posted October 27, 2001 07:29 AM            

Cost isn't the issue - security is the issue. DVD compatibility without security is pointless. We'll get it out just as soon as it's secure.

As far as overall DVD, even the admittedly optimistic guess-timates of the marketing arms of the electronics industry only claim 10 million DVD players sold in the retail pipeline in North America. I'm sure they would love to have your information about 1 in every 4 American households - .

posted October 27, 2001 02:44 PM            

There are about 1000 – one thousand – individual Sound Choice CDGs that do not have MediaCloQ copy protection. So, if your choice is to not purchase Sound Choice products, that choice is certainly not only due to copy protection – unless you’re only interested in releases since August/01. There are hundreds of discs and thousands of songs that are not affected one bit by MediaCloQ.

As I’ve said in various threads (see below), it isn’t in our best interests to limit the customer player options for our products. Nobody disputes that, it’s common sense. Nonetheless, it’s also common sense to choose the lesser of two evils.

Here’s a graphic example (and I’m not comparing karaoke to life and death, so please…): If the doctor gives the options of choosing between living for five years or maybe more if he removes one of your lungs next week, or keeping both your lungs and dying in six months to a year – what does your common sense tell you to do?

We lose less money by having the copy protection and no DVD compatibility, than we do by having no copy protection. That’s what our decision boiled down to.

http://www.soundchoice.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000460.html

This is pretty much the negative viewpoint of the issue, with some expository information on the what and the why of the issue/s.

http://www.soundchoice.com/ubb/Forum5/HTML/000818.html

Within this thread there are a couple posts that touch on tangenital issues and background.

posted October 28, 2001 05:41 AM            

Before you buy the player, ask them if you can test a new Sound Choice disc on it, to see if it plays okay. If it does, then the problem is solved for a few bucks.

posted October 28, 2001 11:50 AM         

But, I don't know too many KJ's, who really want to lug around an extra piece of equipment, that they only need to play new Sound Choice discs.

Likewise, for me as a home user. I used to have a Laserdisc machine, and a separate CDG player (the old BMB Ninja) that I added later. It was a hassle with audio and video switches, and wires all over the place, and having to switch the mics back and forth. Not to mention the Ninja was a pain to put somewhere with it's top loading tray.

Then I traded those 2 machines, plus my small collection of Pioneer LD's, and got my Pioneer 555. Perfect machine for what I needed. I could still play my CDG's, it plays my audio CD's, I have a single VCD, and now I was able to rent DVD movies. And if DVD Karaoke should happen to take off, I was prepared for that. I still get use out of my SC 100 song DVD a year after getting it. It only takes up one shelf on my custom built entertainment centre, and only one set of wires.

I used to make jokes on here about how I would buy discs, and get them into my book before my wife noticed. I can just see me trying to convince her that extra karaoke machine sitting there has always been there.LOL
No, sorry, I can't see me spending the equivalent of several discs just so I can play the new MediaCloq'd discs.

posted October 28, 2001 07:23 PM            

A baseball player doesn't come to the stadium without his glove. For those whose position requires a specialty glove - first base or catcher - those players acquire a glove for the position.

If you want to play DVD discs, by all means get a DVD player. If you want to play CDG discs, make sure you have a CDG player. Hopefully, we'll develop a solution.