Overview of the Compact Disk

      As a medium for reproducing music, the compact disc, or C.D. for short, is a merger and adaptation of many different technologies; including the digital recorder, optical disc technology, and, of course, the computer. [1] On May 17^th, 1978, Philips Industries, a Dutch-based electronics company, and the Sony Corporation out of Japan, begun marketing the compact disc and hardware system.  In 1982, the newest from of media hit Japan thanks to CBS and Sony. In order to play and listen to just one hundred and twelve titles, people had to purchase a CDP-101, or simply, a C.D. player. Just like other great technologies that came before this time, the compact disc was in high demand.

The last few months of 1982 were hectic, with Sony selling over 20,000 C.D. players, and Hitachi also posting sells in the 6,000/month range for their player. [1] Initial C.D. players ranged from seven hundred dollars to one thousand dollars. C.D.’s ranged from fifteen dollars to twenty dollars each. A mass consumption led to Sony not being able to make and keep up with C.D. demand. At the end of 1982, CBS/Sony issued a one hundred and twenty-two C.D. table that ranged from jazz to classical and everything in between. [1] The big challenge was how to present the C.D.’s and players to the USA. The first strategy was the presentation of the box. The Record Industry Association of America agreed on a "6 x 12” box. The second strategy was the retail of the products. The set price was one thousand dollars per C.D. players and sixteen dollars and ninety-eight cents for the C.D.’s themselves. [1] The main goal of C.D.'s, was to eliminate vinyl LPs. Sales took off in 1983 in the United States with sales totaling close to 30,000 and C.D.'s totaling nearly 800,000. [1] With C.D.'s only being made in Japan and West Germany, a new plant had to be developed in order to keep up with the demand. The first U.S. plant was called Digital Audio Disc Corporation. It opened in Turre Hawk, Indiana in September 1984.

With the development of other plants, C.D. sales increased to twenty-two million by 1985. [1] A new clean up system was formed to better master the art of editing C.D.’s. The new system developed, became known as, the New Noise System, a computer based system that could subtract out background buss and edit pops. [1] By 1990, the vinyl era was over. C.D.’s were now at the forefront of the musical entertainment industry.

C.D.-RW: Compact Disc Rewritable

 Five Books on C.D. Technology

             In 1980, the first book, labeled as the “Red Book,” was written. Basically, it's purpose was to outline the specifications regarding C.D. digital auditing. [3] The common C.D., used in stereo systems, can hold ninety-nine tracks, which is equivalent to seventy-four minutes of music.

            Then came the “Yellow Book,” which was written in 1983. This book covered the functions of the compact disk-read only memory (C.D.-Rom). This became the standard for computer-based compact discs, and was employed with any computer system that contained a C.D.-Rom drive. [3] The standard amount of data that it could hold was six hundred and fifty million bytes of data, and was created under the same technology as how C.D.-R’s were developed. [3]

              The “Green Book” covered C.D. interactive technology. [2] This technology was mainly used to synchronize both audio and data tracks on a C.D.-Rom drive. [2]  In this action, users were able to get motion videos and interactivity.

            The fourth book created, the “Orange Book,”  merely was an outline for the coming generation of writable C.D. technology, specifically C.D.-E, compact-disk erasable. [2]  Its purpose was the same as the floppy disc, but is contained a larger medium to store data. Today this technology is known as compact disk rewritable, C.D.-RW. Just like a hard drive, data can be written and rewritten onto these discs, allowing a portable medium of data storage. [3]

            The “White Book” was the last written book on C.D. technology. It outlined what is known as video compact discs, and contained the standard of data compression that is used to display large amounts of audio and video on a home computer. [2] This technology gave birth to a well-known technology of DVD’s, known as digital video drives.     

  Effects on Society

       Like other technologies, society put the compact disc at a high demand.  The rise of the compact disc showed the advancement in many fields that would adapt this technology. The compact disc was not primarily used in society for music purposes, but it did improve the music world dramatically. Just like music, computers embraced the compact disc and its features to improve PC technology. We didn't over-use this resource, instead, we mastered it and put it to good use, and made it a household name. One question that arises is, "Why didn't the compact disc die out?" "Or did it?" The impact that the disc once had on society, is not felt in the same way as it once did. The usage of C.D. technology is now minimal in terms of music, due to the Internet and MP3's players now readily availabel. We do use DVD's but, they are soon to be replaced  by a newer and more improved compact disc. If not for this new technology, games would suffer, as well as movies and computers. In many ways, we have become dependent on this technology, due to it being embedded in our everyday lives.

Modern Day C.D. Player System

References

 [1] "Introduction of the CD."Early History of Oldies CDs11 Dec. 2008 <http://www.bsnpubs.com/cdhist.html>.

 [2] Connelly, Donald. Digital Radio Production. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005.

 [3] Davidson, Michael W. "History of the Compact Disc." Molecular Expressions: History of the Compact Disc. 2008. Florida State University . 11 Dec. 2008

           <http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/electromag/computers/compactdiscs/cd.html>.

  [4] Pohlman, Ken C. The compact disc: a history of theory and uses. Madision: A-R editions, 1989.