CD Vs DVD
Before the modern age of Spotify and Netflix, all of our video entertainment had been bought to us by our (not always) reliable CDs and DVDs and before that our trusty VHS collections!
CDs were for banging your favourite tunes on the stereo or in the car And DVDs were for kicking back in front of the video home system after a long day. But what are the differences between the two formats?
In The Beginning
Despite the vast improvement over the Floppy disc, the CD’s storage is still small compared to a DVD. The CD, or compact disc, has roughly 700 MB of storage amounting to about 1 hour and 15 minutes of audio playback. Which, when making a long playlist, may not be sufficient for a large amount of audio but is perfect for something like an album or EP.
However if it’s a particularly long playlist or video footage then a DVD, or Digital Versatile Disc, are a much more viable option. With about 4,700 MB, it has about 7 times the storage that a CD possesses.
CD and DVD in The 80’s to 90’s
By the late 1980’s CD sales were dominating the market for music mediums and in 1989 sales for the compact disc surpassed the sales of vinyl records. Its smaller size and ease of use was welcomed with open arms by the public as an alternative to the vinyl record which was about 6 times its size!
By the 90’s CD sales completely eclipsed that of the vinyl record and the latter began to fall out of the market. Shops like HMV were quick to jump on the trend and cashed in on the new media format.
Until DVDs hit the market in the late 90s, VHS tapes dominated the movie market and were the primary format for movies and videos. But when the DVD was released in 1997, it quickly began to dominate the market in terms of movie sales and rentals across the globe. The DVD was cheaper, better quality and half the size of the outdated VHS tape and the public welcomed this change with open arms. And with the rise of high definition Blu-ray discs, the DVD brought HD viewing to the masses.
In summary, if you’re looking to create a playlist to play in the car, on your stereo or to upload a small amount of photos then a CD is the best option in terms of convenience and compatibility. However if you’re looking to upload a lot of photos, a video or a movie then the larger storage DVD is going to be a much better option.
