Systems and methods for reducing a user's ability to perceive hard drive noise

1. A system comprising:

a processing unit; and

a storage device communicably coupled to the processing unit, the storage device comprising a hard disk drive which comprises a head and a disk;

wherein the processing unit is provided with computer implemented instructions to:

receive a content stream comprising an audio component and a video component, wherein the content stream further comprises volume data and timing data relating to the audio component; and

instruct the storage device to carry out read/write operations of the hard disk drive based, at least in part, on the volume data and the timing data;

identify a plurality of audio segments of the audio component, wherein a plurality of the identified segments correspond to at least one of periods of silence, periods of relatively high volume, periods of relatively low volume, periods of maximum volume, and periods of minimum volume;

instruct the head to cease movement for non-critical read/write operations during periods of relatively low volume and periods of silence; and

instruct the head to move at relatively low acceleration/deceleration rates or move at minimum acceleration/deceleration rates for critical read/write operations during periods of relatively low volume and periods of silence.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is provided with further computer implemented instructions to:

determine, based at least in part on the volume data and the timing data, volume as a function of time for the audio component.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the processing unit is provided with further computer implemented instructions to:

establish acceleration/deceleration rates of the head for carrying out read/write operations on the disk, wherein the acceleration/deceleration rates are established by the processing unit based on the determined volume as a function of time.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is provided with further computer implemented instructions to:

instruct the head to move at relatively high or maximum acceleration/deceleration rates concomitantly with respect to either or both of periods of relatively high volume and periods of maximum volume.

5. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a display device, wherein the processing unit is provided with further computer implemented instructions to:

transmit the audio and video components to a display device.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing unit and storage device are components of a content receiver.

7. A method for reducing a user's ability to perceive noise generated by a hard disk drive that comprises a head and a disk, the method comprising:

receiving a content stream comprising an audio component, a video component, volume data relating to the audio component, and timing data relating to the audio component;

analyzing, by a computing device, the volume data and timing data to determine a portion of the audio component having a volume exceeding a threshold;

identifying a plurality of audio segments of the audio component, wherein a plurality of the identified segments correspond to any or all of periods of silence, periods of relatively high volume, periods of relatively low volume, periods of maximum volume, and periods of minimum volume; and

transmitting instructions to the hard disk drive for carrying out read/write operations, wherein the instructions are based, at least in part, on the volume data and the timing data, the instructions instruct the head to cease movement for non-critical read/write operations during periods of relatively low volume or periods of silence and instruct the head to move at relatively low acceleration/deceleration rates or move at minimum acceleration/deceleration rates for critical read/write operations during periods of relatively low volume and periods of silence.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising determining, based at least in part on the volume data and the timing data, volume as a function of time for the audio component.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the method further comprises establishing acceleration/deceleration rates of the head for carrying out read/write operations on the disk, wherein the acceleration/deceleration rates are established by the processing unit based on the determined volume as a function of time.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the instructions further instruct the head to move at relatively high or move at maximum acceleration/deceleration rates concomitantly with respect to either or both of periods of relatively high volume and periods of maximum volume.

11. A method of storing content on a storage medium, the method comprising:

receiving a content stream comprising an audio component and a video component;

analyzing the content stream, utilizing the processing unit, to identify a portion of the audio component having a volume exceeding a threshold;

identifying a plurality of audio segments of the audio component, wherein a plurality of the identified segments correspond to any or all of periods of silence, periods of relatively high volume, periods of relatively low volume, periods of maximum volume, and periods of minimum volume; and

communicating instructions to hard disk drive for carrying out read/write operations concurrently with output of the identified portion of the audio component, the instructions instruct the head to cease movement for non-critical read/write operations during periods of relatively low volume or periods of silence and instruct the head to move at relatively low acceleration/deceleration rates or move at minimum acceleration/deceleration rates for critical read/write operations during periods of relatively low volume and periods of silence.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the content stream further comprises volume data and timing data related to the audio component, the method further comprising:

determining, based at least in part on the volume data and the timing data, volume as a function of time for the audio component.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by at least one computer processor, cause the at least one computer processor to perform reducing a user's ability to perceive noise generated by a hard disk drive that comprises a head and a disk, the reducing comprising:

receiving a content stream comprising an audio component, a video component, volume data relating to the audio component, and timing data relating to the audio component;

analyzing, by a computing device, the volume data and timing data to determine a portion of the audio component having a volume exceeding a threshold;

identifying a plurality of audio segments of the audio component, wherein a plurality of the identified segments correspond to any or all of periods of silence, periods of relatively high volume, periods of relatively low volume, periods of maximum volume, and periods of minimum volume; and

transmitting read/write instructions to the hard disk drive for carrying out read/write operations, wherein the read/write instructions are based, at least in part, on the volume data and the timing data, the read/write instructions instruct the head to cease movement for non-critical read/write operations during periods of relatively low volume or periods of silence and instruct the head to move at relatively low acceleration/deceleration rates or move at minimum acceleration/deceleration rates for critical read/write operations during periods of relatively low volume and periods of silence.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 wherein the reducing further comprises determining, based at least in part on the volume data and the timing data, volume as a function of time for the audio component.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 wherein the reducing further comprises establishing acceleration/deceleration rates of the head for carrying out read/write operations on the disk, wherein the acceleration/deceleration rates are established by the processing unit based on the determined volume as a function of time.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 wherein the read/write instructions further instruct the head to move at relatively high or maximum acceleration/deceleration rates concomitantly with respect to either or both of periods of relatively high volume and periods of maximum volume.