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A PLAY ON DATA

by Tom Cantrell

Start ı Oops ı Once More, With Feeling ı Optical Options ı Have It Your, and Our, Way ı Lesson Learned ı Sources and PDF

ONCE MORE, WITH FEELING

Fast-forward to the present and what do we find? Check out the Micro Optical Engine from little-known, but well-funded (to the tune of over $100M), start-up DataPlay (see Photo 1).

Photo 1ıTaking advantage of the tiny matchbox sized form factor, portable devices such as PDAs and MP3 players are likely candidates for the DataPlay optical disk.

Conceptually itıs MiniDisc déjà vu all over again, however freshened up with a dose of the latest and greatest more-for-less and less-is-more technology.

DataPlay shares one of the most personally appealing aspects of MiniDisc in adopting a floppy disk-like packaging with the optical media integrated with a shuttered carrier. I like the one-hand advantage over CDs that invariably call for two-handed fumble fingering to load. Yes, it costs a little more than a platter alone, but donıt forget CDs and such always come with those obnoxious jewel cases anyway. Frankly, Iım tired of juggling little silver Frisbees and would welcome the convenience of the DataPlay approach.

The shared floppy disk-like packaging is pretty much where the similarity between DataPlay and MiniDisc ends.

The most notable difference is size. The DataPlay media is tiny. At a little more than one inch (32 mm) in diameter, it is only about a quarter of the size of MiniDisc. The entire drive is less than 2ı on a side, making DataPlay ideal for a gaggle of portable and pocketable gadgets.

At the same time, its capacity is a whopping 500 MB for double-sided media, and 250 MB for single-sided. Thatıs roughly five times the capacity of MiniDisc and practically the same as CDs.

Although uncompressed audio is an option, compression would allow fitting many hours of audio on a DataPlay disk, the exact amount depending on the ratio. Furthermore, compression along with the built-in buffer (2 MB of DRAM) and decent data transfer rate (approximately 10-MBps burst, 1-MBps sustained) can extend battery life by reducing the duty cycle (i.e., percentage of time the drive must be powered up). For instance, at the reduced 1 MB/min. or so required by MP3 compressed audio, battery life for a couple of AA batteries is estimated to be 55 h.

This is a key advantage over CDs whose format requires the drive to spin constantly to keep up with the audio. I know my own portable CD player with two AA batteries is only good for maybe 8 to10 h.

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