Apparatus for measuring characteristics of optical disc systems and method

A method of measuring characteristics of an optical pickup, said optical pickup including at least one actuator, a reproducing drive for driving said at least one actuator, and a photoelectric conversion section having a plurality of photo detectors for converting light received by said optical pickup into electrical signals, said method comprising the steps of:

• simultaneously converting into digital data said electrical signals output directly from said photo detectors;
• storing said digital data in a memory;
• determining characteristics of said optical pickup by implementing programs in a processor which performs calculations on said digital data, said processor including a memory for storing said programs;
• receiving said characteristics from said processor at a servo control circuit;
• and
• controlling said reproducing drive according to at least one of said characteristics.

An optical disk recording/reproducing system comprising:

• an optical pickup including at least one actuator, a reproducing drive for driving said at least one actuator, and a photoelectric conversion section having a plurality of photo detectors for converting light received by said optical pickup;
• an analog to digital converter for simultaneously converting into digital data electrical signals output directly from said photo detectors;
• a memory for storing said digital data;
• a processor for determining characteristics of said optical pickup by implementing programs which perform calculations on said digital data, said processor including a memory for storing said programs;
• and
• a servo control circuit for receiving said characteristics from said processor, and for controlling said reproducing drive according to at least one of said characteristics.