Release/Format

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< Release
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This field describes which medium a release is distributed on. Normally a release will be distributed on multiple media with different catalog numbers and barcodes; each should have a separate release event.

The values may be:

Name Date of creation Rarity Details
Compact Disc 1982 Widespread PCM, Avaialble in 120mm and 80mm formats.
DTS-CD a.k.a. 5.1 Music Disc 1992 Very rare DTS Audio
Data CD
Enhanced CD
HDCD
CD-R
8cm CD
Blu-spec CD 2008 Common PCM
SHM-CD (english) (Super High Material CD) 2008 Common PCM
HQCD
CD+G
Vinyl 1948/1957/1971 Common Vinyl / Quad Vinyl -- Is a simple evolution of gramophone record: Analog, with preemphasis and other equalization techniques (LP, RIAA). Lateral grooves, horizontal stylus motion. Monaural were created in 1948, then stereo vinyl came later in 1957 and Quad in 1971: analog, with preemphasis and other equalization techniques. Combination lateral/vertical stylus motion with each channel encoded 45 degrees to the vertical.
7" Vinyl
10" Vinyl
12" Vinyl
Digital Media
Cassette 1963 (still) common? Analog, with bias, preemphasis, 1/8 inch wide tape, 17/8 inches/sec. 1970: introduced Dolby noise reduction.
DVD
DVD-Audio 1999 Rare? Common?
DVD-Video 1997 Widespread
SACD 1999 Rare? Common?
Hybrid SACD
DualDisc 2003 Common? An audio cd on one side (though not redbook), and a dvd on the other side
8cm CD+G
MiniDisc 1991 Common ATRAC
Blu-ray 2006 Common
HD-DVD 2005 Rare?
Videotape
VHS 197X Common
Betamax 1975 Common? 'Dolby Stereo' cinema surround sound.
VCD
CDV
SVCD
UMD
Other
Cartridge 1962/1965/1970 Rare? 4 track / 8 track / Quad 8 tracks -- Analog, 1/4 inch wide tape, 3 3/4 inches/sec, endless loop cartridge. Quad: 4 Channel Stereo.
Wax Cylinder 1877 Very rare Mechanical analog; "hill-and-dale" grooves, vertical stylus motion
USB flash drive 2004 (as music format) Common?
LaserDisc 1978 Rare?
Piano roll 1883 Very rare Mechanical digital
DAT 1987 Rare
Reel-to-Reel 1930s Rare Analog; magnetization; "bias" dramatically increases linearity/fidelity
Digital Compact Cassette 1992 Very rare
slotMusic 2008 Common? slotMusic is a type of microSD memory card developed by SanDisk preloaded with music in DRM-free MP3 format and other content. The current selection of songs comes from EMI Music, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group.

(*) Rarity is just a rough indication of availability as consumer products - values are: "Very Rare", "Rare", "Common", "Widespread"

Other items from the list I'm not sure how to fit in

Name Date of creation Rarity Details Map to
Wire recording 1898 Rare Analog; magnetization; no "bias" Other
Microcassette Minicassette 1969 Rare Analog, 1/8 inch wide tape, mostly mono, some stereo. 2.4 cm/s or 1.2 cm/s. Cassette
4 tracks/8 tracks/multitracks recording ? Very rare? This is not in itself a physical format (may be performed on a variety of equipments, from tape based equipment to digital equipment and hard disks). Likely to be only available in studios, as professional equipments. Other
Elcaset 1976 Rare A short lived cassette format. Cassette
VinylDisc 2007 Rare? It is made from two fused layers; the silver layer contains the digital information (either in CD or DVD format) and the upper layer has a record groove, meaning it can be played on any record-player. Other? DualDisc?
SD card ? ? Any type of SD card can be used for music. If slotMusic is just a branded form of SD card, then perhaps that should just be renamed. Other? Digital?
Gramophone record 1895 Common Mechanical analog; lateral grooves, horizontal stylus motion. The terms LP record (LP, 33, or 33-1/3 rpm record), EP, 16-2/3 rpm record (16), 45 rpm record (45), and 78 rpm record (78) refers to specific types of gramophone records Vinyl

Partial list of digital audio formats

More information

  • The original ticket that led to our implementation is 2565
  • Mailing list discussion is here
  • Wikipedia has a list of Audio Formats