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Tandy Corporation News Release
For Release: April 21, 1988 TC-88-030
For Further Information
Contact: Ed Juge
(817) 390-3549
TANDY CORPORATION ANNOUNCES MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH
IN OPTICAL MEDIA; TANDY THOR-CD(TM)
THE FIRST CD-COMPATIBLE RECORD & ERASE TECHNOLOGY
NEW YORK CITY - Tandy Corporation announced today a revolutionary development
in optical disc media: TANDY THOR-CD. With the introduction of TANDY THOR-CD
technology, it is now possible to record and erase digital information on a
CD-compatible optical disc.
Using a laser beam, TANDY THOR-CD can repeated record, playback, store and
erase music, data or video on a disc that can be used with all existing CD
audio and CD-ROM players.
Just as important, TANDY THOR-CD will be an inexpensive media. It is expected
to be less expensive than alternate digital audio formats, including digital
audio tape (DAT).
"TANDY THOR-CD will have applications in several fields of electronics,"
stated John V. Roach, President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Tandy
Corporation. "TANDY THOR-CD's commercialization in audio should be rapid, its
applicability in mass memory is long sought after, and it may have video
applications as well."
TANDY THOR-CD playback technology follows the same technique used in
conventional optical discs: using a laser beam to read a series of microscopic
pits in a light reflecting disc.
What makes TANDY THOR-CD the technological breakthrough in optical media is
that the pits, while enviornmentally stable and permanent in nature, can be
erased, allowing editing and re-recording, over and over again.
Because the optically-formed pits resemble those in a conventional, molded CD
in fit, form and function, TANDY THOR-CD retains all of the extraordinary
qualities of current CDs.
TANDY THOR-CD technology is the result of years of research and development at
the Tandy Magnetic Media Research Center in Santa Clara, California.
Exhaustive testing has confirmed TANDY THOR-CD's ability to record, erase and
playback digital information that is virtually indistinguishable from the
original source material.
What's more, erasing a previously recorded signal instantaneously returns the
media to its original state, ready for the next recording.
"For several reasons", according to Robert McClure, President of Tandy
Electronics Manufacturing, "the first commercial use of TANDY THOR-CD will be
CD-audio. We believe there is a present and substantial market for a
recordable CD-audio disc. CD-audio is also the least demanding on the
hardware and the media. The additional cost in electronics and drive
mechanisms should permit play and record decks to be offered in the early
years of development for under $500."
"The next likely commercial product," continued McClure, "is a data storage
device which requires greater precision and error checking capabilities.
TANDY THOR-CD technology will fit well in the high-density storage field with
storage capabilities in the hundreds of megabytes per five-inch disc."
The access time relating to TANDY THOR-CD is comparable to CD technology, so
there is no difference in access time or data transfer rates between TANDY
THOR-CD and CD-audio and CD-ROM.
"In a practical sense," added McClure, "optical disc access times are
comparable to floppy discs. Access times projected for the future are even
more encouraging. With access time being a function of equipment, rather than
media, new development of extremely low-mass holographic heads show promise of
dramatically reducing access times comparable to that of hard discs."
"Tandy," stated Roach, "is actively working with key electronics innovators
around the world to license this technique for use in hardware and for
production of media. The likelihood that very low cost mechanisms to
implement the technique will be developed makes it highly attractive."
Organizations interested in participating in the development and production of
TANDY THOR-CD technology should contact TANDY THOR-CD Technologies, 1300 One
Tandy Center, Fort Worth, Texas, 76102. Telephone (817) 390-3693.
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Tandy is a registered trademark of Tandy Corporation
TANDY THOR-CD is a trademark of Tandy Corporation