Skip (in record player)
Encyclopedia
A skip occurs when a phonograph
(gramophone), cassette tape or Compact Disc
player malfunctions or is disturbed so as to play incorrectly, causing a break in sound or a jump to another part of the recording.
s are easily scratched and vinyl
readily acquires a static charge, attracting dust that is difficult to remove completely. Dust and scratches cause audio clicks and pops and, in extreme cases, they can cause the needle (stylus) to skip over a series of grooves, or worse yet, cause the needle to skip backwards, creating an unintentional locked groove that repeats the same 1.8 seconds of track (at 33⅓ rpm) over and over again. Locked grooves are not uncommon and are even heard occasionally in broadcasts. The locked groove gave rise to the expression "broken record" referring to someone who continually repeats the same statement with little if any variation.
of a Compact Disc player
cannot read the faulty groove or block of data. Skips are usually caused by marks blocking the path of the beam to the disc, e.g. a finger mark, hair, dirt in general, or a scratch. As a result, a Compact Disc player without electronic skip protection
, depending on the player's instruction codes, may do one of the following:
In a computer, the CD-ROM
drive is governed by the program playing it. The drive itself has very little instruction, apart from direct instructions, such as spin up, read data etc. Normally, in a computer, if a media player is playing a Compact Disc and there is a fault on the disc, because the player reads ahead, the player will already be performing a checksum
, to verify the data read is correct. If it is wrong, the audio is usually stopped depending on the player.
.
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
(gramophone), cassette tape or Compact Disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
player malfunctions or is disturbed so as to play incorrectly, causing a break in sound or a jump to another part of the recording.
Vinyl gramophone records
Vinyl recordGramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
s are easily scratched and vinyl
Polyvinyl chloride
Polyvinyl chloride, commonly abbreviated PVC, is a thermoplastic polymer. It is a vinyl polymer constructed of repeating vinyl groups having one hydrogen replaced by chloride. Polyvinyl chloride is the third most widely produced plastic, after polyethylene and polypropylene. PVC is widely used in...
readily acquires a static charge, attracting dust that is difficult to remove completely. Dust and scratches cause audio clicks and pops and, in extreme cases, they can cause the needle (stylus) to skip over a series of grooves, or worse yet, cause the needle to skip backwards, creating an unintentional locked groove that repeats the same 1.8 seconds of track (at 33⅓ rpm) over and over again. Locked grooves are not uncommon and are even heard occasionally in broadcasts. The locked groove gave rise to the expression "broken record" referring to someone who continually repeats the same statement with little if any variation.
Compact Discs
A "skip" or "jump" is when laserLaser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
of a Compact Disc player
Compact disc player
A Compact Disc player , or CD player, is an electronic device that plays audio Compact Discs. CD players are often a part of home stereo systems, car audio systems, and personal computers. They are also manufactured as portable devices...
cannot read the faulty groove or block of data. Skips are usually caused by marks blocking the path of the beam to the disc, e.g. a finger mark, hair, dirt in general, or a scratch. As a result, a Compact Disc player without electronic skip protection
Electronic skip protection
Electronic skip protection is a memory buffer system used mainly in some portable Compact Disc players and all MiniDisc units.-Technology:...
, depending on the player's instruction codes, may do one of the following:
- Repeat the previous block of audio
- Skip the faulty block
- Try and retry to read it causing a stopping and starting of the music
- Make a series of chirping noises.
In a computer, the CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
drive is governed by the program playing it. The drive itself has very little instruction, apart from direct instructions, such as spin up, read data etc. Normally, in a computer, if a media player is playing a Compact Disc and there is a fault on the disc, because the player reads ahead, the player will already be performing a checksum
Checksum
A checksum or hash sum is a fixed-size datum computed from an arbitrary block of digital data for the purpose of detecting accidental errors that may have been introduced during its transmission or storage. The integrity of the data can be checked at any later time by recomputing the checksum and...
, to verify the data read is correct. If it is wrong, the audio is usually stopped depending on the player.
Cassette tapes
Cassette tape players can cause skips when the tape being played is worn or in some other way damaged.Computer Audio
Electronic media on a computer such as mp3, ogg, or mpeg, can often skip. This is likely due to a lack of computer resources like RAM or processing power, or a corrupted, incomplete or damaged audio file.Skipping as a musical component
Compact Disc skipping is prevalent in glitch musicGlitch (music)
Glitch is a term used to describe a genre of electronic music that emerged in the mid to late 1990s. The glitch aesthetic is characterized by a deliberate use of glitch based sonic artifacts that would normally be viewed as unwanted disturbances reducing the overall sound quality and are thus...
.
See also
- Gramophone record limitations
- Wow (recording)Wow (recording)Wow is a relatively slow form of flutter which can affect both gramophone records and tape recorders. In the latter, the collective expression wow and flutter is commonly used.-Gramophone records:...
- Electronic skip protectionElectronic skip protectionElectronic skip protection is a memory buffer system used mainly in some portable Compact Disc players and all MiniDisc units.-Technology:...
- Optical media preservationOptical media preservationThe preservation of optical media is essential because it is a resource in libraries, and stores audio, video, and computer data to be accessed by patrons. While optical discs are generally more reliable and durable than older media types, environmental conditions and/or poor handling can result...