A recording medium on which data are recorded in a plurality of sectors, each sector being composed of a plurality of frames, one of said frames being a first frame, the recording medium comprising:
- a first synchronous pattern disposed at a first portion of each of the frames, the first synchronous pattern having a unique signal pattern that is non-existent in a predetermined modulation rule that is distinguishable from other signal patterns and being used for frame synchronization;
- and
- a second synchronous pattern disposed at the first frame of each sector and adjacent to the first synchronous pattern of the first frame, the second synchronous pattern representing a delimitation of the sector, being non-existent in the predetermined modulation rule and being a pattern common to all of the sectors on the recording medium, wherein the first synchronous pattern and the second synchronous pattern are used to generate a timing at which data is extracted from said recording medium.