ftp.cdrom.com/pub/cdrom//cdrom.tar/cdrom/photo_cd/writeablecd.txt

Text File | 1992-11-16 | 7KB | 147 lines

  KODAK INTRODUCES ECONOMICAL

  WRITABLE CD SYSTEM

    SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 22_Eastman Kodak Company today
  announced the introduction of a writable compact disc
  publishing system that promises to make it economical for
  hundreds of applications to benefit from the ability to
  write, store and retrieve information on CD.
    The announcement was made at the Seybold Computer
  Publishing Conference being held here.
    An outgrowth of the technology that created the new Kodak
  Photo CD system, the new Kodak Writable CD system is
  designed to offer commercial users a standard, low-cost
  alternative to traditional methods of publishing data CDs.
  The system consists of three parts:

    ∙     The Kodak PCD Writer 200, which writes and reads
      data to and from discs at twice the speed of
      conventional CD writers. The PCD Writer 200 also
      supports multi-session recording.
    ∙     The Kodak Writable CD disc, a write-once medium
      that can be read in standard CD hardware devices.
      Kodak Writable CD discs can store between 550 megabytes
      and 650 megabytes of data, text, images and digital
      audio, depending on the format.
    ∙     Kodak Publishing Software to drive the PCD Writer
      200 from a customer's host computer. Kodak software
      will be available for DOS, Windows, Macintosh and Unix
      operating systems.
    "We've combined an economical medium, the Kodak Writable
  CD disc, with the double-speed PCD Writer 200," explained
  Georgia L. McCabe, worldwide manager, Commercial CD, in
  Kodak's CD Imaging unit. "The result is a CD authoring
  system that can publish discs for about $25 each, making it
  ideal for people who have not been able to justify pressing
  discs conventionally.
    "Anyone looking to distribute large sets of variable
  information, in quantities from one to 100, should look
  closely at Kodak Writable CD."

  "Limitless" Applications
    According to McCabe, likely customers for the writable CD
  system fall into four categories, all of which can benefit
  from the technology: large companies, where the discs can
  be written on demand as replacements for paper reports;
  low-volume publishers, who need to create small numbers of
  CD copies (and for whom the conventional pressing process is
  not economically attractive); "power" users at standalone
  PCs and workstations, especially those who need to exchange
  large data files and maintain back-up files; and reference
  archives, which need to store information on a standard
  medium that doesn't take up much space.
    "When you consider the different types of users, the
  number of applications for Kodak Writable CD discs is truly
  staggering," McCabe noted. "For example, it's now
  economical to keep maintenance manuals up to date on a
  computer system, and then 'print' them to CD on demand. A
  real estate firm can produce a custom disc containing
  specific listings for a relocating executive. And an
  engineering company can archive drawings to CD to save
  storage space and improve access. The possibilities are
  limitless."
    A Kodak Writable CD Publishing system is already at work
  at MCI, the telecommunications company, where billing
  records for large customers are being distributed on
  writable CD discs.
    "Hundreds of our large customers receive billing data on
  magnetic tape_ or boxes of paper_for analysis," said John
  Houser, an MCI spokesman. "The (CD-ROM) technology to put
  this data on disc for one-time use has been there, but not
  with this economy of scale for producing the first master."
  About the System
    The technology that led to development of the Kodak
  Writable CD system had its origins in the Kodak Photo CD
  system, the world's first high-volume writable CD
  application. In essence, the research that made it possible
  for photographic compact discs to be produced economically
  in the consumer market now has made low-volume, commercial
  production of data CDs viable as well.
    At the heart of the system is the PCD writer 200, which
  can transfer data at sustained rates as high as 307.2
  kilobytes per second_twice as fast as writers from other
  manufacturers. The writer conforms to the proposed standard
  for write-once CD drives, and can write discs for playback
  on all standard CD devices, including CD-ROM and CD-ROM XA
  drives and CD-audio players.
    Other features of the PCD Writer 200 include built-in
  full error detection/correction, automatic disc write power
  calibration and a standard SCSI-II interface for connection
  to the user's host computer. The writer's multi-session
  recording capability complies fully with industry guidelines
  for appendability.
    "Because it grew out of a technology designed for
  consumer markets, the PCD writer 200 is designed to be
  extremely productive and easy to use," McCabe noted. "This
  is a device that will surprise people who are used to
  traditional, time-consuming methods of publishing discs."
    The second element of the new system, the Kodak writable
  CD disc, conforms to industry specifications for
  compatibility of blank media and partially and fully
  recorded discs. The disc's capacity of up to 650 megabytes
  means that it is capable of holding the equivalent of
  240,000 pages of ASCII text; 550, 5 1/4-inch floppy discs;
  or three reels of 9-track tape.
    Given that capacity and a retail price of about $25, data
  stored on a Kodak writable CD disc would cost about $.04 per
  megabyte, compared with $.07 for
  9-track tape, $1.07 for floppy discs and $4.54 for 8 1/2 x
  11-inch paper.
    Discs are produced using the writer and Kodak publishing
  software, running on a PC, Macintosh or Unix workstation.
  The software formats the data in conformance with the ISO
  9660 file and volume structure standard. Single session
  formatting software is available today for DOS and will be
  available in the near future for Macintosh and Unix.
  Multi-session software for these platforms will be available
  in the first half of 1993.

  Service and Availability
    The Kodak PCD writer 200, writable media and software all
  are available today from Kodak, as well as from selected
  value-added resellers (VARs) and systems integrators.
    In addition to selling components and systems, Kodak will
  provide a prototyping service that can assist larger
  customers in implementing writable CD technology for their
  applications.
    As part of this service, the company will evaluate the
  customer's needs, demonstrate conversion of data to a
  writable CD format and advise the customer on how best to
  use the technology. Once this analysis has been completed,
  Kodak can provide the customer with a turnkey system, or can
  arrange to offer on- or off-site disc-writing through its
  Kodak Imaging Services group.
    For further information about the Kodak Writable CD
  system, customers may call 1-800-242-2424, ext. 52.
                             ###
  (Note: Kodak is a trademark.)