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A  hybrid disc  is a disc, such as  CD-ROM  or  Blu-ray , which contains multiple types of data which can be used differently on different devices. These include CD-ROM music albums containing video files viewable on a  personal computer , or feature film Blu-rays containing interactive content when used with a  PlayStation 3  game console. Audio CD with added data tracks Hybrid-CD also refers to an audio CD which also includes a data track storing MP3 (or other digital audio compression format) copy of those CD-DA tracks. Before the introduction and subsequent popularization of iTunes and the iPod, such discs were popular for sharing music on compact disc without requiring the recipient to extract and encode the CD-DA themselves — a technical and perhaps time-consuming process on older computing hardware. However, with the advent of faster computing hardware and vastly simplified automated extraction and encoding tools (e.g. iTunes, Rhythmbox, etc.) and the lack of an automated hybrid

  Super Bit Mapping  ( SBM ) is a  noise shaping  process, developed by  Sony  for  CD   mastering . [1] Sony claims that the Super Bit Mapping process converts a 20- bit  signal from  master recording  into a 16-bit signal nearly without sound quality loss, using noise shaping to improve  signal-to-noise ratio  over the frequency bands most acutely perceived by human hearing. [2] Audible quantization error is reduced by  noise shaping  the error according to an  equal-loudness contour . [3] This processing takes place in dedicated hardware inside the recording device. A similar process is used in Sony's  DSD  to  PCM  conversion and is called  SBM Direct .

  Extended Resolution Compact Disc  ( XRCD ) is a mastering and manufacture process patented by JVC (Victor Company of Japan, Ltd) for producing Red Book compact discs. It was first introduced in 1995. An XRCD is priced about twice as high as a regular full-priced CD. JVC attributes this to the higher cost of quality mastering and manufacturing. Technical overview The XRCD definition refers to the mastering and manufacture process; the resulting CD and the contained data conform to the redbook standard and are encoded at 16  bits , 44.1  kHz . Hence, XRCDs are playable on any compact disc player. JVC uses advanced  dither   algorithms  (though without  noise shaping ) in their K2 technology to transfer the analog or digital source to physical disc. The company claims to have studied how inferior CD-remastering techniques degrade the  master tape  sound and strives to minimize this loss. Unlike  HDCD , the extra four bits cannot be recovered, as this method of mastering only aims to imp

High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) is a proprietary audio encode-decode process that claims to provide increased dynamic range over that of standard Compact Disc Digital Audio, while retaining backward compatibility with existing compact disc players. Originally developed by Pacific Microsonics, the first HDCD-enabled CD was released in 1995. In 2000, the technology was purchased by Microsoft, and the following year, there were over 5,000 HDCD titles available. Microsoft's HDCD official website was discontinued in 2005; by 2008, the number of available titles had declined to around 4,000. A number of CD and DVD players include HDCD decoding, and versions 9 and above of Microsoft's Windows Media Player on personal computers are capable of decoding HDCD. HDCD was a favorite for several artists such as Neil Young, the Beach Boys and the Grateful Dead, all of whom have had multiple titles in their catalogs reissued in this format. Media type Optical disc Capacity Typic

Super Audio CD (SACD) is an optical disc format for audio storage introduced in 1999 . It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips Electronics and intended to be the successor to the Compact Disc (CD) format . The SACD format allows multiple audio channels (i.e. surround sound or multichannel sound). It also provides a higher bit rate and longer playing time than a conventional CD. An SACD is designed to be played on an SACD player. A hybrid SACD contains a Compact Disc Digital Audio (CDDA) layer and can also be played on a standard CD player. Media type Optical disc Encoding Digital (DSD) Capacity 4.38 GiB / 4.7 GB (Single Layer and Hybrid) 7.92 GiB / 8.5GB (Dual Layer) Read   mechanism 650 nm laser (780 nm for the CD layer of a Hybrid disc) Standard Scarlet Book Developed   by Sony & Philips Usag