Method and apparatus for recording real-time audio/video information onto recordable compact disc drives
View Patent ↗In one embodiment of the present invention an apparatus and method is disclosed for recording audio/video information onto a compact disc recorder in real-time. The audio/video information is streamed at a constant rate from a source having an output buffer and so as to prevent overflowing of the output buffer, the streamed audio/video information is received at a constant rate for storage into an input buffer, the streamed audio/video information is for recording thereof onto the compact disc recorder so as to prevent underflowing of the input buffer.
1. A method for recording audio/video information onto a compact disc recorder in real-time, comprising:
streaming audio/video information at a constant rate from a source having an output buffer and so as to prevent overflowing of the output buffer, the audio/video information to be recorded onto the compact disc recorder; and
receiving the streamed audio/video information at a constant rate into an input buffer, the streamed audio/video information for recording thereof onto the compact disc recorder so as to prevent underflowing of the input buffer; and
wherein the audio/video information is streamed from a source to central processing unit (CPU) at a constant rate of X bits per second and wherein the streamed audio/video information is streamed from the CPU to compact disc drive of the compact disc recorder at a constant rate of Y bits per second, wherein X is less than Y; and
wherein the rate of streaming of empty sectors is Z bits per second and Y is equal to X+Z.
2. A method for recording audio/video information as recited in claim 1 wherein the streaming and receiving steps are performed in real-time.
3. A recordable compact disc system comprising:
a source for storing audio/video information to be recorded onto a compact disc drive, said source for causing streaming of the audio/video information at a constant rate;
a compact disc drive coupled to the source for receiving the streamed audio/video information at a constant rate, wherein the audio/video information is recorded onto the compact disc drive in real-time; and
a central processing unit (CPU) coupled between the source and the compact disc drive, said CPU for temporarily storing the streamed information;
wherein said CPU includes a CPU buffer for temporarily storing the streamed audio/video information, said CPU for maintaining the level of information stored in the CPU buffer substantially the same as that of an output buffer;
wherein audio/video information is streamed from the source to the CPU at a constant rate of X bits per second and wherein the streamed audio/video information is streamed from the CPU to the compact disc drive at a constant rate of Y bits per second, wherein X is less than Y; and
wherein the rate of streaming of empty sectors is Z bits per second and Y is equal to X+Z.
4. A recordable compact disc system as recited in claim 3 wherein the streaming is performed in real-time and the receiving of the streamed information is performed in real-time.
5. A recordable compact disc system as recited in claim 3 wherein said source includes an output buffer for storing the audio/digital information to be streamed.
6. A recordable compact disc system as recited in claim 5 wherein the output buffer is prevented from overflowing.
7. A recordable compact disc system as recited in claim 3 wherein said compact disc drive includes an input buffer for storing the received streamed audio/video information.
8. A recordable compact disc system as recited in claim 7 wherein said input buffer is prevented from underflowing.
9. A recordable compact disc system as recited in claim 8 wherein upon a determination that there is no audio/video information stored in an output buffer, a determination as to whether or not the level of information stored in the input buffer is below a predetermined threshold is made and if so, empty sectors are streamed so as to maintain a constant rate of streaming.
10. A recordable compact disc system as recited in claim 3 wherein the source includes means for compressing the audio/video information prior to streaming the same.
11. A recordable compact disc system as recited in claim 3 wherein the size of the CPU buffer is minimized so as to minimize the delay between commanding the stopping of audio/video recording and actual completion of the recording.
12. A recordable compact disc system as recited in claim 3 wherein the CPU buffer compensates for the underflowing of the compact disc drive thereby preventing such underflow.
13. A recordable compact disc system as recited in claim 3 wherein audio/video information is streamed from the source at a rate that is lower than the maximum rate of operation of the compact disc drive thereby avoiding overflow of the same.
14. A recordable compact disc system as recited in claim 13 wherein audio/video information is streamed from the source at a rate that is 95% that of the maximum speed of the compact disc drive thereby avoiding overflow of the compact disc drive.
15. A recordable compact disc system comprising:
a source for storing audio/video information to be recorded onto a compact disc drive, said source for causing streaming of the audio/video information at a constant rate;
a compact disc drive coupled to the source for receiving the streamed audio/video information at a constant rate, wherein the audio/video information is recorded onto the compact disc drive in real-time; and
a central processing unit (CPU) coupled between the source and the compact disc drive, said CPU for temporarily storing the streamed information; and
wherein said CPU includes a CPU buffer for temporarily storing the streamed audio/video information, said CPU for maintaining the level of information stored in the CPU buffer substantially the same as that of an output buffer;
wherein the audio/video information is streamed from the source at a rate that is lower than the maximum rate of operation of the compact disc drive thereby avoiding overflow of the same; and
wherein the audio/video information is streamed from the source at a rate that is 95% that of the maximum speed of the compact disc drive thereby avoiding overflow of the compact disc drive.
16. A recordable compact disc system as recited in claim 15 wherein the streaming is performed in real-time and the receiving of the streamed information is performed in real-time.
17. A method for recording audio/video information onto a compact disc recorder in real-time, comprising
streaming audio/video information at a constant rate from a source having an output buffer and so as to prevent overflowing of the output buffer, the audio/video information to be recorded onto the compact disc recorder; and
receiving the streamed audio/video information at a constant rate into an input buffer, the streamed audio/video information for recording thereof onto the compact disc recorder so as to prevent underflowing of the input buffer; and
wherein the audio/video information is streamed from a source at a rate that is lower than a maximum rate of operation of a compact disc drive of the compact disc recorder thereby avoiding overflow of the same, and
wherein the audio/video information is streamed from the source at a rate that is 95% that of the maximum speed of the compact disc drive to the compact disc the compact disc drive.
18. A method for recording audio/video information as recited in claim 17 wherein the streaming and receiving steps are performed in real-time.