High-density CDs set for showdown
Article Abstract:
The next generation of CDs will be the same size, but will be capable of holding 10GB of data. Toshiba and Time Warner are proposing a two-sided Super Compact Disc. Each side would hold 5GB, and it would have to be turned over for accessing the opposite side. A competing alliance consisting of Sony, Philips and 3M have announced a single-sided 3.7GB disc that would also come in a two-sided variety that would hold 7.4GB of data. Quality would be indistinguishable between the two formats, and either disc would be able to play two hours of video at TV quality. The 7.4GB MMCD drive will be more compatible with existing CDs. The SD format, along with new players, will be available in 1996. Some technical challenges still must be met, including how to lay down the second layer without interfering with the first. Another challenge is getting the laser to focus on a single layer at a time. Although the focus of the new technology is movies, it will also be useful for distributing large databases and programs.
Publication Name: Newmedia
Subject: Computers and office automation industries
ISSN: 1060-7188
Year: 1995
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A burn of one's own
Article Abstract:
CD-recordable (CD-R) technology is still a better solution for most multimedia developers than CD-rewritable (CD-RW), but that may change in a year or so. Dataquest expects that some 1.3 million CD-R drives will sold in 1997, versus less than 100,000 CD-RW drives. CD-RW media is capable of being written, erased and rewritten about 1,000 times, but it is still uncertain whether CD-RW media will prove as durable as CD-R media. And CD-RW blank media currently costs about $25, versus some $5 for CD-R blank media. One of CD-R's main obstacles to acceptance has been the lack of a standard for drag-and-drop file writing. CD-RW, however, uses packet writing which enables data to be written incrementally. CD-RW, on the other hand, supports Universal Disk Format. This makes CD-RW an ideal candidate for incremental data backup. However, CD-RW is a poor choice for multimedia recording.
Publication Name: Newmedia
Subject: Computers and office automation industries
ISSN: 1060-7188
Year: 1997
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Removable storage
Article Abstract:
Removable storage options are numerous and can be confusing. Shoppers need to know exactly what their requirements are in order to know which technology will be most appropriate. For example, users in the video, audio or publishing industries probably work with large files and need fast access, so that performance and capacity will probably be most important. If archival backup is the significant issue, capacity durability and cost are key. High-performance and high-capacity are important if what is wanted is a hard-drive supplement to store frequently accessed files. A product-comparison chart is addended that includes rigid- and flexible-magnetic disk drives, as well as magneto-optical drives.
Publication Name: Newmedia
Subject: Computers and office automation industries
ISSN: 1060-7188
Year: 1998
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