How do CDs and DVDs store information?

On the surface, both CDs and DVDs are alike. They are round in shape and have a shiny surface on the underside. In both DVDs and CDs, data is stored in microscopic tracks that are made up of ‘pits’ which are grooves and ‘lands’, which are flat surfaces, backed by the shiny, reflective When the player spins the disc, a laser beam shines on these pits and lands. The reflected light patterns are then read by an optical device. This device converts the patterns into little bits of data called, appropriately enough, bits. The bits are assembled into bytes that can in turn represent just about any kind of data imaginable, which includes text, sounds and A DVD has smaller pits than a CD in different vertical layers. A DVD has a much larger data capacity. A standard DVD holds about seven times more data than a CD DVD picture quality is better than that on a CD, and many DVDs have Dolby Digital or DTS sound, which is much closer to the sound you experience in a movie theatre.