Re: CD-ROMs: a theoretical upper limit?

[Jeff Lemke <lemke@terra.cira.colostate.edu>]

Jeff Blakeney wrote:
> 
> On 6 Jan 1999 09:15:15 GMT, buggie@ben11.unm.edu (stephen e buggie)
> wrote:
> 
> >But _why_ is fast speed needed in a CD-rom player?  I could understand
> >with games that needed frequent disk access, but if the goal is just to
> >load the program, who cares how slow???
> 


I think the main reason for the quest for faster CD's is the need for
smoother playback of .avi and .mjpg and other movie files.  This may not
be applicable to the world of Apple IIgs's, but in my line of work as a
graphics artist using Windows 95 and animation software, there is quite
a noticeable difference in playback quality of movie files between a 2x
and a 16x CD-ROM player, just to use an example.  Faster CD-ROM players
make using any CD-ROM applications that have any digitized video footage
or animation sequences play back at a higher frame rate, resulting in
smoother and more realistic motion.

Jeff