Window to the Past

In the early 1970s, using video Laserdisc technology, Philips' researchers started experiments with "audio-only" optical discs, initially with wideband frequency modulation FM and later digitized PCM audio signals. At the end of the 1970s, Philips, Sony, and other companies presented prototypes of digital audio discs.

In 1979 Philips and Sony decided to join forces, setting up a joint task force of engineers whose mission was to design the new digital audio disc. Prominent members of the task force were Kees Immink and Toshitada Doi. After a year of experimentation and discussion, the taskforce produced the "Red Book", the Compact Disc standard. Philips contributed the general manufacturing process, based on the video Laserdisc technology. Philips also contributed the Eight-to-Fourteen Modulation, EFM, which offers both a large playing time and a high resilience against disc handling damage such as scratches and fingerprints; while Sony contributed the error-correction method, CIRC. The Compact Disc Story, told by a former member of the taskforce, gives background information on the many technical decisions made, including the choice of the sampling frequency, playing time, and disc diameter. According to Philips, the Compact Disc was thus "invented collectively by a large group of people working as a team."

The Compact Disc reached the market in late 1982 in Asia and early the following year in other markets. This event is often seen as the "Big Bang" of the digital audio revolution. The new audio disc was enthusiastically received, especially in the early-adopting classical music and audiophile communities and its handling quality received particular praise.
The far larger popular and rock music industries were slower to adopt the new format, especially in the huge consumer markets in Europe and the United States. This "highbrow niche" status of the CD format changed dramatically in May, 1985, when UK rock band Dire Straits released the album Brothers in Arms. One of the first all-digital rock recordings and the first by a major act, Brothers in Arms played to the strengths of the CD by offering more and longer tracks, running ten minutes longer than the album's concurrent LP and cassette releases. It spurred the sale of compact disc players like no other recording before it, helped to drive down the price of players, induced other acts and record labels to release more music on CD and firmly established the format in the mind of the average consumer.


http://articles.directorym.com/CD_Players_Albuquerque_NM-r89-Albuquerque_NM.html

How much should I expect to pay

These days, CD technology is commonplace enough that you'll actually see portable CD players in the $50-and-under category, which was the going range for low-end portable cassette players some 15 years ago. Don't expect too much from this price range--basic features and less-than-stellar sound quality--but you'll get at least basic CD-player functionality.

The average price for a decent portable disc player is about $100-200, for which you should expect good digital-to-analog converters (the chief arbiter of any player's sound quality), features like programmability and random-play, extended battery life (10 hours or more from two or four AA batteries), and some form of anti-skip protection to guard against interruptions in music playback due to jostling or bumping.

More expensive players will offer more features, better build quality, and sometimes, though not always, better sound. Features can include longer anti-skip buffers, longer battery life, equalization (such as bass boost), AM/FM radio, and spiffier headphones.



http://articles.directorym.com/CD_Players-a89.html

Get This to the CD Player, Stat!

Thinking beyond Jay-Z and Coldplay, researchers at Ohio State University have turned a standard compact disk into a biochemical laboratory. Their specially designed CD completely automates a commonly used assay for classifying HIV and some cancers, eliminating many tedious steps and producing results in one-tenth of the time.

As early as four decades ago, researchers at Monsanto tried to use centrifugal force to push liquids through a series of chambers on a plastic disk, says L. James Lee of Ohio State. His updated “lab on a CD” contains a series of wells and channels, each no deeper than the width of a human hair. Blood or cell samples are placed in one set of the disk’s chambers. Test chemicals are then mixed sequentially by changing the speed that the CD rotates: Solutions in wells closer to the outside move outward at lower rotation speeds, while those closer to the center remain in place until the CD spins more quickly.

Besides saving time, the lab CD also uses less of the expensive antibodies needed for common disease tests, cutting material costs by up to 90 percent. Within two years, technicians may be listening to their favorite music CDs while their experiments spin nearby on a similar disk.


http://discovermagazine.com/2004/oct/get-this-to-the-cd-player1006

DVD and CD Duplication Services

How to get the best cd duplication service at the best price
If you are looking for a good price on a dvd or cd duplication service, it is worth knowing the difference between duplication and replication. The duplication process uses a recorder to "burn" your data into a pre-manufactured cd or dvd. These CDrs and DVDrs are quite simply blank discs, and your data, whether it is text files, music, computer programs, multi-media or video, is added by using a dvd or cd recorder. This process takes between 3 and 80 minutes per disc (depending on the speed of the recorder). The time factor means that it is less cost effective to use a cd duplication service if you are ordering large numbers of cds or dvds.

Replication - the alternative cd duplication service
DVD and CD replication can best be explained as "stamping" your data into an injection molded cd or dvd. These discs have a silver look to them, similar to the audio CD discs that you would buy in a music store. CD / DVD Replication is used with larger orders, where it is vital to get the "per disc" price as low as possible.

So, if you only require a few copies, DVD / CD duplication is a more cost effective option than replication, because the set-up costs are minimal by comparison. In fact, to complete smaller numbers of discs by duplication is not only less expensive, but the job can be competed more quickly. But if you want more than about 500 copies, you would be better off using the replication process because your data is actually built into the construction of the DVD or CD, and not added later.

To print on to your DVD/CD it would not be advisable to use inkjet printing which smears and smudges, or labels which look tacky, unprofessional and can peel up or jam. Be sure to use a print system that directly prints onto the surface of the CD or DVD. Your discs will look just like the mass produced CD / DVD albums you buy from the shops.

At Deckchair we will offer you a quality DVD/CD duplication or replication service with a fast turnaround. We can help you with all aspects of the process including artwork and package design. We are very experienced in the design of interactive cds which provides a very professional way to showcase your products or information about your company.

Article Source: http://www.kokkada.com



http://www.kokkada.com/Article/DVD-and-CD-Duplication-Services/21631

Linn Sondek CD12 CD Player

A funny thing happened to Linn Product's Brian Morris when he attempted to bring Linn's new Sondek CD12 through Customs as hand-luggage:

Customs agent: "What's in the box, sir?"

Brian: "A CD player."

Customs agent: "Value?"

Brian: "$20,000."

Customs agent: "Who are you trying to kid? I know what CD players are worth—I've got one. Go stand over there until we sort this out."

It took a whole day, Linn's customs broker, and a flurry of phone calls, but eventually Brian did bring the CD12 into this country and deliver it to me in Santa Fe. But the customs agent's question was actually a good one. CD technology is now fairly mature. In fact, some might argue that, with the increased data-storage capacity of the DVD, not to mention the impending DVD-Audio standard, the CD might even be entering its twilight phase. Who on earth would bring a $20,000 CD player to market now?

Linn Products, obviously. As a company, Linn has always gone its own way—at its own pace—and if the idea of producing a no-holds-barred CD player at this particular moment strikes some people as foolhardy, the folks at Linn just don't care. They point out that there are millions and millions of CDs out there that will benefit from a player like the Sondek CD12, and that it will be years before there's anything like that selection on DVD, or whatever the next digital music medium will be. Besides, they point out, the typical Linn customer already has a substantial investment in software and is anxious to extract from it as much musical pleasure as possible, even if that means spending an amount less obsessed observers would label ludicrous.

If this argument sounds familiar, it's because Linn has said the same thing before—specifically, 17 years ago, when, in the pre-dawn of the CD age, people were predicting the demise of the turntable and the vinyl disc. Here we are, nearly two decades into the digital era, and there are more high-end turntables for sale than there ever were during the analog era. No, the LP hasn't exactly triumphed, but there are still a lot of music lovers out there who love their records and are willing to spend "ludicrous" amounts to hear them played properly.

http://www.stereophile.com/cdplayers/86/

Sony launches 'dancing' music player

Sony on Monday unveiled a new robotic music player shaped like an egg with flapping wings that can twist to its tunes.

The "Rolly" is a digital music player that plays music through built-in speakers and has colour lights that flash as it "dances".

Users can set the movements along with the music they download from their personal computers and Bluetooth devices, the company said.

The music player, which will go on sale in Japan on September 29, has one gigabyte of memory to store tunes.

Sony, which withdrew from robot technology development due to its financial difficulties, said the new product was an audio product first and foremost.

"The motion control and sensor technologies (developed in earlier robot projects) are applied to Rolly, but this is an audio product," said Sony spokeswoman Saori Takahashi.

Sony developed dog-shaped robots called Aibo and humanoids, Qrio, but withdrew from robot development last year to focus on more lucrative flat-screen televisions.

The company was once a leader in portable music players, bringing the world the Walkman, but it has since fallen well behind rival Apple and its phenomenally popular iPod.


http://www.smh.com.au/news/articles/sony-launches-dancing-music-player/2007/09/11/1189276676793.html

How to Transfer Music onto a Portable MP3 Player

You have finally taken the plunge with your first MP3 player and are so excited to use it for the first time. You break it out of the box and your excitement turns to dismay as your realize that you have no idea how to get music on the darned thing. The good news is that, in most cases, getting music onto your player is a fairly simple task. The bad news is that there are many different MP3 players, and not all of them use the same way to get music onto them. However, they all use the same basic principles. Hopefully armed with some basic information, you can figure out how to get music on your player with little difficulty.
The Process

Overall, the process of transferring music files consists of the following:

* Install music management software on your computer
* Determine the source of the music files that you want to transfer
* Create the appropriate music file format for your transfer
* Connect your MP3 player to your computer
* Transfer your music files to your player
* Disconnect your player

Step 1: Install music management software on your computer
In order to create music files from your CDs and transfer music onto your MP3 player, you need to install music software onto your computer if it is not already installed. Usually, the appropriate software for your player is bundled with the MP3 player. If so, install that software, as it is probably the best option for your MP3 player. Two of the more popular examples of music management software include MusicMatch Jukebox and iTunes.

Step 2: Determine the Source of the Music to Transfer
The next step in getting music on your MP3 player is to determine the music that you want to transfer. The music must be owned by you and be in a format that you can easily convert to a format that can be read by your player. The two most common ways are through a music CD that you own or through a download from an Internet music store. Though possible, it is more difficult to use an old album or cassette tape as your source for music. This article does not address these cases.

Step 3: Create MP3s or other appropriate media from the source
If you are downloading from the Internet, your music files should already be in a format playable by your MP3 player. Skip to Step 4.

If you are using a music CD as your source:

1. Insert the CD into your computer.
2. Launch the music management software that you installed above. The application should recognize the CD and if you are connected to the Internet, should provide you with the artist name, album title and all of the names of the songs.
3. Check the preferences for ripping/creating/importing MP3s. This should be under a main menu on your software. For creating basic MP3s, make sure that the selected encoder is for MP3s (Note: almost all MP3 players will play MP3 format, so if you are unsure what format to use, choose this one). Also note the name and the location on the computer of the MP3s that will be created from your CD. For the best sounding audio quality adjust the sound quality to the best option available.
4. Rip the CD. There is usually a button on the software to rip the CD. On iTunes, it is called import and located in the top right corner. On MusicMatch it is called record and is a red record button located on the Recorder window.
5. DO NOTHING on the computer until the rip is complete. This is important because you may create MP3s that skip if your computer is not dedicated to ripping the CD.



http://www.techlore.com/article/10385/How-to-Transfer-Music-onto-a-Portable-MP3-Player/