Patent attributes
In an optical disk apparatus, the polarity of synchronization information is adaptively set to thereby improve the quality of data recording and reproduction. When inserting and recording synchronization information, an encoder of an optical disk apparatus temporarily sets the polarity of the synchronization information to either a mark or a space in accordance with a predetermined rule. A DSV which is obtained if the synchronization information is to be recorded with the polarity which has been temporarily set is computed. If the DSV which is computed is equal to or smaller than a predetermined limit value, the polarity which has been temporarily set is accepted and the synchronization information is actually recorded with the polarity. If the DSV which is computed exceeds the limit value, on the other hand, the polarity which has been temporarily set is not adopted, and the synchronization information is actually recorded with a polarity which is different from the polarity.
