The CD packaging box is 14.8 cm wide and 12.5 cm high. The DVD packaging box is 10.45 cm wide and 19.1 cm high. Why are the discs the same size but packaged so differently?

A little digging reveals the historical origins of this difference. Before the advent of digital CDs, most music was sold on vinyl records. The packaging of vinyl records is a 30.2 cm square paper box. The shelf space for vinyl records is just enough for two rows of CD boxes (including the space between them). CD cases are half as wide as vinyl records used to be, freeing retailers from the real cost of replacing storage racks and display counters.

The same considerations lie behind DVD packaging. Before the advent of DVDs, most rental stores stocked VHS format video tapes in cardboard boxes 13.5 cm wide and 19.1 cm high. Video tapes are usually displayed side by side with the labels facing outward. As consumers gradually switch to DVDs, the DVD packaging boxes remain at the same height, making it easier for rental stores to display them on existing shelves.

In addition, DVD boxes are as tall as VHS tape boxes, and consumers will be more willing to invest in DVDs because they can put their new DVDs on the same shelf where the VHS tapes were originally stored.