DCC in 2023 - viewing the hidden info on old tapes…and other things.

แชร์
ฝัง
  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 พ.ย. 2024

ความคิดเห็น • 817

  • @Baldharlow
    @Baldharlow ปีที่แล้ว +754

    I've spent a lot of time watching a lot of presenters on TH-cam over the years and most have come and gone. I can honestly say I've never grown bored with any of your content. It's just consistently good, informative, and entertaining (with a chance of puppets!). Just wanted to say thanks. What you do is appreciated.

    • @SockyNoob
      @SockyNoob ปีที่แล้ว +29

      I could listen to Mat discuss anything and not get bored.

    •  ปีที่แล้ว +39

      I missss dem pupppetzzzzz.....

    • @Thrakus
      @Thrakus ปีที่แล้ว +18

      It is true that 13 years of exceptional content have been produced. Based on views, people love his content as much today as they did in the start. Not many are able to pull this off.

    • @a1b1c184
      @a1b1c184 ปีที่แล้ว +25

      I'm glad he's successful. He deserves it. The reason these videos are so informative is he puts the work in. What I love is I've been watching for a couple years now and the videos have not dipped in quality at all. Most get lazy once they get a little success but Techmoan just keeps bringing the very best content. I hope he knows it is noticed and very much appreciated.

    • @scamazonprime
      @scamazonprime ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Same. I'm constantly unsubbing from channels but haven't even considered unsubbing from Mat.

  • @sterlinsilver
    @sterlinsilver ปีที่แล้ว +96

    It's pretty amazing that there was art hidden on DCC for all these years and nobody saw it because the devices to see them never left the prototype phase

  • @bebox7
    @bebox7 ปีที่แล้ว +117

    Funny to see the DCC again. I worked at Polygram from 1989-1999 and remember us all looking at each other thinking how on earth are we going to sell these. Despite the marketing managers best efforts and multiple very expensive launch parties of course they sat on shelves nationwide until we were forced to make them “disappear”. 😀

    • @nickwallette6201
      @nickwallette6201 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      Hahah - yeah, clearly tape is the way of the future. :-) I remember hearing stories of the DCC and MD launch events, where each one was being demonstrated in different areas, and you might have the opportunity to witness both in the same day.
      I can't help but think the DCC presenters felt like the kid that waited until the last minute to work on their class presentation.
      PS.. BeBox... as in Be, Inc.? Man, I would fantasize about doing shady things to get one of those in my retro PC collection.

    • @bebox7
      @bebox7 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@nickwallette6201 Well spotted on the Be Inc. I was a big fan back in the day and used it on my mac but unfortunately never owned a Be Box. It's a shame it didn't take off as it was a great system and well ahead of its time for a little while.

  • @PeterCamberwick
    @PeterCamberwick ปีที่แล้ว +50

    Mr Moan. Nothing to do with this particular video, but in a moment of sentiment, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate your work. As well as obviously being interested in the stuff you're showing us, your videos have brought me so much comfort and pleasure over the years. Even on the rare occasions when the item in your video doesn't really grab me, your presentation and overall effect is so pleasant and soothing. :) SO, thank you and long may you continue.

  • @fensoxx
    @fensoxx ปีที่แล้ว +97

    I love that I live in a world where people can geek out hard enough to make a museum about a long gone musical format.

  • @Zerbey
    @Zerbey ปีที่แล้ว +134

    The concept of having multiple tracks on a stationary head is also used on modern LTO backup tapes (up to 32). The engineering that can squeeze several terabytes onto a tape about half the size of a VHS tape is amazing.

    • @JacGoudsmit
      @JacGoudsmit ปีที่แล้ว +16

      Fun fact: the technology that DCC used for the heads is still used in hard disks, and the audio compression was basically identical to MPEG layer 1.

    • @Gaxhar
      @Gaxhar ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Actually modern LTO tapes have 8,960 tracks and 32 read/write heads

    • @straightpipediesel
      @straightpipediesel ปีที่แล้ว +7

      LTO (Ultrium) is just an update of DLT from 1984. Keep in mind the areal density of tape is awful: LTO-8 is 8.5 Gbit/square inch whereas modern hard drives are 1.1 Tbit/square inch.

    • @Zerbey
      @Zerbey ปีที่แล้ว

      @@zockblattshickleblender7758 Arguably its most important development.

    • @nickwallette6201
      @nickwallette6201 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      While we're dropping fun facts, LTO (or DCC for that matter) tape can be used as an emergency substitute for fuzzy handcuffs.

  • @pfisk999
    @pfisk999 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    I know people can be very critical of the people who bring us content on TH-cam but I want you to know Matt that your show has gotten me through horribly dark times. What you do brings something good to the world. Don't ever forget that

  • @gladspooky9455
    @gladspooky9455 ปีที่แล้ว +23

    That crystal ball design is so garish and loud... it fits the Divine character perfectly.

  • @cemmy410
    @cemmy410 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    It's really cool to see that text for probably the first time ever!

  • @plunder1956
    @plunder1956 ปีที่แล้ว +26

    It is fascinating to see just how far the DCC system development got. It almost made it. In some ways it is a charming format.
    I wonder if a "Lost Formats Museum" could exist With all the hundreds of ideas that didn't hit the big time, It sounds like the kind of place I would love to visit. I once visited a Privately owned Museum of Radiograms and related technology. It was amazing. I was there to shoot a film interview one of the owners for a medical company. Thanks again for keeping these ideas from the past alive.

    • @florianm3170
      @florianm3170 ปีที่แล้ว

      obsoletemedia.org/audio/magnetic-tape/

  • @tgheretford
    @tgheretford ปีที่แล้ว +50

    ITTS gave me a Teletext nostalgia hit that will now have to be further fulfilled with a trawl through all the ITV Jobfinder recordings on TH-cam. Interesting to see that it uses a step up from the Teletext level used for broadcasting with double width and double sized text.

    • @Kythyria
      @Kythyria ปีที่แล้ว +1

      It's presumably a different format to level 2.5 teletext, but dang if it doesn't look like they reused the renderer!

  • @tdcattech
    @tdcattech ปีที่แล้ว +10

    For Whom The Bell Tolls - Absolutely superb track. Used to love hearing it on Cruise FM in North-West England in the early 90's.

  • @MadCatNobody
    @MadCatNobody ปีที่แล้ว +28

    this is incredible. this is like some alternate-reality retro-futurist tech.

  • @BonnibelLecter
    @BonnibelLecter ปีที่แล้ว +59

    You could say that packaging is divine. I think it's wonderful that this odd format (that was honestly a bit of a misstep) is being so lovingly documented. Human quirks are great like that.

  • @TheCranberrySource
    @TheCranberrySource ปีที่แล้ว +162

    Amazing. 90s futurism at its best. Why didn’t they have video outputs on DCC decks from the beginning? It wouldn’t have beaten cassettes as a format (not without recording), but it would have impressed people back in the early 90s (at least I would have been impressed). May have even found a market with karaoke lovers.

    • @starbase218
      @starbase218 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      DCC is capable of recording.

    • @Eidolon1andOnly
      @Eidolon1andOnly ปีที่แล้ว +14

      I think it really could have taken over the market as the preferred format for karaoke.

    • @I-Libertine
      @I-Libertine ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Ever seen a karaoke CD? The technology was there, there just wasn't demand for it.

    • @krisstopher8259
      @krisstopher8259 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@starbase218 yea i got four tapes with hundreds of recorded songs from a pc (mp3's) (ok maybe not hundreds but many, lol)

    • @6581punk
      @6581punk ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I presume because CD-i flopped?

  • @NickLMears
    @NickLMears ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Divine figure on top and some of the artwork is from the classic movie Pink Flamingos (1972). John Waters is a great film director.

  • @JCWise-sf9ww
    @JCWise-sf9ww ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I heard of the DCC, but never knew they crammed in 18 tracks into 1/8 inch magnetic tape. So that's how it worked. Really like your efforts to show us all the consumer technology that has come our way over time and we were not fully aware of all the features.

  • @jordy_3d
    @jordy_3d ปีที่แล้ว +77

    In case no one else mentions it, I'd imagine the Suzanne and the Jewels diamond _is_ a full diamond, in that it is a cut diamond, the likes of which you'd find on a ring.

    • @jordy_3d
      @jordy_3d ปีที่แล้ว +24

      Not that I'm aware.
      At 16:02, it's implied that the data wasn't loaded correctly because the big diamond in the middle isn't the same ♦shape as the others.
      However, I was suggesting it might just be a 💎 shape instead, like you'd find on a ring (💍)

    • @john_barnett
      @john_barnett ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@jordy_3d came here to make this comment, good find

    • @ianstokes291
      @ianstokes291 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      I thought it was correct for a diamond, rather than trying to looking like a playing card.

    • @TheGreatAtario
      @TheGreatAtario ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Yep. Like a round brilliant cut

    • @junkboxxxxxx
      @junkboxxxxxx ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Suzanne ran off with the jewels and jewelry.

  • @aeiouxs
    @aeiouxs ปีที่แล้ว +71

    Superb as always Mat, thank you. Damn TH-cam with its over-reaching content matching; restricting and damaging legitimate documentarianism. Using whole tracks of Artists' music is certainly not required, but a 4 second limitation? Absolute dickheads.

    • @krisstopher8259
      @krisstopher8259 ปีที่แล้ว +20

      indeed! but it's the record companies greed, not really youtubes fault

    • @kenon6968
      @kenon6968 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      manual review is impractical so overzealous content ID it is

    • @Rountree1985
      @Rountree1985 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      It’s the record companies fault, not TH-cam. Go to bed, kid.

    • @depniff
      @depniff ปีที่แล้ว +8

      A 10 second might make someone decide to pay to listen to the track somewhere else. 4 seconds isn't enough for someone new to the song to want more.

    • @alanmusicman3385
      @alanmusicman3385 ปีที่แล้ว

      Stupid rules imposed some time ago by non-tech people who do not realise that once something is released digitially it is - for all practical, if not moral or legal , purposes - public doimain.

  • @BobBell808
    @BobBell808 ปีที่แล้ว +48

    One of the main attractions I have for this channel is the parallel that Matt has to the technology which I remember in the past. He has a knack of showcasing the old devices that I remembered, from my childhood to the present. But every now and he has a technology that has a sweet spot in his past to which I missed out. DCC is one of those. I remember selling the players when I worked for Radio Shack in the 90s, but I didn't feel the need to invest in it, even with the Radio Shack employee discount. Instead, I was head-over-heels with Minidiscs. But it is intriguing to see how the tech worked. I almost feel like I missed out not getting on the DCC bandwagon.

    • @krisstopher8259
      @krisstopher8259 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      i did tho but then i sold the deck later (the wider one in the video) and i regret it every day lol. and i feel the same about minidiscs. i never bought one when it was the big thing but i got two sony minidisc players now (haven't tested them tho)

    • @dwinterx
      @dwinterx ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I was intrigued by DCC when it first came out, remember hearing of its existence, but never had first hand experience of using one. I did end up getting into Mini Disc in a big way though, really loved that technology and the quality was great as well.

  • @juliomauro_
    @juliomauro_ ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Without a doubt, this is the best channel about musical equipment on the internet. I had no idea about the existence of DCC and I certainly wanted to know more about this physical format. Thank you for always bringing us wonderful content.

  • @tonyadigitalnorway1155
    @tonyadigitalnorway1155 ปีที่แล้ว +95

    Still use my trusty Philips DCC to this day, one of the neat tricks is that some models can output a clean digital signal while replaying old analogue cassettes enabling you to extract the most information possible.

    • @AtheistOrphan
      @AtheistOrphan ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Yes, backwards compatibility was one of DCC’s selling points.

    • @kaitlyn__L
      @kaitlyn__L ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Oh, that's cool. Getting to use their DAC for analogue cassettes is nice, especially if you'd otherwise only have like a computer's integrated audio to record them.

    • @xboxlive6
      @xboxlive6 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      @@kaitlyn__L *ADC 🤣

    • @DanyTV79
      @DanyTV79 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I want one now. ❤

    • @just_passing_through
      @just_passing_through ปีที่แล้ว +4

      That decoder box needs one more connection on the rear. A Video out so you can relay the video to a larger monitor/TV?
      I don’t think anyone listening to the tape is ever going to sit close enough to the unit to read the tiny screen. Maybe even ditch the touchscreen LCD completely, and supply a remote control instead. I think that would work a lot better, and probably make it cheaper to produce.

  • @RCAvhstape
    @RCAvhstape ปีที่แล้ว +10

    The 90s ASCII/DOS-looking graphics are very pleasing to look at.

    • @RonnieBarzel
      @RonnieBarzel ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I kept thinking, “Boy, can’t wait for this ZX Spectrum game to finish loading.”

    • @philfrydman2576
      @philfrydman2576 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@RonnieBarzelYes and me on Dragon 32 😂

  • @andrewlittleboy8532
    @andrewlittleboy8532 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    ‘Size isn’t Everything' is a very good album, well worth listening to.

    • @JonnyInfinite
      @JonnyInfinite ปีที่แล้ว +2

      _Blue Island_ is a good track from that record

  • @steadycamuk1
    @steadycamuk1 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Hi, I saw a demo by Phillips at the release of Dcc at a HIFI show and it looked awesome and the next step . The machines were too expensive at launch for an engineering apprentice like me on my REASONABLE wage and by the time I had had a promotion and a bigger wage the format had lost to out to MD. So even though i glimpsed then lost the format and I never got into MD your video was FASCINATING and a joy to watch and so informative. This is why i find your channel so important , as it throws light onto a moment in world history that happened and then went . Hats off to those heroes who are keeping the DCC format in the pubic forum and YOU for featuring them so brilliantly. Keep on Keeping on this brilliant channel

  • @yurisuika
    @yurisuika ปีที่แล้ว +220

    It's weird that they pursued this format after the Compact Disk was already a successful thing.

    • @ankimotto
      @ankimotto ปีที่แล้ว +18

      Competition really. If one could create another wave that would be successful, they could reap all the profit all over again.

    • @AltCutTV
      @AltCutTV ปีที่แล้ว +67

      DCC (and MD, and CDR) was more intended for recording use. But then everyone stopped recording things in favour of just ripping, or not even doing that because of internet.

    • @Dedubya-
      @Dedubya- ปีที่แล้ว +14

      Indeed, it seemed pretty clear it was doomed to fail from day one of its launch, no one wanted to payu premium prices for tapes in the early 90's when CDs were so established and Minidisc serving as better format in many ways to tape based products.

    • @petermescher332
      @petermescher332 ปีที่แล้ว +41

      I can guess that a portable DCC would have been far more viable than a portable CD player for quite some time. Up until the late 90’s, portable CD players were still battery hungry and/or super sensitive to vibration.

    • @AltCutTV
      @AltCutTV ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Philips also had CDR machines alongside DCC, so it wasn't like they bet it all on tape.
      The CDR machines were of course also limited by the necessity of special CDs. Maybe without that they could at least have done better than MD.

  • @Runco990
    @Runco990 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I've met Ralph. He's quite a cool character to hang out with. 👍 Keeping DCC alive!

  • @markjamesmeli2520
    @markjamesmeli2520 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    DCC! I remember it well. I worked in radio at the time, and one of the syndicated shows we aired was shipped to us on DAT, so between that, and the trade publications we received, formats beyond the standard CD were already being discussed by 1991 - 1993. But, you are the first that has actually shown how the technology actually works (or "worked"). Thanks for that. It helped me understand.

  • @wbfaulk
    @wbfaulk ปีที่แล้ว +3

    The white "image" on the "splash page" for "Suzanne and the Jewels" reads to me like a side-on representation of a brilliant-cut diamond.

  • @tigercubdelay8163
    @tigercubdelay8163 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Totally was not expecting the Divine DCC tape at the end. Absolutely love that lmao.

  • @drchillish
    @drchillish 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    As a kid sometime around 1990 my father fell down the home theater rabbit hole and came home with an entire Denon 5.1 surround sound system, which included a DAT player. I will never forget the novelty of loading a tape onto a motorized tray and watching it slowly retract into the machine. The audio fidelity was amazing to my ears iirc.

  • @rimmersbryggeri
    @rimmersbryggeri ปีที่แล้ว +5

    The DCC was the most evocative format of the early 90s. I remember my dad talking about it whe I was a kid and they sold them in the staff shop when he worked at philips and I so wanted one even though we allready had cd's.

  • @button-puncher
    @button-puncher ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I almost didn't watch this video. I wish the video's description had been something like...
    DCC in 2023 - unlocking 30 year old information
    That data viewer was SO cool! Just imagine if they had made decks with a video out to connect to TV.
    Thanks Matt. You've done an incredible job showing DCC so thoroughly.

  • @richardbanks2669
    @richardbanks2669 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Thanks for another informative and interesting video, and for taking the time to post it - hope whatever you have going on personally is going as well as can be expected, and that it's not too difficult. We all appreciate you taking the time to bring us new content when you have more important things to concern yourself with. Good luck, and God bless, if that's your thing.

  • @anschelsc
    @anschelsc ปีที่แล้ว +1

    YOU FOUND A TAPE WITH LYRICS! The ancient quest is complete

  • @boardsort
    @boardsort ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Once again my Saturday morning is complete! Thanks for the show Mat!

  • @ms_enj
    @ms_enj ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thank you for the reminder, Mat. I need to send off the r/w and digital boards and tape mech from my DCC900 to the museum for repair and testing.

  • @quanchyplimp
    @quanchyplimp ปีที่แล้ว +21

    Ben Liebrand, there's a blast from the past. He also remixed War of the Worlds, worth checking out if you liked Jeff Wayne's original version.

    • @JasonWW2000
      @JasonWW2000 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I still listen to his Miami Vice remixes. Good stuff! Lol

    • @quanchyplimp
      @quanchyplimp ปีที่แล้ว

      @@JasonWW2000 - now that was also a cracking synth based track!, always loved instrumental music, but not the show so much. Thanks for the reminder!

    • @svenjansen2134
      @svenjansen2134 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      His early end of the yearly Grandmixes are phenomenal. Really great 80s mixes.

  • @thebiggerbyte5991
    @thebiggerbyte5991 ปีที่แล้ว +35

    Fascinating stuff! As a big fan of Viewdata and Teletext, this is something totally new to me. I wonder how closely related they are.

    • @stevesretroloft
      @stevesretroloft ปีที่แล้ว +5

      It does look similar in as it appears to be 24(ish - might be one or 2 out!) lines by 40 columns, The spacing at the start of some lines seems to match the way Viewdata escape codes operate as well.

    • @thebiggerbyte5991
      @thebiggerbyte5991 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@stevesretroloft just what I was thinking. 🙂

    • @JacGoudsmit
      @JacGoudsmit ปีที่แล้ว +11

      ITTS itself is based on ISO/IEC standard 61866 which is HUGE. It allows more colors, more character sets, and even graphics. However the original ITTS box that is shown in this video, literally uses a Teletext chip for the decoding which is quite limited. This is what the record companies had for testing their DCC masters, so that's what we get now.
      Hopefully one day, we at the DCC Museum will be able to actually format DCC releases as prerecorded cassettes, and we will be able to make use of all the features that ISO 61866 had to offer.

    • @thebiggerbyte5991
      @thebiggerbyte5991 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@JacGoudsmit that explains it, thanks!

    • @belstar1128
      @belstar1128 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The difference is that i never used viewdata and didn't even know it was a thing. but i used teletext a lot because every tv in the 90s had it build in i am not sure how you would even get viewdata.

  • @RacerX-
    @RacerX- ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Fascinating! I was completely oblivious to DCC when it was released, here in the US. I was always a CD type so I probably would not have paid attention even if I knew about it. It is a shame really as I would have liked it and probably would have adopted it.

  • @simonbone
    @simonbone ปีที่แล้ว +6

    So, a bit like the "index" function on CDs, then. A handful of CDs had it (2112 by Rush, for example), and then the function was deprecated.

    • @AtheistOrphan
      @AtheistOrphan ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I Remember that. The feature was more common on classical discs (where tracks were longer) but it was a feature of my Jean-Michel Jarre albums.

    • @JacGoudsmit
      @JacGoudsmit ปีที่แล้ว

      DCC has indexes within songs too, but the feature was never used in any recorder or on any cassette, except of course for pre-track pause. Just like on CD.
      I have the first edition of "MCMXC aD" by Enigma, it also used indexes. Later editions just had track markers.

  • @44Bigs
    @44Bigs ปีที่แล้ว +4

    The fact that this ITTS data was hidden on these tapes all that time is amazing. I bet Philips showed it off at trade shows around the introduction of DCCc before abandoning the idea.

  • @rahb1
    @rahb1 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Frankly I am very glad I bypassed DCC and waited; although I desperately wanted DAT at the time, but CD rather made it all redundant. All my friends, for whom I burnt CDs, agreed.
    OTOH, watching your DCC videos is absolutely fascinating! It almost makes me wish I had invested in every technology of the day! Fortunately YOU did! Love your work!

  • @rich_edwards79
    @rich_edwards79 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Love the Teletext graphics on the converter! Imagine if they'd somehow equipped DCC decks with an RCA video output that could be fed into the text decoder of a Teletext TV (again via RCA or SCART) to display all that info on a TV screen? Retro futurism overload!

  • @Poisonjam7
    @Poisonjam7 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    How interesting! It’s so weird knowing all those graphics and things were there this whole time, but nobody could see them until now….30 years later!
    I feel bad for the people that had to design and code that stuff, with nobody seeing it but themselves. What thankless work that must’ve been.

  • @tempestfrost
    @tempestfrost ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Wow! This was a great one Mat! Before I started watching your videos on DCC I have to say it's one of those formats that had just passed me by. Not sure if it's because I'm from Canada, perhaps the format didn't get much love here? I think you and I are about the same age and I just don't remember DCC. Either way, thanks again for another great episode. Hope all is good with you and yours. ♥

  • @ranseus
    @ranseus ปีที่แล้ว +4

    STRONG C64 vibes on the display quality, the text graphics really take me back.

  • @johnbingham1614
    @johnbingham1614 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Didn't know dcc had that much info embedded, Falkner device is great, makes me think, does MD and CD or even DAT carry similar info(can the Falkner device see it) and does the data get preserved during direct digital transfers to other digital formats.
    Awesome video as ever.

    • @Dan-TechAndMusic
      @Dan-TechAndMusic ปีที่แล้ว

      Something like it did exist for Audio CDs in the form of CD+G, with the first CD+G release being in 1985. Not interactive, but basically a slideshow of very basic graphics, mostly used for lyrics. A handful of early CD game consoles could play them, as well as some Video CD players and special karaoke players, but beyond that karaoke use it wasn't all that popular. There was an upgraded CD+EG, but that saw even less use. Most CDs that had it, didn't advertise it at all. I wouldn't think the Falkner device is set up for it, but maybe it could be.

  • @zofo1961
    @zofo1961 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thanks for thinking of us, thats what i love about your channel we your watchers have seen things never new that existed 👍🇬🇧

  • @TeaAndFloppyDisks
    @TeaAndFloppyDisks ปีที่แล้ว

    It's very sweet that they've made this DCC museum to keep the format alive. Otherwise it would have been lost in the dust of time, like many other media formats. Thank you for looking into this!

  • @neiljackman2511
    @neiljackman2511 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    back in the 80's I had a standard audio cassette album by Pete Shelley (lead singer of The Buzzcocks) it included a program for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum that you could play at the same time a listening to the music so it would display images and lyrics synced to the music.

  • @spiderjerusalem100
    @spiderjerusalem100 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This is really cool, i love it when people make new gizmos for old or obsolete tech.

  • @JoeOrber
    @JoeOrber ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Fascinating! Thank you for another awesome video 😊

  • @obelic71
    @obelic71 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I have a fun fact about DCC few people know.
    Philips had made big expensese to develop and produce sheets of metal with very small clean holes for making DCC work.
    After discontinuing the production of DCC that tech got a new life in a complete other field of industry.
    Those steel sheets are now used as renewable and cleanable filtration sheets in Breweries.
    Before DCC Breweries had to filter like in all thos centuries before in sand and gravel pits who had to be discarded often and could't be reused.

  • @bummer6
    @bummer6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    16:08 - that is a full diamond seen from the side. Looks perfectly fine to me, Matt

  • @brianjames5685
    @brianjames5685 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    ooh the inner nerd has been activated. I want the Johnny Guitar Watson guitar box edition. I don't even have a DCC player but I am compelled to order it anyway because it's just so darn cool! $49 ain't a bad price either in my opinion. I have the vinyl and CD of the album but as people remind me regularly I'm a bit nuts so I think I'll order it. Then obviously I'll end up buying a DCC player, then obviously it won't work, then I won't have the time to get it sorted etc etc. Thanks for your awesome videos my friend I always find them entertaining.

  • @neilwilliams2907
    @neilwilliams2907 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Never heard of DCC. That one passed me by.

  • @nickvickers3486
    @nickvickers3486 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Great to see you back Mat! I was at high school when DCC came out. I remember reading about them in magazines and thinking, hey that's cool!
    But I don't think I ever saw them anywhere. To think we could have made space age mix tapes with Ceefax style titles, lyrics and picture graphics... the perfect way to put off doing your homework!))
    Oh well, if I'm ever in California, I'll definitely check out the museum

  • @donmoore7785
    @donmoore7785 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Extremely interesting topic, and well presented as usual. If I was listening and reading correctly, a DCC player can play regular cassettes, but you don't want to do it because it wears the head.

    • @Techmoan
      @Techmoan  ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Yes - that’s right, although it wouldn’t have been an issue when these devices were new, but now they’re scarce with no spares for the heads it’s best to try and extend their life as much as possible.

  • @austincromwell
    @austincromwell ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Loved the dCC concept, it seemed quite miraculous.

  • @bloqk16
    @bloqk16 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This is marvelous for me, an oldster that was familiar with the hype about DCC back in the 1990s, but never saw any video about the format.
    I considered getting a DCC in the early 1990s, but the high cost of the unit would have put me in a cash bind whereupon I could not afford the blank DCC tapes I'd need to record music radio airchecks and mix music tapes. Because of that, I stayed with analogue cassettes.

  • @TheLtData
    @TheLtData ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Hi Matt, with everything you've shown us over the last years your house must be a techmuseum. It would surely visit it and enjoy your collection of interesting devices!

  • @rolsson5464
    @rolsson5464 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    FYI, Bee Gees' "For Whom The Bell Tolls" was also particularly popular in the UK since it went to #4 in the charts in the same week as that worldwide evergreen "Mr Blobby" went to #1...

  • @ivanztube
    @ivanztube ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I’m a Brazilian guy. DCC never made here, but every tech magazine or Philips catalog showed it, and I had wish that piece of technology. Today it’s unthinkable to bring a working DCC player here, or even DCC tapes. It’s too expensive. But I’m curious, and that’s why I’m here. Thanks, Mat, to show this part of history of technology to us.
    - Ivan

  • @Krelet
    @Krelet ปีที่แล้ว +3

    My dad bought minidisc and my uncle bought DCC and they argued about which would win...

  • @robertjpayne
    @robertjpayne ปีที่แล้ว

    very pleased to see you back Matt. And again I am entertained and educated about a format I never knew existed. Thanks

  • @Level42Man
    @Level42Man ปีที่แล้ว +1

    He was never the same again after he dropped the "Cougar" 😂

  • @humfelbert2079
    @humfelbert2079 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    I love dcc. Back in the early nineties my local Philips dealer had them on display. It seemed like magic. Still impresses me now! 😂 Thanks for the video

    • @tookitogo
      @tookitogo ปีที่แล้ว +3

      How so? DCC was sold alongside MiniDisc, and MiniDisc was a far more impressive technology.

    • @humfelbert2079
      @humfelbert2079 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@tookitogo well maybe but I didn't see a minidisc until I was at uni in the late 90s. Didn't even know they existed.

    • @tookitogo
      @tookitogo ปีที่แล้ว

      @@humfelbert2079 MD came out in _1992!_

    • @starbase218
      @starbase218 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@tookitogo MiniDisc was more futuristic, but it broke compatibility with regular compact cassettes. But it did last longer than DCC.
      For me, no matter how good MiniDisc is, I remain more fond of DCC. In that time I was a huge Philips fan.

    • @tookitogo
      @tookitogo ปีที่แล้ว

      @@starbase218 But anyone who had cassettes already had cassette equipment. (And given that two of MD’s biggest advantages over analog cassette - CD quality and random access - weren’t possible with analog cassettes even on DCC players, people had to re-copy their music anyway.)

  • @DavidAlanGilbert
    @DavidAlanGilbert ปีที่แล้ว +5

    It's fun the pages of graphics and lyrics shown on the little touch screen device are all in teletext format - it makes sense being Philips derived; I guess just the font and page encoding perhaps? Still, if it works for subtitles, the lyrics are a good fit.

  • @chrismitchell2643
    @chrismitchell2643 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The diamond is a side view of a cut diamond, I would say the image of the diamond is coming through correctly, I don't think any of it is missing

  • @POVwithRC
    @POVwithRC ปีที่แล้ว

    The variety of art styles and colors in the menus bring me joy.

  • @keithw9808
    @keithw9808 ปีที่แล้ว

    Really dig your channel. Learn so much about old and new tech.

  • @Dionysor
    @Dionysor ปีที่แล้ว

    Thanks for sharing! This sounds like the best hypothetical format for vaporwave artists to ship their hard copies.

  • @macgvrs
    @macgvrs ปีที่แล้ว

    Once again you have presented something I knew nothing about. Knew about DAT, worked with those tapes for data backup, but never was aware of DCC. Thanks!

  • @ssgtmole8610
    @ssgtmole8610 ปีที่แล้ว

    DCC is a format that went under my radar. If not for your videos about it, I would never know it existed.

  • @louise_8546
    @louise_8546 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Thought DCC was a bit of a weird format at the time, I think it was doomed to fail as compact disc was already established (iirc).
    Always interesting to see tech with quirks...the moving text lyrics on the DCC player's display are pretty hilarious (though, I suppose it could help you memorise them, at least).
    Never thought Bobby Orlando would make an appearance on here - Shake It Up and Native Love are probably the best songs from that era. I have these on musty old vinyl X)
    The Divine disco ball with (Pink Flamingos?) sillhouette are so cool, I might just try and buy one, even though I don't have anything to play it on :D

    • @Turskaruhtinas
      @Turskaruhtinas ปีที่แล้ว +3

      As a John Waters / Divine -fan, I would have never expected to run across either of them on this channel. Now I'm super envious of that disco ball cassette thing, even though I have nothing to play it with either.

    • @starbase218
      @starbase218 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Compact discs couldn’t be recorded onto (yet).

    • @kaitlyn__L
      @kaitlyn__L ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@Turskaruhtinas for a second I thought you were saying John Waters WAS Divine and was quite confused, until I got to "either of them"!

    • @Turskaruhtinas
      @Turskaruhtinas ปีที่แล้ว

      @@kaitlyn__L Heh, I can see how one might get that impression from my words. Wasn't the intent, of course!

  • @jonathannocon
    @jonathannocon ปีที่แล้ว

    Tidal had included lyrics support also.
    Just add it in ur id3 or equivalent and it becomes selectable instead of the Visualizer. It even supports features like highlighting, time stamps and so forth to really nail that perfect txt & audio sync for those OCD folks

  • @thhseeking
    @thhseeking ปีที่แล้ว +1

    @16:09, I think that diamond is meant to look like a cut diamond, not a "heraldic" diamond.

  • @JulianoRocha
    @JulianoRocha ปีที่แล้ว

    I just want to thank you for not using 60 fps, the TH-cam codec really can't handle watching in higher speeds and 60fps. Now I can watch your videos in the speed I'm comfortable with in glorious 1440p. Thank you so much for the change.

    • @belstar1128
      @belstar1128 ปีที่แล้ว

      TH-cam should let you switch frame rates

  • @retroprogamer7009
    @retroprogamer7009 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    If i had to guess then i would think this Lyrics Part is for some Karaoke Machine which could fit more Text and got a faster Refresh Rate so it would be readable while the Song is playing.

  • @ParsnipCelery
    @ParsnipCelery ปีที่แล้ว +1

    So I was pleasantly surprised today when my buddy sent me a link to a video he was part of. I was watching Miikshi and there was a character named Admiral G. Raffe in it. When I heard them start talking I thought to myself, "Hm, that voice sounds familiar" but I brushed it off and moved on watching the show to see my friend's handiwork. I ended up enjoying the show but at the end I got quite the surprise watching the credits. As it were, Techmoan did the voice, color me surprised! I thought it was so very cool because it was another unexpected surprise considering how much I like retrotech and finding there was another link to this cool video. Oh, my friend designed and built LAMB.

  • @darrenerickson1288
    @darrenerickson1288 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Awesome as usual. Thanks for sharing it. Dcc is so awesome.

  • @markpirateuk
    @markpirateuk ปีที่แล้ว

    I remember checking out DCC, DAT & Minidisc back in the day, after several demo's, I decided on Minidisc.
    Since then I bought both DCC & DAT machines, it seems I made the right choice, as both machines failed, while my Minidisc machine is still working perfectly after all these years😁

  • @geekdomo
    @geekdomo ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank you for the video Mat!

  • @soundminedd
    @soundminedd ปีที่แล้ว

    Perfect artist for the remastering and medium, well done

  • @BgT1990
    @BgT1990 ปีที่แล้ว

    What a fascinating format, amazing what tape can do! Thanks for sharing :)

  • @lowket
    @lowket ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Still a huge DCC fan here in the Netherlands.

  • @heathwirt8919
    @heathwirt8919 ปีที่แล้ว

    A very interesting look back, thank you for this video.

  • @ecopennylife
    @ecopennylife ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Interesting video, I remember looking at demo DCC in stores in the early 90s, I thought it took too long to load a DCC and too long to skip tracks, ended up with burning audio CD-Rs in the later 90s which could be played in many existing CD players.

    • @awfmel
      @awfmel ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Yes I love minidisc for access time great media !
      Yes I love it’s versatility and standard play on an excellent machine like the MDS-JB940 can sound amazing even in a top flight system !

    • @tookitogo
      @tookitogo ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Yeah. I remember when DCC and MiniDisc were both brand new, on store shelves next to each other. MiniDisc was obviously superior, and not by a small amount. (DCC’s only “advantage” was backward compatibility with analog cassettes, but everyone who used cassettes already had cassette equipment, so this feature actually added no value.)
      MiniDisc could have had lyrics, too - IIRC, there are unused subcode data bits in the format that could have been used for lyrics. (And of course, with MD essentially being a data format with a filesystem, it would also have been conceivable to save lyrics as discrete “files” separate from the audio samples.)

  • @raythomas4812
    @raythomas4812 ปีที่แล้ว

    I have a DCC 951 and it still works ( along with 70 DCC tapes ) - kept it for nostalgia , but will probably sell it ( or will I ) - Great video, as always

  • @ogami1972
    @ogami1972 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    That is crazy cool. You know, you're like Saturday morning cartoons for old guys.

  • @pglick123
    @pglick123 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The 'diamond' is a "cut" diamond (like for a ring) and is probably correctly displayed.

  •  ปีที่แล้ว

    Greetings from Argentina! You're right, Bee Gees are still popular here.
    I love rare formats and I have a couple of DCC players, now because of you, I have to find that Bee Gees DCC. Many thanks! ;)

  • @mikewifak
    @mikewifak ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Mellencamp really jumped the shark when he dropped the Cougar. But maybe I’m beating a dead horse. I’ll stop poking that bear.

  • @StevoMusicManUK
    @StevoMusicManUK ปีที่แล้ว

    Always love your videos, I watch one's even I don't have any connection with as you make it interesting (often witty), you highlight so much that's gone by the wayside over the decades, it's totally addictive and fascinating. I did have on DCC tape up until recently, never had a player for it.

  • @georgeh6856
    @georgeh6856 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The mirror ball is amazing. The DCC text box is cool too. I wonder if the DCC could be read into a computer, like with a digital out to USB cable or something similar. If it is a copper cable, then maybe. If it is a fiber optic cable then probably not. I think DCC had encryption but I would think by now that any DCC encryption could be cracked.

  • @julesccf6380
    @julesccf6380 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Over the years I've had 3 portables (130, 170 & 134) and 3 home decks (600, 730 and 951) bought in that order. My local hi-fi shop had both DCC and Minidisc side by side and although I thought Minidisc sounded good it was a little muffled compared to DCC. I also bought it for the backwards compatibility with compact cassettes although in the end I ended up keeping my analogue deck. I think there were 3 reasons why it failed. One was it's price (£600 in the UK on launch and blanks were £6 on average for a 90min tape). Two was that Dolby S on cassette decks had just arrived which sounded very close to DCC but it was half the price and blank chrome tapes were 1/3 of the price of DCC blanks. Three it was about 2 years too late. I ended up selling all my DCC related stuff a couple of years ago when I adopted music streaming and high res music.
    I do miss it though sitting in my Hi-Fi rack....

    • @rich_edwards79
      @rich_edwards79 ปีที่แล้ว

      Agreed. The people who made the biggest use of cassette in the 90s were teens and young people, who could neither afford to buy in to such a pricey system nor were sufficiently fussed about sound quality to do so.
      In 1994 I was still taping the Sunday night charts off Radio 1 on the big hand-me-down midi system I had in my bedroom and listening to them on my Walkmsn during the week. Most people I knew did the same.
      Occasionally my mum would buy something on CD and that too would end up taped (usually on better quality tape than the TDK D90s that could be had at £5 for 8 in Woolies) for in car listening.
      We had no need for DCC (or DAT) - tape was enough.
      I used it right up until MP3s hit critical mass in 2000 or so, and even then I remember taping MP3 playlisrs off the PC ahead of a holiday to Crete, because portable MP3 players were still horrendously expensive at that point.

    • @julesccf6380
      @julesccf6380 ปีที่แล้ว

      Just a quick addition. I remember reading in What Hi-Fi back in the day that if you drilled or melted holes in the same bottom left position where the deck determined the tape length and top left position that told the deck it was a DCC tape on BASF Chrome Extra II tapes it used to trick the machine that it was a DCC blank. I do also remember a metal clamp with holes in it being advertised as well but was well expensive. You placed clamp on the tape, got your drill out and used the clamp as a guide on correct placement They worked perfectly for recordings as it was the same VCR type tape used in official DDC blanks. I remember buying a box of about 20 blank 90's of them from one the of the companies that advertised in the magazine, got out my soldering iron, melted some holes, sanded down the bumpy bits and put a label on saying "DCC Only! Place in deck this side up!". They worked a treat and saved me loads of money and also made them disposable especially if like me you had a portable and you were re recording stuff over and over to listen to on the move. Also if you did put them in the wrong way then it sounded like an computer game tape.
      Ah...Memories of days gone by and misspent youth....

  • @imnickleonard
    @imnickleonard ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Really interesting and thank you.
    Would love to see someone integrate the screen into an existing player as it might have been had it been developed

  • @veganguy74
    @veganguy74 ปีที่แล้ว

    Fascinating video! I wonder if anyone who worked on the up to now mostly unknown graphic art on DCC will see this after all these years. Really cool stuff.

  • @brianjames5685
    @brianjames5685 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    That Johnny Guitar Watson cassette that you showed a picture of is really great.