Copyright ©1996, RF Specialties Group.
The predicament:
Your 15-year-old cartridge machines are over the hill. Wow and flutter have
increased to the point where your music carts sound as if they are being played
on a wind-up Victrola, the heads have worn down so flat that you could play
pool on them, and stereo phase has gotten so bad that you can use your cart
machine as a "vocal eliminator." Do you now, a) replace them with new cart machines,
b) try to patch them up one more time, c) invest in a hard disk automation system,
or d) just grit your teeth and pretend that it is really not a problem?
There is a certain comfort level with cartridges. They certainly were a big improvement over having to read all spots live, or record spots on a reel, but, let's face it, cartridge technology is now a dinosaur. The digital age is here, whether we are ready for it or not. Hard disk audio systems are one option. They are superbly better in terms of audio quality and they offer a variety of operating modes, from full automation to live assist, but some people are just not ready to take the plunge. They want the benefits of digital audio, but they are reluctant to face the learning curve of computer audio – and indeed, some people are just downright nervous if it has a keyboard attached!
One solution to this dilemma is the Mini-Disc (MD) or Fidelipac DCR 1000 machine. Both are similar to the tape cartridge machine in that they have removable media, plus their controls are almost identical to a cart machine, they are about the size of a cart machine, and, best of all, they cost less than some cart machines. Other benefits are: near CD audio quality, no heads to wear out, few moving parts (which means fewer maintenance problems), the ability to edit spots in the machine, and the ability to record more than one hour on a disc or diskette. You can even replace reel-to-reel machines with an MD or DCR 1000. In short, if you know how to run a cartridge tape recorder/player, you can become proficient with an MD or DCR 1000 machine in just a few minutes.
Bill Newbrough is the RF Specialist in the Bay Area, where years previous he was director of engineering for NBC's clear channel station, KNBR. He's been in the radio and television industry for over 30 years, and in more recent years, added digital technology to his RF and audio knowledge. Bill's other interests include video production.