Hi Barney, Thanks for the note. I hope you don't mind if I reply to MD-L as well. >I was reading the latest Sound & Vision magazine. Their info about MP3 got >me really thinking about the future of MD. > >I'm reading more and more about lower cost MP3 players and lower cost >storage chips. I'm even reading about portable MP3 players with a built in >17.3 GB drive for a total of 140 hours! > >I've heard about this stuff before and I'm sure you have too, but my reason >for this e-mail is to ask you to ask your connection at Sony about the >following question. > >First I would like to refresh your memory; > >I wrote; >>Do you think that it's too late for Sony to even think about a audio MD >>that holds the same storage as a regular CD? > >You wrote; >In the final analysis, I don't think Sony wants that. The lossy >compression and generational loss inherent in MD is a perfect copy >protection mechansim, which is not lost on them since they're also a >music producer. > >Eric, I now understand where Sony comes from for that issue and that's fine. > >But now for competition purposes, don't you think that it would be really >good for Sony to make an audio MD that has the same storage (or more) as a >regular CD that can be used ONLY for ATRAC and ATRAC3? (and backwards >compatable if possible) > >It's very clear to me that the storage devices for MP3 players will get >cheaper and hold much more memory. I even heard on ZDTV's "Fresh Gear" >that a one Gig chip may some day come out for MP3 (but who knows how soon >or how long or how much). > >I truely beleive that for Sony to stay competitive with MP3 and long play >portable devices they need to use their ATRAC3 in MD, but ALSO increase the >storage on their audio MDs to ONLY be used for longer playing times and NOT >for same as CD quality sound. > >I feel that this will help insure that MD's stay fresh in today's younger >minds and future MD users and will help keep "the lossy compression and >generational loss" that you taked about eariler intact. > >Please let me know what they think. Personally, if you have the time, I >would like to know if you think that is a good idea? Would it be even >possible to make a MD like that backwards compatable? I think it's a good idea, and I would be interested in seeing an MD Data2 (650MB) based audio MD portable. I think it would be great for MDs to hold 4 times as much audio (~5h20m of 292kbps ATRAC, or ~21h of 66kbps ATRAC3). However, there are a few issues that complicate Sony's decision: 1) Incompatibility - The new format would be incompatible with what came before and make a lot of equipment obsolete. Given the recent leak about a higher compression rate ATRAC, Sony isn't completely averse to such things, but it certainly would be a big decision. 2) Size/Weight/Power - I don't know about this, but I wonder how hard it is to make an MD Data2 drive fit into a tiny portable. 3) Cost - certainly the MD Data2 drives and media are more expensive. Is the [perceived] consumer benefit worth the added expense? 4) Evolution of the format - Would the high density version become the standard, or could Sony reasonably have two incompatible formats being promoted side by side in the market? I would think they would phase out the smaller one, which would mean the added expense in (3) would be placed upon all units. As I say, I think it would be nice to have the high density MD format available for audio recording. But I have some doubt as to whether it's the right time to transition the entire format to it as a new standard. But maybe the MD market more robust than we give it credit for and Sony should keep the MD ball rolling by moving on to bigger and better versions. Rick ----------------------------------------------------------------- To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word "unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
