The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was codeveloped by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It uses the Compact Disc Digital Audio format which typically provides 74 minutes of audio on a disc. In later years, the compact disc was adapted for non-audio computer data storage purposes as CD-ROM and its derivatives. First released in Japan in October 1982, the CD was the second optical disc technology to be invented, after the much larger LaserDisc (LD). By 2007, 200 billion CDs had been sold worldwide.
CD-R is a digital optical disc storage format. A CD-R disc is a compact disc that can only be written once and read arbitrarily many times.
High fidelity is the high-quality reproduction of sound. It is popular with audiophiles and home audio enthusiasts. Ideally, high-fidelity equipment has inaudible noise and distortion, and a flat frequency response within the human hearing range.
An optical disc is a flat, usually disc-shaped object that stores information in the form of physical variations on its surface that can be read with the aid of a beam of light. Optical discs can be reflective, where the light source and detector are on the same side of the disc, or transmissive, where light shines through the disc to be detected on the other side.
Compact Disc Digital Audio, also known as Digital Audio Compact Disc or simply as Audio CD, is the standard format for audio compact discs. The standard is defined in the Red Book, one of a series of Rainbow Books that contain the technical specifications for all CD formats. CDDA utilizes pulse-code modulation (PCM) and uses a 44,100 Hz sampling frequency and 16-bit resolution, and was originally specified to store up to 74 minutes of stereo audio per disc.
Super Audio CD (SACD) is an optical disc format for audio storage introduced in 1999. It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips Electronics and intended to be the successor to the compact disc (CD) format.
An audiophile is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction. An audiophile seeks to reproduce recorded music to achieve high sound quality, typically in a quiet listening space and in a room with good acoustics.
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab is a record label that specialized in the production of audiophile issues. The company produces reissued vinyl LP records, compact discs, and Super Audio CDs and other formats.
The SPARS code is a three-position alphabetic classification system developed in the early 1980s by the Society of Professional Audio Recording Services (SPARS) for commercial compact disc releases to denote aspects of the sound recording and reproduction process, distinguishing between the use of analog equipment and digital equipment. The code's three positions refer to recording, mixing, and mastering respectively. The first two positions may be coded either "A" for analog or "D" for digital; the third position (mastering) is always "D" on digital CDs. The scheme was not originally intended to be limited to use on digital packaged media: it was also available for use in conjunction with analog releases such as vinyl or cassette, but this was seldom done in practice.
Disc rot is the tendency of CD, DVD, or other optical discs to become unreadable because of chemical deterioration. The causes include oxidation of the reflective layer, reactions with contaminants, ultra-violet light damage, and de-bonding of the adhesive used to adhere the layers of the disc together.
The 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 in lost information.
Wheelin' & Dealin' is an album by Frank Wess, John Coltrane, Paul Quinichette, Mal Waldron, Doug Watkins and Art Taylor released in April 1958 by Prestige Records. It was later reissued on New Jazz Records in 1964. On a small number of reissues, it is credited to "The Prestige All Stars", a name used by Prestige for various combinations of musicians who were under contract to the label. The compact disc reissue adds two alternate takes that did not appear on the initial vinyl releases.
Compact disc bronzing, or CD bronzing, is a specific, uncommon variant of disc rot, a type of corrosion that affects the reflective layer of compact discs and renders them unreadable over time. The phenomenon was first reported by John McKelvey in the September/October 1994 issue of American Record Guide.
A CD-ROM is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both computer data and audio with the latter capable of being played on a CD player, while data is only usable on a computer.
Home audio refer to audio consumer electronics designed for home entertainment, such as integrated systems like shelf stereos, as well as individual components like loudspeakers and surround sound receivers.
Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation is a manufacturer of CDs, DVDs, UMDs, and Blu-ray Discs. The company has many plants worldwide. Although it primarily services Sony Music Entertainment-owned record labels, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and Sony Interactive Entertainment, it also manufactures discs for other labels, home entertainment distributors, and video game publishers.
Marshall Blonstein is an entertainment industry executive who is best known as the founder and president of the audiophile music labels Audio Fidelity and DCC Compact Classics. He also held positions at labels including Island and Ode.
The Warner Premium Sound series is series of 2011 hybrid multichannel-stereo Super Audio CD/CD releases, which an important development in the format war between Super Audio CDs (SACDs) and DVD-Audio discs. It marks the first time that the Warner Music Group has released titles in the SACD format; previously they had endorsed the DVD-Audio format. In a parallel development in the United States, four albums by the Doors, titles strongly associated with the Warner Music Group, are also to be released on hybrid multichannel-stereo SACDs by Analogue Productions. Also Mobile Fidelity have been issuing and continue to be issuing SACDs of the Warner catalogue, but in the past these have been stereo-only discs, and for their new releases they do not specify whether a given disc might have multichannel contents also.
Chronicle: The Complete Prestige Recordings 1951–1956 is a box set of 8 CDs with compiled recordings of the American jazz trumpeter and composer Miles Davis, made in sessions between 1951 and 1956 for Prestige Records. It was issued in 1988. The box set contains a 64-page illustrated booklet that includes rare photographs, full discographical details, and an analysis of each session by Dan Morgenstern, Director of the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University. It is a re-release of the 12 vinyl discs records on 8 CDs in 1980.
