High Definition Compatible Digital
Proprietary backward-compatible CD audio format / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) is a proprietary audio encode-decode process that claims to provide increased dynamic range over that of standard Compact Disc Digital Audio, while retaining backward compatibility with existing compact disc players.
Media type | Optical disc |
---|---|
Capacity | Typically up to 700 MB |
Read mechanism | 780 nm wavelength semiconductor laser |
Developed by | Pacific Microsonics Inc./Microsoft |
Usage | Audio storage |
Extended from | Red Book Compact disc |
Released | 1995; 29 years ago (1995) |
Originally developed by Pacific Microsonics, the first HDCD-enabled CD was released in 1995.[1] In 2000, the technology was purchased by Microsoft, and the following year, there were over 5,000 HDCD titles available.[2] Microsoft's HDCD official website was discontinued in 2005; by 2008, the number of available titles had declined to around 4,000.[1]
A number of CD and DVD players include HDCD decoding, and versions 9 and above of Microsoft's Windows Media Player on personal computers are capable of decoding HDCD.
HDCD is a favorite among artists who have a preference for high quality sound, such as Neil Young, the Beach Boys and the Grateful Dead—all of whom have multiple CD titles (new and archival) in their catalogs mastered in this process.[3][4]