Video CD a few years later) on each side. The Laserdisc provided picture quality nearly double that of VHS tape and analog audio quality far superior to VHS. Philips later teamed up with Sony to develop a new type of disc, the compact disc or CD. Introduced in 1982 in Japan (1983 in the U.S. and Europe), the CD is about in diameter, and is single-sided. The format was initially designed to store digitized sound and proved to be a success in the music industry. A few years later, Philips decided to give CDs the ability to produce video, just like its
Philips Records its classical artists, although classical recordings have also been issued on the regular Philips label. In the US, Philips eventually handled distribution and sales for Philips, Mercury, British Decca (sold under the London label in the US) and Deutsche Grammophon. In 1983, Philips became the first record label to issue compact discs, using digital recordings that had been recorded since 1978. Philips and its subsidiaries eventually re-issued many of its pre-digital stereo and mono recordings on compact disc. Philips and DuPont partnered in four CD manufacturing plants in Hanover, Germany; Blackburn in the UK (formerly the Philips Laservision Disc factory);