Sony and Philips, a Dutch company, invented CDs and the laser machines that play them. Ironically, Sony's CD recording system may kill off another device that Sony has spent millions to develop, the digital audio tape cassette recorder. DAT recorders were introduced three years ago but still are not sold in North America. Sony and other DAT manufacturers had put off exporting the recorders because of a dispute, now settled, over whether they should be able to make exact copies of CDs. Although the first DAT recorders are expected to arrive here in a few months, many consumers are likely to prefer CD recorders.
CDs are much more rugged than tapes, and they have a clear advantage in access time.
This is less than half the price of DAT machines. This is 74 minutes. The Sony recorder will be able to play regular CDs in addition to its own recordings. A description of how the CD recorder works was not made available. In a commercially recorded CD, a laser beam etches pits or varying lengths into very tiny grooves.