High density analog recording using write symbols having distinguishable readout waveforms

A method of recording data on a recording medium comprising:

• dividing the data into N-bit segments, where N is an integer greater than 1;
• mapping the data to a set of write symbols comprising 2N distinct write symbols, wherein each write symbol represents a possible N-bit segment of the data and wherein the set of write symbols is defined by:
• defining a set of variable write parameters;
• generating a plurality of candidate write symbols that specify different values for the variable write parameters;
• generating a plurality of readout waveforms in response to marks produced by the plurality of candidate write symbols;
• analyzing the readout waveforms produced by the marks to determine a set of readout waveforms that match a read/write channel that includes the recording medium;
• and
• selecting selected ones of the plurality of candidate write symbols that correspond to the readout waveforms that match the read/write channel that includes the recording medium to be included in the set of write symbols;
• and
• writing the data to the medium using the set of write symbols, wherein a cross correlation coefficient is calculated to recover the data.