Creator of the CD passes away, reports Sony

Sony has announced that former president and chairman Norio Ohga has passed away at age 81.

Ohga is credited with developing the CD (compact disc).

A lover of music and former opera singer, Ohga made the decision to design CDs at 4.8-inches (75 minutes of music), so it could store the complete Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

Ohga is also credited with helping expand Sony out of niche into a global player in the audio, video and electronics world.

Says current Sony Chairman Sir Howard Stringer (via CBS):

It is no exaggeration to attribute Sony's evolution beyond audio and video products into music, movies and game, and subsequent transformation into a global entertainment leader to Ohga-san's foresight and vision.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 23 Apr 2011 13:16

Interestx

Hmmm, depends on who is doing the crediting, I guess.

CD as we know it, like many recent post 1950's electronic innovations, is from Philips.
It grew out of Laserdisc, also a Philips invention and it was Philip's work which set the technical standards for CD.
Sony later joined the Philips effort.

23.4.2011 18:55 #1

DXR88

Regardless, i.m sure is turning in his grave with what blue-ray has become

23.4.2011 20:05 #2

KillerBug

"Ohga is also credited with helping expand Sony out of niche into a global player in the audio, video and electronics world."

Everyone makes mistakes; try not to hold it against him.

23.4.2011 21:45 #3

xnonsuchx

Originally posted by Interestx: Hmmm, depends on who is doing the crediting, I guess.

CD as we know it, like many recent post 1950's electronic innovations, is from Philips.
It grew out of Laserdisc, also a Philips invention and it was Philip's work which set the technical standards for CD.
Sony later joined the Philips effort.
Technology vs. items using that technology can seem somewhat of a grey area as far as crediting people. In this case, he created the CD specification, not the primary technology CD's used, so can be credited for "creating" CD. At least he didn't create MiniDisc (or did he?)! ;-)

23.4.2011 21:51 #4

xnonsuchx

Originally posted by DXR88: Regardless, i.m sure is turning in his grave with what blue-ray has become
That Blu-ray (and DVD) decided to keep the same disc size as CD...or he thought technology would never go any further?

23.4.2011 21:54 #5

KillerBug

Originally posted by xnonsuchx: Originally posted by DXR88: Regardless, i.m sure is turning in his grave with what blue-ray has become
That Blu-ray (and DVD) decided to keep the same disc size as CD...or he thought technology would never go any further? I think he is referring to all the proprietary filters, licensing, DRM, etc...the specification is broken wide open by hackers, and there are tools to backup BluRay movies to portable files that can work on most devices and which are perfect for pirates. Also, many player keys are known widely and can be gotten easily using google...yet all the licensing and other BS have created a situation where they can't even ship a linux distro with bluray support built in.

23.4.2011 22:40 #6

dp70

The patents for the cd belong to Philips of Eindhoven, Nederlands. Sony built the cd system under license from Philips.
Remember when Sony got stupid with non-conforming cd disks? Philips stopped them from using the cd-audio logo?
That is when I voted with my billfold and ceased buying sony anything. Guess I missed out on the gamebox screwing.

24.4.2011 03:33 #7

DXR88

Originally posted by KillerBug: Originally posted by xnonsuchx: Originally posted by DXR88: Regardless, i.m sure is turning in his grave with what blue-ray has become
That Blu-ray (and DVD) decided to keep the same disc size as CD...or he thought technology would never go any further? I think he is referring to all the proprietary filters, licensing, DRM, etc...the specification is broken wide open by hackers, and there are tools to backup BluRay movies to portable files that can work on most devices and which are perfect for pirates. Also, many player keys are known widely and can be gotten easily using google...yet all the licensing and other BS have created a situation where they can't even ship a linux distro with bluray support built in. thanks that's exactly what i meant.

24.4.2011 04:26 #8

DougSmith

I was at the US CD announcement Press Conference at the Plaza hotel in New York in about 1979. It was a Philips event, not Sony. They said the disc size was to fit DIN standards for auto dashboards. I still have the handouts including a cardboard phony CD.

29.4.2011 15:27 #9

Zoo_Look

I guess they were right after all. CDs really DO last a lifetime!!

30.4.2011 15:12 #10

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