# Compact Discs: The next big thing (1984 TV news story) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 3, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224 "2012-01-03T03:39:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/1 "2012-01-03T03:39:29Z")
[Check out this story predicting the future of audio recordings.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwrU8s-M-gc&feature=related) I distinctly remember first hearing about CDs in 1984. Wasn’t that just a couple of years ago? Bonus question: What the hell is that device the mullet-headed audiophile is placing on his vinyl album at 4:20? I’ve never seen such a thing. I assume it secures the record to the turntable. Anyone know what it is called? mmm ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/2 "2012-01-03T04:21:03Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > [Check out this story predicting the future of audio recordings.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwrU8s-M-gc&feature=related) > > I distinctly remember first hearing about CDs in 1984. Wasn’t that just a couple of years ago? > > Bonus question: What the hell is that device the mullet-headed audiophile is placing on his vinyl album at 4:20? I’ve never seen such a thing. I assume it secures the record to the turntable. Anyone know what it is called? > mmm I didn’t even watch the video, but I’m guessing it’s a “spindle clamp.” Another mystical device audiophiles imbue with magical properties. I once heard one demoed at a very high-end audio store, and it didn’t make a bit of difference to the sound. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/3 "2012-01-03T04:28:15Z")
holy crap it’s Mort Crim. > [@beowulff](#): > > I didn’t even watch the video, but I’m guessing it’s a “spindle clamp.” good guess. > [@](#): > > Another mystical device audiophiles imbue with magical properties. I once heard one demoed at a very high-end audio store, and it didn’t make a bit of difference to the sound. vinyl is lousy enough that anyone who claims any objective superiority can be safely dismissed. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/4 "2012-01-03T04:33:14Z")
What is up with that dude’s hair at the 1:50 mark? That ain’t right. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/5 "2012-01-03T07:09:09Z")
Along the same lines, here’s part of a 1980 [20/20 feature](http://youtu.be/7Vz7Z42Fl9s) on the future of music videos and laserdiscs! There was a Part 2 but it got taken down. Bastard. Something different, here’s a fascinating [slice of a show](http://youtu.be/8VAHy76QO7o) called **The Internet Show** about, well, the internet. This is just a bit about how the internet helped to stop the attempted coup in Russia in 1991. ---
**Author:** ![Mikahw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Mikahw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikahw)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/6 "2012-01-03T11:42:05Z")
[Leonard Nimoy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f3524BQ0Ms) seems to be quite fond of laserdiscs as well. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/7 "2012-01-03T13:10:50Z")
I love news stories like this. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/8 "2012-01-03T13:20:56Z")
Oh lord, the hair. We actually looked like that. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/9 "2012-01-03T16:25:31Z")
Small hijack - the guy talking about CDs said you could just “pop it in and play it.” Did records basically work the same way? To clarify, once you started a record at song 1, would it just play the whole album without you having to move the needle around? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/10 "2012-01-03T16:31:12Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > Small hijack - the guy talking about CDs said you could just “pop it in and play it.” Did records basically work the same way? To clarify, once you started a record at song 1, would it just play the whole album without you having to move the needle around? Not really; a vinyl LP will (nearly always) have one single groove on a side, and will play the entire side all the way through without human intervention. However, an album has two sides; when Side 1 of a vinyl album ends, you need to get up, flip the record over, and restart it on Side 2 – whereas a CD of that same album would have the contents of both “sides” on one CD. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/11 "2012-01-03T16:31:49Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > Small hijack - the guy talking about CDs said you could just “pop it in and play it.” Did records basically work the same way? To clarify, once you started a record at song 1, would it just play the whole album without you having to move the needle around? It would play the who album from track 1 onward. But you had to align the needle at the beginning of the disc- if you weren’t careful you would end up in track 1, or later if you were really sloppy. If you dropped the arm to fast you could damage the needle. Most record players moved the arm and dropped it automatically into the correct place for you. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/12 "2012-01-03T16:39:31Z")
I even had a fancy record player that would _flip the disk_, for the ultimate in no-hassle stereophonic entertainment! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/13 "2012-01-03T19:55:49Z")
> [@Mikahw](#): > > [Leonard Nimoy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f3524BQ0Ms) seems to be quite fond of laserdiscs as well. So if Nimoy with a goatee was Evil Spock, then this version was Porn Spock. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/14 "2012-01-03T20:24:16Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > It would play the who album from track 1 onward. But what if the album wasn’t by The Who? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/15 "2012-01-03T21:13:15Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > But what if the album wasn’t by The Who? It’d still play an album by The Who. This represented part of the tremendous advance when CDs were introduced; they would, instead, play an album by The Police. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/16 "2012-01-03T21:25:25Z")
I’ll keep my 3 laser pickup, 8x oversampling, 10-second skip protection player thank you very much. (And it’s programmable!) ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/17 "2012-01-03T21:35:26Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > But what if the album wasn’t by The Who? Whole. Not who. Dammit. :smack: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/18 "2012-01-03T21:48:23Z")
I can’t believe I’ve reached the age where it’s necessary to explain how LPs work. :smack: ETA: Now excuse me, I have to catch the 1:30 auto-gyro to Siam. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/19 "2012-01-03T21:56:46Z")
> [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > Did records basically work the same way? To clarify, once you started a record at song 1, would it just play the whole album without you having to move the needle around? I’ve never felt so goddamned old in my life. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224/20 "2012-01-03T22:05:50Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Not really; a vinyl LP will (nearly always) have one single groove on a side, and will play the entire side all the way through without human intervention. However, an album has two sides; when Side 1 of a vinyl album ends, you need to get up, flip the record over, and restart it on Side 2 – whereas a CD of that same album would have the contents of both “sides” on one CD. > [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > It would play the who album from track 1 onward. But you had to align the needle at the beginning of the disc- if you weren’t careful you would end up in track 1, or later if you were really sloppy. If you dropped the arm to fast you could damage the needle. Most record players moved the arm and dropped it automatically into the correct place for you. Thanks. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/compact-discs-the-next-big-thing-1984-tv-news-story/608224.md?page=2)