- The
Philips Digital Compact
Cassette was introduced
in 1992 at the same time
as the Sony MiniDisc.
The sales and marketing
hype was that it was
backwards compatible
with the popular and
established analogue
cassette tape. Although
the two types of
cassette construction
where very different,
the basic physical size
was similar allowing the
DCC player mechanism to
accommodate the older
analogue cassette for
playing in the DCC
players.
- The
DCC system had a very
impressive technical
specification and
provided CD audio
quality recording and
playback. But the public
expected "instant
audio track access"
on high technology
digital products (as the
optical CD
and
MD)
and the DCC "tape
format" was seen as
past and outdated
technology and had very
poor general customer
appeal.
-
- It
was Philips plan for DCC
to be the successor for
the 1964 analogue
cassette tape, but it
turned out to be a multi
million pound blunder,
but a great lessons
learned for the whole
audio industry.
-
- Production
of the DCC machines
ceased on the 31st
October 1996 when
Philips finally accepted
that this digital tape
format had no hope
of success just four
years its introduction.
|
-
- The
Philips DCC tape was
similar in
size
to the 1964
compact cassette but
very different
in construction
|
