With the worldwide popularity of MTV and music videos, it would seem natural that CDs that store both music and video would take off with consumers.
So far, they have not. One reason is the relatively poor video quality offered by such multimedia discs. Another is the nasty tendency, when a video track is accidently played on a regular CD player, for a loud shriek to be emitted.
A new format called CDK is being touted as the next wave which could bring these multimedia discs into the mainstream.
Developed by a New York City company, CDKNET, CDK offers better video quality than conventional multimedia CDs when played on a standard Web browser on either a PC or Macintosh.
The CDK format also lets interactive elements such as games and links to Web sites to be embedded on the CD. Advertising such as Web banner-type ads can also be placed, offering money-making opportunities for the artist or his record company, according to Keith Wong, chief executive of CDKNET's local partner, AsiaPioneer Limited.
The first CD to come out in Asia in CDK format will be Canto-king Aaron Kwok's latest album New Celebration. AsiaPioneer, which is also launching a Web music portal called beatasia.com, is pressing the CDK CDs on behalf of Warner, at a cost of HK$2-3 per disc - about the same as regular CDs, according to Mr Wong.
