Re: Tires and DCC

[dieckeaw@PLU.edu]

On Wed, 17 Apr 1996, Andre Walker wrote:

> hello everyone,
> 
> got 2 questions for the new and improved q-list:  first, another tire 
> query, does anyone have any experience/opinions on Yokahama AVS A Plus 
> 4 or U Plus 4? second, has anyone heard of DCC (digital compact 
> cassette) car stereo unit?  I know a few companies made home units, but 
> don't know if they ever may car units.

I can't answer your question about tires, but I can give you details on 
DCC.  DCC and MiniDisk were (notice the past tense) competing music 
formats that were introduced a few years ago.  The both offered some 
novel ideas.  They were both digital (no suprise) and they were both 
recordable (suprise).  They both used a form of phychoaccoustical 
data reduction algorhythm to cram a CD's worth of music onto a smaller 
format.  The DCC used a better sounding format, but is based on a 
casette, which means seek times will be slower, and the tape will degrade 
over time.  The real advantages to DCC are better sound compared to 
MiniDisk, but not as good as CD, and the machines are backward compatable 
with standard analog cassettes.  MiniDisk has a lot of advantages.  Very 
small size (half the size of a 3.5" computer diskette), resistant to 
skipping, and the ability to fragment the music, like a hard drive.  The 
problem with both these formats are total lack of public support.  The 
consumer doesn't want another format war (remember Beta vs. VHS?), plus 
many people had just began to gather a collection of CD's, and didn't 
want to  deal with another format.  VHS, BETA, VHS-C, CDV and LDV LaserDisks 
8mm, LP, 8 tracks, casettes, analog tape, CD's, DAT, MD, DCC.  TOO MUCH 
STUFF!!  The MD/DCC formats were basically still born.  The format may 
dwindle, but don't expect prices to go down.  As for DCC heads, Panasonic 
makes one for $1100.  Next year we'll see yet another new format.  This 
one, called DVD, or Digital Video Disc, has a lot of promise.  It looks 
just like a CD, but hold 9 gigabytes of data.  That's enough to hold a 
feature length film, and 5.1 discrete tracks of audio, with room to spare 
for different video formats, or different languages.  Look for a "Super 
CD" based on the DVD to appear in a few years.  This CD will be backward 
compatible with existing players, but will also be capable of ultra high 
resolution, like 24 bit, 96 kHz.  It should be capable of surpassing 
analog in ultimate resolution.  I'm excited.
I've babbled for WAAAY too long.

Just my $2000 worth.

-Adam