Importance

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Abstract

The present invention provides a method and system for providing a header search in a data read from an optical medium. The method includes opening a search window with a size greater than one sector; finding at least one valid header within the search window; and locating a target sector based upon the at least one valid header. The size of the window is programmable. Optionally, more than one valid header can be required to be found before they are used as the reference, for the purpose of increasing the reliability of the reference. The number of required valid headers is also programmable. Buffering of the data then begins at the target sector found based on the reference. The header of this target sector is then checked for validity. If the header is not the target, then the header search may be restarted without the need to redo the data read. The header search scheme is applicable for multiple optical data formats. By using a search window of a programmable size and the power of ECC correction in the header search, the reliability of the search is significantly increased, the amount of reading redo is decreased, the throughput of the data is improved, and the same logic may be used for multiple data formats without intervention from the controller's firmware. This scheme provides an additional ability to continually validate the headers of the buffered data. This additional feature increases the reliability of the read data and saves time.

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First Claim