DVD player

From ArticleWorld

A DVD player is a hardware device that is used to play DVDs. CDs can also be played on most DVD players, although DVDs cannot be played on CD players. DVD players were first launched commercially at the end of the 20th century, and quickly achieved sales much greater than that what CD players and VCRs achieved in the same period of time.

DVD players usually use a television screen for displaying the video, but some may have their own LCD screen. They use a laser assembly in order to decode the information stored on the DVD.

Companies that make DVD players include Sony Corporation, Royal Philips Electronics and Zenith Electronics Corporation. China is the largest producer of DVD players. The cost of DVD players ranges from 30 to 80 USD.

Components

The main components of a DVD drive are the drive motor, the laser assembly and the tracking mechanism.

The drive motor is used to control the speed of the disc’s rotation which varies between 200 to 500 rpm. The disc moves slowly when its outer part is being read and moves faster when the inner part is being read.

The laser assembly focuses a laser beam using a lens onto the disc in order to read the irregularities on the disc’s surface.

The tracking mechanism is used to control the movement of the laser assembly so that it accurately follows the track being read.

Software DVD players

Software DVD players are computer programs that are used to view DVD videos using a DVD-ROM drive on computers. Some of the most famous software DVD players include Cyberlink PowerDVD, Intervideo WinDVD and ATI DVD Player.