Re: Linux VCR driver?
H. Peter Anvin (hpa@transmeta.com)
5 Dec 1996 21:01:59 GMT
Followup to: <199612040033.TAA04153@lucy.homan.com>
By author: homan@nando.net (Fred Homan)
In newsgroup: linux.dev.kernel
>
> Well, it probably depends on VCR quality. Wright-Patterson Air
> Force Base uses a VCR tape device for its Intel Paragon
> supercomputer. I assume that the device works well enough that the
> various researchers whose tapes mount from it hadn't complained
> enough to get it replaced when I saw it. Of course this wasn't
> someone's personal VCR, either. Besides, a device driver and format
> that allow for degradation in quality would work. Don't you
> remember that we used to have audio tape cassettes for many personal
> computers about 20 years ago? :-)
>
Well, first of all, the Exabyte 8mm drives ain't nothing but glorified
VCRs with computer-controlled rewind/fast-forward/etc.
However, the "computer backup kits" you apparently at least could for
a while buy to convert a home VCR to a backup device (apparently a
combination of a video modem and an IR transmitter) consistently had
extremely poor reliability according to the trade rags. I certainly
do remember the audio tapes of even 15 years ago, and the fact that
they stunk.
-hpa
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