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[[File:Compact Disc wordmark.svg|thumb]]
The first form of digital [[Optical Disc]], and one of the two most popular and ubiquitous forms (the other being [[DVD|DVDs]]). Compact Discs, or CDs as they are generally known, are usually 12 centimetres (approx. 5") across and are shiny on at least one side (the one without a label painted or burned on). They are mostly used for two things: music and computer data. (Yes, all those free coasters from your favorite ISP were compact discs, and the ones on sale for ten bucks at the checkout counter still are.) The two can overlap - [[MP 3]] CDs are gaining popularity. They're "compact" because they're smaller than phonograph records.▼
▲The first form of digital [[Optical Disc]], and one of the two most popular and ubiquitous forms (the other being [[DVD
In its original form, the format can hold up to 650 megabytes of data or 74 minutes of "CD Quality" music (the number was supposedly chosen because a [[Sony]] executive figured that that was just long enough to hold all of [[Ludwig Van Beethoven]]'s Ninth Symphony). Unofficial revisions pushed this limit up to 870 megabytes of data or 99 minutes of audio. Data CDs these days usually hold 700 megabytes. Music CDs are about the same as they ever have been, since the record labels rarely use all 74 minutes. Not every CD a record label releases is a music CD, however; if it also contains music videos, then it's a data CD. That kind may be marked "enhanced".
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Almost all drives that can hold a disc the size and shape of a normal CD can play a normal audio CD. Many of them also play data CDs; the popularity of the MP3 CD and the enhanced CD has killed some forms of CD [[Copy Protection]].
The standard for CDs declares only a maximum size. Undersized and oddly shaped CDs did and still do fly around. Early on, there were hopes that the
CDs remain the most popular choice for music and smaller installation programs, although these years the internet has started to be a serious contender for the role in data storage and transmission. Nearly every console with 32 bits or more uses CDs for some or all of its games. The [[Sega Dreamcast]] used a custom one-gigabyte version of the CD-ROM called the "GD-ROM" format instead of CDs or DVDs as a cost-saving and anti-piracy measure - which would have worked better if their GD-ROM player didn't also play normal data CDs (often, the GD-ROM contents minus copy protection pieces would fit on a CD-ROM.)
Incidentally, the CD's odd sample rate (44.1
A standard for Video Compact Disc, or VCD, also exists. Both video quality and program length (about an hour) are less than with DVDs, though DVD players and many CD-based game consoles are capable of playing them. VCDs never really caught on in the Western world, where most people stayed with VHS until DVDs came along, but became very popular in some Asian countries.
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[[Category:How Video Game Specs Work]]
[[Category:Compact Disc]]
[[Category:Pages with working Wikipedia tabs]]
[[Category:Formats]]
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