RECORDING AND REPRODUCING METHOD OF OPTICAL TAPE AND ITS DEVICE

PURPOSE:To obtain a small-sized sufficient recording capacity, and to execute high speed access by running an endless optical recording medium in the shape of a belt, and executing recording or reproduction. CONSTITUTION:Recording zones 21-23 are provided in parallel to a running direction (direction as indicated with an arrow A) of an endless tape 11, an optical spot scans the recording zone in the direction as indicated with an arrow B orthogonal to the direction as indicated with an arrow A, a pit string P is recorded successively at the time of recording, and information is read from the recorded pit string P at the time of reproduction. When the information is recorded or reproduced on the whole of one recording zone, the optical spot is shifted to the adjacent recording zone and the same recording or reproducing operation is executed. By executing the recording or reproduction in this way, the recording or reproducing operation can be executed with high density and at a sufficiently high speed without converting a running speed of the endless tape 11 to a high speed.