CD/Album marks - what do they actually mean?!

[Immortal]

Ok, now I'm frustrated.

I want to know the exact meaning of "EP", "LP", "MCD".

What does the each word of these abbreviations stand for?

I know that MCD is so called "Mini CD", but what are LP and EP?

I know that LP is something like single CD or something and EP is "7 CD.


Ok... understand the question?

 

[dill_the_devil]

I think the terms date back to the old vinyl days - LP was, I believe a Long Player (full-size double sided album length vinyl) while an EP was an Extended Player (same size as an EP but single-sided and about half album length).

I could be very, very wrong though - anyone else care to confirm or clear this up?

 

[opacity]

right, dill

LP = Long Play [12'' vinyl]
EP = Extended Play [holds middle between a short play (=single) and a long play - vinyl or plastic disc]
MCD = actually the same as EP (but "CD" tells you it's only plastic disc) - "mini CD" but CD as synonym for "album" -> MCD = mini album (=EP)
CDS = CD Single


mcd could also mean "millicandela" (luminosity value) , "Minimal Cerebral Dysfunction", or ordinary "Mc Donald's" language is so indistinct, it's such a wonder that people understand each other in the first place!

 

[Board]

Yes, LP means long play and is a vinyl album. Most lp's hold around 20 minuttes on each side, but it differs from record to record. I've been told that an LP can maximum hold 70 minuttes of music, but the guy who told me it had, as far as I know, never own a record (vinyl), so I don't know if it's true. An album like Lee Hazlewood's "Love and other crimes" lasts only 20:40 and the sound on the LP is great, but maybe that also has something to do with the production. If you didn't know, a cd is 0's & 1's. I don't know if it's the right word I have found for it, but on a vinyl record it's oscillations/vibrations = real sound!
An EP is usually a 7" record with 4 songs, 2 on each side. I think the original size for an EP was the 10" format. The 10"'es I have has more than 4 songs though (and they're from the early 60's I think).
A single is a 7" record with a song on each side.
Also, as far as I know there has never been made a 7" cd. A normal cd is 5", but there are some 3"'es (the small ones you might have seen).
I guess this and the answers from the two others should cover it.