More than 100 years of innovation

Innovation since 1898...

1884
Emil Berliner’s first sound recordings in horizontal radial recording.

1887
Patent registration for gramophone record and gramophone in Washington and Berlin. First gramophone record made of zinc plate.

1890
Gramophone records made of celluloid, from 1895, hard rubber (12 cm diameter, playing speed 90-150 rpm).

1898 - 1st world premiere:
World’s first mass production of shellac records in Germany.

1951 - 2nd world premiere:
Introduction of the plastic long playing record (LP) with 33 1/3 rpm in Germany. 
Record players had three speeds: 78, 45 and 33 1/3 rpm.

1965 - 3rd word premiere:
The music cassette goes into serial production for the first time in the world.

1981
Together with Sony and Philips a global technical standard becomes popular: the CD.

1982 - 4th world premiere:
In Hanover CDs are mass produced for the first time (later also in Japan)

1983
The European market is supplied from Hanover, Germany.

1984
The first CD-ROM (read only memory) data storage discs are produced.

1995
First High Capacity Disc (HDC). 

1996
1,000,000,000 (one billion!) CDs produced.

1996
Start of DVD production

1999
More than 2 million DVDs produced (May).

1998
PolyGram Manufacturing & Distribution Centres are integrated into the UNIVERSAL Group.

2000
Universal joined the French Vivendi Group in December 2000.
The Group trades as Vivendi Universal.

2001/2002
Distribution of Vivendi Universal Games and Universal Picture Games.

2002
20 years CD production!

2003
Production of the 2 billionth CD.

2005
Universal Manufacturing & Logistics is integrated into Glenayre Technologies, Inc.: Entertainment Distribution Company (EDC).