One or more detectors detect data from respective one or more analog sources operable to read from a storage medium. A buffer pool is between the decoders and two or more detectors. The decoders are simultaneously operable, via the buffer pool, to independently decode the data from the one or more detectors.

An embodiments of a contextual sound apparatus may include a sound identifier to identify a sound, a context identifier to identify a context, and an action identifier communicatively coupled to the sound identifier and the context identifier to identify an action based on the identified sound and the identified context. Other embodiments are disclosed and claimed.

An auditory augmentation system includes a database with a multiplicity of audio sections and associated metadata for digital audio files. Each audio section is mapped to a contextual theme, each contextual theme being mapped to an audio section having an entry point and an exit point. The entry and exit points support seamless splice or fade transitions between different audio sections. A processing system couples to the database along with an input; the input is in the form of temporally-varying events data that defines a temporal input. The processing system resolves the temporal input into one or more of a plurality of categorized contextual themes, correlates the categorized contextual themes with metadata associated with selected audio sections relevant to the one or more categorized contextual themes, and splices or fades together selected audio sections, and generates, as an output, a media product in which transitions between audio sections are seamless.

A server and website for receiving uploads of music and other media for commercial distribution performs a copyright check for ensuring that an uploaded music track is not in potential conflict with known rights of other entities. A database of audio fingerprints allows comparison of audio data against copyrighted tracks, and a metadata comparison employs fuzzy text matching and metadata comparisons to identify data attributes suggesting a similarity to known copyrighted material. Industry standard metadata, such as ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) identifiers, ID3 tags, and other relevant data such as titles and authorship, considering alternate and similar spellings as well. A comprehensive copyright check and evaluation ensures that possibly infringing media is filtered out and a distribution entity incurs little risk in accepting media uploaded via the media upload website.

According to one embodiment, a magnetic disk device including a disk, a head which reads data from the disk, a memory which records data, and a controller which includes a table, and records, at a first time point at which a read gate is open, a first area number of a first area of the table in which first information related to first data is recorded, a first serial number of the first data added when the read gate is open, and a first count value of the first data, in the first area.

A recording apparatus is provided. An adjustment unit executes adjustment processing for adjusting a delay amount of a timing signal. An input control unit executes input control to input continuously recording target data to be recorded to a storage medium, to a buffer memory. A recording control unit executes recording control for recording the recording target data held in the buffer memory to the storage medium, using an input/output unit configured to receive data from the storage medium according to the timing signal. A control unit performs control such that the input control is started before a recording start instruction and the recording control is started in response to the recording start instruction, and such that the adjustment processing is executed during execution of the input control and before the recording control is started in response to the recording start instruction.

A magnetic disk device includes a magnetic disk that includes a plurality of tracks, a magnetic head for reading data from the magnetic disk, and a controller. The controller begins controlling the magnetic head to move to a second track of the plurality of tracks from a first track of the plurality of tracks before decoding of a first track signal output from the magnetic head is completed, wherein the first track signal is output from the magnetic head while the magnetic head is positioned over the first track.

A media device and methods that identify playback states reachable from a current content playback state and identify a reachable state that is likely to occur, are disclosed. A memory associated with the media device may receive frames that enable a smooth transition between the playback state and the reachable state. The media device may receive frames that correspond to points in the content that are separated by an amount of time that is proportional to the playback rate of the likely state. The frames may be frames corresponding to an image that may be played back at the playback rate of the likely state.

A magnetic disk device includes a magnetic disk that includes a plurality of tracks, a magnetic head for reading data from the magnetic disk, and a controller. The controller begins controlling the magnetic head to move to a second track of the plurality of tracks from a first track of the plurality of tracks before decoding of a first track signal output from the magnetic head is completed, wherein the first track signal is output from the magnetic head while the magnetic head is positioned over the first track.

A shingled magnetic recording (SMR) hard disk drive (HDD) receives a read command for data associated with a range of logical block addresses (LBAs). In situations where a first portion of valid data associated with the range of LBAs is stored in an SMR region of the HDD and a second portion of valid data associated with the range of LBAs is stored in a non-SMR region of the HDD, the first portion is read from the SMR region in a single disk access and copied to a first buffer of the HDD, and the second portion is read from the non-SMR region in one or more disk accesses and copied to a second buffer of the HDD. The valid data associated with the range of LBAs stored in the second buffer are copied to the first buffer to be combined with valid data associated with the range of LBAs stored in the first buffer, and the combined valid data is then transferred to the host to complete execution of the read command.