Query: What is a DVD?

[emet_sulk]

Type: Text
Sender ID: emet-sulk (Emet-Selch)
To: Public
Subject: Query: What is a DVD?
Warnings: None

As the title states, I would like to understand what exactly a 'dvd' is. I'm led to understand that it is similar to a vinyl record but attempts to clarify further (particularly on the material used and how it records data) were...futile.

If someone with a greater understanding of the technology could enlighten me, I would very much appreciate it.

Comments

text | un: astudyinviolet

[astudyinviolet]

What is a vinyl record?

[ Asks someone still using wax cylinders back home, and polyvinyl chloride has no commercial application yet. ]

[emet_sulk]

A round disc made of a type of polymer rimmed by tiny punctures, almost invisible to the naked eye. Do you have wax cylinders in your world or has your technology yet to progress that far?

[ Thankfully Emet-Selch has seen a great span of technological advancement. ]

[astudyinviolet]

[ Someday, there will be a technology that Sherlock knows about and not others. Someday... ]

Yes, we have wax cylinders. I've used them before.

[emet_sulk]

Then imagine a flat, round disc made of much the same material but somewhat sturdier. The principle is the same but the complexity is far greater. They can be used to record, say, a violin performance in reasonable clarity.

[astudyinviolet]

[ Thank God for the helpful description. He doesn't feel as lost now. ]

Those would be easier to store than the wax cylinders. And this "dvd" is a technology step beyond that?

[emet_sulk]

So it seems. The means by which they are made differ from what I am familiar with but the concept is near identical.

If I have the chance to, I will gladly demonstrate the technology to you if you like. But first I will need to recreate it.

[astudyinviolet]

Should I hear of anything, I will direct that information to you. I am curious to know what this technology is like as well.

[emet_sulk]

I believe you will quite like it, being a man of music as you are. Imagine having a plethora of songs on hand to which you can listen, without the need to call upon a player.

[astudyinviolet]

That would be convenient, but there will always be a place for a live performance.

[emet_sulk]

Naturally. There is no replicating the acoustics of an orchestra performing in some grand hall.

Time permitting, I will see if I can recreate a sample to demonstrate what the technology is like. It is looking to be a more complicated endeavour than I first thought.

[astudyinviolet]

May your endeavors bear fruit.

[telepathicignorance]

You've got sort of the right idea. It's a lot more advanced and fragile than a vinyl record though.

They're usually used to store moving pictures instead of music. If someone wants to watch movies it'd probably be better to do old style film and projector stuff.

[emet_sulk]

Unfortunately the person in question is extremely insistent I find a way to play their discs.

Do you know aught about how, exactly, they record data? Even the method and material may help me identify the level of technology they are referencing.

[telepathicignorance]

The pictures are encoded into a series of microscopic pits on the DVD disc and you need a laser to read them. Sort of like vinyl but way, way smaller.

Pretty sure you need a device capable of assembling the data back into pictures for display too.

[emet_sulk]

I suspected as much per the device. Designing the laser will be troublesome.

[ He doesn't think there are lasers that fine in this world let alone one with the precision to read off a disc smaller even than a vinyl record. Ugh, more work. Maybe he should just give up... ]

It seems I really will need a sample of that boy's native media.

[telepathicignorance]

Probably. It might be easier to just find a way to get a DVD player from his homeworld and make a power source and screen for it.

(Since they can get items from their worlds...)

[emet_sulk]

Machines break, frequently and often. What will the boy do if his hardware fails? He will be left with a useless piece of scrap.

[telepathicignorance]

Maybe, but that could also be the case if the one you make breaks and another can't be easily made.

[emet_sulk]

Aye, but you see: if I build the machine myself, I will know how to fix it. Or make another.

[telepathicignorance]

That requires you or someone you've taught to still be around to fix it.

(They've nearly died or been imprisoned or had something else horrible happen to them... a lot. It's worse than back when they ran with the Rangers.

Even if he's alive, whose to say he won't have the memory of how to build it erased?)

[emet_sulk]

There is such a thing as leaving written instructions. I'm not so thoughtless.

[telepathicignorance]

Not a lot of people smart enough to follow written instructions.

(Now they're just being an ass because they think they're funny.

People are, as a whole, really fucking stupid. They've seen the way even something simple like "do not put metal in the microwave" can be ignored because "it's a spoon" as though somehow the designation as a piece of silverware changes the material.)

[emet_sulk]

Then that is their problem, not mine.

[ Emet-Selch has a very low threshold for bullshit tolerance unfortunately. ]

[telepathicignorance]

Fair enough.

Good luck with figuring out how to make DVDs work. You're going to need it.

text: un;catsgothistongue

[catsgothistongue]

[Fun fact: DVDs were invented in 1995, and released in Japan in 1996. So Ranma... doesn't actually know what those are since he's from a year behind. But with the context, i.e. the similarity to vinyl records, he's assuming Emet-Selch's talking about CDs or LaserDiscs.]

Don't know much about the inner workings that goes into making them, but I do know they're supposed to be made out of some kind of plastic and metal. From what I understand, the discs have tiny markings engraved in them that if you run a light or laser through them, it plays whatever movie's stored on it. That's about all I know on them, you'll have to ask someone better suited in that stuff.

[Wasn't like they stumbled upon discs and a functioning CD player frequently during his time fending in the wilderness.]

[emet_sulk]

I see. That may be troublesome to replicate with the current level of technology here.

If it is read through a medium of light then glass or crystal should suffice as a substitute however.

[foolprove]

it's magic.

[emet_sulk]

I know very well 'tis not in this case.

Do not think me a gullible fool simply because I am unfamiliar with the terminology.

[foolprove]

nah, i don't know you enough to think you're a fool.

i just have whimsy in my heart for the more interesting things in life, like cds playing music somehow.

apologies have such a hard time focusing sometimes @_@

[emet_sulk]

I make no promises. I must focus on the development of the ship engine before I can turn my energies towards this vanity project.

But I would welcome a physical sample of this disc you and the other boy seem to be familiar with. I can hardly design a machine to read something I have never laid eyes upon.

text / un: general-affairs

[general_affairs]

Ranma up there's about as close of an explanation as you're gonna find unless you know anyone else around here that's good with computers.

You're gonna need a computer to convert those signals into images and sounds, cause it's all stored as a bunch of 1s and 0s.

[emet_sulk]

[ Reno, you are a wonderful, helpful man. ]

A binary system, is it? That is certainly helpful. The task ahead remains daunting but I have a better grasp of where and how to start later.

[ Why, oh why, did he agree to this again...? ]

That said, I believe the issue will be less translating binary into sound and image and more creating something able to read in minuscule detail in the first place.

[general_affairs]

[ While Emet-Selch was fun to pester and annoy, it was just for shits and giggles. He'd still come through for the guy's questions until he had a reason not to! ]

You got it.

I think most of them used quartz crystals for a lens, but no idea where it went after the laser reading bit.

I dunno how good you are with computers, but if you need to take a look at the motherboard in my phone, I can crack it open for you next time we're at the ship. And I got your back if you need a power source.

[emet_sulk]

My strengths lie more in magic than in technology, but I have some understanding due to repeated familiarity.

[ It's hard not to pick up some knowledge when you've lived for as long as he has and seen what he's seen. ]

I suppose examining your phone will do no harm. What do you mean by a power source though?

[ As in a way to power his currently-hypothetical CD/DVD player?? ]

[general_affairs]

Can't say I'd know either way about that one, materia seems pretty straight forward to me.

Stuff like phones and computers need electricity to do anything. I can charge stuff up with my mag rod as long as you've got the right gauge wires for it. Otherwise, you're risking the whole thing going up in flames.

[emet_sulk]

Oh, I see. You're referring to when I build the thing, aren't you?

I'm less concerned with being able to provide it immediate power and more concerned by the lack of infrastructure to keep it functioning. These sorts of things normally develop hand in hand but I doubt the boy is willing to wait a decade or so for this world to catch up.

Which means I will have to also construct a generator for his damn disc reader. As if I don't have enough to do already.

[general_affairs]

So who's asking you to read a DVD, and why?

Actually, if you built something to read and convert the binary, and cables to transmit the data to a USB port or aux jack, you could probably cheat and use a shellphone or maybe their phone to watch it on and skip a step or two.

2/2

[general_affairs]

Fuck it, I'll show you what I'm talking about next time we're on the ship. Just ask me to take a look at my phone.

Can't Turo help with the hardware though? He's familiar with tech too. C'mon, take it from a pro. Work smart, not hard. ;)

[emet_sulk]

[ What is this 'asking for help' thou speakest of? Okay no, what Reno says is sensible, but this is a personal project and Emet-Selch is a prideful man. He's grown too used to working alone.

He also doesn't want to admit he doesn't know what a USB is. Although he would if it was described. ]

I don't want to bother the man when he has his own projects. This is a selfish endeavour.

But I will take you up on your offer to examine your phone.

[general_affairs]

What, is Turo the kinda guy that doesn't know how to say no or something? If you get one made though, let me know and I'll pester old don-don about calling up a crew-wide movie night.

Can do. I'll drop in next time you guys swing by to pick me up.

[emet_sulk]

Well now, I suppose I have no choice but to commit to this venture once this engine is complete.

Noted. I look forward to our meeting.