A recording and reproducing apparatus includes a light source to emit a laser beam, an information light beam irradiation unit to irradiate a medium with an information light beam, a reference light beam irradiation unit to irradiate the medium with a reference light beam so as to form a specific speckle pattern on the medium. The reference light beam irradiation unit comprises a diffusion board provided in the way of a light path through which the laser beam is passed and generating the reference light beam, a rotation controller to rotate the diffusion board, and an identification information detector to detect identification information previously formed on a surface of the diffusion board. The diffusion board comprises a plurality of encode storage regions in which different identification information is formed and a plurality of diffusion pattern generation regions specified by the identification information. A position of the diffusion board is controlled based on the detected identification information such that a desired diffusion pattern generation region comes to a position through which the laser beam is passed while the laser beam is outputted.