Why are DVD’s sold in much larger packages than CD’s, even though the two types of discs are exactly the same size?

CD’s come in cases that are 148 milimeters wide and 125 milimeters high. In contrast, DVD’s are sold in cases that are 104.5 milimeters wide and 191 milimeters high. A little digging reveals the historical origins of this difference. Prior to the appearance of digital CDs, most music was sold on vinyl discs, which were packaged in close-fitting sleeves that measured 302 millimeters square. The racks on which vinyl discs were displayed were just wide enough, in other words, to accommodate two rows of cases with a divider between them. Making the CD cases a little less than half as wide as the album sleeves they were replacing thus enabled retailers to avoid the substantial costs of replacing their storage and display racks. Similar considerations seem to have driven the decision regarding DVD packaging. Before DVDs became popular, most film rental stores carried videotapes in the VHS format, which were packaged in form-fitting boxes that measured 135 millimeters wide and 191 millimeters high. These videos were typically displayed side by side with their spines out. Making DVD cases the same height enabled stores to display their new DVD stocks on existing shelves while consumers were in the process of switching over to the new format. Making the DVD package the same height as the VHS package also made switching the DVDs more attractive for consumers, since they could store their new DVDs on the same shelves they used for their VHS tapes