rewind, the drive control system rewinds the elongate tape onto the supply reel at rewind velocity under tension; upon the rewinding approaching the end of the elongate tape, rewinds the elongate tape at a reduced velocity under tension, the reduced velocity less than 60% of the rewind velocity; and stops the reduced velocity rewinding for a period of time and maintains the elongate tape in a dwell state under tension which is greater than an operating tension during tape motion. The dwell state time period may be substantially 10 seconds.

Abstract: A content reproducing apparatus is disclosed which includes: a sensor; a discrimination circuit configured to discriminate whether a movement of a user is a first movement or a second movement based on a detection output from the sensor; a storage configured to store contents; a reproduction circuit configured to reproduce the contents; and a control circuit configured to supply the reproduction circuit with contents retrieved from the storage in accordance with a discrimination output from the discrimination circuit.

Abstract: Provided is a computer system including: a computer running as a DB server; a storage system including a plurality of disk drives for storing data; and a management module, in which: at least one of the plurality of disk drives stores data of a DB schema written by the computer; the management module specifies the DB schema to be accessed based on a received query, transmits, to the storage system, an instruction to copy at least a portion of the data of the specified DB schema from the disk drive to a memory, and transmits, to the storage system, an instruction to control an rpm of the disk drive that stores the data of the specified DB schema; and the storage system controls the rpm of the disk drive based on the instruction. Accordingly, power consumption of the storage system can be reduced even if installed disks increase in number.

Abstract: A method for determining storage medium transfer rate characteristics. A host computer system issues a sequence of read commands to a storage medium to determine an accurate mapping of differences in transfer rate characteristics. For example, the host issues a sequence of relatively large reads to the storage medium at successively higher logical cluster numbers (LCNs). The host waits for each read command to complete before issuing the next read command and tracks a time interval that is representative of the time between completions of read commands.

Abstract: A method for controlling read velocity in a disk device is provided. When reading data on the disc, the method first reads each SYNC of blocks to form an ECC code, read data to decode, and checks and corrects decoded data to generate decoded errors. The type of decoded errors are classified and counted to form reference parameters of a rule base. A fuzzy engine checks if the counting number exceeds the threshold of the parameter, and executes the operation of the rule to control read velocity and enhance the data transfer rate in the disk device.

Abstract: A control system and method for operating a system comprising a host computer, a buffer, a tape drive and a tape is provided. The method includes writing data to the tape while the tape is traveling at a first speed; stopping the tape; determining a minimum distance to reposition the tape; and, thereafter repositioning the tape.

Abstract: Prior to the loading of a main program, the rotation speed of a disk provided in a hard disk drive is increased to a common rotation speed adapting to all types of hard disk drive. At the common rotation speed and a common recording density, a main program is read from a system area in the disk where the main program is recorded. The main program is written to a RAM provided in a hard disk controller. After control processing of the hard disk drive is handed over to the main program, the rotation speed of the disk is increased to a proper rotation speed for a device. This allows main programs to be loaded in a common way from disks provided in respective hard disk drives independent of the type thereof.

Abstract: To make the most of the storage capacity of a recording medium for data recording and reproduction, data is provisionally stored in a memory at a second data rate DL2, then data is read from the memory at a first data rate, and the recording medium is driven intermittently according to a change in data rate.

Abstract: Embodiments of a data storage tape control system are disclosed that works to prevent or reduce frequency of off-track errors. The invented method slows tape speed in response to the writing head or writing element moving transversely away from a track center a predetermined distance, called an “off-center limit,” wherein the off-center limit is part of the way to an off-track error limit. The off-center limit is close enough to the center of the track that the writing operation is still effective, but wherein further movement out from the center would result in an off-track error and possible overwriting or unreadable data. The tape speed reduction is preferably done in increments until the writing head/element is closer to the center of the track than the off-center limit. Speed reduction is preferably done concurrently with writing, so that writing is not interrupted.

Abstract: A sync signal time difference detection circuit (7) detects a time difference of reproduced sync signals reproduced by a first head (100) and a second head (101) having different azimuth angles. Rotation of a capstan motor (2) is controlled in accordance with sync signal time difference information output from the sync signal time difference detection circuit (7), thereby performing a highly accurate tracking control not affected by jitter or eccentricity.

Abstract: The invention relates to a magnetic tape recording apparatus which can record digital image data sufficient to allow a good image to be displayed upon variable speed reproduction in the long time mode. When image data for variable speed reproduction (for example, sixteenfold speed reproduction) is recorded discretely at positions which are traced by a rotary head upon variable speed reproduction, in the long time mode, the number of recording times of image data for same variable speed reproduction is increased and the number of sync blocks recorded in one recording operation is decreased when compared with those in recording in the standard mode. For example, in the standard mode, six sync blocks are recorded three times, but in the long time mode, four sync blocks are recorded four times. The present invention can be applied to a recording and reproduction apparatus which displays a good image upon variable speed reproduction.

Abstract: Embodiments of a data storage tape control system are disclosed that works to prevent or reduce frequency of off-track errors. The invented method slows tape speed in response to the writing head or writing element moving transversely away from a track center a predetermined distance, called an “off-center limit,” wherein the off-center limit is part of the way to an off-track error limit. The off-center limit is close enough to the center of the track that the writing operation is still effective, but wherein further movement out from the center would result in an off-track error and possible overwriting or unreadable data. The tape speed reduction is preferably done in increments until the writing head/element is closer to the center of the track than the off-center limit. Speed reduction is preferably done concurrently with writing, so that writing is not interrupted.

Abstract: A magnetic recording and reproducing device according to the present invention operates with steps of moving a magnetic tape having a plurality of tracks per frame and a plurality of control signals recorded thereon, keeping count of the pulses of a frequency generator signal corresponding to the rotation of a capstan motor by a frequency generator counter, resetting the count of the frequency generator pulses by the control signal reproduced by a fixed magnetic head, detecting the track number by the control signal counter reset by a frame reference signal, controlling, at the start, the start timing on the basis of the tape stop position detected by the frequency generator pulse counter and control counter and the reference frame signal from the reference frame signal generator. The device prevents thinning of tracks at the editing point in after-break recording and the disturbance of images immediately after the start.