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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!stolaf!umn-cs!mmm!schley
From: schley@mmm.UUCP (Steve Schley)
Newsgroups: net.audio
Subject: Re: Digital Audio Cassettes...
Message-ID: <199@mmm.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 1-Oct-85 09:31:24 EDT
Article-I.D.: mmm.199
Posted: Tue Oct  1 09:31:24 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 3-Oct-85 05:50:16 EDT
References: <523@decwrl.UUCP> <190@mmm.UUCP> <1191@vax1.fluke.UUCP>
Reply-To: schley@mmm.UUCP (Steve Schley)
Organization: 3M Company, St. Paul, Minn.
Lines: 54

In article <1191@vax1.fluke.UUCP> tron@fluke.UUCP (Peter Barbee) writes:
>>I would like to know why anyone would want to do direct, digital
>>copying of CDs to tape.
>>
>>Seems to me that any such activity would be blatant violation of the
>>copyright laws.  If that is what you're after, say so plainly.  Say
>>PIRACY, not "direct digital copying".
>>
>>If you don't think it's piracy, let's hear why not.
>>
>Steve, 
>
>Why is this piracy anymore than making tapes from records?  Or making
>tapes from CDs (but including the D/A)?
>
>We've already dealt with these issues here, I don't think we need to go
>into them again.
>
>Peter B

There is, I think, a new issue of importance here.  Photocopying is
self-stifling, since I can't simply put a book in a machine and get a
bound book out.  Taping LPs to cassettes has been self-limiting, due to
raw tape costs and the quality degradation in the analog recording
process.  Taping CDs to analog tapes will probably be just as
self-limiting.

But bit-copiers (in the computer software arena, and soon in the audio
arena) produce clones -- much closer to the original than photocopies
or analog cassettes.  Lessons learned in the computer software market
show us that, more than ever before, these copies will compete with the
real thing.

I doubt if photocopy or analog tape cut into even 20% of the affected
markets.  But bit-copies of software are said to have a tremendous
impact -- I don't have figures handy, but it's far greater than 20%,
and in some cases, the industry talks of multiple pirate copies in use
for each legitimate one.

If this happens in music publishing, we're looking at a major impact.

I see the decision to make the sampling rates unique differently than
John Francini.  Rather than a decision to limit our freedoms, I think
the industry is trying to avoid real problems that mass-market audio
bit-copiers would create.

That is not to say that I agree with this decision.  I, too, would love
to make digital copies of my CDs for use in the car, or my other audio
system upstairs.  I might not be able to, though, and I can understand
why not.
-- 
	Steve Schley

	ihnp4!mmm!schley