CD Duplication Technical Information

This page lists the important technical information required for successful, reliable CD duplication. If PMCD mastering is carried out to correct Philips specifications then all duplicated discs should play reliably in all CD players manufactured to Philips specification.

Philips Book Types

Philips lays out specifications for the various CD formats, the main book types for CD as specified by Philips are:

Red Book - This is the specification that all audio CDs should be manufactured to. If a disc is manufactured to red book standard then it will playback on all CD players. Any CDs that are duplicated or replicated outside of these red book standards may not play reliably on all CD players. Red book specifies a maximum CD audio duration of 74minutes and 33 seconds.

Yellow Book - This is the specification that all CDROMs should be manufactured to.

Blue Book - CD extra or enhanced CD are both manufactured to blue book specification. Blue book allows a mixture of red book audio and yellow book data to be added to a single CD.

Orange Book - Orange book contains all the specifications for the correct manufacture of CD-R discs. If a CD-R is manufactured to correct Orange book standard then the disc can used for successful duplication of audio CDs to red book standard or for CDROM to yellow book standard.