Dataplay: The futuristic optical disc format that time forgot
In this video I'm finally looking at a format that I've been eager to cover for years. Despite Dataplay being on sale as recently as 2004 it has proved to be frustratingly elusive.
However after many years of searching, and with the assistance of others, I finally managed to track down everything needed to make a video. But not everything went entirely according to plan.
UPDATE 7th November - As a result of feedback regarding some volume levels - I've gone back and adjusted the sections concerned and also used the opportunity to re-voice a couple of sections where I used the redundant turn of phrase 'CES Show'. The video above is now the updated version.
Dataplay: The futuristic optical disc format that time forgot (YouTube)
Comments (73)
Thank you so much for replying. Unfortunately it looks like they have taken it down. I'm getting the error ERR_RESPONSE_HEADERS_MULTIPLE_CONTENT_LENGTH. Thank you again. I'll keep hunting :)
It worked for me - I've just downloaded it and uploaded it to my file share service - here's a link http://u.pc.cd/ojprtalK
I've been lucky enough to get hold of a dataplay engine. After a lot of faffing about I have got it working using a Windows 98 Emulator. Unfortunately Iriver no longer has their Future Player software available for download. Does anyone know if the Future Player software was bundled with any other iriver models so I can keep an eye out on ebay. Thank you . Glad to be a new member of this Patreon.
There’s a possibility I’ve got it somewhere. If I find it I’ll let you know.
Hello Matt, just joined your Patreon and I wanted to say that I really enjoy your channel. I loved this video and the treasure hunt feel of your search for the device and it's disks. You're one of my favorite Youtubers. I look forward to more great videos! Thanks for putting in the hard work to research such old and strange devices.
Thanks so much for signing up - hopefully there will be another update on Dataplay in the future.
Thanks Mat for a nice video. I admire your persistence, and hope you get to make part two of this video. Hope your dad is all right.
Things are looking very positive on a follow up. I’ll have more news on that soon (hopefully). As far as my dad goes, he’s back at home but can’t drive his car anymore so I’ve been spending a few days each month visiting to do jobs like shopping (my parents are at the other side of the country). Thanks for asking. It’s a bit tricky shoehorning everything in at the moment - I’ve had to do work on videos while staying in a hotel a few times.
Absolutely fascinating video. The history bit was great, the struggle of making it come together... you can really tell that this was a video you have been wanting to make for years, and then, when you FINALLY have everything, Avril Lavigne shows up to kill it. At least you got to record it working, and it didn't die after you tested it off camera! Loved this one!
It might be a good idea to just roll the camera all the time while testing old stuff like this. Happened to me more than once that some device died the moment I was showcasing it, after working flawlessly for ages, of course...
The most endearing thing about this format is the noise the player makes as it accepts or ejects a disc. Living in the future! As somebody who used to service and repair audio-visual systems and hifi equipment, I reckon it's pretty amazing that a "Pre-Production Laser Module #20" even made it this far... I've seen an awful lot of dead lasers in my time, many in very expensive players that were very much younger than this one.
Great video! I seem to recall my father being interested in this back in the day when it was being showcased, but I guess he abandoned that interest after DataPlay went belly up. If I could make a suggestion for your video before it goes live on youtube (I’m not sure if it can be changed now or not): the bit where you begin to demo the Avril Lavigne album is a bit too loud; I was having trouble concentrating on what you were saying, so I went back and tried to mentally block it out to listen in. Otherwise, another insightful video!
You’re the third person to mention this, I thought it was fine, but then again I knew what I was saying. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to reupload this one as it takes me almost a day each time. I’ll have another look later.
You've tracked down another fascinating technology that was launched at exactly the wrong time. You might be able to stabilize the decomposing sticky plastic coating on the DataPlay-er with matte Krylon spray. Mask all control buttons, jacks, card slots et al with great care first. I've used matte Krylon successfully on the similar ghastly squishy plastic coating that Yashica applied to their 35mm camera bodies in the late 1980s. It's not beautiful, but it's also no longer sticky to the touch once sprayed.
That’s good to know. The next time I find a sticky device I’ll certainly give it a try.
This one reminded me of when iOMega tried to do something similar with their mini-Zipdisc (I think they called it the "Clik"). I even have a Clik MP3 player somewhere in the archives. I always thought it strange that the company with the worst record for data durability thought they had what it took to make a pocketable drive!
You’ve reminded me that I bought one of those and some discs a couple of years back, that I’ve yet to look at. I wonder where I put it.
Great video! Yet another format pretty much dead at birth due to not really thinking through what it’d cost consumers to actually use (and if they’d pay that), and what their other options were. Flash storage pretty rapidly won out for cost reasons. The SciFi look is very cool though :-) Loved the Aussie tie in! Ewen
Reminds me also of Men in Black: "This is going to replace CD, so I'll have to buy the White Album again..."
Amazing video Techmoan. Thanks!
11:55 We will never see the real future where you had storage in a mouse.
Yep - another one where SD cards took over ;-) <a href="https://amzn.to/2JMGvYs" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://amzn.to/2JMGvYs</a>
Another format flushed out of the dusty corners of technology. Maybe the dust broke the player. Cool video, as always!
iRiver, now there's a brand I haven't heard of for a long time. Interesting how this fell on its face but the Sony UMD managed to last much longer.
They’re still around but prefer to use the Astell & Kern brand now.
Very comprehensive as always, Mat. Another obsolete format I've never heard of! How long can you do on finding these? I'm amazed and impressed. :-)
There aren’t too many odd pre-recorded formats left, however there are enough to keep me going for a good while yet.
Can't really blame the tech here, I'd want to end it all if I was forced to play Sk8er Boi.
Fantastic video, thanks for all the effort in putting that together!
What James said 👍
Great Video Matt. I have been curious about Data Play for years, I even picked up a few blanks a long time ago, and did my own search for a player. Its amazing how rare these are considering the amount of press they received.
I remember getting a used Lyra in the early 2000s with a 32MB compact flash card. I remember finding some custom firmware that would enable it to play 48-bit WMA files at smaller file sizes and (to me) sounding equivalent to a 128-bit MP3. I thought I was the bees knees haha
Is this that disc from Men in Black? But I'm already buying the White Album again!
I’ve attempted to share several times. Is it possible there’s something stopping it? Remove spaces <a href="http://salestores" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://salestores</a> .com/iriddat mulpl.html
Yes there seems to be an auto block on links. However with this one when I add it to a cart it’s out of stock. Presumably an old abandoned page that’s still indexed on google but unavailable by navigating the website.
I do see one for sale for US $129. Says brand new unrefurbished. The web site looks like something I might have designed, and I don't know how to design a web site.
Link?
Another awesome video Mat - love these ‘formats that time forgot’ videos. Those dataplay discs might have done something if they came out in the mid-90s instead of 2002! Or maybe the copy protection would have doomed it regardless. :)
It amuses me how people were so hung up on copy protection - but nowadays many people happily pay a monthly subscription to play copy protected music that they'll never own.
Incredibly well made video. Thank you Mat. Only suggestion I have is that Avril is a bit loud during the voice over. Everything else is well thought out and spot on.
Thanks. You're the second to mention the Avril volume - to my ears it sounded about right - but I suppose that's just an opinion. Given that it takes a day each time I upload this... I'll leave it as it is as I thought I sounded like a super cool DJ.
I've learned about more obsolete formats from you that I never knew existed! I'm a huge Beck fan and collect any odd release I can and bought his newest album on cassette tape. Looks like that could be one of the rarest releases I've ever heard of.
What would be a good Beck album for me to start with. While I've heard a few of his records over the years I've never sat down and listened to a full album.
Avril Lavigne: murderer of obscure optical disc drives. Excellent video. Shame about the drive death, but it's great you had the help getting to the point to show as much as you possibly could here. Also, the description of "feels like a boiled sweet" is about the best way to describe that melting rubber coating I've heard.
I didn't know if the terminology would translate - as I expect 'hard candy' is a more familiar term in the US. But a half sucked Jolly Rancher might not play as well in other countries.
Very entertaining, Mat... didn't even know this existed. There is an inherent coolness factor that makes me love it, however there is a fatal flaw- the fact that you can only write once to the blank media. To me this makes it inferior to even the lowly cassette. Still, cool as all get-out.
When I think about it - I never used a cassette more than once - but then again these cost $10 a piece - for that you'd want to re-use them.
Those discs were so cute, for want of a better word, that if they had been released before flash memory was anything other than big expensive cards for digital cameras, they could easily have been marketed in a variety of ways. Nice tech, just too late to market. I can't overstate how much I enjoy in particular you videos on the rare or overlooked old tech.
I often wonder how selling flash memory could ever work out - no sooner has a manufacturer made a batch than it's worth a fraction of what it originally cost.
Didn't you just make it harder for yourself to find a working player, by making a video about it? ;)
Probably. However it may also encourage someone to offload their warehouse of unsold players and discs.
Well, yet AGAIN, Mat, you have revealed a format previously completely unknown to me! Not so much Tech Moan as Tech Marvel! Good stuff - thanks as always for a great video!
I loved this video Mat, really a loss the player died... Keep up the good work !
It gives me something to keep looking out for. If my eBay saved searches ever got down to zero it would make my daily emails far less interesting.
I love that you've been guest featuring all of my favorite YouTubers lately.
I was happy that Dave agreed to do something so silly.
Neat. I remember reading about these when they were about to come to market, but then I never heard about them again and never saw one in person.
Glad you finally got to see it. By the way I enjoyed watching your C64 mini video today. The way you timed the response delay way quite ingenious.
Thanks Mat. I really enjoyed the video and I hope you do a followup. Best wishes.
It amazes me how you keep coming up with these random obsolete formats that I've never heard of. I'm tempted to check out that obsolete media website but I'm worried that I might end up spoiling the surprise of a future video!
It’s definitely worth a look. We often overlap however he just collects the media...if you want to see them working (sometimes unfortunately briefly) that’s where I come in.
Well, you could shove the device over to the crazy aussie and maybe get a fixed device back. ;)
OR ... he'd take the mailbag knife to it ...
Whoa! Nice job of story-telling. Mentioning WORM right off would have given the story a different feel. Nicely done!
As an aside, I realized today that I can click on the video here, then click the "YouTube" icon, then add the video to a playlist marked "private" and THEN bring it up on the Roku connected to my 46" Sony ... yay! I get to watch these previews on my big screen AND keep it private. :-)
I had never heard of this format. Thanks for this video!
It’s my pleasure.
It seems that tiny optical drives just aren't terribly durable, like that IOMega drive LGR looked at a while back that died within a few hours of using it. Did Sony's UMD drives ever have problems like that, or were they just better engineered?
I remember my PSP died, but it was the whole thing rather than the drive. However I’ve got a couple of old devices with dead drives so I don’t think they’re the most reliable things as they age.
never noticed the TM copyright logo before :)
It’s been there for getting on for a couple of years, although I’m not sure of the value of it as almost every day someone re-uploads my videos as theirs.
Straight in with a Cherry 2000 reference. I'm going to like this video; I love that film.
I’ve yet to watch it. But one day I will (probably).