CDROM publishing and retrieval using a Local Area Network
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb045251 |
| Date | 01 April 1993 |
| Pages | 303-306 |
| Published date | 01 April 1993 |
| Author | D.S. Lategan |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Article
CDROM publishing and
retrieval using
a
Local Area
Network
D.S. Lategan
Xcel Engineering & Management (Pty)
Limited,
Pretoria,
South Africa
1.
Standards in the industry
The other day I went shopping with my family. My daughter
pointed out that there is a special classical music collection on
CD.
It was a good price and I bought
it.
At home we sat down
and enjoyed a good afternoon of classical music. As I was
listening, I realised that it had never occurred to me that these
CDs will be compatible with my player at home. I bought
them knowing that they are governed by standards and that
these standards safeguard users against the tragedy of incom-
patibility.
The Red Book standard was the first one to be set and all
the other standards followed out of this one. To guide us
through this rainbow of standards, we will take a short look at
each of these them.
1.1. Red Book
Red Book or CD-DA (Compact Disc Digital Audio) is the
standard that was set for the recording of
music,
by
converting
audio signals (which are analogue sound) at a rate of 44.1
KHz into a digital format. These samples are converted into
binary code and placed on a CD.
The rare CD + G format, where graphics are stored on a
CD,
also falls under this standard. Although they
are rare
there
are a few available on the market. Although they can hold
only 20 Mb of graphics they are the forerunners of
the
MPC
(Multimedia Personal Computer) system. This standard
makes it possible to play any CD that was created according
to this standard on any CD-DA
player,
as well as players that
were designed in successive standards.
1.2.
Yellow
Book
The Yellow Book standard is for the CDROM as we know it,
but it only defines the physical standard.
The file format for data recorded according to the Yellow
Book standard can be different. Of all the standards, the ISO
9660 is most probably the best known one. ISO 9660 started
off as the High Sierra standard, which was an effort by 20
leading companies to try and reach a standard that would be
compatible across borders of
DOS,
Apple and Unix.
1.3. MPC
It is however also possible to put data and audio on the same
disc.
In this case the data will go on first and will be called
Mode
1.
The audio will be in Mode 2 and will be in Red Book
format. If, however, the audio is in a wave file format, then we
will have an MPC (Multimedia Personal Computer)
CD.
The
audio in this format is of
a
lesser quality
as
it is often recorded
at a 22.5 KHz sample rate. The audio on this system is chan-
nelled through the audio card in the system.
1.4. CDTV
CDTV (Commador Dynamic Total Vision) is a format re-
corded under the Yellow Book format but only accessible via
a Commador system connected
to
your TV and stereo system.
1.5.
Green
Book
The Green Book is the most complex of all the standards. As
with the Yellow Book, it has two modes in which a CD can be
created, Form
1
and Form
2.
Both these forms are nearly iden-
tical to Modes 1 and 2 of the Yellow Book. Form 2 makes it
possible to record audio/video and text alternatively on the
same track in order to play it back interactively. Sound on this
format is recorded in a condensed format called ADPCM
(Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation) which re-
quires as little as a sixteenth of the space required by the Red
Book standards. This gives us a better multimedia ability.
CD-I (Compact
Disc
Interactive) and CDROMXA (CDROM
Extended Architecture), as well as Photo-CD, are examples
that are recorded in this format.
Green Book standard, which defines CD-I, defines hard-
ware as well as software. Because CD-I format is defined in
its entirety it is possible to play any CD-I disc on any CD-I
system.
CDROM XA
is
a combination of Yellow Book and Green
Book standards. These CDROMs can be played back on a
computer equipped with a CDROM XA
drive,
which is most
of the upper-class CDROM drives on the market today.
1.
6. Orange Book
The standard for Photo-CD is set by the Orange Book stand-
ard. It is not defined in its entirety as the Frankfurt group is
still waiting for the recommendations of
the
European Com-
puter Manufacturers, who are studying the proposal.
The Electronic Library, Vol. 11, No. 4/5, August/October 1993 303
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