Method and apparatus for reproducing an information signal recorded on a rotary recording medium at a high speed

A method of reproducing a video signal containing a vertical blanking interval recorded on a rotary recording medium at a high reproducing speed by moving reproducing means for reproducing the signal across a track on the rotary recording medium along which the signal is recorded one track pitch by one track pitch one or a plurality of times responsive to a data stored in memory means indicating a number of times the reproducing means is to be moved across the track during one revolution of the rotary recording medium, said reproducing means being moved responsive to a driving signal, said method comprising the steps of:

• storing a relation between a desired high reproducing speed and the corresponding number of times the reproducing means is to be moved across the track one track pitch by one track pitch in the memory means in a form of a table;
• reading out the number of times the reproducing means is to be moved across the track one track pitch by one track pitch from said memory means responsive to a high speed reproducing command signal commanding the desired high reproducing speed and a desired reproducing direction;
• discriminating the desired reproducing direction responsive to the high speed reproducing command signal whether the desired reproducing direction is a forward direction or a backward direction;
• determining a timing of the driving signal to be produced responsive to the desired high reproducing speed and direction;
• and
• producing the driving signal according to said timing for a plurality of times in correspondence with said number of times the reproducing means is to be moved to cause desired movement of the reproducing means which provides said desired reproducing speed in said desired reproducing direction, wherein said step of determining the timing determines the timing of said plurality of driving signals such that the driving signals are produced in a relatively confined time interval including the vertical blanking interval with a timing that a vertical synchronizing signal is included between a first driving signal and a second driving signal produced subsequently to the first driving signal, and said interval between the first and second driving signals is set longer than those corresponding intervals between the driving signals produced subsequently to the first driving signal.