The first CD player in the world was known as the CDP-101, and it was introduced in the market by

electronics giant Sony, in the year 1982. It was Nobuyuki Idei, who was the chairman and CEO of the
company, who had come up with the name CDP-101, because in binary numbers 0101 stands for the
number 5. It is said that Idei wanted to imply that a CD player was not of the best possible quality, but
a medium one.

Priced at an exorbitant $900, the first CD player was considered a huge advancement in the
digital music industry, and eventually replaced the audio tape. The CD, invented by Klass Compaan,
had come much earlier in 1969, but the CD player took close to 15 years to get to the lay people.
In 1983, the portable CD player came as a boon for those who liked to listen to their choice of
music while on the go. This was initially called the CD Walkman, but the popular nickname given by
users soon became a huge hit and Sony officially adopted it, thus changing the name to Discman. CD
players then added to the joy of driving in 1984, when having them installed in vehicles was made
possible.
CD ROMs, which are computer disk drives for computers, were first made in the year 1985.
Writable or recordable CDs came later, in 1988. These, with the help of CD recording devices, let
users make their own CDs, which they could then play on CD players.
On a not so promising note, CD players are fast losing out on popularity, thanks to new digital

The technology of the Compact Disc is very complex, but in general it can be
divided into 'digital data processing', 'optics' and mechanics. These disciplines
allowed a system to be developed more than twenty years ago that was superior
to any other concept, and that since then has grown into an enormous family
which could never have been imagined at the time of the introduction.

The development of the Compact Disc was first made possible by the invention
of the laser diode, which is an essential part of the Compact Disc and all other
optical recording systems. The basic principle is that a fine laser beam is focused
on a surface that contains digital information in the form of tiny pits. Since the
surface of the disc is reflective, the laser beam is reflected with the pattern of
the pits to a photodiode, after which the signal can be detected and converted
into analogue audio information. This means there is a non contact readout
system, which cannot damage the information carrier, so that a Compact Disc in
principle has an unlimited lifetime. This form of readout is highly reliable, even if
the CD is worn or damaged. The CD also gives excellent reproduction quality,
with negligibly low wow and flutter, a high signal-to-noise ratio and a wide
dynamic range. In terms of performance the switch from analogue to digital
audio processing is a more far reaching one in the history of the gramophone
record than that from mechanical to electronic recording and reproduction at the
beginning of the last century.

While the CD was originally conceived in 1969 by inventor Klass Compaan, the
CD player did not reach the public marketplace for almost 15 years. The
introduction of the CD player into the worldwide market helped to replace audio
tape as the preferred recording medium, which would eventually lead consumers
into the digital age and the advent of MP3s and MP3 players in the early twentyfirst century.

History

The first CD player was called the CDP-101 and was produced by the
Sony corporation. Original CD players could only read Compact Discs,
though they have evolved over the years into players that can read CDRWs, DVDs, MP3s and other digital media.

Computers

CD drives for computers, referred to as CD-ROMs, were first

produced in 1985. They allowed users to play music on their computers
using CDs. It also allowed software companies to sell programs and other
products in CD format.

Sponsored Links

Monthly SIP Investments

Invest as low as Rs 1000pm in Top SIPs in just 2mins. Start a ZipSip.
www.myuniverse.co.in/ZipSip

Car Players

In 1984, CD players became commercially available to be installed

in automobiles. This allowed users to listen to CDs while driving.

Discman

The portable CD player was first produced in 1983 and was called
the CD Walkman. It was nicknamed the "Discman," and the name was
officially adopted by Sony in 2000.

Writeable CDs

Recordable CDs were introduced to the world market in 1988, along

with CD recording devices, which allowed people to make their own mixed
CDs to play on their CD players.

Fun Fact

With the rise in popularity of the MP3 player, sales of CD players

have drastically dropped since 2000

The history of the portable CD player began in 1984 when Sony launched
the D-50, a square device that that was shaped similarly to a CD case,
only three times as thick. Sony consumers started calling the device a
Discman, a reference to Sony's supremely popular Walkman line of
portable cassette players.

The first players were based around the drawer-loading Sony CDP101 technology, and soon the top-loading wedge-fronted Philips
CD100 (above).
And by the time the format was officially rolled out worldwide, in March
1983, Gramophone magazine was able to publish a special section
reviewing not only the discs available, but no fewer than four CD
players.
The original Philips and Sony machines were in there, along with
Hitachi's DA-1000, in which the disc was clamped vertically in the
manner of a cassette player, and the drawer-loading Marantz CD-73,
the company's follow-up to the Philips CD100-derived CD-63.

The CD-73 had a clear panel in the top-plate, through which the
green-illuminated disc could be seen spinning.