1.   The existence of the standard meant that any Red Book disc could be played on any Red Book player, anywhere in the world.

2.   Audio CD players that include a changer for playing several discs are old hat by now.

3.   Divx machines will play existing DVD discs, but existing players will not play Divx discs.

4.   It can play stereo discs or those with six channels of surround sound.

5.   Most of the video CD Web sites explain how the discs can be played.

6.   So as the disc is played, the laser permanently distorts the polymer surface, defocusing the laser beam and making the disc unplayable.

7.   That does not mean, however, that the drive will be able to play discs created by the DVD drives.

8.   The DVD drive also loads software and plays audio discs.

9.   They also have an internal clock which starts running as soon as the disc is played.

10.   When the completed disc was played on a turntable, a diamond needle converted the groove depth back into sound.