Inventions and Inventors Volume 1 - Online Public Access Catalog

224 / Compact disc
come accustomed to the pristine digital sound, they clamored for
digital recording capability. The alliance of Sony and Philips broke
down in the search for a digital tape technology for home use. Sony
produced a digital tape system called DAT, while Philips responded
with a digital version of its compact audio tape called DCC. Sony
answered the challenge of DCC with its Mini Disc (MD) product,
which can record and replay digitally.
The versatility of digital recording has opened up a wide range of
consumer products. Compact disc technology has been incorporated
into the computer, in which CD-ROM readers convert the digital
code of the disc into sound and images. Many home computers have
the capability to record and replay sound digitally. Digital recording
is the basis for interactive audio/video computer programs in which
the user can interface with recorded sound and images. Philips has
established a strong foothold in interactive digital technology with its
CD-I (compact disc interactive) system, which was introduced in
1990. This acts as a multimedia entertainer, providing sound, moving
images, games, and interactive sound and image publications such as
encyclopedias. The future of digital recording will be broad-based
systems that can record and replay a wide variety of sounds and images
and that can be manipulated by users of home computers.
See also Cassette recording; Dolby noise reduction; Electronic
synthesizer; FM radio; Laser-diode recording process; Optical disk;
Transistor; Videocassette recorder; Walkman cassette player.
Further Reading
Copeland, Peter. Sound Recordings. London: British Library, 1991.
Heerding, A. A Company of Many Parts. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1998.
Marshall, David V. Akio Morita and Sony. Watford: Exley, 1995.
Morita, Akio, with Edwin M. Reingold, and Mitsuko Shimomura.
Made in Japan: Akio Morita and Sony. London: HarperCollins, 1994.
Nathan, John. Sony: The Private Life. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin,
1999.
Schlender, Brenton R. “How Sony Keeps the Magic Going.” Fortune
125 (February 24, 1992).