CD player in 1970. Following litigation, Sony and Philips licensed Russell's patents (then held by a Canadian company, Optical Recording Corp.) in the 1980s. The Compact Disc is an evolution of LaserDisc technology, where a focused laser beam is used that enables the high information density required for high-quality digital audio signals. Prototypes were developed by Philips and Sony independently in the late 1970s. In 1979, Sony and Philips set up a joint task force of engineers to design a new digital audio disc. After a year of experimentation and discussion, the "Red Book" CD-DA standard was published in 1980. After their
Philips was formed in the US with the name Philips Electronics North America Corp. In 1991-1992, Philips along with their subsidiary Magnavox, released the Philips CD-i, a combined CD player and home video game console. It sold one million units and was discontinued in 1998 after being heavily criticized amongst the gaming community. In 1997, the company officers decided to move the headquarters from Eindhoven to Amsterdam along with the corporate name change to Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., the latter of which was finalized on 16 March 1998. The move of the headquarters to Amsterdam was completed in 2001. Initially, the