Back to the 90s — Part Four: TOP SECRET

Lunchtime, Early 1994

It was lunchtime sometime in early 1994. I was lounging in one of the comfier seats around a small table, enjoying a sandwich and a hot chocolate from the vending machine. Treffor came in and sat opposite me. He had a curious look on his face as he reached into his satchel. He pulled out something to eat for himself, followed by a thick stack of bound A4 pages.

He smiled and said, “Take a look at this,” as he handed me the pages.

The Cover

The cover had “TOP SECRET” stamped across it in large letters, alongside the Philips logo. I immediately laughed at this. Then I read the text underneath. I was no longer laughing.

Words and phrases such as Philips, CD Writer and Internal Documentation also appeared on the front page, although I can’t remember the exact wording.

I quickly flicked through the pages. They contained schematics, circuit board layouts, source code for firmware and software, details of the materials used to manufacture blank writable CDs, and much more.

In essence, I was holding the technical blueprint for an entire CD-writing system in my hands!

Where Did You Get This?

“Bloody hell, Treffor!” I exclaimed. “Where did you get this?”

He casually explained that his father worked for Philips and that this was how he had come to be in possession of the documentation. He left it at that.

Back then, these devices were barely on the market. They required a SCSI interface card just to connect them to a computer, and they cost thousands of pounds. In January 1993, for example, Personal Computer World advertised the Philips CDD521 in the UK at £4,450 plus VAT!

A Glimpse Inside the Technology

What I was holding was more than just a collection of industrial secrets. It was an extraordinarily detailed insight into how these devices actually worked, from their electronic circuitry and firmware to the technology behind the discs themselves.

I spent most of the lunch hour cramming as much knowledge as I could glean from the document. It was fascinating. Here I was, sitting in the canteen having my lunch, with what appeared to be the complete technical blueprint for a CD writer in front of me. It was a glimpse into the inner workings of technology that, at the time, was still cutting-edge and prohibitively expensive.

The Closest Match Online

The closest I’ve found online to the original document is this:

Philips CDD2000 manual (PDF)

However, much of the material in the document I was reading is omitted from this manual. The original was clearly an internal Philips publication, bearing the company logo and marked TOP SECRET.

The document linked above is still quite comprehensive, though, and is well worth a read if you want to get a flavour of what was involved in developing these devices.

Coming Next

Next instalment: Fruit Wine and the Information Superhighway — my first taste of student life, and of the internet!

Back to the 90s Series