Partial FAT Data Processor for Continuous Playback
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing storage capacity of media with FAT file systems leads to large FAT data sizes, requiring significant memory and increasing manufacturing costs, and causes delays in playback due to the need to read and cache the entire FAT, which can result in discontinuous playback and increased user wait times.
Innovation Solution
A method where a data processor determines the amount of data to be read continuously and writes it to available areas managed by a partial FAT, allowing for seamless playback even when reading the FAT in parts, reducing the memory required to retain the FAT and minimizing user wait times.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the entire FAT is read and cached in memory to enable random access playback, then playback reliability is improved, but memory requirements and manufacturing costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The FAT table is divided into multiple partial FAT tables, each managing a specific range of clusters. Instead of loading the entire FAT into memory, only the relevant partial FAT tables are loaded and cached, significantly reducing memory requirements while maintaining playback reliability through selective caching of necessary file allocation information.
2Measurement precision
If the entire FAT is read before playback to ensure accurate file location mapping, then playback accuracy is improved, but user wait time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-calculating and storing the correspondence relationships between playback time and cluster addresses in the partial FAT tables during the recording phase. This allows the playback device to directly use these pre-computed mappings without needing to read and process the entire FAT table at playback time, significantly reducing user wait time while maintaining accurate file location mapping.
3Quantity of substance
If data is written to non-serial sectors to maximize storage utilization, then storage efficiency is improved, but writing rate decreases due to processing delays
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-organizing data into continuous serial sectors during the recording phase, rather than scattering data across non-serial sectors. This preliminary organization allows the playback device to read data continuously at high speeds without the processing delays that would occur when reading from scattered non-serial sectors, thereby improving writing rate while maintaining storage efficiency through proper cluster allocation.
Data Source
AI summary
To provide a technique of writing data efficiently on a storage medium and thereby play back a content continuously. Specifically, the file allocation table (FAT) of a storage medium is supposed to be read on a partial FAT basis and data is written by a preferred method for that reading method.A data processor writes a content data stream on a storage medium, on which a data storage location is defined based on a file allocation table (FAT). The processor includes: a control section for determining the amount of data to be read continuously until a portion of the data stream, which should be played back during a data stream reading suspended period, is acquired, the suspended period including at least a time for reading a partial FAT forming a part of the FAT; an area detecting section for detecting an available area, in which that amount of data is storable, from a partial area managed by a single partial FAT; and a writing section for writing the content data stream on the available area, whereby the data stream is readable, and the content is playable, based on the partial FAT.