So What’s So Different About CDs and DVDs. CDs and DVDs have the same shape and size but that is where the similarities end. The differences lie in the make up of the surface of the disc which are invisible to the naked eye. The biggest difference that you can notice is that a DVD can hold far more data than a CD.
The reason for the big difference in the amount of data storage will become apparent when you understand how data is written to or burned to CDs and DVDs. A laser is used to burn pits around a spiral groove in the disc. Lasers have a wave length and the longer the wave length the bigger the pit. DVD lasers have a substantially smaller wave length than a CD laser. Consequently you can have more pits in the same amount of surface area on a DVD, which explains the large difference in storage capacity.
CDs and DVDs store everything, including audio and video, as a series of ones and zeros which means they are digital data storage mediums. The pits and lands (where there are no pits) on the DVDs and CDs represent ones and zeros. When the disc drive is reading data the laser is reflected off the lands but not off the pits. Microprocessors in the disc drive take the information from the laser and convert it into a digital format that your PC can understand.
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December 23rd, 2010 






