Futurama...

[thomas]

No, MD's currently on the market only hold 120megs. thats why they need all that compression

But about 2-3 years ago (can't remember exactly when) Sony released somthing called "MD discam". It was a digital camera that uses 650meg MDs.

Last year, several companies (sharp?) developed MO discs (same technology as MD) that were smaller than MDs and held more than a gig.

Imagine them releasing a new MD with 2 gig capacity, that allows you to store 3 complete CDs uncompressed or a hell of a lot using ATRAC/ ATRAC 3...

Neruda, is the wheatfield DAC portable? that's the biggest concern, there are plenty of DACs on the market, but none of them are portable....Thats why we're DIY our own.

 

[skippy]

the wheatfield DAC is small enough to be portable, but it's a USB DAC, i don't think it has any optical or spdif inputs. i posted a pic a while back on headwize.

the audio alchemy DAC-man is also small enough to be portable. however, it's got large tara labs rca interconnects hanging pigtail style that aren't very suitable for portable use. it also requires a +/-12v supply. but a couple of easy modifications should make it very suitable as a portable DAC.... much easier than the DIY route for me. (i got one, now all i need is a portable cdp with a digital out)

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Do MD's really hold 650 megs? if they do, why all the compression?

Neruda, the currently available MDs are 128MB for 74 minutes, a bit bigger for 80 minutes. Sony has released several versions of 650MB MD. One was, as thomas pointed out, a digital camera. They also produced, for a very short time, Data MD.

The problem, as someone else pointed out, is that MD is *such* a great recording media, that Sony is worried about it ever being a loss-less format. They figure as long as there is compression (even if it got to the point where you couldn't tell), people will buy CDs. So they refuse to release a 650MB audio MD.

MD is basically magneto-optical media. I have a Fujitsu MO drive on my computer at home that uses 1.3GB, 640MB, 230MB, and 128MB MO disks, which are about 3.5" x 3.5" x 3/8", and I've seen GB MO disks that are actually much smaller. MO is probably the best combination of flexibility and reliability there is, and Sony could easily develop MD players that are not much bigger than the current ultra-small models but would hold over 2 CDs worth of uncompressed perfect digital copies, or over 20 CDs of LP2 (high quality) music, or 43 CDs worth of LP4-quality -- on a disc that retails for around $12. Just think if they mass-produced these discs.

Very frustrating that we have the ultimate portable music solution waiting to be released, but Sony won't do it.

 

[coolvij]

......

 

[coolvij]

Well, once SACD comes out, and hits it big, Sony will probably release the Super MD concept. After all - SACD at home AND on a MD will be a tough thing to beat....buy the SACD for home use, record on MD and have better than CD quality on the road...there is potential, my friends

 

[Mr_Junesequa]

interesting thread. 7 year bump just for fun

 

[tds101]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_Junesequa /img/forum/go_quote.gif interesting thread. 7 year bump just for fun

Gettin' BORED I see?

 

[Mr_Junesequa]

interesting to see where they though hi - end portable audio was headed

but yeah ...bored