We have long since come from the world of “burning” (CD-RW) and simply watching DVD’s on our computers — we can even make our own DVD’s (DVD-RW). We have asked for more. And our demands have been answered. We can now watch HD or High-definition video on more than just our televisions — we can watch it on our computers, our laptops.  We have successfully brought this desire to fruition and made it portable to boot!

There are many different formats for the once simple disk. This article will review the most common selections that are available.

We have CD ROM’s, CD-RW’s, DVD-Rom’s, DVD-RAM, DVDRW Rom’s, Blu-ray or BD-Rom, and even optical drives or rom’s that include a feature known as LightScribe.

Most are familiar with Cd’s and DVD’s. Yet Blu-ray is a fairly new term. Blu-ray, the project, began in February of 2002. The first consumer devices were in stores just over a year later. The first device was the Sony BDZ-S77 and was only available in Japan for the whopping price of $3800.00. At the time of its initial release there were no pre-recorded video and movies available. The Blu-ray standard was still years away from being common and ‘practical.’ The biggest fear was the undesirable repeat of the copy right failure previously used on DVDs.

The physical specifications were finished in 2004, however, due to setbacks involving security, the first BD-ROM players were not released until the middle of June two years later. The first BR Disk rewritable drive for the PC was released by Sony on July 18, 2006. It recorded both single and dual layer BD-R as well as BD-RE; the suggested retail prices in the US was $699.

There was some competition from HD DVD discs but that was overcome with the help of Sony’s PlayStation III. Many believe The PlayStation served as a catalyst for Blu-ray as the PlayStation 3 used a blu-ray disk drive as its primary information storage medium.

Blu-ray formatted discs can hold much more than the formats that preceded it.

At one time it was only possible to store 700mb worth of data on a standard CD-ROM disc. Now we have expanded with the help of DVD disks and Blu ray as well. DVD and Blu ray discs come in different forms. The two most common are single layer and dual layer capacities.

The difference between single layer and dual layer lies with in the names themselves. Standard DVD discs are single layer and hold 4.7 GB of data. Dual Layer discs are just that — they have two layers and thus are able to hold twice as much information (8.54GB). These discs work only with certain burners that specify Dual Layer writing ability. Dual layer allows for the writing of DVD movies without having to compress them thus improving video quality. Blu ray single layer discs holds around 25GB of data and a dual layer disk will hold roughly 50GB of data.

Blu ray format gives you a higher quality picture and more space available on a media disc.

Another feature included in optical drives is LightScribe or LS. LightScribe is an optical disc recording technology that utilizes specially coated recordable CD and DVD media to produce laser-etched labels with text or graphics, as opposed to stick-on labels and printable discs.

LightScribe uses a laser in a similar way to when plain data is written to the disk; a greyscale image of the label is etched onto the upper side of the disc. This feature requires a special disc–said disc comes in many selectable colors.

The way LightScribe works is the surface of a LS disc is coated with a reactive dye that changes color when it absorbs light from a laser. The etched label will show no noticeable fading under exposure to indoor light for at least two years. Yet optical media should always be stored in a protective sleeve or case that keeps the data content in the dark and safe from scratches. If stored this way, the label should last the life of the disc in real-world application.

Essentially, this feature is great if you are in the profession or maintain a hobby in which you would use this feature. I.E: music production, video editing, etc. (You would want to professionally label your cd’s)

My advice with optical drives goes back to the same advice for wireless, if you aren’t going to truly use something why spend the extra money? That’s all for today folks. Feel free to leave some suggestions for posts that you would like to see in the future.

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Wow! When I watched this…talk about nostalgia! It brought me back. The modem sound alone will strike memories and allow one’s brain to begin a playback of all things he or she can relate to in this short. I truly cannot believe 25 years have gone by with the internet and communication via the “World Wide Web.” There are so many new innovations in the technology world being created both mentally and physically every single day. What is “top of the line” today, could be extinct tomorrow. For that reason alone, it is very important to choose something that will meet your needs and last accordingly.The first feature that many want to day is the ability to connect to the internet. Unless otherwise specified, all laptops we sell will have this highly desired ability. But the desire goes deeper…

First, allow me to formally introduce myself, Hi! My name is Jessica! I am the Senior Technician here at Usedlaptops.com. I will be here for all of your questions, concerns or just to say hi. You can reach me at 1-800-642-6094 x.202 or deen.jessica@usedlaptops.com

Okay, back to what was at hand…

We don’t want wires anymore. We want to be wireless!!! We want to be able to sit on the couch and relax while we “surf” the web and watch our reality television shows.

Now, some may wonder, “What does wireless truly mean?” “I also hear about bluetooth, what is that?” These are very good questions. Wireless means “without cables” or “over the air.” Yet the understanding of the concept goes deeper. Let’s take a look…

Wireless internet communicates through a signal. This signal has a speed assigned to it. There are various speeds and levels identified through letters. For example, there is wireless “b” which is also known as 802.11b. This signal transmits data at 11mbps or mega-bites per second. A good comparison for just how big a mega-bite is to think of an audio track. An song is usually between 3 - 5 mega-bites in size.The next step up would be wireless “g” which is also known as 802.11g. This signal transmits data at 54Mbps.

Both of the “b” and “g” signals transmit on a 2.4GHz frequency. When routers first became popular and consumers were still widely using cordless phones this created an issue. Cordless phones used to transmit on frequency of 900MHz but then too upgraded to a frequency of 2.4Ghz. This created issues for wireless internet users who also talked on the phone while browsing the internet. This has since been corrected as most cordless phones transmit on a frequency of 5.8GHz allowing technology users to multitask.

More recently, a newer signal and speed has emerged. The letter assigned for this signal is “n” or 802.11n. This signal improves upon the previous 802.11 standards by adding “multiple-input multiple-output” (MIMO) and several other newer features. This signal allows the transmission of data to be upto 270mpbs. This is currently the fastest wireless signal available.

Technology certainly has upgraded since the internet first came on the scene. It is important to recognize that while there are many options, it is not necessary to always choose “the best” and “the greatest” if you truly will not use it. You could save a few hundred dollars by selecting the options you need most rather than the options that sound good at the point of purchase.

Another popular feature that many hear about these days is “Bluetooth.” Many recognize a bluetooth device as the ear bud we here in California place in our ears while we operate vehicles. (Here in CA its a law to be hands free while driving) Yet this is not the name for the device rather it is the name for the technology the device uses. Bluetooth is a wireless protocol for exchanging data over short distances from fixed and mobile devices. It was originally designed as a wireless alternative to RS232 (9 pin serial port) data cables.

Bluetooth or “BT” (abbreviated) uses radio technology called frequency-hopping spread spectrum, which chops up the data being sent and transmits chunks of it on up to 79 frequencies.

Basically, BT doesn’t allow for a “wireless” connection to the internet which may be the first thought that pops in to our heads when we hear the word ‘wireless’; rather it allows for a wireless connection from one device to another. If the laptop you select is BT capable it is able to connect to other BT devices such as mobile phones, keyboards, mice, printers, and coming in April of this year, monitors. See this article, Sony Bluetooth Monitors for more information.

I think that’s enough for today. The next post will discuss the different technologies used with optical drives. It used to be simple. We used to know our options — CD, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-RW.

But now there are so many different selections to choose from it is easy to get confused and overwhelmed. Stay tuned….