A number of folks will probably note that aspects of this Idea have been presented here before. I am not aware, however, that all the elements have been combined as presented now....

You feed the disk into the Scanner/Player, and it scans the disk with an appropriately high-resolution "reader". The overall machine may make an initial partial scan just to determine the type of data on the disk, in order to decide what value of "appropriate resolution" to employ.

That is, if reading an vinyl "LP" record, in which the wavy track-information is easily visible to the naked eye, a much lower-resolution scan is entirely appropriate, when compared to what is appropriate to scan a Blu-Ray disk.

The Scanner/Player should have two scanning devices, one for each side of the disk. Or it should have some means to flip the disk internally, but I think just having 2 scanners is simpler.

It may also be better if the scanners did not move. Imagine an "edge-grabber" that holds the disk steady while on a carriage that smoothly passes through the Scanner/Player. Activate the unit to extend the carriage; place the disk, then activate the unit to scan the carried disk (multiple times if necessary; see below). At the end of the process the carriage is in the extended position so the disk can be removed, no longer needed. There are no other moving parts, except with respect to focus-control (see below).

Note that since any scanner uses focused light, it should be possible to make multiple and different scans of a disk that has multiple layers, by simply focusing on each layer, one after another (ordinary DVDs can often have 2 layers of data on each side, and I don't recall how much that was extended for things like HD-DVDs, but I do know that at least 10 layers per side has been made to work in the labs).

OK, so now all the data has been scanned into the Memory System of the overall Scanner/Player. I will repeat that: All the Disk's Data Is Now In a Memory-Image form.

So, enter the Software. Its algorithm reads data from the Memory Image exactly as if a physical device (like a record needle) was "reading" a rotating disk. The data then gets processed appropriately to be output as audio and/or video. That's all.
-- Vernon, Nov 21 2013

RCA CED video disks http://en.wikipedia...nce_Electronic_Disc
For anyone interested. This technology went head-to-head against LaserDisc tech, and lost (mostly because the disks could wear out while LaserDiscs didn't). This Scanner/Player device might be able to scan CED data, along with all those other types already mentioned. [Vernon, Nov 22 2013]

http://www.dust-digital.com/feaster/ [pocmloc, Nov 22 2013]

Another take Laser_20scanned_20CD
Hold the disk still, and move the light by optics [neelandan, Nov 22 2013]

Prius Soundwagon CD player Prius_20Soundwagon_20CD_20player
And Another [csea, Nov 22 2013]

Questions:

Are things like DVD data tracks visible in ordinary light or are they too small?

I know that non-contact LP players currently on the market won't play LPs that are unusual colours or reflectiveness. How is this handled?

What about wax cylinders?
-- pocmloc, Nov 21 2013


[pocmloc], DVD tracks are read with red laser light. Blu-Ray disks are read with blue laser light. (CDs and 12-inch LaserDiscs are normally read with infrared-laser light, if I recall right.) A high-res scanner using violet light should be able to adequately magnify anything currently available. Also, since colors are not involved in how the data is stored, monochrome (single-frequency violet light) scanning should be quite sufficient.

Regarding LPs and unusual colors/reflectances (a problem that may apply to the unique RCA "CED" video-disk technology), this might not matter too much when the frequency of the light used is SO much finer than the data-resolution on the disk. There is also the fact that scanner tech usually illuminates quite a bit of substance at once, not just a single spot like a laser-reader of a DVD. The broad illumination may all by itself solve the "unusual reflectance" problem.

As for wax cylinders, duh, they are not disks, so NO, of course. Not with this DISK Scanner/Player.
-- Vernon, Nov 22 2013


Well really, what kind of a "media player" is this if it won't even handle wax cylinders. I won't buy such a compromised product thank you very much!
-- pocmloc, Nov 22 2013



random, halfbakery