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AES Amsterdam 2008
Historical Event

Saturday, May 17, 14:00 — 15:00
SHANNON, BEETHOVEN, AND THE COMPACT DISC

Moderator:
Kees Schouhamer Immink, Turing Machines Inc. - Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Abstract:
An audio compact disc (CD) holds up to 74 minutes, 33 seconds of sound, just enough for a complete mono recording of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony ("Alle Menschen werden Brüder") at probably the slowest pace it has ever been played, during the Bayreuther Festspiele in 1951 and conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler. Each second of music requires about 1.5 million bits, which are represented as tiny pits and lands ranging from 0.9 to 3.3 micrometers in length. More than 19 billion channel bits are recorded as a spiral track of alternating pits and lands over a distance of 5.38 kilometers (3.34 miles), which are scanned at walking speed, 4.27 km per hour. This year it is 25 years ago that Philips and Sony introduced the CD. We will discuss the various crucial technical decisions made that would determine the technical success or failure of the new medium.


Last Updated: 20080613, tendeloo