What the hell is a broken record?

Post by **Beowulf** » 2002-12-12 06:02pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Vacuum tubes were replaced by the transistor in the 1960s, and were used in many electronics: such as TVs, radios, amplifiers, etc... They basically acted as an off/on, 0/1 switch.

Actually... they can be operated as an analog ampilfier. It doesn't have to be just on/off. It's just that these days everything's digital, so on/off is easiest. Also, the CMOS transistor used in most electronics these days doesn't use very much power when on or off, but uses quite a bit when inbetween.

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2002-12-12 06:12pm

I dread the day when somebody asks me, "What's a DVD?"

I'm already feeling old that some of the youngins don't know what a vinyl record.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2002-12-12 06:36pm

neoolong wrote:I dread the day when somebody asks me, "What's a DVD?"

I'm already feeling old that some of the youngins don't know what a vinyl record.

I have a feeling that DVDs (or at least their physical format) will be around for a long time.

I wonder how many of these damn kids even know what a Laser Disk is...

Zaku-chan · Post by **Zaku-chan** » 2002-12-12 06:40pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:I wonder how many of these damn kids even know what a Laser Disk is...

I do! I never had one, but a video store a short walk from a former home of mine had a section with Laser Disk rentals. I remember I watched one playing in the store, it was pretty sweet.

Post by **Colonel Olrik** » 2002-12-12 06:40pm

HemlockGrey wrote:Vinyl records?

<THWAP>

Here you go. That's for making me feel really old.

Post by **Beowulf** » 2002-12-12 07:17pm

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:
neoolong wrote:I dread the day when somebody asks me, "What's a DVD?"

I'm already feeling old that some of the youngins don't know what a vinyl record.
I have a feeling that DVDs (or at least their physical format) will be around for a long time.

I wonder how many of these damn kids even know what a Laser Disk is...

I do! Used to have a LD player too...

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2002-12-12 07:19pm

My music teacher used to play them, but I never quite understood what they were. What is a laserdisk?

Zaku-chan · Post by **Zaku-chan** » 2002-12-12 07:21pm

The forerunner to the CD and DVD, if I'm correct.

Post by **Dalton** » 2002-12-12 07:23pm

A laserdisc is basically a CD the size of a vinyl record. They are indeed early precursors to CD and DVD...in fact, I believe Phil Skayhan has Star Wars on LD.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2002-12-12 07:37pm

I remember some rich neighbors had a LD player some years ago... along with a 20-some-foot high celing and a bitching surround sound system.

"Legend" was never cooler than when they had it in their LD player.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2002-12-12 08:28pm

Just to clarify: I have never owned a LD player.

One major difference between LDs and CDs/DVDs is that while the latter are digital, LDs are analog.

Basically, a LD is kinda like a very high quality VHS tape in disk form.

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi · Post by **Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi** » 2002-12-12 08:40pm

Why did the LD bcome obselete? I saw a few, and it seems that they would be very suspectable to scratching. Is that one of the reasons?

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2002-12-12 08:47pm

Laser Disks didn't really become obsolete. It was mainly that they never became very popular: they were always more of a niche product that catered to film buffs.

I think it was pretty much due to three reasons:

1. Too big: LDs were kinda akward to use, because of their size. Their weight also caused some player moters to strain over time.

2. Too expensive: Because LDs can only fit 30/45 (one of those) minutes of video per side, many films came on two disks. A lot of LD titles cost somewhere between $40-$60, versus under $25 for a VHS.

3. Too obscure: Again, LDs were a film buff's dream, and started the trend of including bonus materials such as commentary tracks, documentaries, and galleries. Most of the buying public really didn't care for this kind of stuff, though.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2002-12-12 09:17pm

Dalton wrote:A laserdisc is basically a CD the size of a vinyl record. They are indeed early precursors to CD and DVD...in fact, I believe Phil Skayhan has Star Wars on LD.

LDs, OTOH, are analog mediums (not digital - sounds wierd, huh?).

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2002-12-12 09:21pm

Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi wrote:Why did the LD bcome obselete? I saw a few, and it seems that they would be very suspectable to scratching. Is that one of the reasons?

If you're careful it isn't a problem. They do wear out though.

Post by **Dalton** » 2002-12-12 09:22pm

phongn wrote:
Dalton wrote:A laserdisc is basically a CD the size of a vinyl record. They are indeed early precursors to CD and DVD...in fact, I believe Phil Skayhan has Star Wars on LD.
LDs, OTOH, are analog mediums (not digital - sounds wierd, huh?).

You could say that. I guess the vinyl analogy works better here...how do they work? I saw that CDs use surface reflectivity to interpret them as 1 and 0...

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2002-12-12 10:01pm

LDs are still quite popular in Asia.

Post by **Zaia** » 2002-12-13 02:52am

Wow, I can't believe you didn't know about the origins of that saying...*scratches head* Am I really that old?

Oh, and Kelly, I had an 8-track player when I was a kid too. My uncle gave it to me when he upgraded to a record player, and he gave me 4 or 5 8-tracks to go along with it. They all sucked (the music, I mean), but I thought I was the coolest person in school because I had a music-playing machine that no one else had.

Most of them fell for it too, bwahahaha. God, I was such a dork.

Kelly Antilles · Post by **Kelly Antilles** » 2002-12-14 10:23am

I saw this and thought it was just too appropriate to pass up.

salm · Post by **salm** » 2002-12-14 10:55am

aaah, records. nostalgia. they´re so much better than cds. i´ve still got a record player and i still buy records. you still get punk/oi!/ska on vinyl. it´s so much cheaper, too.

cd = 16 Euro
vinyl = 8 Euro

does anybody remember 8 inch floppy disks? or the revolutionary double sided double density floppies?

Kelly Antilles · Post by **Kelly Antilles** » 2002-12-14 11:00am

salm wrote:aaah, records. nostalgia. they´re so much better than cds. i´ve still got a record player and i still buy records. you still get punk/oi!/ska on vinyl. it´s so much cheaper, too.

cd = 16 Euro
vinyl = 8 Euro

does anybody remember 8 inch floppy disks? or the revolutionary double sided double density floppies?

I saw an 8" just the other day. Can you believe we STILL have customers who won't give up their S/36?

Kelly Antilles · Post by **Kelly Antilles** » 2002-12-14 11:03am

Dalton wrote:A laserdisc is basically a CD the size of a vinyl record. They are indeed early precursors to CD and DVD...in fact, I believe Phil Skayhan has Star Wars on LD.

I have video tapes of the LD versions of the OT as well as the Indy trilogy.

DPDarkPrimus · Post by **DPDarkPrimus** » 2002-12-14 11:04am

I remember the days that 5 1/4 was the smallest a floppy could be, and computer screens were black and green.

salm · Post by **salm** » 2002-12-14 11:08am

i still remember the datasettes on the schneider computer. a game took about 10 to 15 minutes to load.