Remember vinyl?

CDs might become thing of the past, too

April 3, 1996
Web posted at: 8:40 p.m. EST

From Tokyo Bureau Chief John Lewis

TOKYO (CNN) -- Technology never stops spinning out new hardware with new applications. One of the newest products in the multi-media field is DVD; which stands for digital video discs, digital virtual discs or digital versatile discs.

With this possible replacement for the VCR only a few months away from the marketplace, manufacturers are looking at the next step: digital audio discs that could replace the popular compact discs of today.

Digital video discs can compress video signals so that at least twice the capacity of a normal laser disc can be packed on a platform the size of a CD or CD-ROM.

Manufacturers hope that translates into sweeter music in the audio field. "By using very large capacity of this DVD disc, we'd like to accommodate much better sound quality, perhaps 'super' audio sound," said Kiji Hase of Toshiba.

Toshiba, along with Time-Warner, is leading the band toward this new technology.

"We were used to vinyl black records, but when we heard CD audio we thought it's great," Hase said. "I think this migration into better media will happen."

It may. But even Hase says it's at least two years or more away.

"Only audio nuts are talking about it now," said Tsutomu Nagato, a Tokyo marketer. "The general consumer is satisfied with existing CD technology. So unless it appeals to end-users through much better quality and cost, I think the new format may face some difficulties."

The biggest problem right now is that except for a few prototypes, the format is still just an idea. .

Related sites:

• Digital Versatile Disc - Resources
• Toshiba - DVD Optical Disc
• DVD Specifications