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DVD Roll-Out Parade Continues: Toshiba and Pioneer to Introduce Basic Players with CD Audio

September 30, 1996 by Leave a Comment

Tokyo, Japan. Announcements out of Japan by the nation’s major consumer electronics manufacturers continue to firm up the roll-out plan for DVD, Digital Video Disc (sometimes called Digital Versatile Disc).

In the last few days, Toshiba and Pioneer have made formal announcements of hardware to be introduced in November. These announcements follow in the wake of similar statements earlier this month by Matsushita (Panasonic) and Hitachi. Among the key players in Japan, only Sony has said that it will delay the arrival of DVD due to an expected scarcity of software (video titles). Discs will be slow to arrive, due to disagreements over DVD-video’s copy protection scheme.

The first DVD player from Toshiba, model SD-3000, will go on sale November 1 in Japan at a price of approximately $700 (US). This will be a basic unit, with the ability to play DVD-video and CD-audio discs. Other features include a Dolby AC-3 decoder and S-video output. Toshiba also announced the first DVD-ROM player for computers, to be introduced on the same date.

Pioneer is bringing DVD to market in late October. The first Pioneer unit will be part of a new integrated stereo system, the FX7MD, which will include a receiver and six other components, in addition to the DVD unit. It will be introduced in Japan at a price of approximately $2,000 (US). Pioneer plans to sell the FX series DVD player separately at a price of $750 (US) starting in December.

So far, no manufacturer has announced a DVD player with support for any independent audio format other than the existing CD standard of 44.1 kHz, 16-bit resolution. However, most observers expect a DVD-audio standard or set of standards to be settled soon. Formats that may be supported by DVD’s high data transfer rate (six times faster than CD) and storage capacity (15 times greater than CD) include Dolby AC-3 5.1 channel surround, 2-to-8 channel DTS Coherent Sound, 20-bit 48 kHz PCM four channel, 24-bit 96 kHz stereo, and MPEG Audio (Musicam).

DVD players supporting some form of higher-quality audio are not expected on the market for at least a year.

Filed Under: Biz, Pro Audio

Exciting New Audio Application Patented: Crab Bait!

September 27, 1996 by Leave a Comment

A U.S. patent has been issued to one Mark Glatzer for “an device for use with a conventional crab trap.” The idea is, you encase an audio transducer in a material that makes it look like yummy crab food, stick it in your crab trap, hook it up to an amp and speakers, then sit back and listen. Hey presto, if a crab climbs into the trap, you’ll be the first to know!

Stay alert, though: apparently you have to trigger the trap door manually with a remote trigger line, when you hear your victim. Seems to me you could activate the trigger with audio, too… but maybe that’ll be Mark’s next patent.

If you’re keen to know more, it’s Patent No. 5555666, issued Sept.17, 1996.

Filed Under: Pro Audio

DCC Compact Classics Reports Decline in Profit Margins

September 27, 1996 by Leave a Comment

Chatsworth, CA. Classical music, audiophile and audio-book software distributor DCC Compact Classics, Inc. has reported its financial results for the second quarter of its fiscal year, ending June 30, 1996. Sales were $1.22 million, as compared to $1.08 million for the quarter ended June 30, 1995. The increase in sales was largely due to broader distribution and a change in the company’s product mix.

Gross profit margins declined to 44% in the quarter, with a net loss of $8,000. DCC attributed the loss to increased work related to product returns and inefficiency caused by changing distributors.

“We believe we are through our transition period in having changed our distribution system from a group of independent distributors to a national distribution company,” said Marshall Blonstein, President and CEO. “We continue to expect 1996 third and fourth quarters to be profitable with increased sales.”

Filed Under: Biz

Kao Increases Northeast CD Manufacturing Capacity

September 27, 1996 by Leave a Comment

Plymouth, MA. CD and magnetic media manufacturer Kao Infosystems marked the official opening of a new 65,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art compact disc manufacturing plant today with a ribbon-cutting and open house.

The CD facility is now the largest such operation in the U.S. northeast. It employs 150, incorporates the most advanced CD production equipment, provides a full range of CD mastering services, and operates 16 production lines. The building was previously used as Kao’s east coast distribution center, which has now moved to Lakeville, MA.

“With the addition of this new CD plant, we will be able to further reduce our customers’ cycle-time-to-market, consolidate and lower our cost of operations, and strengthen our long-term position in the market place,” commented Peter McGuirk, President and CEO.

Kao now boasts over 336,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space in Plymouth, situated on 86 acres of land. Kao Infosystems also operates CD production facilities in Fremont, CA and Arnprior, Ontario (Canada).

Filed Under: Biz

Graphic Speaker Design Tool Moves from Mac Platform to Windows

September 27, 1996 by Leave a Comment

Escondido, CA. True Image Audio has announced the release of WinSpeakerz 95, an updated port to Windows ’95 of its well-known MacSpeakerz software from the MacOS environment. It’s a native 32-bit application that will run on any PC with Win’95, and it’s priced at $199 (U.S.), direct from True Image.

WinSpeakerz can show a speaker designer the precise audio performance that can be achieved by any driver in a number of different enclosure types. As well as enclosure analysis, the software offers an advanced array of calculators for designing passive crossovers, impedance compensation networks, and attenuators as well as rectangular, trapezoidal, and bandpass cabinets. Frequency scale end points are adjustable from 1 Hz to 100 kHz. The software can be operated in both metric and English units.

WinSpeakerz uses the metaphor of a workbench and projects to organize design work. Starting with a new project file, the designer opens the driver database and selects a driver to load to the workbench. At the workbench, the designer examines the performance of the driver in various enclosures. Promising designs are saved to memory locations within the project file.

Each project file holds 10 memory snapshots consisting of a complete driver file, full details on the enclosure, crossover, impedance compensator networks, and detailed notes on the system. System snapshots can be recalled to the workbench by clicking buttons on a toolbar, and compared directly with other stored configurations. This makes it easy for a designer to compare different drivers in a particular enclosure, or the same driver in various enclosures.

The program can print a number of different reports, including sorted lists of drivers you have selected from the database. Analysis reports and plots are printed by clicking a button on the toolbar. Most of the printed reports display an engineering title block with basic Project information.

The driver database has a full search-and-sort capability, as well as the ability to tag drivers with keywords. Each driver record can store over 90 different driver parameters, including details such as the driver’s bolt circle diameter, front and rear mount baffle cutout diameters and retail price. A comments field provides full text editing capability, so that the designer can keep detailed notes on each driver. Driver records can be added, edited and deleted. System snapshots are similarly deep in detail.

WinSpeakerz keeps track of the most recently-used project files, and offers immediate access to them under the File menu. When a project file is loaded, the workbench is restored just as the user left it. Other convenient features include the ability to have several project files open at once, tool tips, and print preview.

A demo of WinSpeakerz can be downloaded from the True Image Audio web site. Also at the web site, the True Image Speaker Design Forum, a message board with topics on vents, crossovers, and other speaker design topics. If you are on America OnLine, you can find the Forum at AOL Keyword: “TIA”

Filed Under: Tech
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