CD-ROM
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compact disc
compact disc (CD), a small plastic disc used for the storage of digital data. As originally developed for audio systems, the sound signal is sampled at a rate of 44,100 times a second, then each sample is measured and digitally encoded on the 43-4 in (12 cm) disc as a series of microscopic pits on an otherwise polished surface. The disc is covered with a transparent coating so that it can be read by a laser beam. Since nothing touches the encoded portion, the CD is not worn out by the playing process. Introduced in 1982, the CD offered other advantages over the phonograph record and recording tape—smaller size, greater dynamic range, extremely low distortion—and met with rapid consumer acceptance; the CD became the music carrier of choice by 1991, when sales exceeded those of audiocassettes.
Other CD formats include CD-ROM [Compact Disc–Read Only Memory], a form of CD that is read (but not written to) by computer using a CD-ROM drive and that can contain computer programs and digitized text, sound, photographs, and video; CD-R [Compact Disc–Recordable] and CD-RW [Compact Disc–ReWritable], which can be written to one time and multiple times, respectively. Interactive CDs (CD-I, CDTV, and other formats) can store video, audio, and data. Photo CD is a format that holds digitized photographs and sound. There are also CD-ROMs that require special players with built-in microcomputers.
Other optical disk formats include digital versatile (or video) discs and videodiscs. A digital versatile disk (DVD) holds far more information than a CD. DVD players are backward compatible to existing technologies, so they can also play a CD (or CD-ROM), but a CD player cannot be used with a DVD (or DVD-ROM). The videodisc, or laser disk system, uses 12-in. (30-cm) disks for video recording. Its technology, unlike that of the CD, is an analog system that uses a laser to read a variable-width track, much like a conventional phonograph record.
CD-ROM
[¦sē¦dē ′räm]CD-ROM
CD-ROM
CD-ROM
(Compact Disc-Read Only Memory) A type of CD disc that can only be read, but not recorded. Used to store programs and data files, a CD-ROM holds 650MB or 700MB of data and employs a different recording format than the audio CD (CD-DA), from which it evolved. In the 1990s, the CD-ROM rapidly replaced the floppy disk for software distribution.An audio CD player cannot read CD-ROMs, but CD-ROM drives can play audio discs. In practice, the term "CD" refers to all CD formats. The phrase "insert the installation CD" really means "insert the installation CD-ROM."
How CD-ROMs Are Made
CD-ROMs are made by "burning" a blank CD-R disc and sending it to a media manufacturer, which creates a master disc that is used to stamp out the required quantity. See CD-R and mini CD.
Pretty Slow in the Beginning
Back in the late 1980s, the first CD-ROM drives transferred data at 150KB per second. By doubling the spindle speed from 530 to 1,060 RPM, the transfer rate doubled to 300KB (2x). For several years thereafter, speeds increased until reaching 48x and higher, making the "1x" drive painfully slow by comparison. For details about speeds, see CD-ROM drives. Access times range from 80 to 150ms. See CD-R, CD-RW, DVD and optical disc.
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| Caddy Load and Tray Load |
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| Earlier drives used a caddy. The disc must be inserted into the caddy, and the caddy inserted into the drive. Today, drives are caddyless. The disc is placed into a tray. |
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| Caddy Load and Tray Load |
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| Earlier drives used a caddy. The disc must be inserted into the caddy, and the caddy inserted into the drive. Today, drives are caddyless. The disc is placed into a tray. |
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| Reading CDs and CD-ROMs |
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| Digital data are carved into the disc as pits (low spots) and lands (high spots). As the laser shines into the moving pits and lands, a sensor detects a change in reflection when it encounters a transition from pit to land or land to pit. Each transition is a 1. The lack of transitions are 0s. There is only one laser in a drive. Two are used here to illustrate the difference in reflection. |
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