Compact disc players
have come a long way since they were first introduced more than 25 years ago. They are engineered to play a variety of formats from a number of different sources, but the main format is still CD Audio, also known as Audio CD.
History
Compact disc players hit the marketplace in the mid-1980s. The first models were expensive and a bit bulky, and the only CDs available to play were studio-produced commercial releases on the CD Audio format.
CD Audio
CD Audio (.cda) is an uncompressed format and doesn't contain the actual audio portion of the files. Instead, it is a representation of the individual tracks contained on the CD. They can only be played on a CD player or CD-ROM.
New Formats
As compact discs have evolved into a medium for data storage and recording, other file formats developed by different companies for use with their software have the ability to be recorded onto and played by a CD player.
CD Players
Different CD players will be able to play a varying number of formats; older home and car stereo CD players might only play CD Audio compact discs, while newer models are engineered to play a wider variety of the currently used formats. And CD-ROM drives in computers should be able to play any format that can be burned to a CD.
Labeling/Converting
Many home and car stereo CD players will list somewhere on the unit the accepted playback formats (MP3, .wav and .wma.).
Tags: able play, Compact disc, Compact disc players, compact discs, disc players, engineered play, home stereo
