October 1st, 2021

On October 1, 1982, Sony and Phillips revolutionized music with the release of the world’s first commercial compact disc player, the CDP-101. It signaled the dawn of a new audio medium that promised to deliver a crystal-clear music experience for a generation of consumers accustomed to the analog hiss and crackle of vinyl records. The format was originally developed to store and play only sound recordings but was later adapted for storage of data (CD-ROM). Several other formats were further derived from these, including write-once audio and data storage (CD-R), rewritable media (CD-RW).

Although digital music files have largely replaced CDs as the format of choice for music distribution, CDs are still bought and sold today.

Source: www.philips.com/a-w/research/technologies/cd/beginning.html