Philips DCC Digital 1992
The Philips Digital Compact Cassette (DCC) was a digital magnetic tape format introduced by Philips and Matsushita Electric (now Panasonic) as a potential successor to the analog Compact Cassette.
The Philips DCC (Digital Compact Cassette) tapes utilized a high-performance magnetic formulation known as video-grade chromium dioxide or cobalt-doped ferric oxide.
Primary Formulation: The tape used in production DCC cassettes was a high-coercivity magnetic particle, described as chromium dioxide (CrO2) or cobalt-doped ferric oxide. This is essentially a Type II magnetic material, but optimized for the high-density digital recording used in video applications, hence sometimes referred to as "videochrome" tape.
Supplier (Key): Reports indicate that the actual tape material inside the DCC shells was often supplied by BASF, which was a major manufacturer of chromium dioxide tape and had a specialized formulation called BASF Video Chrome Tape (specifically CK 50-21 pure chrome was noted).
Tape Thickness: The magnetic coating was very thin, typically 3 to 4 µm thick, on a polyester base, with a total tape thickness of about 12 µm.
Note 1: 60 Minutes: Moderately scuffed wrapper. Ten (10) pictures for your viewing pleasure. Notice that the "open" cassette pictures are that of a 90 minutes tape. Only 1 available.
More About Philips DCC Digital Cassettes:
Release/Introduction: The first DCC recorders were introduced at the CES in Chicago in May 1992 and the Firato consumer electronics show in Amsterdam in September 1992. This is the formal start of its market life.
Discontinuation: DCC was quietly discontinued in October 1996 after Philips failed to achieve significant market penetration, conceding the loss to competing formats like Sony's MiniDisc (MD).
Key Technical Specifications:
Tape Speed: 4.76 cm/s (187 ips). Identical to the standard analog Compact Cassette.
Digital Encoding: PASC (Precision Adaptive Sub-band Coding). This was a lossy compression algorithm (the predecessor to MPEG-1 Audio Layer I), which reduced the audio data rate by a factor of 4 to fit the magnetic tape bandwidth while maintaining "CD-like" quality.
Compression Bitrate: 384 kbit/s. The final, compressed data rate for the main audio tracks.
Sampling Frequencies: 48 kHz, 44.1 kHz, 32 kHz. The system could automatically select the correct frequency based on the source.
Quantization: 16-bit linear
Frequency Response: 5 Hz−22 kHz. (For 48 kHz sampling rate, digital mode)
Signal-to-Noise Ratio: >92 dB. (Digital mode)
Dynamic Range: >108 dB. (Digital mode)
Tape/Tracks: Nine parallel tracks per side. 8 tracks for the digital audio data, and 1 track for auxiliary data (timing, text, start/end markers, copy protection). The tape physically reverses, with the head flipping 180∘.
Head Technology: Stationary Thin-Film Head. The deck used an advanced, multi-track, thin-film stationary head with Magneto-Resistive (MR) elements for digital playback and separate MR elements to play analog cassettes (backward compatibility).
Backward Compatibility: A key selling point. DCC decks could play back all standard analog Compact Cassettes, including those recorded with Dolby B/C. They could not record in the analog format.
History on Philips:
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Philips, stylized as PHILIPS) is a Dutch multinational technology company headquartered in Amsterdam currently focused in the area of healthcare. It was founded in Eindhoven in 1891, by Gerard Philips and his father Frederik. It was once one of the largest electronic conglomerates in the world and currently employs around 105,000 people across 60 countries.[1]
Philips is organized into three main divisions: Philips Consumer Lifestyle (formerly Philips Consumer Electronics and Philips Domestic Appliances and Personal Care), Philips Healthcare (formerly Philips Medical Systems) and Signify N.V. (known as Philips Lighting prior to 2018).[2] As of 2012, Philips was the largest manufacturer of lighting in the world measured by applicable revenues.[3] In 2013, the company announced the sale of the bulk of its remaining consumer electronics to Japan's Funai Electric Co,[4] but in October 2013, the deal to Funai Electric Co was broken off and the consumer electronics operations remain under Philips. Philips said it would seek damages for breach of contract in the US$200-million sale.[5] In April 2016, the International Court of Arbitration ruled in favour of Philips, awarding compensation of €135 million in the process.[6]
Philips has a primary listing on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange and is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index.[7] It has a secondary listing on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Compact Audio Cassette (CAC) or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the cassette tape or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Released by Philips in 1962,[2] it has been developed in Hasselt, Belgium. Compact cassettes come in two forms, either already containing content as a prerecorded cassette, or as a fully recordable "blank" cassette. Both forms are reversible by the user.[3]
Philips dcc Digital 1992 - Made in Austria