Digital signal recording and reproducing apparatus and recording medium

A digital signal recording and reproducing apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of rotatable first heads;
• first means for selecting second heads from among the first heads, and recording a digital signal containing an information signal on a recording medium via the second heads while sequentially forming slant tracks on the recording medium;
• second means for selecting third heads from among the first heads, and reproducing the digital signal from the recording medium via the third heads;
• a reproduced signal processing circuit for processing the digital signal reproduced by the second means at a changeable data processing rate to recover the information signal from the digital signal reproduced by the second means;
• third means for, during the recording by the first means, setting a rotational speed of the first heads, a feed speed of the recording medium, a data rate of the according, and a number of the second heads to changeable values respectively;
• fourth means for allowing the first means to record the digital signal and a mode signal representative of the values set by the third means on the slant tracks on the recording medium at approximately a predetermined constant recording wavelength;
• fifth means for, at a start of the reproducing by the second means, setting the rotational speed of the first heads, the feed speed of the recording medium, the data processing rate, and a number of the third heads to predetermined initial values respectively;
• sixth means for detecting the mode signal in the digital signal reproduced by the second means;
• seventh means for, after the start of the reproducing by the second means, substantially equalizing the rotational speed of the first heads, the feed speed of the recording medium, and the number of the third heads to the respective corresponding values represented by the mode signal detected by the sixth means;
• and
• eighth means for, after the start of the reproducing by the second means, controlling the data processing rate at a value substantially corresponding to the value of the data rate of the recording which is represented by the mode signal detected by the sixth means.