From: s37732v@snakemail.hut.fi (Markus Juhani Aalto)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc
Subject: Re: Reasons for Amiga CD
Date: 3 Jan 93 10:02:15 GMT
Distribution: inet
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, Finland
NNTP-Posting-Host: lk-hp-18.hut.fi
In-reply-to: Aric.Caley@ofa123.fidonet.org's message of 02 Jan 93  04:04:02

In article <0210aa5@ofa123.fidonet.org> Aric.Caley@ofa123.fidonet.org writes:

   > In article <C03vrC.79J@NeoSoft.com> peter@NeoSoft.com (Peter da Silva)
   > writes:
   > >Read-write mini-CDs hit the market this year. They're going to destroy
   > >casettes.
   >
   >   I doubt it.  Cassettes recently got a reguvenation, from
   > new DAT drives that
   > can store digitally on ordinary cassettes, and play old analog-written
   > cassettes.  This is highly attractive to people who have lots of old
   > cassettes
   > and want to still be able to use them.

   DAT  is  a  totaly incompatible system.  You are "thinking" (and I use that
   term  lightly) of Philips' DCC.  While an interesting idea, I dont think it
   will  become  all  that  popular - it might have if it came out a few years
   ago.   But  I  think the recordable optical disk machines are going to win,
   especialy since the price difference is nil - they cost about the same.

I have heard that (at least here in Finland) Minidisk is going to be even
cheaper than DCC systems. I don't know how much are empty disks or casettes
though.

   > >Read-write full-size CDs will show up pretty soon. They
   > >will be compatible with
   > >read-only CDs (the players will play conventional CDs, but the read-write
   > >CDs probably won't play in conventional players).
   >
   >   Read-write CDs have been promised for some time.  They are here already,
   > but only in very-expensive units that can only erase and re-write a CD a
   > very limited number of times, and only to special CDs.

   WRONG!!!   They  are  here now, in units priced comparably to other systems
   (DAT  and  DCC) (about $500 for a PORTABLE).  And they can re-record over a
   million times on a disk - hardly "very limited".  These things could, and I
   believe  will  eventualy, kill the cassette.  They probably wont kill CD's,
   because  CD's  will  continue  to be cheaper to manufacture (both disks and
   players).

And CD's have better quality because they don't use lossy compression
methods for data as both DCC and Minidisk do.

   If Commodore wanted to be really visionary, they'd toss the CD-ROM entirely
   and go with the Sony 2.5" MiniDisk drive.

Currently Minidisk systems use lossy compression methods but nothing
is stopping them to release drives with no compression. This of course
limits the amount of data possible to store on the disk. So this isn't
possible at the moment.

   > CD-ROMs.  The audio industry will almost certainly insist on circuitry to
   > prevent read-write CD drives from copying audio CDs, and the software
   > publishing industry may get on the bandwagon by insisting on similar
   > circuitry

   Well  the Sony MiniDisk is already out.  I dont know if it has this kind of
   circuitry in it.

I doubt because copies from CD isn't technically of the same quality
as for example CD to DAT copies are. 

   > for CD-ROMs.  If so, CD-ROMs would continue to be very
   > attractive distribution
   > medium for software publishers.
   >

I agree. They are great for software publishers but I need read/write
media.

   > -!-
   > | Marc Barrett -MB-  |  email: barrett@iastate.edu
   > -!------------------------------------------------

    Dances With Coyotes-EMAIL: dances@qed.cts.com-At the begining of the movie-
    -AKA Dances V2.0/Coyote/Critter/Magnet/Major--they know they  have to find-
    Former Net-Lurker - A-M-I-G-A! NOT AMEOBA%#$!-each other.... but they ride-
    World's slower programer and cursed with 1.3!-off in  opposite  directions-
--


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*         Markus Aalto              | Helsinki University of Technology  *
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