Re: [ARSCLIST] The Emperor's New Sampling Rate By Paul D. Lehrman Mix Magazine April 2008

[Simon Barber <simon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

GRP Records, the New York-based jazz label, pursued DATs and released
limited numbers of some of their more successful records in the
format. There was a digitally recorded Glenn Miller record called 'In the
Digital Mood' which sold a lot of CDs and also made it to DAT alongside some
Chick Corea, Duke Ellington etc. There may also have been a live GRP event
featuring Dave Grusin and Lee Ritenour which was released. GRP were known as
the 'Digital Master' company and so intended to embrace DAT early on as they
had done with compact disc. They were scuppered by delays with hardware over
home taping fears as far as I know.

Some of these articles from the New York Times provide more insight:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE5D61F3BF934A25757C0A96E948260&scp=1&sq=grp+dat&st=nyt
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE3DB1738F935A25752C0A96E948260&scp=5&sq=grp+dat&st=nyt

Simon


On 10/06/2008, Steven Smolian <smolians@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> Tom and others,
>
> Tom:  Thanks for the article on commercial digital firsts in the last ARSC
> journal.
>
> For those interested in non-starter commercial formats, did you know there
> was at least one release of pre-recorded DATSs by SONY?  I found  an
> incomplete set.  Was there more?
>
> Steve Smolian
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Fine" <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >
> To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 6:21 AM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] The Emperor's New Sampling Rate By Paul D. Lehrman
> Mix Magazine April 2008
>
>
> DAT was partly crippled by the dumb copy-protection stuff, which got all
>> sorts of negative press even though for most people it would have made no
>> difference in their activities. There was little consumer uptake so
>> manufacturing costs never came down enough to offer a truly
>> mass-market-priced version. Also, the mechanism was complex and there was
>> only so cheap it could get (although, look at how cheap VHS VCR's got).
>>
>> Your key point, about convenience and perceived value, is true. To each
>> their own in the LP vs CD "contest" -- I own really nice-sounding examples
>> of both and really horrid-sounding examples of both. The CD trumped the LP
>> all limbs down for convenience and the iPod trumps the CD for convenience. I
>> have yet to find a really nice-sounding example of a lossy-compressed 99
>> cent iTunes or MP3 file sold commercially. I can make acceptable-sounding
>> MP3 rips using a higher bitrate.
>>
>> -- Tom Fine
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Richter" <mrichter@xxxxxxx>
>> To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> Sent: Monday, June 09, 2008 10:42 PM
>> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] The Emperor's New Sampling Rate By Paul D. Lehrman
>> Mix Magazine April 2008
>>
>>
>> Tom Fine wrote:
>>>
>>> The ultimate rationalizer, the market, has decided high-rez and
>>>> multi-channel are fringe/niche formats with little uptake in the market.
>>>> Recalling history, it might be argued that CD and microgroove LP and stereo
>>>> in earlier eras were all mass media upgrades forced by the sellers of
>>>> packaged music (ie, the day came in the 50's when stuff wasn't released on
>>>> 78's much anymore and then the time came in the mid-60's when mono lps
>>>> became scarce and then the time came in the late 80's when LPs in general
>>>> became scarce -- so if you wanted the newest album from your faves, you had
>>>> to adopt the new mass medium).
>>>>
>>>
>>> Neither the LP nor the CD won out because of audio superiority. In fact,
>>> it may be argued that the best LPs were always better than the best CDs. The
>>> LP and CD offered substantially greater convenience than its predecessor;
>>> the CD if not the LP is far more durable than the one it replaced. In part,
>>> economy is another substantial factor.
>>>
>>> Where the advantage of a new medium was limited to technical superiority,
>>> it rarely thrived. Were that not so, cassette would never have replaced
>>> open-reel and DAT would be the standard for personal recording.
>>>
>>> Mike
>>> --
>>> mrichter@xxxxxxx
>>> http://www.mrichter.com/
>>>
>>>