DVD: Next frontier in storage media
STORAGE media have been revolutionising the IT industry for quite some time now, with ever increasing storage capacity and significant drop in data seek time.

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DVD: Next frontier in storage media

STORAGE media have been revolutionising the IT industry for quite some time now, with ever increasing storage capacity and significant drop in data seek time. The CD technology, which hasn’t been updated since its debut in 1985, has a storage capacity of 650 MB. However, this technology has lasted for so many years and, in India CD technology is still hot! With the introduction of 24x and above CD-ROM drives, hopes for this technology are high, but not for long. As DVD (Digital Video Disc) technology is making inroads into the IT industry, CD-ROMs are slowly dying out.

DVD, the new optical disk format, is poised to take the desktop computing and home entertainment markets by storm. Now you can watch full-length movies, incredible sound and no disc-swapping ever again! The storage capacity of DVD has increased nearly 14-fold than an ordinary CD-ROM, thanks to it’s multi-layer data storage concept. The Hollywood motion picture industry is behind the new media, with titles here or on the way from the collections of polygram, MGM, Columbia/Tristar, Sony & Warner Bros. A few cartoon & motion pictures from Disney Productions are also intended to be released on DVD.

DVD is not confined to movies only, the scope of it is much wider. Serious computer users can also be benefited from its unprecedented storage capacity. You can have large databases like telephone database, encyclopaedias, and edutainment programmes (which may include a number of audio-video clips or documentary) on a single disk. Today, multimedia games developers can develop their games with high quality surround sound with excellent video effects, as now they have plenty of space to play around with.

PCs with DVD support are already showing up on the market. And for many users who do not want to be left behind, vendors have rushed to offer DVD upgrade kits that end users can install on their own.

So far so good, but now how does this technology work? In the simplest sense, DVD is an overachieving compact disc. A common CD-ROM stores information up to 650 MB, whereas a plain DVD can store an awesome information of 4.7 GB. DVD technology does not stop here. A double layered DVD can deliver a storing capacity of 8.5 GB. The double layers in DVD comprises clear and opaque (see illustration 1). A double layered disc doesn’t quite double the 4.7 GB capacity of single-layer disc because of compromises in the lens technology that are required to make reading both layers affordable. I believe as technology advances the number of compromises made will be reduced significantly, hence increasing efficiency.

DVD also allows double sided discs — as was the case in floppy discs. Two single layered surfaces can be glued together back-to-back, hence, doubling the capacity of a single sided 4.7 GB to 9.4 GB. Similarly, double layered surface can be glued together forming 17 GB of DVD.

There is a good news for CD-ROM users too: DVD-ROM drives are able to read all the previous versions of CD-ROMs. Single layered DVDs, Multi-layered DVDs and Double sided DVDs. But DVD and CD technology differ most in their video capabilities. DVD uses MPEG-2 (from the Motion Picture Expert Group) compression concept instead of conventional MPEG standard. MPEG-2 yields higher compression ratios and improved video playback. The Dolby Digital compression AC-3 is used for audio to provide theatre like sound. AC-3 which is commonly known as 5.1 channel sound provides left, right and centre front channels plus separate left and rear effect channels (requiring five speakers in all) plus a subwoofer signal (the "1" in 5.1).

The DVD stores such a huge amount of information by creating a disc drive that could deliver a laser beam of shorter wave length. Engineers were able to move the data tracks closer together on a DVD disc than on a CD-ROM and to squeeze more data into a given length of track. Today, DVD could hold information equivalent to 26 CD-ROMs. Data read by the shorter wavelength of laser beam goes to SCSI card, bypassing the CPU and heads to MPEG-2 decoder card (See illustration 2). By-passing of CPU enables the CPU to do other jobs without any hindrance, hence increasing the speed of the computer significantly. On the decoder card, the MPEG-2 chip decodes the MPEG-2 video and the AC-3 chip decodes the Dolby Digital audio stream (which directly drives your speakers). MPEG-2 video signal is fed to Video card which in turn produces picture on the monitor. In addition to the increased capacity, performance in general is also impressive: the first generation of DVD drives are able to read data at 1350 KBps — roughly equivalent to 8x CD-ROM drives.

As MPEG-2 provides high quality video-audio playback, you can expect that the DVD is here to stay. DVD video will blow away standard VHS-quality playback. Unlike VHS tapes, DVD disc don’t degrade over time, so the 100th viewing looks as good as the first. Furthermore, unlike VHS tapes, DVD discs provide the nonlinear near-instant veiwing and previewing access that people enjoy with laser discs and compact discs. And for strictly computer-based video playback, such as business presentations and games, DVD’s MPEG-2 video is a dramatic improvement. Finally, as mentioned earlier, DVD gives a knockout punch with an unparalleled quality of sound using Dolby System.

But, is it too soon to upgrade your system to DVD? As there are number of developments that may encourage some users to wait before taking the plunge. If you are looking to use DVD for reference purpose (reading purpose) only—you may want to wait for kits that include next generation of DVD drives.

Another reason to avoid the first generation kit is that, some DVD drives are unable to read the Gold CDs. This is contrary to what DVD manufacturers claim. Furthermore, DVD-RAM are also expected to be released in the next few months. This technology is sure to lure the attention of every computer user. You will not be bound to read-only type of disc technology. With DVD-RAM you could read/write/erase data from the disc — Isn’t that what we are looking forward to? Finally, the DVD kits (which include DVD drive and a decoder) are still very expensive — ranging between Rs 16,000 - Rs 28,000 (Delhi rates). As next generation DVDs are knocking on the door, prices will surely drop significantly to lure the attention of a common user.

Let us see what major upgrades you require to have this technology on your desktop. Well, If you are still using a 486DX4 system then you are out. Even if you are using 133 MHz Pentium MMX you still need to do serious fiddling with your computer. DVD experts predicts that it’ll take 233 MHz Pentium Pro with MMX (32 MB RAM) to realistically handle DVDs video and audio tasks in software. This upgradation cost that is associated with this technology is also too high.

I believe DVD will have to tough time to prove its worth to a common computer user here in the sub-continent. Whatever the case might be, DVDs are here to stay! With extra-ordinary video effects, high quality surround sound, massive storage capacity and enhanced characteristic it will definitely form a niche in the storage media.

Smart cameras with sensors

Researchers in Germany have developed tiny image sensors in the form of chips that can be used to check, identify, or position objects at production speeds which exceed what can reliably be expected to the human eye.

The fingernail-sized chips, developed by researchers at Fraunhofer Institute of Micorelectronic Circuits and Systems (IMS) in Duisburg, have powerful image sensors with highly complex circuitry within them that can scan large areas as well as single lines, reports Fraunhofer Gesseschaft Research News.

Application areas of these smart cameras based on complimentary metal oxide semiconductor (COMOS) technology include automation and production engineering and the motor industry.

The researchers plan to develop an artificial retina which would allow blind people some form of rudimentary sight.

Two different variants are now being developed in a major joint project. In one, a camera chips is being built into spectacle frames. It records the scene ahead, processes the information, and transmits it to a contact strip implanted in the retina where micro-electrodes excite the visual nerve.

Boards from carpets

Researchers in Germany claim to have developed a process that can make laminated boards from wood chips and recycled unwashed carpets for use in decorative and acoustic panelling.

The process, developed by researchers of a German company Eduard Kusters Machinenfabrik treating used carpets, produces strong and resilient moulded board from carpet scraps and similar waste, reports Technical Textiles International.

Recycling of scraps of new carpet poses difficulties because such products are made from a variety of materials. Identification and separation of the different materials takes time and costs money.

Initially, the carpet waste is mixed with a thermoplastic binder before being finely shredded. This shredded material is covered, on at least one side, by a layer of thin wood chips and compressed to form the board.

The wood chips can be coated with an adhesive to help bind them to the waste but sometimes there is sufficient binder in the recycled material itself. The board has a smooth surface comprising the wood chips, without the need for further processing.

Plastics for electronics

Exciting results on the development of plastics with electronic properties needed for practical circuitry have been reported by researchers in the U.S.A., Britain and Netherlands.

The goal of polymer electronics in the last 20 years has been to develop plastics – which have the advantages of low-cost processing, flexibility and toughness – for application in electronic devices like programmable credit cards, flat panel displays and identification tags.

Two independent groups from Cambridge University in the U.K. and Bell Laboratories in the U.S. have succeeded in integrating a polymeric transistor with an organic light-emitting diode (LED), according to a report in Physics World.

The active layer in an organic LED is a fluorescent organic material, either a specially designed polymer or a small dye molecule, that emits light when an electrical current passes through it.

Detergent tablet

British researchers have come up with a new detergent tablet that can readily dissolve in water in washing machines.

Persil Performance tablets, introduced by the company Lever Brothers, reportedly do away with the need to measure powders before using and provide fine cleansing, reports Manufacturing Chemist.

Detergent tablets, that have been used intermittently in different countries over the years with varying degrees of success, have of late started gaining popularity in washing machines.

Within each retailed pack of tablets, there is a specially-designed dispensing net, into which are added two detergent tablets, and the net is then placed on the top of the clothes inside the machine. Use of the net is the preferred way to make washing tablets disperse evenly and timely throughout the wash-cycle.

Persil tablets come in boxes of 24 and 40 tablets in two product variants, one biological and the other, non-biological.

Detergent tablets are produced by compressing or compacting a premixed basic detergent powder or granulate composition.

An appropriate binder chemical lowers the compaction pressure of the tablet which significantly increases the rate of tablet dissolution.

Detergent tablets have several advantages over traditional powders and liquids. Apart from overall convenience, the use of these ensures there is no need for the consumer to measure out the required powder dosage into a secondary container, thereby eliminating wastage and over or under usage. Tablets are more compact too than available powders.

by J. P. Garg

1. Name the world’s oldest astronaut who travelled in the US space shuttle "Discovery" recently. Which other distinction does he have to his credit?

2. In a significant contribution to an international particle physics experiment to be conducted at the Geneva-based laboratory CERN, Indian scientists have developed a unique nuclear detector, in which conditions similar to those that existed at the time of origin of the universe would be created. At which national centre has this detector been fabricated?

3. During November, the earth encounters a shower of meteors called Leonids, named after the constellation Leo. Which meteor shower does the earth encounter during December?

4. What is the technology called using which a group of people can have instantaneous and two-way communication with one another even when some or all of them are moving?

5. The fertiliser DAP has been in the news recently due to its acute shortage. What is the chemical name of this fertiliser and which chemical elements does it contain?

6. Polythene is a non-degradable material and a big environmental hazard. From which two words does "polythene" derive its name? What is the general name of the gases that are released when polythene is burnt?

7. There has been an outcry in Andhra Pradesh against tests conducted by a multinational company using a gene in cotton crop. It is feared that the introduction of this gene into a plant finishes the ability of the plant to produce seeds itself. What is this gene called?

8. Name the process by which cooking oil is converted into vegetable ghee. Which catalytic agent is used in this process?

9. This costliest spice in the world is used in many Indian and foreign delicacies. Its best quality is grown in Kashmir and Hindu worship is considered incomplete without it. What are we talking about?

10. Which is the latest medical achievement of the Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh, that is of immense significance to common man?

Answers

1. 77 years old John Glenn; he was the first American to orbit the earth in Friendship spacecraft in 1962.

2. Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, Calcutta.

3. Geminids, named after the constellation Gemini.

4. Mobile radio trunking.

5. Diammonium phosphate; Phosphorus, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen.

6. Polymer and ethylene; Dioxins.

7. "Terminator gene".

8. Hydrogenation; nickel.

9. Saffron.

10. Development of oral cholera vaccine especially suitable for tropical countries like India.