The History and Development of CDs and Duplication

Monday, March 3, 2008

CD recordings have become so popular in recent years, that anything less would seem like it comes from ancient times.  However, the birth and growth of CDs as well as the process of CD duplication is one that is no more than three decades old, allowing for a quick growth in a new way of formatting information and listening to music.  This growth and the history in which has allowed this technology to become mainstream is one that has moved from luxury and into every home. 


CD technology and capacities did not become available until 1982.  The first known CD player was in Japanese stores at this time.  However, it's popularity and the ability to use CDs was not a part of modern technology until several years later.  This was mostly linked to the unavailability of duplication machines as well as the difficulty in reaching capacities with technological needs. 


Despite the launch of CDs and players in 1982, the items were considered luxury technology.  This was not only based on the high rate needed to produce CDs with the newer technology and duplication systems, but also on the inability to produce the necessary resources for each copy.  This caused players and CDs to be at high costs, with CDs averaging at $100 per CD. 


Not only were the players and CDs difficult to produce and find, but the ability to duplicate and reproduce, as well as record CDs, were also difficult to find.  It wasn't until 1995 that CD burners and CD-Rs were available to the public.  Once again, these costs were at higher rates, with a recording device being as high as $5,000.  Disks, especially CD-Rs, remained at high rates and were hard to find from normal areas.  However, it did not take long before CDs began to move down in price and become easily accessible to the public. 


While the technology was being developed for CDs and duplication systems, companies also began to develop blue prints in which to follow when moving through the duplication process and creating standards for the CDs.  The first one of these was from Phillips and Sony and is attributed through the Orange Book.  This particular book defines the technology used with CDs and details the different types of CDs in which can be duplicated. 


After this information was given to companies, duplication processes and standards began to move throughout the industry.  This followed with different CD standards, specifically through CD-ROM information, which is found in the Yellow Book, and Audio CD information, which is known as the Red Book.  These different specifications move into details about the way in which the technology is formatted in each type of disk, as well as the printing and duplication capabilities and the potential for working with a disk.


The combination of developing new capacity for data storage and disks, as well as the use of technology in order to allow for the growth of CDs and duplication materials is one that continues to progress forward.  The technology companies that are a part of these standards, as well as the ways in which storage, transfer of data and end products of the CDs have developed their way into the market have progressed rapidly and opened new doors to technology.

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