Recording/reproducing apparatus having buffer memory for preventing discontinuity in recording/reproducing operations and method for same

A recording/reproducing method for reproducing, via a first storage means, data from a first area of a recording medium comprising a first area for reproduction only and a second recordable area, and for recording via a second storage means external input data in said second area, said method comprising the steps of:

• reproducing data from said first area;
• storing said reproduced data in the first storage means;
• reading the reproduced data from said first storage means at a predetermined rate;
• storing said external input data in said second storage means;
• determining whether a reproducing operation is active,
• determining an amount of data accumulated in said first storage means;
• determining an amount of data accumulated in said second storage means,
• writing said data accumulated in said second storage means to said second area of said disk if said data accumulated in said first storage means exceeds a first predetermined value and said data accumulated in said second storage means exceeds a second predetermined value.

A reproducing apparatus, comprising:

• recording medium exchange means capable of exchanging reproducing operations between first and second recording mediums;
• first storage means for storing data reproduced by said reproducing means from said first recording medium;
• second storage means for storing data reproduced by said reproducing means from said second recording medium;
• data input means;
• first memory control means for controlling said first storage means so as to store the reproduced data from said first recording medium at a first transmission speed, and write the data stored in said first storage means at a second transmission speed slower than said first transmission speed;
• second memory control means for controlling said second storage means so as to store the reproduced data from said second recording medium responsive to data received at said input means;
• and
• recording medium exchange control means for controlling said recording medium exchange means so as to move from said first recording medium to said second recording medium when an amount of data accumulated in said first storage means reaches a predetermined value, which predetermined value corresponds to an amount of data which would require a time to write greater than a time period required to exchange between the first and second recording medium.