Two obsolete audio formats in one... the VinylDisc

Trust the Germans to stretch mechanical sound reproduction to the limits of sanity. Optimal Media Production's VinylDisc features three minutes of vintage vinyl goodness on top of a standard 70 minute CD, enabling you to stage an 'analog vs. digital' comparison test in the comfort of your own home with only a single disc. It's a brilliantly silly gimmick that just might entice a few members of the digital generation into dabbling with turntables. I'm OK with that.
 

"The VinylDisc is a combination audio CD and special record. It consists of two attached layers. The silver layer contains digital audio information, while the black upper layer can be played on every record player.

Physical discs are increasingly used as a marketing tool in the download era. More than ever, Optimal manufactures high quality exclusive audio CD releases and has also seen an enormous increase in vinyl manufacturing. Nothing could be more appealing than the idea of combining the worlds of digital and analog sound, apart from speeding down the Autobahn at 300 km/h in a borrowed Porsche [just checking to see if you're awake...]"

The company also makes a line of perfumed discs that enable you to imbue your latest dance album with the stench of stale beer, cheap cigarette smoke and sweaty half-dressed babes. Oh, the humanity.

Optimal Media Production: CD [via OhGizmo!]

Comments

This looks really cool! It's definitely the kind of "gimmick" I'd fall for. You'd have to be ridiculously careful with the top side of this disc (which most people aren't going to do--so these discs are doomed to be pretty much destroyed on the top surface). For home CD playing, you could get by. But shoving one of these into a car stereo? The grooves would be shredded.

Although they've basically admitted this is more a novelty than anything....it's a bit of a stretch to advertise it as "being able to make a comparison between digital vs analog".....come on. The quality of signal on something this small and flimsy ain't gonna be hi-fi. If this is some peoples' chance to compare the 2 formats, their conclusion will definitely be for the CD over the primitive 3 minutes of "vinyl" (destined to become quickly covered with oily fingerprints and dust).

Having said that, though, I'd love to have some of these. Very cool.

[Mike]

Where's the version with attached 8-track?

[fireball87]

Well, your gonna damage one of the sides either way i thin.

[Digital Vinyl]

Reminds me of Verbatim's digital vinyl CD-R discs.

http://www.d-silence.com/feature.php?id=230
http://www.verbatim.com/products/detail.cfm?product_id=873E147E-2472-45F4-8FAADC48110A5A85&cat_id=980D3EE0-28C3-4134-B728BAE68C3BC40D

[myk]

Has anyone got the latest madonna VD yet?

[Jason Nicholas]

I knew Madonna would eventually come down with VD. She'll get good treatment though.

[Nash Rambler]

Reminds me of those record inserts they used to put in certain magazines; I remember the Beastie Boys released a single through the Grand Royal label that you'd just pull in page format from the mag, then slap the floppy square "record" on your turntable.

[bohus]

Yeah, we like 'em too!

http://www.retrothing.com/2006/05/flexidisc_flexi.html

[Tim Drage]

There have been quite a few noise CDr releases with lathe-cut grooves around the edge (on the bottom rather than the label as here?), diy version of the same idea, with varying degrees of actual playability! :) I have a Wolf Eyes one, pretty nice.

Also check out the totally absurd mirror with two overlapping sets of grooves!!!:
http://www.wolfeyes.net/aaindex.html