Digital Cassettes

[Mike Stranks]

See you same day, same place next year!

[Hugh Robjohns]

As for digital audio cassettes that started professionally around 1970 (Umatic PCM), then for consumers in the 80's (DAT)...

While there were some experimental R&D digital recorders around in 1970, there was nothing available commercially and they all used open-reel video or data tape platforms.

The first professional Sony PCM adapter using a Umatic video recorder was the PCM1600 in 1977/8, with the consumer F1 PCM adapter recording to Betamax video released almost concurrently.

AFAIK the first commercial digital recorder came from Denon in 1972, but it used a 2-inch open-reel Quadruplex video recorder. The Soundstream system came along in 1976 using a 1-inch open-reel data recorder. Decca introduced their own in-house system around the same time using a 3/4-inch open-reel IVC video recorder.

R-Dat, as it was called originally, was introduced by Sony in 1987.

When the specs for consumer digital formats were being thrashed out in 1984/5 there were two concepts: one using stationary heads like a conventional analogue tape machine, and one using rotary heads like a video machine. These two concepts were called S-DAT and R-DAT, respectively.

Sony won for the consumer market with R-DAT, later reduced just to DAT (digital audio tape). The S-DAT concept was adopted in Mitsubishi's Pro-Digi stereo and multitrack recorders, and in Sony's DASH format machines (later adopted by Studer too).

...then another type recording digitally to basically the old Compact Cassette invented 1964) in I think the 90's.

The S-DAT idea also briefly emerged in the form of Philip's DCC (digital compact cassette) in 1992, but it was dead and buried just four years later, partly because it never lived up to its promise, but also because Sony's Minidisc format was better and more convenient.

[Tim Gillett]

As for digital audio cassettes that started professionally around 1970 (Umatic PCM), then for consumers in the 80's (DAT)...

While there were some experimental R&D digital recorders around in 1970, there was nothing available commercially and they all used open-reel video or data tape platforms.

The first professional Sony PCM adapter using a Umatic video recorder was the PCM1600 in 1977/8, with the consumer F1 PCM adapter recording to Betamax video released almost concurrently.

Thanks for the correction! My aim of course wasnt to give people a blow by blow description of all formats but to say "digital audio cassettes" have been around for many years.

[The Elf]

Had me going. People are actually using cassette though! Beyond messing about with something found in the back of a cupboard why would anyone do that?!

Don't you know?! Tape has 'mojo'!

[shufflebeat]

"Rusty sellotape", nice one, squire!

Ever considered a career in marketing?

Now that’s irony.

[MOF]

But there can be a problem with the extreme miniaturisation of flash memory cards: easily lost, difficult to handle and plug in especially if your hands and fingers arent nimble, or nimble any more

I did some boom operating on a 16mm film shoot years ago, at the end of the day there was a tall stack of film cans with a small DAT cassette on top ready to go back to base.
If that cassette had somehow got lost it occurred to me that there would be a lot of ADR required.

[ef37a]

Hugh, I still own a Philips DCC and a few cassettes for it, some still s'wrapped.

You say "it never lived up to its promise" In what way? My machine made stunnily good copies of CDs but its main use was as a 'dump' for a mix from our A3440.
It also had the advantage that it could play audio cassettes but sans Dolby because at that time Philips were a bit p'eed off with them. Philips developed the Dynamic Noise Filter in competition. Playback only but by all accounts it worked pretty well?

Must dig the machine out and give it a do!

Dave.

[Mike Stranks]

See, that's the secret of a good April Fool, says he immodestly. Say something that could just be true, polish it a little and then see who gets 'hooked'.

The problem is, of course, planting one here is risky, as 'trends' do cause some bizarre things and nearly every day of the year someone posts something here that could be taken at its face value or could be a leg-pull...

[Wonks]

"Rusty sellotape", nice one, squire!

Ever considered a career in marketing?

Now that’s irony.

No, that’s irony oxide.

[Hugh Robjohns]

Thanks for the correction! My aim of course wasnt to give people a blow by blow description of all formats but to say "digital audio cassettes" have been around for many years.

Sure. No problem. Just wanted to highlight that it was the end of the 70s, not the beginning.

[Hugh Robjohns]

See, that's the secret of a good April Fool, says he immodestly. Say something that could just be true, polish it a little and then see who gets 'hooked'.

Absolutely! It was entirely believable, perfectly do-able, and probably for a competitive price, too. Someone will surely do it! Well done!

I remember one of PW's April Fools many years ago for a lightweight PA speaker with an inflatable cabinet. His design employed a one-way valve in the reflex port to pump itself up on bass notes!

....and then we received a genuine press release for an actual inflatable PA speaker!

[Drew Stephenson]

I remember one of PW's April Fools many years ago for a lightweight PA speaker with an inflatable cabinet. His design employed a one-way valve in the reflex port to pump itself up on bass notes!

....and then we received a genuine press release for an actual inflatable PA speaker!

I have often wondered, generally whilst lugging the thing home from the pub, whether a double bass formed of a central spine and then an inflatable body would actually have any acoustic merit.
I generally manage to talk myself out of it by the following week...