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Discman

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Logos of Discman (until 1998) and CD Walkman (1997 to 2000)
Discman model D-145 (1995)
CD Walkman model D-E330 (2002)

Discman was Sony's brand name for portable CD players. The first Discman, the Sony D-50 or D-5 (in some regions), was launched in 1984. The brand name has since been changed to CD Walkman, initially for Japanese lineups launched between October 1997 and March 1998.[1] After 2000 they were marketed as CD Walkman under the now-unified Walkman brand.[2]

Background

Prior to the development of the Compact Disc, cassette tapes were the dominant form of audio storage in regards to the then-fledgling portable audio industry. In 1979, Sony had introduced the Walkman in Japan.[3] As Sony began to realize the potential of the CD, executives pushed for a means to give the CD player market momentum, moving it from audio enthusiasts to the mainstream.

Original development

Building on the design of the CDP-101 CD player, which was launched in 1982, Sony worked towards both improving the design of the player, reducing the power and number of parts needed while decreasing the overall size of the player, as well as reducing the cost of the player to a 50 000 - 60 000 yen range in what was called the "CD CD Project", which stood for Compact Disc Cost Down Project. With the ability to produce a CD player one-tenth the size of its first unit by August 1983, there became potential for a portable player.[citation needed]

The original goal was to create a player that was the equivalent size of four CD cases stacked on top of each other. A piece of wood 13.4 cm across and about 4 cm thick was shown to the staff to illustrate the physical dimensions for which they were aiming. The finalized design did not incorporate a power source and so had a 9V (positive outer) coaxial jack on the rear. This allowed for the use of a wall adapter, the EBP-9LC, a carrying sleeve which held 6 primary C cells or rechargeable cells with the ability to charge in-situ. Alternatively, the AC D50 was available which attached to the rear of the D-5/D-50 and allowed it to be powered from AC at 110/120/220/240 V 50/60 Hz 9 W with a DC output of up to 500 mA. The AC D50 also allowed line level audio out, presented as two RCA jacks.[citation needed]

Release

Sony D-50/D-5 Discman

The D-50/D-5 was launched in November 1984, two years after mass production of CDs began. The unit offered the same functionality as the full-size CDP-101 player, but came without a remote and the repeat functionality of the full-size unit. The D-50/D-5 retailed for 49,800 yen [4] ($350 in 1984), approximately half the cost price of the CDP-101. The unit successfully sparked public interest in CDs, boosting their popularity, and within a year and a half the D-50/D-5 became profitable.[citation needed]

Early production units of the D-50/D-5 do not bear the Discman brand and were referred to as CD Compact Player.[5] The Discman brand was then given because of its portable nature and similarity to the Walkman. From then, the brand name was used to refer to Sony's portable CD players until 1997.

Impact

The release of the D-50/D-5 sparked public interest in CDs as an audio format and in the audio industry in general. A portable CD market was created and the price of competing CD players from other manufacturers dropped. The CD industry experienced sudden growth with the number of CD titles available dramatically increasing.[citation needed]

Later models

The CD Walkman D-NE1 model in 2003 was one of the earliest to support the playback of ATRAC CDs. These are discs encoded in ATRAC3plus format instead of the regular PCM.[6]

Variants

  • Intelligent Discman was a line of Discman players that played CD-i format discs.[7]
  • Video CD Discman, later rebranded as VCD Walkman, was a line of portable VCD players. They are able to output the audio from video CDs as usually, but are equipped with an additional 3.5mm audio/video-to-RCA connector output.[8][9][10]
  • CD-ROM discman: Both Sony and Panasonic have released few portable CD players with a PCMCIA card connector for use as an external CD-ROM drive on a computer, though with a lower speed than dedicated computer drives.[11][12]
  • DVD Discman, later rebranded as DVD Walkman, was a line of portable DVD players.[citation needed]

Sony D-50/D-5

  • Sony D-50 without the Discman brand.
    Sony D-50 without the Discman brand.
  • Sony D-50 with its rear cover removed, revealing the main PCB.
    Sony D-50 with its rear cover removed, revealing the main PCB.
  • Sony D-50 with the optional rechargeable battery station.
    Sony D-50 with the optional rechargeable battery station.
  • Sony D-50 with its main PCB flipped up.
    Sony D-50 with its main PCB flipped up.

See also

References

Notes
  1. ^ "Sony Celebrates Walkman(R) 20th Anniversary". Sony. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Sony Design". Sony Design.
  3. ^ "Sony Celebrates Walkman(R) 20th Anniversary". Sony. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  4. ^ Sony D-50 Brochure (PDF). November 1984. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  5. ^ Sony D-50 Brochure (PDF). November 1984. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  6. ^ https://av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/20030425/dev022.htm
  7. ^ "Sony Portable CD-i Player - The intelligent discman". Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Sony D-VJ85 Portable Video CD Player Manual". HiFi Engine. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Sony D-V55 Portable Video CD Player Manual". HiFi Engine. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  10. ^ "[…] Sony Video CD Discman D-VJ85 CD Player Portable VCD in box […]". SonyPortableCDplayer.com. Archived from the original on 2020-08-05. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Panasonic CD-ROM PCMCIA KXL-D720". Tietokone Museo (in Finnish). 18 March 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  12. ^ "SONY DISCMAN 索尼CD随身听图鉴（三）". 知乎专栏 (in Chinese). Retrieved 27 January 2022. PRD-650
Sources
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sony Discman.
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