CD-ROM
A CD-ROM (/ˌsiːdiːˈrɒm/, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both computer data and audio with the latter capable of being played on a CD player, while data (such as software or digital video) is only usable on a computer (such as ISO 9660 format PC CD-ROMs).
A traditional CD-ROM | |
| Media type | Optical disc |
|---|---|
| Encoding | Various |
| Capacity | 553–900 MB (12 cm), 194 MB (8 cm) |
| Read mechanism | 600-780 nm laser diode, 150 KB/s (1×; 150 × 210), 10,800 KB/s (72×) |
| Write mechanism | Pressed mold |
| Standard | ISO/IEC 10149 |
| Usage | Data storage |
| Released | 1985 |
| Optical discs |
|---|
During the 1990s and early 2000s, CD-ROMs were popularly used to distribute software and data for computers and fifth generation video game consoles. DVDs started to replace CD-ROMs in these roles starting in the early 2000s.
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