History of compact disc

Standard sized Compact Discs are 1.2 mm thick with a diameter of 120mm. The original storage capacity of a CD was 680 MB or 74 minutes of audio. Currently 700 MB of data or about 80 minutes of audio is what one would typically encounter. However, larger sizes do exist. Also available are smaller Mini CD's which can vary in both size and playback time, but the most common ones are 80 mm in diameter or approximately 3 inches. These hold 24 minutes of audio or 210 MB of data.

In 1979, Sony and Philips collaborated on new ways to make the CD a more efficient storage and playback device, further refining technology started almost five years previous in Sony's case. In a sense, it was this team that "invented" the CD as we know it today as one of the world's most reliable forms of audio playback. One of the first developments to come from the coalition was the Red Book, which defined standard specification for the CD format. Among other details, it sets out the specific guidelines for playback length, deviations, error rate, modulation, and so on.

Becoming commercially available in 1982, the first album to be mass produced on compact disc was Billy Joel's 52nd Street, which was released at the same time as Sony's CD player CDP-101 in October. In subsequent years, CBS music continued to honor the anniversary by releasing several albums on Compact Disc every year on the same day.

For audiophiles of the time, the new Compact Disc seemed to be a dream comes true. It was highly praised as the superior method of playback by classical music connoisseurs who were one of the first groups to really get behind the new trend. As the 1980's progressed, the price of CD players slowly fell allowing the format to gain mainstream popularity, especially in the rock and pop categories. By 1989, almost a half billion CDs were manufactured on a yearly basis.

While it was originally intended as an audio format, the Compact Disc found use as a data storage method for computer programs. In June of 1985, the first CD-ROM was created for use in computers. A few years of progress later saw the development of CD-Recordable (originally called CD-WO) and eventually CD-RW, allowing consumers to record whatever they wanted onto the discs.

Don't confuse the CD-V with the VCD though. A VCD, or Video Compact Disc, is a more successful video format on CD that was created in 1993. Like audio CDs, a VCD holds either 74 minutes or 80 minutes of video and its quality is roughly the same as a VHS tape. Most DVD players are capable of playing VCDs but VCD players were also manufactured and quite popular in certain parts of the world - especially China and some other Asian countries.

Time continues to march on, however, and the Compact Disc is slowly getting left in the dust. Since the advent of solid state MP3 players, large label CD sales have consistently dropped. The CD still has a place in the computer world, however as an inexpensive way to store data. Though the road has been long, the story of the Compact Disc isn't over yet.

From: articlesbase.com

Introduction of mini HI FI systems

One of the features that you'll find on mini HI FI systems is a CD player. Many people enjoy playing CDs, and this provides a great digital sound. When you use CDs, you'll continue to have great sound quality, no matter how many times you continue to play the CDs. Another of the features to consider is a CD-R/RW. This allows you to not only play CDs on the system, but you can actually record music that you want to play as well.

Another feature you may want to consider is the MP3 CD feature. MP3 CDs have files that have been greatly compressed. It allows songs to be stored in a lot less space than usual CD files, but they still have almost the same quality of a regular CD. This allows you to get a lot more songs on one CD, which is definitely a big benefit. One CD with standard audio usually will hold about 20 different tracks. However, if you can put MP3 files on the same CD, you can get about 200 tracks on the very same CD. Just remember, not all Mini HI FI systems are going to play MP3s. However, if you can find one that does, you can definitely enjoy a lot more music on fewer CDs.

If you enjoy playing DVDs, then you may want to go with mini HI FI systems that will play DVDs on them. You can hook up the system to the TV and then enjoy some great DVDs. If you don't have the space for a surround sound system and a DVD player, then this is a great option that you may want to consider.

You'll find that some mini HI FI systems do have Digital Audio Broadcasting digital radio on them. This is definitely better than a traditional radio. One of the benefits of DAB digital radio is that you'll have many more channels to choose from. The sound is CD quality and the listening is usually free of any interference. When you go to purchase one of these systems, look for options that offer DAB radio. They should have the logo on them if they do include this feature.

Advantages of Mini Disc Players

Since the time they were first launched, the mini disc players have become an integral part of the audio systems. This is more evident with the small sized audio systems. A mini disc player has achieved this kind of success more due to the size of it and the storage capacity the mini disc offers. The mini disc is more like a CD but only much smaller to it. A typical mini disc has a size of 6.4 cm and has a playing time of 74 minutes. There are many advantages of using the mini disc players; first it gives you a very good quality output, compared to cassette players or CD players. Secondly it comes very handy compared to other music players so that it is very easy to carry it around. Third is the storage it offers, which is as good as carrying a CD or MP3 players around.

The biggest advantage of the mini disc player is the media or the mini disc. It gives the mini disc player lot many advantages over other music players. A mini disc is reusable like tape cassettes, hence you can overwrite existing files without deterioration in sound quality. Secondly mini discs provide greatly improved quality than cassette tapes and are much more durable. But with the advantages, there are a few disadvantages as well. For instance, the mini disc uses a digital recording format but at the same time employs compression. As a result the recording does not deteriorate over time but has a lower quality than a CD. Secondly minis discs use magnetic material for storing its data, and thus are more vulnerable to elements like magnetic fields and heat that a CD can handle. But above all the disadvantage, the size of the mini disc and the carrying & storing advantages make it quite a popular choice compared to the cassettes or CD’s.

Similarly, like the mini disc players, the mini disc car players are quite popular. These mini car audio systems can handle the wear and tear for any car audio system. Plus the mini discs are great for storage inside the car making it more convenient option. There are mini disc players that are equipped with the disc recording option that makes the whole affair of copying a mini disc from any CD gets even more simplified. You can also have a stationery mini disc recorder that offers the best recording quality.

Types of Mp3 Players

Flash-based MP3 players – This type have a flash memory chip built-in. They tend to be very tiny, ultra-portable and have no moving parts. As a user, you can do all your sports activities without worrying about your music skipping a beat. The downside to flash players is their high cost per megabyte. These players range from 32MB to 2 GB and the most popular models tend to be those from the Creative Muvo line, the iRiver iFP series and more recently, the Apple iPod Shuffle.

Hard drive based MP3 players – This used a 1.8-inch hard disk drive to store your music. The hard disk can hold large amounts of music – we're talking about 10GB and above. If you have a large music library and want to store tons of music, a hard-drive based MP3 player is the way to go. The cost per megabyte is very low. The downside? Well, due to the hard disk drive, which has moving parts, these players are not suited for rough physical activity or extreme sports. One of the most popular MP3 players in this category is the Apple iPod, which is selling like hot cakes out there.

Micro hard-drive based MP3 players - More recently, manufacturers have come up with micro hard-drive based MP3 players like the Apple iPod Mini, Creative Zen Micro and Rio Carbon. Featuring a smaller hard drive (which still gives ample storage space of about 4 to 5 GB), they have a much more compact design compared to fully fledged hard disk players. The few models mentioned above are selling like crazy too.

MP3 CD players - MP3 CD players are another type of MP3 players. These unit looks and feels like regular CD players. You can burn up to 150 MP3 songs to fill one CD-R disc, and then play it on the unit. The disadvantage of such players is their large size and their tendency to skip if jostled.