Slashdot Mirror
Philips' JackRabbit32 DVD/CD-RW External Drive
James Bell writes "Designtechnica.com has just posted a brief first look of Philips new JackRabbit32 external DVD/CD-RW drive. This appears to be the first information leaked on the net about this product from what I can tell. This drive has multiple video out ports for hook up to a television or other video sources. There is also Dolby Digital 5.1 support as well as USB 2.0 and Firewire support. The drive can also play audio or MP3 CD's as well. Since the decoder is onboard, it should be easy to get the Jackrabbit32 to run under Linux I would imagine."
A DVD/CD-RW? That's sooooooooooooooooo 2001!
I'm holding out for DVD-R/CD-RW's, like Apple's Superdrive, baby.
Seems pretty expensive ($299) for a external cd burner. I guess it is a dvd player too, but $299 is a good chunk out of a new Dell laptop (they have one in the $800 range now).
Nice to see the Slashdot Advertising policy in full effect.
The theory of relativity doesn't work right in Arkansas.
:( Always disappoints me.
I hear there are aftermarket plans to convert it to beta/8-track formats...l33t g34r
So now I can watch DVD while burning a CD!
Forget that, I want a CD/LP-RW)
How about an external 8-Track reader/8 inch floppy drive (with USB support)?
Contact Me (got tired of viruses emailing me).
If this thing doesn't do component video output and preferably progressive scan video, then it's not worth the price. I already have a stand-alone DVD player that does DD5.1, DTS, and all of the lesser Dolby types, progressive scan video, etc. And it has a cool blue LED. I already have several DVD-ROMs in my PCs, and I have a CD-R (bah, who needs CD-RW?). In other words, this thing is pretty useless, because the people that would be buying it likely already have all of the functionality it can provide and more.
You're not going to see Joe Sixpack picking this thing up at the store for $300, because he can get a decent DVD player for half of that, and he doesn't have a computer with USB2.0 anyway. You're not going to see the technically savvy pick this up either, because they already have the separate components this thing replaces. No, this is going to appeal to the "toy" market (which is not a bad thing, and in fact they could get away with charging much more than $300, but it's really not going to go anywhere mainstream).
The JackRabbit32 will be available in January 2003, and will cost $299.
Hey, that's just in time for Valentine's Day! Now I've got the perfect gift!
He: Look dear, I got you a JackRabbit32!
She: Um, that's nice, but what about....
He: Hang on, let me show you what this baby can do. It can burn a CD, or play one!, Or you can...
(Sound of door slamming.)
The drive can also play audio or MP3 CD's as well.
/. troll>But can it play ogg??? Can it? Huh?</OB /. troll>
:)
<OB
No, I don't care if it plays ogg. Why would they integrate MP3 playing ability into this CD player anyway? You have to have it hooked up to a computer to use it (I think) and there are tons of free players to use. Oh well, I don't care.
Mark
Philips already has a version of this called the JackRabbit (no 32) that appears similar but without the DVD player. Here is a link to a pdf describing the product.
Now this is one of those few products that you see from time to time that could really come in useful.
That's emphasised when the drive is priced at $299 which is quite a steal considering you don't have to power on your PC OR be limited to your PC monitor OR lug your PC next to your television so you can hook up the TV-out from your Video card.
Yeah, I know a DVD player does the same - but this does what a DVD player doesn't do for all us poor folks out there who are still watching DVDs on their PCs. Here, we basically have a DVD player with CD burn capability. The difference is that you can use the a nice GUI from the PC (your favorite burn software) to control what you want burnt - very useful I say as compared to a standalone burner which would basically be limited to duplicating discs.
I do have one complaint though - It seems to me that the physical drive itself has very few controls ON it. I'm also not sure if the little red piece of glass between the 2 buttons is a display of some sort or an IR receiver - the latter would make more sense and be more useful (think remote control). This would mean though, that the drive does not have a display of it's own which can be a little inconvenient at times.
But it's definitely a step in the right direction. Phillips has been quiet on the CD front for some time - it's nice to see them in the limelight again. Now hopefully, they'll get the guts to go ahead and combat those copy-protection schemes head on.
Find a job you like and you will never work a day in your life.
...we nickname this rabbit 'Bugs'.
I saw the JackRabbit at Philips hotel suite, and can provide a little more info:
They eventually want to put in a DVD+RW drive in the unit.
The unit is meant to not only hook up to your computer, but to your TV as well via SVideo or Composite Video.
Here's a pic.
Aliens? Magnetic Rings?! Bah! Who needs that when we have
You're going to spend, what $300 for the newest top of the line video card? (not $600) But you're going to use that thing every day. The DVD/CD-RW, however, you probably wont use as much.
Who wants to spend $20 on a DVD when I could burn 40 DivX movies for the same price.
I'm a writer, a poet, a genius, I know it. I don't buy software, I grow it.
The included remote will also prove useful here, and help it compete with stand alone DVD players.
This'll work on your computer and your TV, but it doesn't really join them up in any sense. You'd think they'd try to make it more of a bridge between one box and the other, the TV and the computer, rather than just a hybrid device at a price. Seems like the idea is using it separately as a stand-alone DVD player, with that remote and all. (They let you "configure the drive" with the remote hooked to a dumb monitor. Not sure what you'd be configuring.)
I dunno... Do you want to go upstairs and pull plugs behind the computer to watch a movie on the TV with this in the living room? I don't know anyone who plays DVDs on their PlayStation, and that's already hooked up. (Does anyone have their TV right next to the computer shrine? Outside of dorm rooms and those who already own video editing setups?)
"Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
Somehow I managed to read only the name and the Linux reference, so I was thinking "Cool, another game to play on Linux", and then found it has nothing to do with Jazz Jackrabbit. For those who don't know it's an old and fun platform game.
Wow! So I can record CD's and play DVD's on this thing, is that really right?!?
And it might be able to work under Linux!!! Did I read that right???
Is this truly the only Earth I can live on?
The name overloading is also a potential source of confusion..."SuperDrive" originally referred to the 3.5" high-density floppy drive (1.4 MB vs. 800K) that Apple started shipping in the early 90s IIRC. The same thing happened with AppleWorks...the copy of AppleWorks I have isn't a relabeled ClarisWorks. It was derived from III EZ Pieces (an integrated-software package for the Apple III) and runs on the Apple II.
20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
So, basically, this is a DVD player that just happens to be able to interface to a computer as well.
Nifty idea, I'd buy one. I have both USB2 and Firewire ports on my system.
It was apparently shown at Comdex
/ comdex_day_3-06.html
http://www6.tomshardware.com/business/02q4/021121
I've seen lots of DVD drives that can play a CD-ROM with mp3s on them. Are there any stand-alone players that can play DVD-Rs with mp3s on them?
If not, are they in the making?
Thanks
"A plan fiendishly clever in its intricacies"- Homer Simpson
Not to bag on your comment specifically, but is it really funny every time we point this out?
Isn't this just a general understanding by now? Slashdot needing to make money, and using what they do best to accomplish that.
As a business owner myself, I feel almost.. proud of Slashdot. This means they are being a little more responsible and realistic in how the business is ran, and as such, will (hopefully) be around that much longer for *our* enjoyment.
If you're visiting a web site every day, and atleast getting fifteen minutes entertainment out of it.. then the health of that site is not to be taken lightly.
Rob, please do not hesitate to instate a monthly/annual billing system sooner rather than later. I would rather see it done when there are still some cash in the reserves, than as a last ditch method that hasn't gotten the chance it needs to ramp up.
I'm all up for paying $1.95-$3.95/month to Slashdot if it can keep you around. Add the feature, and let it run for a few months with no access stipulations as cause of subscription--everyone is equal access (perhaps if you pay, you don't see the other ads) -- and if that works out well, then stick to it. If it doesn't work out well.. play with the pricing until it does, and from that point figure out your future strategy.
But by God, ignore these people that laugh at you/Slashdot for trying to run an honest business. We really do appreciate what you have done here.
Jason Fisher
[aka BloodHawk, oldschool #4am IRC'er]
That's my question. Probably no BIOS support?
Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
Having a CD burner inside your DVD player adds no value whatsoever other than saving a bit of space. Now if it had VIDEO IN and could burn a (S)VCD directly without PC intervention, that would be different. But as it is it's just a box that happens to have two different devices inside that cannot take advantage of each other in any particular way. No particular synergies at all.
4.7 gig of MP3's would mean a lot less disks to tote around.
And as others have commented, make it burn DVD's, too..
The law is a weapon of the government, not a protection for the likes of you. Surely you understand that.
Thats great, informative and troll at the same time! brillant!
Why have a full 5.1 Dolby/DTS decoder etc on the CD/DVD drive? For an average user they are not going to have the 5.1 speaker set or need the decoder even if they do.
If they DO have a 5.1 spaker set, the higher up ones (like the Logitech Z-680's) have a hardware decoder built in.
You can also have a soundcard with the decoding built in.
With any 5.1 soundcard (like Turtle Beach Santa Cruz/Videologic sonicfury/xplosion, Live!5.1 and up, Herc Fort etc) you can get software decoders like in PowerDVD and WinDVD to do the decoding for you.
Thats four levels of Decoding already - will people actually pay for it on the drive, if in fact they either don't need it because not enough speakers, or don't need it because they have 3 other ways to decode the audio alrday?
There is also Dolby Digital 5.1 support as well as USB 2.0 and Firewire support...Since the decoder is onboard, it should be easy to get the Jackrabbit32 to run under Linux I would imagine.
What, you think the DVD alliance suddenly decided to allow a manufacturer to create a device with unencrypted output over FireWire? Nuh-uh. This thing will be accessed over the FireWire/USB2 ports the exact same as any other FireWire/USB2 drive. The decoder will only be useful when you're using the analog outputs on the drive; the PC-component portion of the thing will act as any other RPC2 drive, I imagine.
± 29 dB
See, that's why I said "like" Apple's SuperDrive, which suggests, to people that know how to read, that I'm only calling it out as a single example.