Read on Twitter
Everyone should check out the latest 8-bit-guy video, it's on rare and bizarre media formats!
(and like 90% of the media you see in the video is actually mine, cause I loaned it to him for the video)
(and like 90% of the media you see in the video is actually mine, cause I loaned it to him for the video)
and I've got a bunch of follow-up info that was missing from the video: I wanted to get the media to him ASAP since he was already working on the video, so I just threw it all in a box and fedexed it over there. Because of that it didn't really have any info with it...
and we talked a bit about some of the weirder ones and what they were for, but not all of it made it into the video.
So sadly there's a bunch of places in the video where he's like "And this is a weird disk and I don't know what the heck it is!", but I do :(
So sadly there's a bunch of places in the video where he's like "And this is a weird disk and I don't know what the heck it is!", but I do :(
And that's really my fault for not having the kind of documentation and labeling that really would have made his job easy (or possible, for that matter. A lot of these have NO TEXT ON THEM)
but yeah. I can fill in a lot of details about many of the formats... but I'll do that later. right now I've been awake for 5 minutes and haven't had any caffeine yet.
but the main one is the DemiDiskette prototype, which @TubeTimeUS already posted about (because he's the one I got that disk from): https://twitter.com/TubeTimeUS/status/1252417043703291905
and I don't want to sound too negative about this video, I really like how it turned out. As far as I can tell, there's no actual mistakes in it, no misinformation, and he does a great job of fitting in all the formats without turning it into a slog.
it's just there's some information that could have been there, but wasn't, and for the most part that's my fault.
OK LET'S DO SOME EXPLAINING
First, the DemiDiskette.
This was a ~1983 IBM format that never came out. They were (like a lot of companies) working on the Next Floppy, and we got the Sony 3.5" instead. This one is a prototype, from @TubeTimeUS.
First, the DemiDiskette.
This was a ~1983 IBM format that never came out. They were (like a lot of companies) working on the Next Floppy, and we got the Sony 3.5" instead. This one is a prototype, from @TubeTimeUS.
The real interesting thing about this one is that if you look at the promotional pictures IBM put out before they canceled it... it doesn't look like this. It's a hard-shell, like the Sony 3.5" disk that we got.
So either this is an earlier design, or it's a special testing version...
Next up, the Brother Micro Disc.
This was used by Brother industrial sewing/embroidery machines in the 70s and 80s.
This was used by Brother industrial sewing/embroidery machines in the 70s and 80s.
This one is an MCD Cassette.
This is a 1973 Hungarian design, and while Commodore reportedly evaluated it for use... the only computers that ever used it were some eastern bloc kit-computers.
This is a 1973 Hungarian design, and while Commodore reportedly evaluated it for use... the only computers that ever used it were some eastern bloc kit-computers.
Weird thing about this one: It showed up in a Hungarian comedy film called Argo 2, where some crooks are hired to break into a museum to steal it. https://twitter.com/Foone/status/971534105551691776
A very minor nitpick here: He explains how the Video Floppy is an analog floppy that stores NTSC frames instead of binary data... but that's only true of the one on the right.
The left one, the 2inch Data Disk, is a binary data version of the same disk, used in wordprocessors
The left one, the 2inch Data Disk, is a binary data version of the same disk, used in wordprocessors
And the King Of All Tapes, the SD1-1300LA!
So this one is strange. In 1986 Sony launched a digital video format called D1, which used 3/4" tape.
This is basically that same type of tape, but a later reuse of it.
So this one is strange. In 1986 Sony launched a digital video format called D1, which used 3/4" tape.
This is basically that same type of tape, but a later reuse of it.
The SD1 is basically a reuse of the existing D1 tapes, but for data storage.
D1 tapes could store a lot of data (uncompresesd digital video isn't small!) , so Sony presumably figured "hey, why don't we just resell these as a backup solution?"
D1 tapes could store a lot of data (uncompresesd digital video isn't small!) , so Sony presumably figured "hey, why don't we just resell these as a backup solution?"
BTW, the "1300" in the tape's name is the length, in meters.
It's a 1.3 KILOMETER long tape, or about 0.8 miles.
It's a 1.3 KILOMETER long tape, or about 0.8 miles.
This particular tape is a 100gb unit, I believe.
Another minor nitpick: He talks about the floptical disk in the optical section, but that's technically a mistake:
Floptical disks store data magnetically like standard 3.5" floppy disks, the "optical" part of their name is because they use optical positioning of the drive head
Floptical disks store data magnetically like standard 3.5" floppy disks, the "optical" part of their name is because they use optical positioning of the drive head
Basically, standard floppy disks use a stepper motor to position the head, which limits their resolution. They can only fit around 80 tracks per disk because of that, but for floptical the media surface has grooves in it, varying the opacity of the media
Then there's an infrared LED and sensor hooked up to the read head, which allows it to count those groves, so the end result is that the drive can very accurately tell where it is.
So then instead of a stepper motor, it can use a voice coil (like a hard drive) to position it
So then instead of a stepper motor, it can use a voice coil (like a hard drive) to position it
The end result is that you are using magnetic floppy media, but the more accurate head positioning means you can put down smaller tracks, meaning you can stuff more of them into the same space.
Your standard high-density 3.5" floppy disk has a TPI (Tracks Per Inch) of 135.
for floptical, it's 1250 TPI.
for floptical, it's 1250 TPI.
An amusing side note: He talks about the DataPlay disks and mentions that Tech Moan has a good video on them.
The disk he's holding when he does that? It's one of the ones FROM THAT VIDEO.
Yes, DataPlay is so rare that the way I got one was to ask Tech Moan for one of his.
The disk he's holding when he does that? It's one of the ones FROM THAT VIDEO.
Yes, DataPlay is so rare that the way I got one was to ask Tech Moan for one of his.
that Techmoan video is here:
He points out that this "CD Video" seems to just be a laserdisc (being an 8" version) and doesn't know why it's called CD Video then.
Well... because CD-Video wasn't just a weird combo of Laserdisc and CDs, it was also an attempt at a soft relaunch of Laserdisc.
Well... because CD-Video wasn't just a weird combo of Laserdisc and CDs, it was also an attempt at a soft relaunch of Laserdisc.
The idea was that because CD was popular, "CD Video" would get people to buy combo CD/Laserdisc players to play "CD Video" music videos, but those players could also play laserdisc movies... and then they'd just start releasing laserdiscs as CD Video.
And this is one of the those discs. It's still music related (because this plan failed) but yeah. They were trying to relaunch laserdisc under a new name to get it to catch on, by piggybacking on the popularity of audio CDs.
This one's amusing: He's not sure what it is, and calls it a MO Disk, right before looking at the identical M-Disc.
It's just an M-Disc (a special type of DVD-R designed to last longer), they just used a different (and confusing) logo.
It's just an M-Disc (a special type of DVD-R designed to last longer), they just used a different (and confusing) logo.
This one is mentioned near UDO disk, because it's a very similar packaging.
It's actually a fully optical WORM disc, so it's basically just a CD-R.
But it's one in a cartridge for easier handling, which makes it confusing.
It's actually a fully optical WORM disc, so it's basically just a CD-R.
But it's one in a cartridge for easier handling, which makes it confusing.
And did anyone spot that the case still has a Weird Stuff Warehouse (RIP) sticker on it?
Nothing particular to say about the Sony Optical Data Archive, except the whole time he was introducing it I was going "please don't open it, please don't open it, please don'FUCK! HE OPENED IT!"
