The Creation of the Compact Disc
From Collaboration to Revolution
In the late 1970s, L.F. Ottens, a technical executive at Philips, sent a telex to Sony’s chairman, Norio Ohga. The message was brief: “If you happen to come to Europe, please visit us.” What seemed like a simple invitation became the starting point for a groundbreaking collaboration that changed the way the world listened to music
A New Vision for Music
By the 1970s, leading manufacturers were exploring ways to harness digital audio, aiming to replace the vinyl record. Philips, building on their optical videodisc technology, had developed the Audio Long-Playing (ALP) disc, an 11.5 cm prototype capable of holding an hour of music. In 1978, Ottens invited Ohga to Philips’ headquarters in Eindhoven to showcase the innovation.
Ohga wasn’t your typical executive. A trained orchestra conductor and passionate music lover, he immediately recognized the ALP disc’s potential. Compact, durable, and offering superior sound quality, it was poised to surpass the LP. Ohga saw it as the next step in Sony’s evolution, following their successful partnership with Philips on the audio compact cassette.
Sony, too, had been pursuing digital audio independently. However, Ohga’s meeting with Ottens cemented the idea that combining Philips’ optical expertise with Sony’s advancements in digital audio could create a truly revolutionary product. Both companies also owned major record labels—Polygram for Philips and CBS/Sony for Sony—giving them an advantage in bringing this new format to market.
The Challenges of Collaboration
By 1979, Sony and Philips had officially joined forces. Engineers from both companies began meeting regularly in Tokyo and Eindhoven. These sessions were collaborative but far from smooth. Each company had distinct ideas about what the compact disc should be, leading to spirited debates.
The first major point of contention was the disc’s size and playback time. Philips proposed sticking with the 11.5 cm size to match the diagonal length of an audio cassette, making it ideal for car stereos. Sony, however, argued for a slightly larger 12 cm disc to accommodate 75 minutes of music—enough to hold Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Ohga insisted, “You can’t interrupt a performance halfway.” To back their case, Sony engineers measured suit pockets globally, proving that a 12 cm disc would fit comfortably. Philips eventually agreed.
Sound quality was another sticking point. Philips initially suggested 14-bit audio for ease of implementation, while Sony pushed for 16-bit audio to provide greater dynamic range and ensure the format’s longevity. Toshitada Doi, a Sony engineer, believed that “the CD’s mission was to deliver sound quality far superior to LPs.” After testing recordings—including the faint metallic shimmer of a triangle—Philips conceded that the 16-bit standard offered a significant improvement.
The Technology That Made It Work
Creating the CD required more than settling debates; it demanded technical breakthroughs. One critical challenge was how to encode data on the disc. Philips initially proposed a method called M2, but Sony’s alternative, which evolved into Eight-to-Fourteen Modulation (EFM), allowed more data to fit while reducing errors from scratches and fingerprints.
Error correction posed another hurdle. Sony’s Cross-Interleaved Reed-Solomon Code (CIRC) emerged as the superior system, capable of recovering data even from heavily damaged sections of a disc. In one memorable test, engineers smeared discs with grime and scratched them with sandpaper. Sony’s approach outperformed Philips’, and the team agreed to adopt it.
The "Dubbeltje" Coin and the Red Book
Even seemingly minor details sparked discussion. The center hole diameter, for instance, was settled at 15 mm, inspired by the Dutch ten-cent coin, the "dubbeltje," which fit perfectly. This detail became a symbolic link between the Netherlands and Japan.
By 1980, these decisions were codified in the “Red Book,” a technical document outlining the CD’s specifications, including its 12 cm size, 16-bit audio, 44.1 kHz sampling frequency, and critical technologies like EFM and CIRC.
The Six Meetings That Shaped the CD
From 1979 to 1980, six key meetings between Sony and Philips shaped the compact disc:
The First Meeting: Set the goal for a 1982 release and began discussions on dimensions and error correction.
The Second Meeting: Engineers exchanged findings on error correction and data encoding.
The Third Meeting: Sony introduced what would become EFM, significantly enhancing data storage and error resilience.
The Fourth Meeting: The sampling frequency was finalized at 44.1 kHz, ensuring compatibility with existing studio equipment.
The Fifth Meeting: Engineers agreed on the 12 cm size, CIRC error correction, and the "dubbeltje"-inspired center hole.
The Sixth Meeting: EFM was formally adopted, and the product was named “Compact Disc Digital Audio.”
Bringing the Compact Disc to the World
By March 1980, Sony and Philips presented their standardized CD format to the Digital Audio Disc (DAD) Conference. Competing systems from JVC and Telefunken relied on mechanical and electrostatic designs, but the Sony-Philips optical system prevailed due to its superior sound quality, durability, and ease of use.
Still, the journey wasn’t over. Commercializing the CD system required further refinements. By 1981, Sony unveiled a prototype nicknamed “Goronta,” which demonstrated the player’s potential despite its bulky appearance. Through relentless innovation, the first consumer-ready CD player, the Sony CDP-101, launched in October 1982, accompanied by 50 digitally remastered albums.
The World’s First Compact Disc
The first compact disc player, Sony’s CDP-101, launched in October 1982, alongside the first commercial CD, Billy Joel’s 52nd Street. The debut was a sensation. The CD’s glossy surface, immune to scratches and wear, felt futuristic. With its precise laser technology, it offered crystal-clear sound that seemed to defy physics.
Philips and Sony’s gamble had paid off. Within a decade, CDs had outsold vinyl records and become the dominant music format worldwide. They also laid the foundation for data storage, leading to innovations like CD-ROMs and DVDs.
A Legacy of Innovation
The compact disc wasn’t just a technological achievement, it was an example to what collaboration, creativity, and persistence can achieve. From Ottens’ humble telex to Ohga’s insistence on perfection, and from heated technical debates to groundbreaking innovations, the CD transformed how we experience music.
I can still remember seeing the episode of the technology programme Tomorrow’s World in the UK when they revealed the CD to the nation back in the early 80s.
They demonstrated its superior durability to vinyl by sitting a hot mug of coffee on it, and - I’m fairly certain - spreading jam on it, before wiping it clean and inserting it in the player.
I could just fancy some CDs with jam now.
Thank you.
On E-Bay $2410.00
SONY CDP-101 * first commercial cd player worldwide *