#DAK's Caddyless
10 messages in this thread
All,
I am very close to buying DAK's caddyless player for $199 and the bundle
that includes Grolier, World and U.S. Atlas, Monarch Notes, Library of the
Future, and Reference Set.
Can anyone give me some pros and cons on this, or suggest another system if
they think this is not a good way to get started.
..Andrew
The real question is how quick are you going to need a CD-ROM drive? You
might want to wait until after COMDEX (Nov 16-20) to see what new drives
are announced and the price cuts across the board that should follow.
Also what kind of machine do you have? If you have a 386 or higher you
might want an MPC compatible CD-ROM drive. The best ones are SCSI drives
which are more exspensive but will work on many platforms including
workstations, PCs, MACs, Ataris, VAX, etc. Also they are the fastest ones
currently available. ezxit
Albert,
Thanks for the tip. I may wait until after COMDEX and see what's happening
then.
Do you know what the best sources are for CD disks?
..Andrew
CDROM, Inc has a nice catalog probably one of the largest I've seen.
Computer Shopper has several companies selling discs too. There are also a
few other companies that have are on-line in this forum that have discs
too. Some even have a file or two on-line with a complete list of
available titles. CD ROM, Inc is in this forum as well.
WE also will be releasing our second catalog in two weeks and have over 200
different titles. If you will be in Chicago, we are exhibiting at teh end
of the month at PC EXPO. Frank Harris Computron, Ltd.
If you are talking about the $199 external BSR, you should probly look
elsewhere. I have one and just ran a benchmark program that includes the
actual sustained data transfer rate and it came out at about 68k. Ran the
same program on a Chinon internal and it came out at 153k. The Chinon's
specs claim 150k, and, after many failed attempts, have been unable to get
ANY specs or a phone number for the manufacturer from them. Now I think I
know why. 68k is less than half of what is required for multimedia use.
The benchmark, on a CD ROM, is available for shipping and handling costs
from Profit Press at 1-800-843-7990. They will even refund that if you
order any CD's from them later on. Get a copy, it is the ONLY reliable
benchmark program I have run across and you can take it with you to check a
drive out. No suprises that way.
Lou
Lou,
I looked at the spec sheet I have and they list the manufacturer as Mitsumi
Corporation. So if someone knows their phone number maybe they can jump in
and give it to you.
Here is what I got from the DAK BBS
———————————————————-
Applicable discs…………. CD-ROM Mode-1 data disc
CD-ROM Mode-2 data disc
CD-Audio disc
Audio/Data combined disc
Disc diameter……………..12 cm., 8 cm. (Nominally 5" & 3")
Data Transfer rate:
Average, Mode 1…………….150 KB/sec
Maximum……………………1.6 MB/sec
Access Time……………………….800 ms (Unverified)
————————-
I don't know what any of this means. I'm used to dealing with hard disks
so I have no framework for this. Also, I have no idea what Mode-1 or
Mode-2 are. I'm going to try to find some articles about CD players and try
to catch up.
…Andrew
THe drive is the Mitsumi that we have all seen here. the specs are all low
end MPC compatible and a very good price. If you are not doing a great deal
of data seeks (like a directory assistance type of operation) then the
drive does all that is needed for Multimedia programs and program transfer.
Otherwise look to spend three times as much(most likely). Frank Harris
Computron Ltd.
Andrew –
You say that the drive is "low end MPC compatible" in your message. I do
not consider a 68k data transfer rate anywhere near MPC compatible. I have
run the benchmark program on a number of drives and the results look good
and I believe that it is reporting the actual data transfer rate. 68k just
won't cut it.
Could you define what you mean by "low end MPC compatible"? I have not run
across that terminoligy anywhere else. If you have the official specs on
the BSR 6800MX, please post them here as I have been unable to obtain them.
From what I can find out, the data transfer rate is way down there because
the drive has a small buffer. Anything that you can add that will help me
understand exactly what this drive is capable of would be appreciated.
Maybe the data transfer rate on my drive is in the pits because of a
problem on the drive. If the specs say 150k and I am getting 68k then it
could be defective.
Loui
Lou
Andrew–
What is the telephone number for Dak's BBS?
–Peter