It seems to be a signicant ancestor.
I'll readily admit that I'm not well versed in the technical details, but it looks
as though May 30 was a significant day in the development of digital technology.
It was on this day, in 1987, that North American Philips Company introduced the
compact disc video (CD-V). I've seen timelines of digital technologies that should
be able to help me understand whether this particular item was an important step
toward the CD and the DVD as we know them today, but frankly, I don't know the
answer. From what I can figure out, the CD-V was the basis for what was to become
the video disc which, apparently for reasons connected more to the market than
to the technology itself, lagged behind the video casette for a couple of decades,
but then reappeared in a slightly different, but highly successful, carnation
as the CD we know today (correct me, anybody, if I'm wrong). Of couse the roads
to successful technologies often take many detours, and for all I know, the CD-V
is little more than a side-road that lacks any real importance for the main highway.
Still, it deserves at least some small recognition on its birthday.
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