The compact disk 1982

[Homer J Simpson]

https://youtu.be/_Tx6TYnPat8

[EEVblog]

Classic! 

[jimdeane]

What kind of laser is that?  It almost looked like a ruby rod in a vacuum tube.

[Ampera]

What kind of laser is that?  It almost looked like a ruby rod in a vacuum tube.

Probably a Ruby based laser.

[andy2000]

What kind of laser is that?  It almost looked like a ruby rod in a vacuum tube.

Probably a Ruby based laser.

The laser diode was at the side of the tube.  I think the red rod is just a piece of plastic to represent the laser beam in the prop.  They never would have used a ruby laser at that time. 

[brucehoult]

By the end of '83 the wealthier of my university buddies had CD players and three or four CDs. I recall Dire Straits' "Love over Gold" being one of the first, and also Pink Floyd's "The Final Cut".

[Twoflower]

Nice find Homer!

The laser diode was at the side of the tube.  I think the red rod is just a piece of plastic to represent the laser beam in the prop.  They never would have used a ruby laser at that time.

I think that this is the full laser pick-up of that time. Or rather a mockup of one. You can see two electronic devices. One on the left and one on the bottom of the device. In the crossing point is the beam-splitter. The device on the left is probably the set of photo diodes. Not just one photo diode as you need more information for tracking and focus. I would agree that's a mock-up as you say. The Laser seems to be placed in an open cage (the back-half is still there) to provide a view to it. And placing the optics in a clear enclosing would not be a ideal option unless there's the need to do so.

And what is remarkable what she said in the very end. She was right, now nearly everyone can put Beethovens 9th on a chip. And that for very cheap.

[brucehoult]

And what is remarkable what she said in the very end. She was right, now nearly everyone can put Beethovens 9th on a chip. And that for very cheap.

Yup. You can now get a Sandisk 1GB microSD card for $10. More than enough to hold a CD of Beethoven's 9th.

Or you can get a Sandisk 16 GB microSD for $7.50. Your choice.

[xrunner]

And now, audiophiles use the same old phonograph technology that Edison used because it's more "realistic".

Oh and of course you gotta spend $20,000 on the turntable. 

[BravoV]

Damn, I remembered this video. 

Quoting that video at the end ...

"... until someone perfected method of putting Beethoven's ninth on a silicon chip ... "

Time really flies.

[Cubdriver]

Indeed time does fly.  It doesn't seem possible that I bought my first CD player about 30 years ago!   

-Pat

[Brumby]

And now, audiophiles use the same old phonograph technology that Edison used because it's more "realistic".

Oh and of course you gotta spend $20,000 on the turntable. 

You just bent the needle on my wank-o-meter with that one.

[calexanian]

I wonder if it is at the point where a flash chip is cheaper to produce than a CD.

[Brumby]

I would imagine we passed that point some time ago ... especially if you consider storage capacity.

The capacity of a CD falls well short of 1GB.

[dave_k]

Was that a segment from Towards 2000 (ABC TV Australia) .. ?

Also, fixed the spelling of the subject

[firehopper]

I think most cd's hold approx 800 meg or so

[bgm]

Was that a segment from Towards 2000 (ABC TV Australia) .. ?

Also, fixed the spelling of the subject

I think so.  Jeff Watson, Iain Finlay and Sonia Humphrey in the first iteration. 

/BGM

[dave_k]

Here's even more to enjoy!

https://youtu.be/RycdwUHAwwQ?t=487

[Moshly]

Yes, Towards 2000

posted by Channel: ABCScienceOnline

video description (clipped from youtube)->
Published on Jun 10, 2015

Towards 2000 debuted on the ABC in 1981. It was a half-hour program showcasing developments and inventions in science and technology. One of the early highlights was this report about the imminent arrival of the next big thing in home entertainment – the compact disc.

This technology was considered so exciting that three of the show’s presenters, Sonia Humphrey, Iain Finlay and Jeff Watson combined to tell the story. It’s worth watching just to see them in their 1982 sartorial elegance, but it’s also a treat to hear the use of words such as “radiogram”, and “gramophone”, and “micro-groove long playing record” which you don’t hear so much anymore…

In 1983, when the first compact disc players arrived on the Australian market, they ranged in price from $900-$1800. (This made them a very significant purchase, given that the Australian Bureau of Statistics says average weekly earnings were around $350/week at the time). The price didn’t hold back the rapid adoption of the technology.

But even then, as Sonia put it in her closing remarks, there was an even better technology on the horizon.


“The Compact Disc may well rule the roost – at least until someone perfects a method of putting Beethoven’s 9th on a silicon chip. Don’t laugh, I’m assured that that day, in fact, is not too far off…..”

(c) Australian Broadcasting Corporation
http://abc.net.au/science

    Category
        Science & Technology
    License
        Standard YouTube License

[Ampera]

And now, audiophiles use the same old phonograph technology that Edison used because it's more "realistic".

Oh and of course you gotta spend $20,000 on the turntable. 

You just bent the needle on my wank-o-meter with that one.

Lol, you're not supposed to wank that hard.