Book People Archive

Re: CD, DVD



At 03/27/01 11:50 -0600, Jeff & Paulina Miner wrote:
>There have been some remarks about CDs and DVDs. One remark, from Michael 
>Hart, said that it is legal to copy CDs but that is it ILLEGAL to copy 
>DVDs and that DVDs must be played on a liscenced device (did I get that 
>right?) Well, exactly what are the differences between CDs, CD-ROMs, and 
>DVDs? What makes a DVD so special? Why can't you just buy a "DVD burner" 
>as you can buy a CD burner? Thanks.

You CAN buy a DVD burner, they're called "DVD-RAM". BUT
Congress passed a special bill that applies JUST to the
DVD technology (they couldn't plug the hole in the dike
for earlier technologies). Manufacturers are required
to make the equipment in such a way that the burners
will refuse to make copies of copyrighted factory-pressed
DVD's. The DVD burners are available for backing up of hard
disks and other such purposes (each DVD can hold at least 7
times as much as a standard CD, so it is a more convenient
format for backups).

Mike Oltz