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Phil,

Pioneer makes a professional DVD player that is backwards-compatible with Pioneer
Laser Disc commands. It has a serial port that accepts the same 2 letter ascii
control commands as the laser disc players did. DVD's, however, do  not have a
native frame number encoding the way laser discs did. However, the Pioneer player
is able to generate a frame number list on the fly and search to frames on a DVD.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com

The key thing, I think, would be to find out just how the laser disc was
programmed, and probably talk to the people at Pioneer, if you can, about how to
make a DVD that will work with those commands. The Pioneer web site also has a big
library of pdf files that address some of the technical issues that you may be
facing.

(I used to work with a TAM at the predecessor to the Arizona Science Center in
Phoenix!)

Sorry, I don't know more than that.

Sincerely,

John Stoke

John M. Stoke
Manager, Informal Science Education
Office of Public Outreach
Space Telescope Science Institute
3700 San Martin Drive
Baltimore MD 21218
USA

T +1 410 338 4394
F +1 410 338 4579
E [log in to unmask]
http://informal-sci.stsci.edu


Phil Edgerton wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
>
> Greetings,
>
> We have a Transparent Anatomical Maniken (TAM) in our facility that we
> obtained in 1978. It used a tape cartridge machine to signal the controller
> and for the audio. It was converted to laser disc in 1999. I am a bit
> paranoid that something will go wrong with the laser disc or the player and
> know that LD technology is now unavailable. Does anyone know how to, or have
> a source who knows how to change over to DVD? I think I could simply take
> the laser player and disc to someone who can record to DVD, but I fear there
> are commands on the laser disc that make it more complicated than merely
> copying it from one format to the other. What do you say, folks?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Phil Edgerton, Exhibits Technician at The Health Adventure, Asheville, NC
>
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