SanDisk Has Strong Case for Music on a Chip

Reader Comments
Back to blog

I hope the big 4 record companies decide to do the MP3 encoding with the highest quality encoders from the full size master file using a 320 kbits/sec bit rate & 48 kHz sampling. As long as the engineers are going for the best MP3 file they can make, it might be marketable as "HI QUALITY". I have read they are going to use a 1GB SD card.

P.C. of AZ 7:01PM September 24, 2008

Music on a chip? By today's standards, I'm considered "Old School" or "Behind the times".
I love CDs, I stil use tapes. I've been trying to find a certain CD player for weeks, I don't think it's in production anymore. The CD player I'm looking for is a replacement for the one I've had for 2 years. One place I went to look for it at said they don't sell CD players anymore. I might some day get a media player, but not mp3, that's crap!
This is puting lots of people out of work. This is going to phaze someone out of a job. That's why the record store is becoming a thing of the past. This only going to be good for the new generation who don't anything about music quality. I'm still a "youngster" but I know media, I'm a Broadcst student so I pay attention and study this stuff all the time.
So tell me when we're all going to have these chips implanted in our brains? Isn't that where technology is to? Get rid of all the hardware and listen to the music in your head.
I DON'T LIKE THIS IDEA!

Daniel Rodriguiez of CA 5:46PM September 24, 2008

The real impetus for SM for me would be ease of use. Getting music onto the MP3 player is pretty straightforward once it's on my PC, but ripping CDs is a pain. But getting music onto my phone is a little more difficult. Windows Media Player 11 has a glitch where it won't see the storage card on my phone. It took me several aborted attempts to find a fix that actually worked so that I can once again sync music on my Windows Mobile 5 phone (I even moved MP3s directly onto my phone, but without the song licenses from WMP, they wouldn't play. I'm pretty much a geek--someone with less tech background or persistence would have given up a couple of weeks ago.
Both my phone and MP3 player, however, have card slots. I would buy music on a microSD card just to avoid the hassles. If Best Buy had a kiosk where I could insert my Amex card, select a couple hundred individual tracks which would then be written to a slotMusic card real time and stick it in my phone--now that would really be sweet!
Movie rentals on SM cards--now that one has legs! If I'm traveling, I'd rent a movie in the airport for my Sansa View player to watch on the trip. Downloading one from Amazon Unbox or MovieLink takes a long time.

of UT 4:49PM September 23, 2008

The major launch concern for SM will not be adoption like in BR or CD's. Obviously, there's a huge number of devices that are ready to play the format. The difficulty will be artist / music label adoption. I think this concept will rise or fall depending on popularity of titles just as every other media distribution method. Apple Itunes is not just successful for it's software or the iPod. One of the few key essential factors in its mainstream adoption has been the promotion and availability of media that people want to buy. (popular artists & songs)
As for distribution method - I would *strongly* prefer to buy albums on a format such as slotMusic. I like internet downloads for single songs I want to purchase individually, but just as often I'd like to browse in a store (online or b&m) and buy an album. Plus you get liner notes, lyrics and art, etc.

Jonathan of NC 9:26AM September 23, 2008

I think that record labels should concentrate on using the best distribution method "The Internet" and stop trying to deliver a second medium such as "slot music" to the consumers.
It always seems that the industry is attempting to get consumers to purchase music in "brick & mortar" stores when consumers now prefer to purchase all types of digital media directly online. It is great and i think the labels should get used to it - and embrace it.
Please Mr. Label, Concentrate on what the people like and want. If I am going to spending my money purchasing music in the stores i will purchase a CD. I think the real story is that consumers will purchase in retail stores when they need to touch and feel the items. With music it is different. It is the most perfect product for internet distribution & sales. You can test the product by listening or viewing the media online then purchase from your own computer. It is great. Music distribution is not broken it has only naturally evolved.

Aaron of NY 11:34PM September 22, 2008