What is a redbook CD?

A "Redbook" CD is the standard CD that has been around since the early 1980's. The "Redbook" just defines the technical specifications for this format. For example it specifies a (maximum) 16 bit word length at a sampling freguency of 44.1 KHZ. Today, the Redbood CD stands in contrast to the newer SACD, DVD, DVD-A and others that have different specs. Cheers. Craig.

craig's response is the standard one, tho, i've been told that the term originated during the cultural revolution in china. it originally referred to a very small number of cd's that were favored by chairman mao. surprisingly to some, most selections are overdubs of bob marley and the wailers and harry nilsson. -kelly

Yo Bigwavedave, The Dutch giant Phillips has a whole rainbow of colors that set forth the standards for digital disks:
Red Book Compact = Disc Digital Audio
Yellow Book = CD-ROM & CD-ROM XA
Green Book = CD-i specification
Orange Book = CD-R, CD-RW and CD-MO
White Book = Video CD specification
Blue Book = Enhanced Music CD
Direct your browser to: http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,289893,sid9_gci503642,00.html
and read all about it.