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Contents 1 New info on track & tape width 2 Where to put info on the old RCA tape cartridge? 3 Memory size 4 MZ 80K 5 Article length 6 NR? 7 I need some help.... 8 New material... but article getting too long. Move elsewhere? 9 bandwith ? 10 Tape Types 11 Intellectual property aspects 12 Philips, Royalties, and CD-ROM 13 Third World, (not) again 14 Obsolete? 15 Error 16 CD's Capacity 17 Number of parts in a Compact Cassette

[edit] New info on track & tape width

I went looking for data on tracks and found more than anticipated. The region between tracks left unrecorded is referred to as a guard band, not a track or silent track, plus there is a guard band between each of the 4 tracks of the stereo cassette. This archived specification page lists the track width as 24 mils (0.61 mm), a number that is closely corroborated in a discussion group as 23.5 mils. But the most interesting thing is that I kept running across the tape width as being 3.81 mm, rather than the 3.18 mm that we agreed on as a result of the archived discussion of this page in December 2005. One of the editors at that time claimed that he had actually measured the width with a vernier caliper, getting a result "a fraction under 3.18 mm", which just happens to be 1/8 inch. I deferred to him without making my own measurement. It now seems that our assumption of good faith in accepting his original research was unwarranted, especially since the journal of the Audio Engineering Society says the width is 3.81 mm. So I dug out my best steel straight edge scale, with engraved 1/64th inch increments, and several cassettes all measured between 9 and 10 64ths, about 3.7 mm, clearly closer to 3.81 than 3.18 mm. With these results in hand, I will boldly change the numbers to conform to reality rather than our previous reasonable assumptions. --Blainster 19:58, 22 March 2007 (UTC)

Well, the figure may be correct, but as 1/8 of an inch is 3.175 mm (i.e. nowhere near 3.81 mm), I've tagged the claim as dubious. I'm also unclear if the reference given (name=IEC) refers to the previous two sentences, or not (as it isn't an online resource); if the latter, then we need the reference for the figures included in the text. Fourohfour 17:48, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

I agree that this is not crystal clear, but the evidence is cumulative. Don't take my word on measuring the tape, please check it yourself. The Google search on "cassette + width + 3.18" gives 18,000 hits while "cassette + width + 3.81" gives 12,000 hits. But the 3.81 number has more reputable sites such as IEEE, AES, and ANSI. Isn't it strange that the standards sites all reference 3.81 and not 3.18? A little thought shows that the highly specialized tape manufacturing business doesn't allow non-standard tape widths to be economically feasible. Note that this DC100 article mentions "modified Philips digital tape cassette used in the HP 9830A" and "Unlike the DC300 [1/4 inch QIC tape], the DC100 used narrower tape (measuring 0.150 inches, although known as eighth-inch tape)". So the DCC (Digital Compact Cassette and digital data cassettes use the same tape width as compact cassette, which is 0.150 inch or 3.81 mm. --Blainster 20:48, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

This site: Magnetic Tape Story is in German, but if you scroll down to 1963 in the history you will see the tape width of the cassette given as 3.81 mm. Note that in Germany they didn't have to deal with metric to English conversions. The development date is given here as August, 1963 in Hasselt, Belgium with one of the engineers named Haarler. The first model was called the EL-300 (in the U.S. it was the Norelco Carry-Corder 150). This AES abstract gives the name of another engineer as L.F. Ottens (elsewhere called Lou Ottens). --Blainster 11:36, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Finally, this may be what you are looking for: The TDK spec sheet for their standard "Dynamic" audio cassettes, showing that the tape width is indeed 3.81 mm. --Blainster 12:11, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

I should have been clearer. What I meant was that if the real width really is 3.81mm, then where did the 1/8" figure come from? Even allowing for approximation, 3.81mm is between 1/6" and 1/7". Even allowing for being "nominally" 1/8", who claimed this in the first place? I've removed it; if there's any mention of 1/8" in some plausible literature, please feel free to put it back though. Fourohfour 17:39, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

I will certainly not put it back, because I think that because the reel to reel format was 1/4 inch, the cassette was halve of its width, equals 1/8 inch by definition. And of course computer tapes, once extensively used in the IBM Mainframes and its clones were a full inch tape width. So the logical explanation is that widths are all fractions of an inch in the power of two. Just as standard paper formats (not the US letter) in the A-series are also halves of each other. As a former standards guy I would not expect otherwise Donvr (talk) 11:25, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Where to put info on the old RCA tape cartridge?

In 1958 RCA introduced a 1/4-inch tape cartridge that was obviously a forerunner of the cassette. It looked remarkably like a cassette... just much larger; even larger than the elcasette. It had about a six inch by nine inch footprint. Here's a picture: http://www.richardhess.com/tape/rca_cart.jpg

And here's an archived RCA promo film: http://www.archive.org/details/Revoluti1958 (the stuff on the tape cartridge starts about halfway through at 7:58)

They ran at 3.75 ips and used four interleaved stereo tracks, just like open-reel 1/4 inch stereo. They had very little market success. I saw them used in high school language labs in the late 60s.

Should info on this go in the Compact Cassette article, perhaps under an "earlier attempts" section head? It certainly shouldn't be in the four-track cartridge article, as it's radically different even though it is a "four-track cartridge." Jeh 10:17, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

...speaking of which, the Elcasette should probably be mentioned here too, in the "successors" section with a link to the main article. Jeh 20:09, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

To be honest, the article is already as long as it should be, and covers the title subject quite well. What you request sounds interesting and notable, but it probably deserves a separate article. Fourohfour 18:51, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

It certainly does. AFAIK, it was referred to by RCA as the "RCA (Victor) tape cartridge" with no specific format trademark. I might therefore start RCA tape cartridge if someone else doesn't beat me to it! ProhibitOnions ^(T) 16:37, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Memory size

How many bytes a cassete tape can store? Is this usefull information to compare with disketes IMHO —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 201.79.50.163 (talk) 21:07, 25 April 2007 (UTC).

I suspect that figuring out the answer to this would be borderline original research. Fourohfour 14:11, 29 April 2007 (UTC)

There are two possible answers to that: maximum theoretical and maximum practical. Maximum theoretical can be based on assumptions about frequency response and SNR ratio. Assuming a rather poor 50 SNR ratio and a 10 KHz bandwidth, the Shannon–Hartley theorem says the maximum bit rate should be 166 kbit/sec for a single track (20 KB/sec). Using standard stereo tracks would nearly double that etc. Of course that's the maximum density achievable on a given quality of tape with the "best" modulation method available, and the simple FSK used in 80s homecomputers was nowhere near that efficient, however dedicated data streamers came quite close, assuming the tape quality could be considered constant and reliable. For example of practical systems using non-trivial modulation methods and multiple tracks, some figures have already been provided in the following posts. EpiVictor 15:55, 5 May 2007 (UTC)

From the article: "A rate of 2000-bit/s equates to a capacity of around 660 kilobytes per side of a 90-minute tape." ie. roughly comparable to a 1.2MB 5.25 floppy dish, but much slower of course. Drutt 00:45, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

Special purpose data cassettes were able to store 60 MB by 1990 (ex.: Maynard Maynstream 60M, Maxell CS-600HD) and later up to 150 MB (Maxell CS-600XD). --Blainster 08:30, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

Were they based on the Compact Cassette format though? Fourohfour 14:37, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

Yes, shell and tape were physically compatible. The only visible difference was a square notch (rather than an indentation) out of the center along the write protect edge. They were commonly known as "streaming cassette tape" or "cassette streamers". I just checked an old manual. The tapes could store 27 MB on 4 linear tracks, 60 MB on 9 tracks, and 150 MB on 18 tracks. Data transfer rate was 86 kB/sec. Recording density was 10 kB/in for 20/60 MB and 12.5 kB/in for 150 MB. They used the DMA channel and a PC bus card for data transfer on MSDOS PCs. Maybe this stuff needs its own article. This format is not mentioned on Template:Magnetic tape data formats. --Blainster 16:20, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

Oh yeah; I know what you're talking about now. My father had some old (used) ones that I think they were throwing out at his work; used them (as normal cassettes) for recording computer programs onto. Fourohfour 12:41, 5 May 2007 (UTC)

I used a few of those special data ones as ordinary music cassettes, and wasnt very impressed with them. Fancy cases but cheap tape. Just a way to justify more profit I suspect, the prices they sold for in the 80s were excessive. But at least they were much better than domestic grade C10s, which were not good quality IMLE of them.

When assessing data capacity for domestic cassette use, bear in mind that IRL dropouts occur with tape, and with no error correction implemented the data has to maintain integrity through every dropout, so one can rely on no more than 5kHz or so before the implementation starts becoming too unreliable. Even 5kHz does not make for a consistently reliable system.

FWIW there were a small number of computer-only decks (not to be confused with the many standard analog decks sold as computer decks) which used digital recording of a basic sort. The analogue signal was simply comparatored and clipped into a digital stream that was recorded onto the tape at a high saturation level. No erase head was then needed. A comparator was used on the playback signal. Reliability was improved. The system was 100% compatible with ordinary analogue recorders.

Maybe a separate article for computer data on cassettes is the best option. Tabby 15:45, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] MZ 80K

The Sharp MZ 80K was the first Sharp computer using the Z80 chip and was the first with an integral cassette deck. Circa 1978/9. It was sold in the UK. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 84.13.75.152 (talk • contribs).

I put a heading on this comment, as it seems to have nothing to do with what preceded it. Was it meant to go in the article itself? Fourohfour 16:54, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Article length

In the section on the RCA Tape Cartridge, Fourohfour wrote:

To be honest, the article is already as long as it should be, and covers the title subject quite well. What you request sounds interesting and notable, but it probably deserves a separate article. Fourohfour 18:51, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

The article length could be made a lot more manageable by pushing most of the section on recorders and players into the separate article that already exists for that material. As it is, people seem to keep adding details here that really should be there... IMHO of course. Jeh

You're probably right, but it's not something I can be bothered doing today :)

I still think that the RCA Tape cart would warrant its own article regardless, though. Fourohfour 16:54, 2 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] NR?

My '92 Chrysler LeBaron has a button on its tape deck to turn something called 'NR' on and off (It doesn't seem to make a difference in tonality). I just bought some new Maxell tapes, and they have little checkboxes on the track-list sleeve that says 'NR O-YES O-NO'. But I can't find anything in here about what NR is or what it possibly could be or stand for. Anyone have any information? PolarisSLBM 11:13, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

NR stands for noise reduction. It is probably Dolby B noise reduction (or a clone of it); if the player has the "Dolby System" logo somewhere on it then this is what it will be. Some players use a different system called Dynamic Noise Reduction that does not require cassettes to be pre-encoded; it essentially turns down the high-end volume during quiet passages to reduce the perception of tape (or FM) hiss. If your player has a "DNR" logo on it somewhere, this is what it is, and if it does, please take a picture of it and add it to the Dynamic Noise Reduction article - the logo, or at least an image of a player equipped with it, is sorely needed. Regards, ProhibitOnions ^(T) 12:40, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

I just looked at it. It doesn't say DNR or have a Dolby logo. PolarisSLBM 16:01, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

"NR" usually meant a clone of DNR. You can tell DNR from dolby by switching it in during recording: DNR has no effect on recording, its a basic play-only NR system.

However if its a '92 deck its bound to be dolby, not DNR. Marking this as NR was not usual.

Tabby 15:32, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] I need some help....

I am doing a project for school and I am having a very hard time finding the information I need, I need to know....

1.) How many different 8 track tapes have been released?

2.) How many different Compact Cassette tapes have been released?

I can guarantee you now that *no-one* will *ever* know the true answer to that one, even approximately. Aside from deciding what to count as a "proper" release, there have been countless releases in many countries all over the world, including third world markets, etc etc. At best someone might be able to estimate to within an order of magnitude of the correct figure, but anyone who says that they "know" this for a fact is lying. Fourohfour 11:10, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

3.) How many different reel to real tapes have been released?

If anybody cna help me that would be great, thank you, respond or email me at shawnmort@hotmail.com —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Patriotfan012 (talk • contribs).

[edit] New material... but article getting too long. Move elsewhere?

I reverted this change, not because I thought it was bad, but because it went into too much depth in an article that is already really as long as it should be.

Here is the material:-

Among home computers that primarily used data cassettes for storage in the late 1970s were Commodore PET (early models of which had a cassette drive built-in), TRS-80 and Apple II Plus, until the introduction of floppy disc drives and hard drives in the early 1980s made cassettes virtually obsolete for those who could afford such drives, such as professional users and computer enthusiasts. However, for many consumers it was a different story. Floppy drives in the very early 1980s were extremely expensive, sometimes costing more than the home computer itself, and floppy disk software also tended to carry a much higher price tag than cassette software. For both these reasons, many consumers in the 1980s (a time when many bought their first ever computer) opted for cassette-based computers and cassette software, even when disk-based software was available. Cassette based home computers were very popular in the UK and the rest of Europe, whose 8-bit software market was dominated during the 1980s by cassette games for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC. Due to the large userbase which cassette-based computers built up in the 1980s, commercial cassette games continued to be released in Europe until the early 1990s.

Can anyone think what we should do with this?

Fourohfour 14:33, 4 August 2007 (UTC)

I would insert a shortened version of this in a specific part dedicated to non-audio use of the cassette. For the Home computers you omitted the Texas Instruments type TI-99A. I used to possess one many years ago and still own the Philips tape deck with the special start/stop 3,5 mm socket (I lost the special TI-cable though). As I remember correctly the cassettes to be used were (C-)15 minutes.

Philips intended for the successor of the compact cassette, the DCC or digital variant, that data storage would form a key element because of its pure digital nature. Especially for the portable DCC-machine, this made sense. However they never assured stable software for its use and since DCC went quickly of the market, this application never became widespread. Donvr (talk) 11:52, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] bandwith ?

I find almost nowhere information about bandwith. I find between 15 and 20khz for high end cassette (and recorder) model. But, what about typical cassette and typical recorder ?

15 and 20kHz are very optimistic figures. The player might have been able to handle such fs, but putting 20kHz through the whole rec + play cycle would be a feat indeed. The few spec sheets I saw for recorders were in the region of 8kHz bandwidth for ferric, and over 10 for chrome. (Not certain but I think bandwidth also varied with recording level.)

Tabby 15:30, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

I do not agree with the former statement. When measured at -20dB recording level, most high end machines reached at least 15 kHz, later claims from 3 head machines Tandberg TCD 3x0 and Revox B710 included the 18-20kHz range. Of course within a margin of -3 or -6 dB relative to the the midrange level. As always with these figures one should keep in mind that those cassettes should not be exposed later to high ambient temperatures. Ferro tapes were quite sensitive to losing higher frequencies under those conditions, chrome tapes fared better and metal tapes were the best for registering and retaining these higher frequiencies over the years. I'm personally using a Revox B710MII for playing cassettes of over 20 years old and only the mechanical properties sometimes leave something to be desired, but electrically i find no problems with high frequencies and transparency of sound!

I personally measured the TCD 320 once (I just sold it) and it indeed went up to 18 kHz at -20dB recording level. For higher recording levels the attenuation becomes much higher on ferro and chromium tapes, but metal tapes provide better response. In the cassette heydays, some people regretted the Dolby system because it raised the recording level at the detriment of headroom above 10 kHz. Note that the later Dolby C raised higher frequencies less than the B-system exactly for this purpose. Dolby HX Pro improved head room even further.

There is also another issue at very low frequencies, which have to do with the shape of the recording head. Summing up: a machine providing a real 20-20kHz range is not very easy to manufacture, but perfectly feasible. Donvr (talk) 12:17, 16 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Tape Types

I'm fairly sure I bought new ferrichrome tapes in the early 90s, Realistic brand from Tandy, reduced as end of line, so I think sales of FeCr went on at least as far as then. They certainly weren't popular though.

Now my memory's a bit vague on this one, can anyone cofirm/deny this? IIRC there were real metal tapes (silver tape) and metal bias tapes (black tape). I rarely bought type IV, but I think (and am not certain) the latter version quickly took over from the former, since it was a cheaper mfr process, probably doped cheaper material types. In practice the high price tags on all type 4s ensured they saw few sales.

Finally in the later days of cassettes there were chrome EQ ferric tapes. These were prerec ferric tapes designed to be played on the chrome setting, giving reduced noise. Such tapes could also be produced by copying a chrome tape played at 120us onto a ferric tape. It was a workable trick, but tended to cause some confusion in practice. Many decks had 120/70 selector switches controlled by the cassette shell, making manual switching difficult. Tabby 16:31, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

FWIW there were also some cassettes with head cleaning leaders, ISTR scotch or 3M Tabby 16:33, 9 September 2007 (UTC)

At least all the High Q Maxell cassettes I use (XL I-S, II-S and IV-S) have tape endings which clean the heads. I even used these tapes before putting DCC-tapes in, for cleaning the multiple gap heads of these machines (because of the complicated recording/playback arrangements I stopped DCC later on). Since Maxell promoted their type IV tapes as the only ones sure not to rust (and indeed they do not) by embedding all metal particles inside other materials, the color of the tape is not a direct indication whether its "real" metal or just metal bias. Double layer FeCr tapes were criticised for their envisaged vulnerability for losing its top CrO2 layer. Whether this critiscism was justified nobody will know, they got off the market quite fast Donvr (talk) 11:43, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Intellectual property aspects

I notice that Compact Cassette has what looks like a trademarked logo. Was there a licensing scheme in the 1960s and 1970s? Did cassette manufacturers have to pay money to Philips for every cassette tape produced? More info on this in the article would be useful. -Rolypolyman 03:06, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Philips, Royalties, and CD-ROM

Many years ago I read an article claiming that Philips' invention of the Audio Cassette in 1963, along with tiny per-cassette royalties, made them very rich over time. Since international patents expire after 17 years, it was 1980 when Philips announced the CD-ROM as a replacement technology and then did it all over again. Maybe someone can verify this and add it to the main article. --Neilrieck (talk) 11:55, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

p.s. Take note: Philips is working with Sony attempting to promote Blu-ray technology --Neilrieck (talk) 11:55, 26 January 2008 (UTC)

You are correct on both issues: the compact cassette as well as the Blue Book CD standards got Philips and later Philips and Sony a lot of money and they expect a similar effect with Blu-ray. In the latter case they have to share with more parties of course or trade in these rights for other ones. As a former high Philips guy told me recently: you hardly make money on hardware nowadays, but IPR is what it is all about Donvr (talk) 11:48, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Third World, (not) again

I changed the Third World at the end of Introduction of music cassettes section for the most acurate Developing country. As can be seen in the caput of Third World article pasted below:

It is a term used, along with First World and Second World, (now more commonly called "developed countries"), to broadly categorize the nations of the Earth to three social, political, and economic divisions. It is also known in some academic contexts as the Global South.

And because it does not appear at the BBC article reference number 8.

Spra from portuguese wikipedia 200.142.179.71 (talk) 07:39, 10 February 2008 (UTC).

 :Sorry, Fixing external links 200.142.179.71 (talk) 09:29, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Obsolete?

Hmmmm. Not when you can walk into any Wal-Mart or Target and find newly manufactured blank tapes and machines to play them. Hell, my 2005 car has a cassettte player as standard equipment and I think you can get it as an option on most cars today. John celona (talk) 16:29, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

The only place the article calls the cassette obsolete is in the section on its use for computer data storage. But since you brought it up, the cassette is clearly obsolete from a technological standpoint, and out of fashion as well, though there are many places where it is still widely used. --Blainster (talk) 02:51, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

The cassette is hardly out of fashion, or obsolete. Lost of music is still released on cassette. -^Violask8₁₉₇₆ 03:12, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Lost of music is still released on cassette. This is a remarkable assertion... But, fortunately, one that can be easily tested. If you can provide one link to a website that sells pre-recorded music cassettes, I will believe you. BTw, I assume we're talking about real music; not some special interest, cultist, sub-genre? --Oscar Bravo (talk) 12:52, 6 October 2008 (UTC)

Here's a site that has over 17,000 "pre-recorded music cassette" items for sale right now-http://www.ebay.com/. I should also point out that in large parts of Africa and Asia local artists frequently record and sell on cassette. The world doesn't end in New York or London you know. One source states that "cassettes are the reality of everyday music in Africa" http://www.vanderbilt.edu/register/articles?id=13029. Plus, of course, one can walk into a local Wal-Mart and buy brand new blank cassettes-as many Western artists do. 68.224.206.168 (talk) 01:17, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

Just today a British company released a cassette compilation for 99 pence. http://musosguide.com/rough-trade-bring-back-cassettes-for-record-store-day/3909 68.224.206.168 (talk) 02:22, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

Devotional music in India has a lot of releases on audio cassettes. Cassettes album are still the cheapest and best option. Cassette album cost is Rs 35 to 50 whereas CD album cost is Rs 125 to 150. Lahari Recording Company, Bangalore and Symphony Recording Company, Chennai (Madras) still make cassette releases. Symphony catalog is here: http://mybhaktisong.com/devotional.htm. - RN

OK! You've convinced me... Taking a global perspective, it is clear that the compact cassette is still widely used to distribute pre-recorded music. In fact, I would even remove the still from my previous sentence since there is probably a stable and even growing market in the product. It looks like the CC has found a niche and will be around for a long time to come (might even outlast CDs :-) --Oscar Bravo (talk) 10:09, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Error

"The use of better modulation techniques like QPSK or those used in modern modems, combined with the improved bandwidth and signal to noise ratio of newer cassette tapes, allowed much greater capacities (up to 60 MB) and speeds (10–17 kB/s for data rate) on each cassette."

Is that really supposed to be 10-17 kilobytes per second? That's what "kB" means. The previous chapter talks in terms of bits per second, so even if this actually is correct, there is an inconsistency. --84.250.188.136 (talk) 13:59, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

[edit] CD's Capacity

In the "Decline" section, it is said that "the average CD holds fewer than 80" minutes. This is mostly likely uncompressed. Shouldn't this be pointed out? Also, the proceeding reference points to a dead link (#12). 72.84.160.187 (talk) 21:00, 19 January 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Number of parts in a Compact Cassette

A low-end tape could be constructed from as few as 14 components.

• 2 snap together tape shells with open holes for viewing tape remaining/used
• 2 guide rollers
• 1 tape
• 2 leaders, directly glued/melted to tape
• 2 spools
• 2 leader clips
• 1 magnetic shield (the metal bit behind the pressure pad, as thin and inexpensive as possible, some just used a shiny sticker or nothing at all)
• 1 pressure pad
• 1 pressure pad mount

A high end tape could be constructed from as many as 29 components.

• 2 screw together tape shells
• 2 clear windows
• 5 screws
• 2 write-protect sliders
• 2 guide rollers
• 2 steel guide roller axel pins
• 1 tape
• 2 leaders
• 2 pieces of leader attaching tape
• 2 spools
• 2 leader clips
• 2 anti-friction inserts between shell and tape spools
• 1 magnetic shield (the metal bit behind the pressure pad, much thicker than in cheap tapes)
• 1 pressure pad
• 1 pressure pad mount

Some variations used completely clear shells and anti-friction inserts to eliminate the need for window inserts, or used clear anti-friction inserts to provide some protection against entry of dust through the open window holes. Some only used screws in the four corners. There were also a few tapes with more than 29 components which had spools with sides like miniature reel-to-reel reels, though they were limited in capacity due to the inability of the tape to wind beyond the middle of the shell.

In contrast, a CD is made of only 4 components.

• Polycarbonate disc with audio or computer data pressed in
• Metal reflecting layer
• Lacquer coating
• Printed label or other protective coating

Cheaper recordable CD discs omit the label and only have the lacquer coating, but add the dye layer so still have four components. A protective coating puts it up to five, still nowhere near the number in the cheapest tapes.

Makes one wonder how the music industry justified the much higher prices for CDs VS tapes when tapes had to cost a lot more in materials even for the cheapest versions. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bizzybody (talk • contribs) 07:25, 6 April 2009 (UTC)

Since when did the music industry ever justify a price hike? They sold CDs to us on the basis that the sound quality was superior to vinyl (if you recall, CDs originally were marketed as a replacement for 12" vinyl discs. It was a few years later, when in-car CD players appeared that they began to attack the cassette market). However, I think the main point is that the cost of a recording is not strongly correlated to the physical cost of the medium; rather it is dominated by the intellectual property cost of the composition. --Oscar Bravo (talk) 10:16, 30 September 2009 (UTC)