It's not DataPlay enforcing DRM, it's the record labels. Everyone knows about line in recoding, so if you want to spend the time great. DataPlay will be glad to let you record to blanks that way. Also, you will be able to make a reasonable number of copies from pre-recorded DataPlay media, so DRM doesn't stop you. It just won't let you make a million copies.
Sounds like you might need to. First CF will never drop enough in price to come close to DataPlay. Right now a 500MB CF costs $500. Dataplay will always be lower and in time will get close to CD price. For every drop in CF price, DataPlay will be an order of magnitude lower. Plus CF has corruption and degradation problems. Also, CF will never have any viable content not only due to price but because it can't be stamped out in high volume like optical. There is reason CD and DVD came out for content. DataPlay will only let you do more than CD and DVD. Second CD is too big to be useful in anything other than a CD player. If you want a media to be used in cameras, PDA's etc. and music players, this it it. Third, don't even compare this to HipZip (actually PocketZip or formerly Clik). PocketZip discs are bigger, more expensive ($15 vs. around $10), less capacity (40MB vs. 500MB), and magnetic vs. optical and they also had zero support by the CE industry in devices and no content support. Also Trans World is not a VC they are the largest independent Record Store chain in the US (Camelot, the Wall, etc.). Therefore not only does DataPlay have big CE names like Toshiba, Samsung, Olympus who have come on board along with content providers like Universal, EMI, BMG, Jive/Zomba, but key retailers are on board. For every skeptical view there are 100 consumers who want this and can use it. There are a host of hardware companies doing everything from cameras to PDAs that will be out with DataPlay later this year. The increased value prop for the user is extreme portabilty, use in all device types for simplicity, content with extra material you can't get on CD, recordability just like CD-R but easier to do, affordability far superior to flash with higher capacity and content. Remember all DataPlay players are burners, drives, and players. 3 devices in one to allow you to burn and play all the MP3's you want, or store data or images, or move content between devices. This does everything that CD or CD-R does and gives you Flash size at a much lower price. If you currently use CD-R or Flash, you've got to like this. Obviously if I just want to dump data to a $0.50 CD-R for backup I'll continue to do it, but if you want to consolidate your media types and use your content in more places at a low price, this is it.
Actually DataPlay officially launched the product at CES in January 2001.If you saw something in 2000 it must have still been a mockup because prototypes were not even done yet. DataPlay indicated at CES 2001, launch of the product in Fall of 2001, so they really only slipped about 6 months. iPod is OK, but if you want removable media like CD or CD-R, you won't get that or pre-recorded content support with iPod. Plus you'll pay a lot more for iPod, and don't drop it (hardrive crash!!). Plus with DataPlay you get unlimited capacity. With 12 discs you've got 6GB, which is more than the entry level 5GB iPod. Nomad is also huge. How will you transfer a play content on your iPod in somebody elses device. You better hope they have Mac and Firewire. With DataPlay you just pull the disc out of one DataPlay device and put it in another. Don't get me wronf, iPod has it's place but ifd you want removable media and pre-recorded content and the ability to expand your collection and bin it it manageable pieces, then DataPlay is more flexible.
between $5 and $12 depending on whether you buy a 1, 3 or 5 pack. They are not $16. Compare that to Flash at $500 for 500MB. Devices will be between $299 and $369 to start depending on brand etc. and remember they are not just players, they are burners and drag and drop optical drives in one. Try getting a decent CD player with anti skip and a decent USB CD burner for less than $300, you can't. It'll run you about $170 for a decent CD player and $200 for a decent USB burner and then you'll be stuck with 2 giant devices instead of one small one that does everything. Plus you won't be able to use CD's in cameras or PDA's like DataPlay. No comparison. CD players were $1000 when they first came out and all they did was play. This is a leap in technology and will only go down in price with volume.
Actually, you'll only get about 7.5 albums (an hour each) on a CD with 650MB recording at 192 kbps data rate. The DataPlay 5 hours is actually about 5.7 hours at this rate 9for 5 albums) or 11.5 hours at 96 kbps rate. Obviously you'll get more on a CD with the extra 150MB it has, but who cares. You will still get tons of music on DataPlay and you could carry 5 times the number of discs in the same space it takes to carry one CD. Plus you can carry them in your pocket along with the player. Try fitting a 120mm CD in your pocket or a player for that matter. Plus you better have a separate CD burner because your CD player won't burn. Now your in for 2 devices using a media that's too big, can be scratched, and doesn't hold that much more than DataPlay. DataPlay devicesare burners, players and drives. Your CD burner also won't support file drag and drop under explorer. Plus you can use your DataPlay media in cameras and PDA's etc. that will come out. Can't do that with ancient CD and then you'll have to buy Flash if you can afford it. DataPlay gets rid of those problems with a better format that will be higher capacity thanm CD in the future. Remember CD players were $1000 when they first came out and CD-R was about the same price. This is a better format and much smaller and portable and it will only go down in price. CD is good but limited in use and Flash is too expensive with no content. If you've ever seen DataPlay or played with it at a trade show you won't go back if your serious about portability and use across more devices than just a CD player.
OK, there seems to be a lot of uninformed opinions on DataPlay. This technology is very similar to DVD-R or CD-R. Yes, it's write once, but write once media is extremely popular, and re-writeable optical sales are only about 8% of write-once, so write-once is not a negative if the media is cheap enough and you want it to be archival, which DataPlay is. Yes, in the beginning it will be more expensive than CD, but CD has taken several years to get to it's current price and DataPlay will come down too. Even at $5-$12 at the start depending on the pack size you buy, it's a steal compared to Flash. Try getting 500MB of Flash for $5; you'll spend about $500 instead. It holds almost as much as CD (500MB vs 650MB) and will increase capacity to be larger than CD in the future (1GB or more). Even at 500MB you can store 11.5 hours of MP3 at 96kbps on a disc that is 32mm diameter vs. 120mm for CD. The players will be around one fourth the size of CD players and they operate as burners and external drag and drop storage drives as well. 3 devices in one that fits in your pocket. Try doing that with a CD player or try using a CD in a camera, a PDA, a cellphone, etc. All of these devices will be coming out with support for DataPlay so you can use one media for everything and finally get good use out of PDA's, portable pocketsized MP3 players, and digital cameras using a media that is removable, very small, archival and high capacity. Unlike solid state MP3 players today, DataPlay will give a player about the same size but it will burn content, store data and play back your own recorded content or pre-recorded content in one device. Since you also get pre-recorded content, it gives you everything you get on CDROM and CD-R plus small size like Flash, but at 1/100th the price of Flash. Contrary to some statements, you will be able to make a reasonable numbers of copies of pre-recorded albums on DataPlay and you will have no compatibility problems like copy-protected CD's coming out now, so it will not impact normal consumer use. You'll also get bonus content, extra albums, video, etc. You can get over 5 hours of CD quality on pre-recorded DataPlay media, because it uses new algorithms like AAC and QDX at high rates like 192kbps which is considered to be CD quality and has been tested to be equal. This is not MP3, but you can record in MP3 if you want and get over 11.5 hours at very good quality. Also remember that CD uses 20 year old WAVE PCM encoding. New AAC etc. can equal CD quality at lower rates allowing more play time with no quality loss. In addition you can put you own content (images, extra tracks, etc.) in the blank space on the pre-recorded DataPlay media, because it's a hybrid format. You can't do that with CDROM you buy today. For those who like solid state devices due to portability this will blow those away because it's the same size but cheaper and higher capacity with support for pre-recorded content. For those who like CD you get pre-recorded like CDROM and recording like CD-R with virtually the same capacity at a fraction of the size plus you can use the media in other devices that CD cannot be used in, and every device is a burner and a drive that allows users to drag and drop any file under File Explorer to the media (images, video, data, etc.) and access via PC over USB. Easy to use, cheap, small, universal. This is not like Click at all and it blows away Flash and does everything CD-R or CDROM does and more.
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It's not DataPlay enforcing DRM, it's the record labels. Everyone knows about line in recoding, so if you want to spend the time great. DataPlay will be glad to let you record to blanks that way. Also, you will be able to make a reasonable number of copies from pre-recorded DataPlay media, so DRM doesn't stop you. It just won't let you make a million copies.
Sounds like you might need to. First CF will never drop enough in price to come close to DataPlay. Right now a 500MB CF costs $500. Dataplay will always be lower and in time will get close to CD price. For every drop in CF price, DataPlay will be an order of magnitude lower. Plus CF has corruption and degradation problems. Also, CF will never have any viable content not only due to price but because it can't be stamped out in high volume like optical. There is reason CD and DVD came out for content. DataPlay will only let you do more than CD and DVD. Second CD is too big to be useful in anything other than a CD player. If you want a media to be used in cameras, PDA's etc. and music players, this it it. Third, don't even compare this to HipZip (actually PocketZip or formerly Clik). PocketZip discs are bigger, more expensive ($15 vs. around $10), less capacity (40MB vs. 500MB), and magnetic vs. optical and they also had zero support by the CE industry in devices and no content support. Also Trans World is not a VC they are the largest independent Record Store chain in the US (Camelot, the Wall, etc.). Therefore not only does DataPlay have big CE names like Toshiba, Samsung, Olympus who have come on board along with content providers like Universal, EMI, BMG, Jive/Zomba, but key retailers are on board. For every skeptical view there are 100 consumers who want this and can use it. There are a host of hardware companies doing everything from cameras to PDAs that will be out with DataPlay later this year. The increased value prop for the user is extreme portabilty, use in all device types for simplicity, content with extra material you can't get on CD, recordability just like CD-R but easier to do, affordability far superior to flash with higher capacity and content. Remember all DataPlay players are burners, drives, and players. 3 devices in one to allow you to burn and play all the MP3's you want, or store data or images, or move content between devices. This does everything that CD or CD-R does and gives you Flash size at a much lower price. If you currently use CD-R or Flash, you've got to like this. Obviously if I just want to dump data to a $0.50 CD-R for backup I'll continue to do it, but if you want to consolidate your media types and use your content in more places at a low price, this is it.
Actually DataPlay officially launched the product at CES in January 2001.If you saw something in 2000 it must have still been a mockup because prototypes were not even done yet. DataPlay indicated at CES 2001, launch of the product in Fall of 2001, so they really only slipped about 6 months. iPod is OK, but if you want removable media like CD or CD-R, you won't get that or pre-recorded content support with iPod. Plus you'll pay a lot more for iPod, and don't drop it (hardrive crash!!). Plus with DataPlay you get unlimited capacity. With 12 discs you've got 6GB, which is more than the entry level 5GB iPod. Nomad is also huge. How will you transfer a play content on your iPod in somebody elses device. You better hope they have Mac and Firewire. With DataPlay you just pull the disc out of one DataPlay device and put it in another. Don't get me wronf, iPod has it's place but ifd you want removable media and pre-recorded content and the ability to expand your collection and bin it it manageable pieces, then DataPlay is more flexible.
between $5 and $12 depending on whether you buy a 1, 3 or 5 pack. They are not $16. Compare that to Flash at $500 for 500MB. Devices will be between $299 and $369 to start depending on brand etc. and remember they are not just players, they are burners and drag and drop optical drives in one. Try getting a decent CD player with anti skip and a decent USB CD burner for less than $300, you can't. It'll run you about $170 for a decent CD player and $200 for a decent USB burner and then you'll be stuck with 2 giant devices instead of one small one that does everything. Plus you won't be able to use CD's in cameras or PDA's like DataPlay. No comparison. CD players were $1000 when they first came out and all they did was play. This is a leap in technology and will only go down in price with volume.
Actually, you'll only get about 7.5 albums (an hour each) on a CD with 650MB recording at 192 kbps data rate. The DataPlay 5 hours is actually about 5.7 hours at this rate 9for 5 albums) or 11.5 hours at 96 kbps rate. Obviously you'll get more on a CD with the extra 150MB it has, but who cares. You will still get tons of music on DataPlay and you could carry 5 times the number of discs in the same space it takes to carry one CD. Plus you can carry them in your pocket along with the player. Try fitting a 120mm CD in your pocket or a player for that matter. Plus you better have a separate CD burner because your CD player won't burn. Now your in for 2 devices using a media that's too big, can be scratched, and doesn't hold that much more than DataPlay. DataPlay devicesare burners, players and drives. Your CD burner also won't support file drag and drop under explorer. Plus you can use your DataPlay media in cameras and PDA's etc. that will come out. Can't do that with ancient CD and then you'll have to buy Flash if you can afford it. DataPlay gets rid of those problems with a better format that will be higher capacity thanm CD in the future. Remember CD players were $1000 when they first came out and CD-R was about the same price. This is a better format and much smaller and portable and it will only go down in price. CD is good but limited in use and Flash is too expensive with no content. If you've ever seen DataPlay or played with it at a trade show you won't go back if your serious about portability and use across more devices than just a CD player.
OK, there seems to be a lot of uninformed opinions on DataPlay. This technology is very similar to DVD-R or CD-R. Yes, it's write once, but write once media is extremely popular, and re-writeable optical sales are only about 8% of write-once, so write-once is not a negative if the media is cheap enough and you want it to be archival, which DataPlay is. Yes, in the beginning it will be more expensive than CD, but CD has taken several years to get to it's current price and DataPlay will come down too. Even at $5-$12 at the start depending on the pack size you buy, it's a steal compared to Flash. Try getting 500MB of Flash for $5; you'll spend about $500 instead. It holds almost as much as CD (500MB vs 650MB) and will increase capacity to be larger than CD in the future (1GB or more). Even at 500MB you can store 11.5 hours of MP3 at 96kbps on a disc that is 32mm diameter vs. 120mm for CD. The players will be around one fourth the size of CD players and they operate as burners and external drag and drop storage drives as well. 3 devices in one that fits in your pocket. Try doing that with a CD player or try using a CD in a camera, a PDA, a cellphone, etc. All of these devices will be coming out with support for DataPlay so you can use one media for everything and finally get good use out of PDA's, portable pocketsized MP3 players, and digital cameras using a media that is removable, very small, archival and high capacity. Unlike solid state MP3 players today, DataPlay will give a player about the same size but it will burn content, store data and play back your own recorded content or pre-recorded content in one device. Since you also get pre-recorded content, it gives you everything you get on CDROM and CD-R plus small size like Flash, but at 1/100th the price of Flash. Contrary to some statements, you will be able to make a reasonable numbers of copies of pre-recorded albums on DataPlay and you will have no compatibility problems like copy-protected CD's coming out now, so it will not impact normal consumer use. You'll also get bonus content, extra albums, video, etc. You can get over 5 hours of CD quality on pre-recorded DataPlay media, because it uses new algorithms like AAC and QDX at high rates like 192kbps which is considered to be CD quality and has been tested to be equal. This is not MP3, but you can record in MP3 if you want and get over 11.5 hours at very good quality. Also remember that CD uses 20 year old WAVE PCM encoding. New AAC etc. can equal CD quality at lower rates allowing more play time with no quality loss. In addition you can put you own content (images, extra tracks, etc.) in the blank space on the pre-recorded DataPlay media, because it's a hybrid format. You can't do that with CDROM you buy today. For those who like solid state devices due to portability this will blow those away because it's the same size but cheaper and higher capacity with support for pre-recorded content. For those who like CD you get pre-recorded like CDROM and recording like CD-R with virtually the same capacity at a fraction of the size plus you can use the media in other devices that CD cannot be used in, and every device is a burner and a drive that allows users to drag and drop any file under File Explorer to the media (images, video, data, etc.) and access via PC over USB. Easy to use, cheap, small, universal. This is not like Click at all and it blows away Flash and does everything CD-R or CDROM does and more.