Computer games on 33 1/3 records

[GottaLottaStuff]

Anybody remember these?



I hope this is in an archive somewhere, I do NOT want to have to dig out a turntable and do it myself.

 

[vwestlife]

I've never seen one myself, but I've heard about them...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City_standard#Floppy_ROM

 

[hargle]

weird- i've never seen or heard of such a thing. If you (GottaLottaStuff) have some of these and can't find them archived somewhere and don't want to dig out your turntable, I would gladly convert them for you/us. One of my many hobbies is converting vinyl to digital and have a setup ready to go anytime.

There's a lot of obscure bands out there who have releases that have never been digitized before and I want that music back in my ears. I've even had some of my conversions get re-used as masters for CDs when there were simply no master recordings to use.

 

[DOS lives on!!]

I've never seen thic concept before. Sure is intriguing, though.
It would be neat to load a small program off of a converted record player and watch it load, turn by turn.

 

[barythrin]

Ditto. Never heard of it which is interesting although I guess it's no different than data on tape. I guess there wasn't any special encoding or anything other than hooking up the audio connection to the computer.

 

[vwestlife]

Radio programs about computers would also play the program data over the air, for listeners to record to tape and then play back on their computers.

 

[mnbvcxz]

There is an electronics magazine in Europe called Elektor and in the late '70's published software on records for one of their computer projects built using the SC/MP processor.

 

[Lawrence Woodman]

I remember seeing one of these for the Sinclair ZX-81 on the front of an edition of my father's 'Your Computer' magazine. A great magazine, by the way, if you ever get a chance to read it. It doesn't surprise me that the record in your picture and the one that I saw were both for Sinclair machines. They had a history of using non standard storage mechanisms, witness the ZX-Microdrive and the use of 3" disks.

 

[offensive_Jerk]

Radio programs about computers would also play the program data over the air, for listeners to record to tape and then play back on their computers.

Wow, that's pretty darn neat!

 

[barythrin]

Radio programs about computers would also play the program data over the air, for listeners to record to tape and then play back on their computers.

Wow. So there's something for podcast shows to add ;-)

 

[Corey986]

I'm doubtful it actually worked.

If I drag out my old Bang and Olufsen turntable (with a new needle) and put even the "new" re-release of the Beatles on 33 1/3 I can hear the background interference easily on my Beolab 5 to the point I'll switch back to CDs. A computer has to be more sensitive than my ears to this stuff (I played bass for years in a band standing next to the drummer so my hearing is not the most perfect in the world anymore)

Heck I sometimes have to try 3 times to load something off my Panasonic tape shoebox recorder on a vintage machine, I don't see how a "vinyl record" would work.

Cheers,
Corey

 

[Tor]

I don't know how well it worked using LP records to store software, but I'm sure it must have worked better than cassettes. And cassettes were used, as someone mentioned earlier there were even radio shows distributing software over the air, just provide your own cassette recorder.
When I was working with a Dragon 32 I always made as a minimum 3 cassette copies. One of them would usually work when i continued my work the next day.

-Tor

 

[GottaLottaStuff]

Apparently you had to copy the record to cassette and then run it. Tape images are available.
http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseekid.cgi?id=0007104

 

[High_Treason]

We used to have a TV show in the UK where the end credits played back a program, you could record this to a tape and play whatever game / run whatever software it was... I can't remember the name (it was before my time) but I can find it if anybody cares.

 

[Lawrence Woodman]

For anyone interested I found the Your Computer article "All in the Groove from June 1982. It discusses the background to the flexidisc, manufacturing method, recording details, use on the ZX-80/81, etc.

I can think of one radio and one TV show in the UK that broadcast programs for the BBC micro. The radio show was called "The Chip Shop" on BBC Radio 4. The TV show was called "4 Computer Buffs" on Channel 4 and needed a special adapter to get the programs onto your computer.

 

[RickNel]

I'm doubtful it actually worked.

A binary code actually requires much LESS sensistivity (bandwidth and signal-to-noise) than any real-time audio encoding such as CD audio. Remember that cassettes were generally lower fidelity than LPs, and were a very common consumer data storage medium. Program transfer is not time-sensitive unless load-time is critical, so the LP could carry its binary clicks at whatever rate was suitable for transfer to cassette.

Rick

 

[carlsson]

Apart from Thompson Twins, one of the early adoptors of 33 rpm records to store computer programs was Pete Shelley with his album XL1.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XL1

Swedish pop duo Adolphson & Falk also made a record with an Atari 800 demo.

Yet more artists can be found here: http://www.kempa.com/2004/03/09/vinyl-data/

Your Computer as mentioned published at least one or two 7" flexi-discs themselves with software for ZX-81, VIC-20 etc.
http://yourcomputeronline.wordpress.com/2012/10/13/flexidisc/

When it comes to those computers with regular mic and ear sockets, I figure it is fully possible to connect the RIAA amplifier directly from a record player to the computer. It gets more tricky with computers like Commodore, Atari etc which have custom tape recorders, for those you would almost be forced to store the program on tape before loading it.

I suppose this may have been a stunt mostly done on European markets, as we were slower to upgrade from tape to floppy disk, and thus still could have any use of audio signals to be recorded onto tape and loaded into the home computer.

 

[g4ugm]

I don't think so. If your program will fit on a 33RPM single that's much cheaper to produce and distribute that a cassette tape, or floppy disk. I believe that whilst it can be done at high speed, floppies and tapes actually have to be written in some kind of duplication process after manufacture. Not so with a "record" it comes off the press ready to stick on the magazine...

 

[vwestlife]

The big advantage of those flexidiscs / soundsheets was that in addition to the low cost and ease of duplication, they could also be glued into the binding of a magazine, and did not require any special protection or packaging, due to their flexible nature -- unlike floppy discs or CDs, which must be packaged separately in a plastic bag along with the magazine, since there is no convenient way to stick those into the binding and make it through the magazine's mechanized printing/stacking process without getting ruined.

 

[barythrin]

I remember the flexible records, some nature magazines I think had them with bird sounds, etc and also I think McDonalds had them for Alf for a while.. and perhaps some other popular shows at some point. I was surprised at the time how well they worked. Interestingly I guess since I was raised around PCs I really wasn't aware of the audio storage ability since we didn't have an IBM and IBM took away their cassette port for whatever reason. (Anyone know the back story on why it was dropped from the 5160?)