DataPlay? More like DoodiePlay

August 30, 2002

The New York Times ran a piece on a new audio format called DataPlay. The first few lines sum it up, but my commentary will follow.

The record industry wants you to buy your music on a new kind of disc. Unlike a CD, the format will greatly restrict your ability to make digital copies. It will cost more than a prerecorded CD. And it will require you to invest a few hundred dollars in a new player. If the appeal isn't immediately apparent, you have some idea of the salesmanship task ahead.

Yeah. Apparently, the selling point for these is DVD-like extras. There'll be videos, photo galleries and games. Wooooo! Although extras are interesting, do they really think people will shell out more money for copy-protected music? Small and cute: yes. A con: yes.

This is one time when I really hope the American public doesn't fall for a marketing ploy. If they go hook, line and sinker then we're stuck with an expensive format that provides no improvement in quality. The article makes it clear that people are not as dumb as I fear because they go with their pocketbook. Why pay more when you don't need to?

The most annoying part is the absence of mp3 players in the article. They don't even mention that it's about the codec, not the medium. I could go on for hours, but I'll hold back because it's getting late.

What do you think? Will something like this ever work or are we heading the way of open-source, mp3-like formats?

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