Please can anybody help me in fabricating a VCD player from a normal Computer CD Player . Any answers with diagrams and component values will be highly appreciated.

-- ANIRBAN PODDAR (anirbanp@tatamotors.com), February 08, 2005

Answers

What you want to do really can't be done with "off the shelf components."

For the most part, the specialized processing ICs used in controlling the drive unit and decoding the video in a player aren't sold to consumers - unless you want to buy 10,000 or so. Even so, these devices aren't designed to connect to an ATAPI device interface commonly found on modern computer CD units. The problem with the devices being fine pitch SMT also poses a problem unless you have the hot air tools for working them, as well as the PCB manufacturing facilities.

If you really want to use your computer's CD unit as a standalone player, I suggest you check out some of the early players offered by Apex (Manufactured by Initial of China, I believe) - some had an IDE type interface that could accept any computer-style CD drive.

-- Bryan (gryps-innocens@gryphon.zzn.com), February 08, 2005.