July 5, 2000

7:32 AM

Sony to introduce new CD format.No, it's not DVD-Music. It's a new double-capacity CD format that Sony says "will be able to prevent illegal copying." I'm assuming the new format will require all-new hardware to read and to write. So my question is, what's the point? Won't another music format just increase consumer confusion and make them more reluctant to buy? Why come out with a 1.3GB format just as recordable DVDs, with much larger capacities, are becoming practical? Do they really expect people to buy all new hardware to support what is obviously a dead-end format?
posted by daveadams (12 comments total)

ok, Sega has already done this. I just bought a dreamcast the other day and got this big lecture from my friend who knows everything about video games that the system doesn't use CDs but GDs (which is Gigabyte discs). So really, it's already been done. And also, you can run these in the computer because I tried, so I don't know what's going on here.
posted by starduck at 9:11 AM on July 5, 2000

Are recordable DVD's the same as DVD RAM disks?
posted by thirteen at 10:25 AM on July 5, 2000

I agree another format would be a huge waste especially if you need all new hardware to use the damn thing. But the new hardware issue remains to be seen since the article is completely uninformative. Would Sony be that stupid?
posted by Nyarlathotep at 10:33 AM on July 5, 2000

Hasn't Sony also introduced a proprietary technology for removable memory? Or does the Memory Stick have some real advantage over compact flash?
posted by harmful at 11:08 AM on July 5, 2000

It looks to me like it isn't for commercial music, but general-use CD burning. I assume the burner will also be able to read the CDs, so special hardware will be needed but it won't be a hindrance.
posted by Electric Elf at 11:15 AM on July 5, 2000

There will never be such a thing as copy-proof audio CDs. After all, you have to hear the music at some point, don't you?

If you can hear it, you can record it.
posted by CrayDrygu at 11:26 AM on July 5, 2000

Are recordable DVD's the same as DVD RAM disks?

Ummm... I believe there are multiple recordable DVD formats, including DVD-R and DVD-RAM. DVD-R is much like CD-R in that once written, the disc conforms to the DVD-ROM format. I don't believe its possible to write DVD-Movie discs onto DVD-R, though, because the blank media has the first track (where the decryption keys are stored on prerecorded DVD-Movie discs) pre-burned to all zeros or something like that. All the DVD-R drives and media I've seen have a 3.95GB storage limit, although there's supposed to be 4.7GB drives coming soon.

[Aside: I just found this page which claims their DVD-R drive can create "test DVD-Movie discs." I guess it depends on what media you can find?]

DVD-RAM is a rewritable format (like CD-RW) that isn't compatible with DVD-Video or DVD-ROM (apparently). Capacity is smaller -- 2.6GB per side -- than DVD-R.

And there's another format -- DVD+RW -- that I don't know anything about. Admittedly, I haven't kept up with this stuff, but if you want more info, the best place I've found is this DVD overview.
posted by daveadams at 12:10 PM on July 5, 2000

Look at the Dreamcast. Sega thought they had a perfect format, one that would end piracy of their games. 5 months later, Dreamcast games are all over the internet, and can be burned on a normal CD-R and played, if you have a boot CD...which of course is all over as well.

Creating new formats to end piracy is a big waste of time and money. Piracy will never end. They'll hire 40 year old programmers, who will take 2 years to develope some new protection, and it'll take some 15 year old kid 3 days to break it.
posted by Mark at 1:03 PM on July 5, 2000

DVD-Audio is supposedly to be commercially released sometime this week. The Sony version is more proprietary.
posted by Nuxx at 1:25 PM on July 5, 2000

This was precisely why I avoided CDs and stuck with cassette tapes for the longest time. I'm just now getting into CDs and everyone's jumping to DVD and the rest of the damned alphabet. At least I never got caught in the classic Laserdisc (the audio equivalent to the Betamax). Damn you all to hell! A pox on both your houses!

=P
posted by ZachsMind at 3:34 PM on July 5, 2000

PC World has a more indepth analysis of Double Density CD-ROM/-R/-RW.

It will require new hardware to use the discs.
posted by tomalak at 4:26 PM on July 5, 2000

Yes, Sony *is* that stupid.

"There is no way to create an uncopyable digital storage format" isn't an answer they want to hear, so they keep firing the people honest enough to deliver it, and hiring people clever enough to lie to them about it... until they're vested. And sold out.
posted by baylink at 6:50 PM on July 5, 2000