Test disc and drive verification method

Abstract

In a test disc, data (test data) is recorded in such a manner as to fill an entirety of a data region and, next to this test data, border-out data is recorded which contains information indicating that recording is prohibited. By determining whether the data can be played back appropriately from a position in the vicinity of an outer periphery of the disc where playback characteristics are apt to be unstable, whether the data can be played back appropriately from all of the regions is verified. Also, by determining whether it is possible to recognize that test disc is capable of recording, it is verified whether the border-out data can be smoothly acquired from the position in the vicinity of the outer periphery of the disc where playback characteristics are apt to be unstable.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A test disc used in operation verification of an optical disc apparatus for a recordable optical disc, said test disc comprising:
 a recording layer to which a data format of the recordable optical disc is applied;   a burst cutting region which is arranged at an innermost periphery of the test disc and retains information by intermittently eliminating the recording layer along a circumference direction of the disc; and   a system lead-in region which is arranged between said burst cutting region and an user data region and which retains information by arranging a pit string along a spiral track, wherein   in said recording layer, test data is recorded in such a manner so as to fill up an entirety of said user data region, and next to the test data, border-out is recorded, and   the border-out contains information indicating recording is prohibited.   
     
     
         22 . The test disc according to  claim 21 , wherein the test disc is formed by recording said test data and said border-out said close in a recordable blank optical disc. 
     
     
         23 . The test disc according to  claim 22 , wherein:
 laser power is set by performing a trial writing by such a number of times as not to exceed a prescribed upper-limit number of times Ns, to record said test data and said border-out in said recordable blank optical disc by using the thus set laser power; and   even in a case where a total number of times of performing trial writing when setting said laser power is yet to reach said upper-limit number of times Ns, information for managing a recording condition is configured and recorded by assuming that said total number of times of performing trial writing is Ns.   
     
     
         24 . A drive verification method for verifying operations of an optical disc apparatus for a recordable optical disc by using a test disc, wherein:
 in said test disc, test data is recorded in such a manner as to fill up an entirety of a user data region, and next to the test data, border-out is recorded, and the border-out contains information indicating further recording is prohibited; and   the drive verification method comprises the following steps:   a step for verifying whether the optical disc apparatus being verification target can play back test data from the test disc appropriately, and   a step for verifying the playback operations of the optical disc apparatus for the recordable optical disc by determining whether the border-out can be properly recognized, wherein   whether said border-out can be recognized appropriately is determined on the basis of whether the optical disc apparatus can recognize appropriately that said border-out contains the information indicating that recording is prohibited.   the playback operations of the optical disc apparatus being verification target are verified by determining whether the optical disc apparatus can play back the test data appropriately from the test disc and whether it can recognize said close data appropriately.   
     
     
         25 . The drive verification method according to  claim 24 , wherein whether said test data can be played back appropriately is determined by playing back said test data in a predetermined range in a vicinity of the last recorded position and cross-checking the played-back test data and a test data which should have been recorded in the test disc in order to determine whether they agree. 
     
     
         26 . The drive verification method according to  claim 24 , wherein:
 in an innermost periphery of said test disc, a burst cutting region is arranged which retains information by intermittently eliminating a recording layer in a circumference direction of the disc; and   the drive verification method further comprises a step that the playback operations of the optical disc apparatus being verification target are verified by determining whether the optical disc apparatus can appropriately play back information recorded in said burst cutting region from the test disc.   
     
     
         27 . The drive verification method according to  claim 24 , wherein:
 between said burst cutting region and said user data region in said test disc, a system lead-in region is arranged which retains information by arranging a pit string along a spiral tack; and   the drive verification method further comprises a step for verifying the playback operations of the optical disc apparatus being verification target by determining whether the optical disc apparatus can appropriately play back information recorded in said system lead-in region from the test disc.   
     
     
         28 . A drive verification method for verifying operations of an optical disc apparatus comprises the following steps:
 a step for recording data lead-in data, user data, border data, terminator data, and data lead-out data are in a recordable blank optical disc by using the optical disc apparatus being verification target; and   a step for verifying recording operations of the optical disc apparatus by determining, by using an evaluation apparatus, whether the data lead-in data, the user data, the border data, the terminator data, and the data lead-out data can be appropriately played back from the recordable optical disc having been recorded by the optical disc apparatus.   
     
     
         29 . The drive verification method according to  claim 28  comprises a step for verifying the recording operations of the optical disc apparatus by determining whether data sizes of said border data and said terminator data recognized by the evaluation apparatus is appropriate.