dcj%jacksun@Sun.COM (Donald Clark Jackson) (01/28/88)
OK,
Lets say I want to play around with interactive video discs.
Obviously, I have a computer. Now I need a video disc player.
0) Which is the best video disc player to buy?
1) Are there any consumer video disc players that can
be controlled by computer?
2) Are there any 'professional' video disc players that
can play 5" CD-V discs?
3) RS-232 control is preferable to HP-IB control (for me),
are there any advantages of one over the other (aside from cost?)
4) After I get a video disc player, and hack up some code to
control it from my computer, what are some good discs to
buy?
If you don't want to post, you can send me mail, but
I don't remember seeing these issues discussed here before,
and its not like there is much volume in this newsgroup....
Don Jackson
dcj@sun.comns@CAT.CMU.EDU (Nicholas Spies) (01/29/88)
In article <40268@sun.uucp> dcj%jacksun@Sun.COM (Donald Clark Jackson) writes: >OK, > >Lets say I want to play around with interactive video discs. >Obviously, I have a computer. Now I need a video disc player. > > 0) Which is the best video disc player to buy? The Pioneer 6000 series are most widely used (I think) by far, and thus present fewest difficulties with software packages. The Sony 2000 is somewhat easier to program and can be upgraded in several steps, depending on what you need. > > 1) Are there any consumer video disc players that can > be controlled by computer? ?? > > 2) Are there any 'professional' video disc players that > can play 5" CD-V discs? > ?? > 3) RS-232 control is preferable to HP-IB control (for me), > are there any advantages of one over the other (aside from cost?) Using IEEE interface permits recovering data stored in the video (I think). > > 4) After I get a video disc player, and hack up some code to > control it from my computer, what are some good discs to > buy? > National Gallery of Art is an attractive trial disc. A good source of info is the Videodisc Group at Nebraska Educational Television (Lincoln). Sorry I don't have address. -- Nicholas Spies ns@cat.cmu.edu.arpa Center for Design of Educational Computing Carnegie Mellon University -- Nicholas Spies ns@cat.cmu.edu.arpa Center for Design of Educational Computing Carnegie Mellon University
martin@lakesys.UUCP (Martin Wiedmeyer) (01/30/88)
I too would like to find out what hardware works out with home computers. This marketing strategy of the manufacturers to lead the consumer to believe thier laser disk reading mech can do only one function is pretty bogus, I believe. I believe Pioneer already has a mech on the market (in Japan at least) will read CD ROM, CD music, & Laser Movie disks (12"). yow.... -- | Marty Wiedmeyer | | Lake Systems, Milwaukee, WI | | UUCP: {ihnp4,uwvax}!uwmcsd1!lakesys!martin | | Disclaimer: I take the heat for my own (mis)statements..... |
mark@cygnet.CYGNETSYSTEMS (Mark Quattrocchi) (02/02/88)
In article <40268@sun.uucp> dcj%jacksun@Sun.COM (Donald Clark Jackson) writes: >OK, > >Lets say I want to play around with interactive video discs. >Obviously, I have a computer. Now I need a video disc player. > > 0) Which is the best video disc player to buy? > > 1) Are there any consumer video disc players that can > be controlled by computer? > > 2) Are there any 'professional' video disc players that > can play 5" CD-V discs? > > 3) RS-232 control is preferable to HP-IB control (for me), > are there any advantages of one over the other (aside from cost?) > > 4) After I get a video disc player, and hack up some code to > control it from my computer, what are some good discs to > buy? I currently have a 909 from Pioneer (consumer version) which can play all three sizes of discs. It does have a computer interface however I don't know what type it is. If you want an industrial version you might try a LDV1100. This unit will only play 12" CAV format but is a heavy duty machine and can take a beating. The interface for this unit is very simple with an 8 bit data bus for sending commands and receiving status. The major advantage of the industrial version is a faster seek time and automatic blanking during seeks. If you are interested I can tell you where to call to get manuals for the computer interface for any of Pioneers players.
rosenz@cg-atla.UUCP (Elizabeth Rosenzweig X5537) (02/03/88)
I have a question for this newsgroup.
I am interested in videodisc authoring systems. I know of only one
that exists in the world and it is not for sale. Do y'all know of
videodisc authoring systems that are available for public use
(i.e. purchase, public domain, etc.).
Any information that you have would be helpful since I know very little
and want to learn.
Please e-mail or post if you think it interesting to others.
Thank you in advance.
____________________________
Elizabeth Rosenzweig Kinchen
UUCP: {ulowell, decvax, ihnp4}!cg-atla!rosenz
SNAIL MAIL:
COMPUGRAPHIC CORP.
200 BALLARDVALE ST
WILMINGTON, MA. 01887naughton@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Patrick Naughton) (02/04/88)
[Don Jackson writes:] > 0) Which is the best video disc player to buy? Do you mean which is the "top-of-the-line"? or the best for your application? The level of functionality of the player required is directly dependant on the kind of interaction response time your system requires. > 1) Are there any consumer video disc players that can > be controlled by computer? Generally, consumer, (read: low-priced) players are too slow for commercial applications. Also the only computer control available is via the remote control jack on the player. Limited control, as is found on the RCU's is available through a 5 pin DIN or a 24 pin amphenol connector. > 2) Are there any 'professional' video disc players that > can play 5" CD-V discs? I am not familiar with the CD-V format disks... (other than the general impression that they offer limited playing time for the $$'s). > 3) RS-232 control is preferable to HP-IB control (for me), > are there any advantages of one over the other (aside from cost?) RS-232 control is generally faster and more powerful, but it usually costs more and ties up one of the PC's COM: ports... > 4) After I get a video disc player, and hack up some code to > control it from my computer, what are some good discs to > buy? Again, this is application specific. I'd say for simple hacking around, Any disk, (i.e. Mary Poppins..8-) would suffice. Be prepared for lots of hacking around with the manual in hand, (that is if you can get the manual) to get the correct sequence of bytes to make the player do what you want. Also, you will require extra hardware to mix graphics and video onscreen at the same time. There is a company called U.S.Video who sells overlay hardware, (for the EGA) and the software device drivers to communicate easily with most of the popular laser disc players. U. S. Video Inc. 900 Winderley Place Suite 140 Maitland, Florida 32751 (305) 875-0800 (if no reply / redirection there, I believe they may have relocated... sorry, no phone number, 555-1212 should get it tho') 62 Southfield Ave Stamford, CT 06902 Ask for David Medin. Patrick J. Naughton 23 Pleasant Street, #3 Potsdam, NY 13676 (naughton@sun.soe.clarkson.edu) p.s. Is this for a project at Sun? (Possibly using the X11 video protocall extension?)
mark@cygnet.CYGNETSYSTEMS (Mark Quattrocchi) (02/10/88)
In article <367@sun.soe.clarkson.edu> naughton@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Patrick Naughton) writes: > >[Don Jackson writes:] > >> 4) After I get a video disc player, and hack up some code to >> control it from my computer, what are some good discs to >> buy? > > Again, this is application specific. I'd say for simple > hacking around, Any disk, (i.e. Mary Poppins..8-) would suffice. > For interactive use make sure you buy disks that are recorded in CAV mode. This will allow maximum usage of special effects.
warner@scubed.UUCP (Ken Warner) (02/16/88)
[food] Caution: Stupid Question Follows Is there a format for interactive videodiscs that is the same as the format for a WORM disk that could be used for archiving files and data? My goal is to find one drive that could be used for both.