Author Topic: Compact Disc Trivia  (Read 14564 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline meandean

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 466
  • Milliwatts: 13
  • It's about sight AND sound.
    • View Profile
Compact Disc Trivia
« on: November 30, 2009, 09:40:31 pm »
  Compact Discs have been around over 27 years. Here's some questions to test your knowlege (OK James,
give somebody else a chance to answer).

 1. Which came first- audio CD's or CD-ROM?

 2. Name the two companies that teamed up to create the CD.

 3. Name the title and artist of the first audio CD release.

 4. Opposite of vinyl, CD tracks start at the center and go out- this was because the final diameter
    of the medium had not yet been decided in the early prototype stage. A maximum diameter was later
    established based on a specific equipment size limitation- name the equipment.

 5. Early CD's had a maximum playlength approaching 74min- why was this important?

 6. Vinyl LP's spin at a rate of 33 1/3 rpm- what about CD's?

 7. CD's can accomodate up to 99 tracks, but there was also an optional feature within tracks, supported
    by many players up until the mid 90's- what was it?

 8. What is 'emphasis' as it applies to audio CD's?

 9. What's the difference between CD-R and CD-R Audio?
"Patience is for the dead."

Offline Fanny Pack

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 645
  • Milliwatts: -20
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Compact Disc Trivia
« Reply #1 on: November 30, 2009, 09:52:01 pm »
I don't know most of them but I'll guess.
1) audio
2) Sony was one I think.
3) I haved heard it before but forgot.
4) Computer floppy drive bay?
5) It was how long needed to fit a Beethoven album or something like that.
6) It varies depending on where it is but I dont know the range.
7) Don't know but as soon as you say it I will say OH YEA!
8) Don't know
9) Just the format of the data, I think. 

Offline James

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2130
  • Milliwatts: 47
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • LaserBoy !!!
Re: Compact Disc Trivia
« Reply #2 on: November 30, 2009, 10:01:39 pm »
I know some of the answers.... I think.

I have also heard that a credit-card style of reader was proposed that could read both sides of a flat rectangle that did not spin, but it was rejected because it was thought that people would not get the transition from vinyl records. In short it needed to spin and have a hole in the middle.

James.  :)
« Last Edit: November 30, 2009, 10:05:03 pm by James »
LaserBoy is Sofa King Cool!
But it will never be Alpha King Done!

Offline BlinkenLights

  • he's just this guy, ya know?
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 730
  • Milliwatts: 4
  • Gender: Male
  • 'The Messenger' by Will Cascio
    • View Profile
Re: Compact Disc Trivia
« Reply #3 on: November 30, 2009, 11:23:22 pm »
1 audio
2 philips and sony
3 the visitors by ABBA
4 dunno
5 to hold a recording of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony
6 depends.. it cad READ at 500rpm on the inside
7 James should know.. each track can have 100 indexes
8 High frequency boost
9 not alot but i know audio CDs can handle scratches because of how they are layed out (oversampling i think)

Offline Fanny Pack

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 645
  • Milliwatts: -20
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Compact Disc Trivia
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2009, 06:35:36 am »
You googled it.  I could have done that.

Offline meandean

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 466
  • Milliwatts: 13
  • It's about sight AND sound.
    • View Profile
Re: Compact Disc Trivia
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2009, 08:54:49 pm »
  Here are the answers:

 1. Which came first- audio CD's or CD-ROM?

      Audio CD's were first by several years. Early CD-ROMs had a protective case that could be
      inserted in the drive bay like a 3-1/2 floppy.

 2. Name the two companies that teamed up to create the CD.

      Sony and Philips (also known as Magnavox in the US).

 3. Name the title and artist of the first audio CD release.

      52nd Street by Billy Joel (a Sony claim).

 4. Opposite of vinyl, CD tracks start at the center and go out- this was because the final diameter
    of the medium had not yet been decided in the early prototype stage. A maximum diameter was later
    established based on a specific equipment size limitation- name the equipment.

      In-dash car stereo gear- early CD players were huge boat anchors, but designers planned for the future.

 5. Early CD's had a maximum playlength approaching 74min- why was this important?

      To deliver Beethoven's 9th Symphony uninterrupted, which averages 72min. 80min CD's are now the standard,
      but headroom was built in early on, so most players can handle the 80min discs just fine.

 6. Vinyl LP's spin at a rate of 33 1/3 rpm- what about CD's?

      The rpm varies- near the beginning (center of the disc) the speed is about 500rpm, and slows to about
      200 rpm near the edge; the idea is to maintain a uniform, optimized data density. One of the setbacks
      of vinyl is that the rpm is constant and signal in the inner grooves is packed tighter, making it more
      difficult for a stylus to track at the highest frequencies.

 7. CD's can accomodate up to 99 tracks, but there was also an optional feature within tracks, supported
    by many players up until the mid 90's- what was it?

      Indexing! This feature was designed for long audio tracks, often found in classical music. A symphonic
      movement, stored as one track can range from 10 to 20min- indexing allowed for one-touch cueing of
      individual melodies within a large track.

 8. What is 'emphasis' as it applies to audio CD's?

      Emphasis is an encode/decode noise reduction method that has been used in recording long before CD, it
      is also used in FM radio. Before recording, high frequencies are boosted (like cranking a treble control);
      a complimentary lowpass filter is used in the playback device to restore the tonal balance. Emphasis increases
      signal-to-noise ratio at high frequencies and significantly reduces background hiss.

      In early recordings, Denon (and maybe a few others) employed emphasis in CDs not for noise reduction, but over
      superstitious concerns that digital audio with its finite resolution might not be able to convey the most subtle
      details without a little help. Players have de-emphasis circuits that kick in automatically when needed. The
      problem is when you copy one of these discs- the emphasis flag is lost, resulting in a bright sounding copy.
      If you rip to wave, you get the same problem. 

 9. What's the difference between CD-R and CD-R Audio?

      A binary tag, and a price tag. On a computer, CD-R & CD-R Audio burn equally well, and the result works on most
      players. CD-R Audio discs are a bit more expensive, but are required by many stand-alone component CD recorders.
      A portion of the extra proceeds go to folks like Phil Collins, Madonna, and the rest of our friends in the recording
      industry... 
"Patience is for the dead."

Offline BlinkenLights

  • he's just this guy, ya know?
  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 730
  • Milliwatts: 4
  • Gender: Male
  • 'The Messenger' by Will Cascio
    • View Profile
Re: Compact Disc Trivia
« Reply #6 on: December 01, 2009, 09:29:59 pm »
You googled it.  I could have done that.

Nope.. i just have done alot of reading in the past. especially when i was writing my own firmware for them.

 

SMF spam blocked by CleanTalk
SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal