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COMPACT DISC OVERVIEW |
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Compact Discs has become the standard storage and distribution media for music, games and computer data.
The compact disc was launched in October 1982. The optical disc format has been very successful in this time and provides a compact and reliable distribution format for music and other applications.
CD Audios can store up to 80 minutes in a digital format. Some recordable discs now even has up to 90 minutes capacity. The specification is defined in the Red Book. In 1984, the Yellow Book specification for CD-ROM was published allowing the CD to be used for computer data storage applications. Information and specifications on these books and other types of CD books can be read in a separate article here.
In 1996 a higher capacity optical disc became available in Japan and was then launched in the USA in 1997 and Europe in 1998. DVD offers three formats: DVD-Video for high quality movies, DVD-ROM for games and other computer applications and DVD-Audio for high quality music.
The introduction of recordable versions of the CD and the reduction in price of both hardware and recordable media have encouraged consumers to make copies of both CDs and CD-ROMs, not just for their own use but as an alternative to purchasing the legitimate product. This has led games and music companies to make use of the various copy protection technologies to reduce the level of home copying and to combat piracy.
The future of the compact disc is now under threat from both the Internet and DVD. Despite the introduction of DVD, the CD is likely to remain the dominant format for music for some time to come.
CD FORMATS
The compact disc supports a range of pre-recorded formats for music, computer data, video, games and other applications. These are illustrated in the diagram below.
*article lifted from DiscTronics.co.uk. for a more in-depth look at the technicalities, go to the website. |
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