Yeah, they did kinda suck, but counterpoint: Uncompressed PCM. For a solid 10-12 years they were the best audio quality you could get at the consumer level until computers and portable media players got enough storage and power (and good enought audio cards) to handle high-bitrate MP3 and lossless codecs. Even today they’re still significantly better quality than even most streaming or download services. And no drm…
My entire music collection consists of lossless FLAC files I’ve ripped from CDs or downloaded as a lossless web release. Most artists I listen to still do CD releases, and I can pick up a copy at their concerts, which is a good way to support them. I don’t pay for any streaming services since I basically run my own via Plex which can stream lossless to all my devices.
OPUS or even AAC is OK at 128 kb/s already but player compatibility is low.
If you know you’re going to be playing it on VLC, you can even fit a decently good-looking 90min H.265 movie on one. When H.266 becomes widely available, the movie can be in 1080p at about HDTV broadcast quality.
@WaltJRimmer: When I was in High School I could get a
45RPM record for a buck. One track each side. My dad had 78RPM records with TWO track on some sides!
But the runtime is at most 80 min (nominally 74) so that limits the practical amount.
It would have been nice if LP modes were available in Red Book CDs (no compression but lower bit depth and/or mono). The motor controller can already handle a wide range of speeds to maintain a constant linear velocity. And if that turned out to be technically difficult, automatic two-pass mono could work - include an extra bit in the ToC for L/R channel, and play one of them first and then the other with the second half of the tracks. The result would be a double-runtime mono disc with a seek break in between two tracks around the middle (varying in length between players) but that would be acceptable for audiobooks. Of course CD-ROMs with MP3s/AACs are available but player compatibility is still problematic.
CDs suck. 20 Tracks max?? Also they’re scratching easily. I never liked them.
Yeah, they did kinda suck, but counterpoint: Uncompressed PCM. For a solid 10-12 years they were the best audio quality you could get at the consumer level until computers and portable media players got enough storage and power (and good enought audio cards) to handle high-bitrate MP3 and lossless codecs. Even today they’re still significantly better quality than even most streaming or download services. And no drm…
My entire music collection consists of lossless FLAC files I’ve ripped from CDs or downloaded as a lossless web release. Most artists I listen to still do CD releases, and I can pick up a copy at their concerts, which is a good way to support them. I don’t pay for any streaming services since I basically run my own via Plex which can stream lossless to all my devices.
Not if you burn 128kbps mp3s! Slaps CD You can fit an entire discography in this bad boy.
OPUS or even AAC is OK at 128 kb/s already but player compatibility is low.
If you know you’re going to be playing it on VLC, you can even fit a decently good-looking 90min H.265 movie on one. When H.266 becomes widely available, the movie can be in 1080p at about HDTV broadcast quality.
Twenty tracks? You whippershnappers don’t know how good you got it! When I was growing up, we only had eight!
ikr‽ my elbow pits have more tracks than those CDs 😪 /j
@WaltJRimmer: When I was in High School I could get a
45RPM record for a buck. One track each side. My dad had 78RPM records with TWO track on some sides!
I had a 128mb mp3 player ^^
20 tracks isn’t the max, I think they can do up to 99
But the runtime is at most 80 min (nominally 74) so that limits the practical amount.
It would have been nice if LP modes were available in Red Book CDs (no compression but lower bit depth and/or mono). The motor controller can already handle a wide range of speeds to maintain a constant linear velocity. And if that turned out to be technically difficult, automatic two-pass mono could work - include an extra bit in the ToC for L/R channel, and play one of them first and then the other with the second half of the tracks. The result would be a double-runtime mono disc with a seek break in between two tracks around the middle (varying in length between players) but that would be acceptable for audiobooks. Of course CD-ROMs with MP3s/AACs are available but player compatibility is still problematic.
Fr, I haven’t even pirated music since Spotify came onto the scene
TV and Movies otoh…
havent pirated music…cant say the same about spotify itself