Christopher O'Malley
When it comes to moving data from disc to screen, CD-ROM drives have never been fleet-footed performers. However, CD-ROM may finally be finding its legs. Faster double-speed CD-ROM drives are now the norm, even among low-cost models. And Pioneer, NEC Technologies, and Plextor (formerly Texel), are upping the ante again with triple- and even quadruple-speed CD-ROM readers.
Pioneer already sells its external DRM-604X quadruple-speed CD-ROM reader. NEC has announced 3X and 4X drives. The new MultiSpin 3X drives ($455 to $600) transfer data at 450 KBps, compared to the 150-KBps rate of the first CD-ROM readers. The MultiSpin 4X Pro ($995), which NEC says it is targeting at software developers and power users, bumps the data transfer rate to 600 KBps, or f
ully twice the throughput of today's double-speed CD-ROM drives.
The higher transfer rates of these new models mean that the drives can more quickly read into memory large blocks of data--the kind needed for showing photo-realistic pictures, full-motion video clips, and crisper animation sequences. Plextor's quadruple-speed drive should be available by the middle of 1994.
While any CD-ROM title with such multimedia elements should run noticeably smoother, NEC is working with a host of publishers to produce new discs or updated versions of earlier titles that take particular advantage of the higher data transfer rates. Companies participating in NEC's Strategic Software Partnership program include Broderbund, Corel, Grolier, Knowledge Adventure, Macromedia, Spectrum HoloByte, and Time Warner Interactive.
Not all CD-ROM applications will benefit from the boost in data transfer rates, however. Searching through a disc full of text information (e.g., a Yellow Pages directory or a database of
magazine articles) won't be much faster on a triple-speed drive. That's because finding data on the disc to begin with remains a relatively leisurely process. Both the MultiSpin 3Xe (external) and 3Xi (internal) drives have access times of 195 milliseconds, as does the 4X Pro model. A fourth model, the 3Xp (personal), has an access time of 250 ms. That's roughly 10 times slower than the access times of typical hard drives.
Still, for the sort of glitzy titles that dominate the CD-ROM field, triple- and quadruple-speed readers are a boon. And there may be higher speeds ahead. "There's no limit to how fast you can spin the disc," notes Dan Johnson, a MultiSpin product manager at NEC. The challenge, he says, is in developing a faster spindle motor and better error-correcting code [in the drive's firmware] and then dispersing the extra heat it produces.
NEC has been experimenting with CD-ROM drives running at six to eight times the original speed. But at some point, says Johnson, CD-ROM capacity may
become a bigger issue than transfer speed.
Illustration: OPTICAL PUBLISHING FORECAST
The number of CD-ROM titles in print will grow from 5283 in 1992 to a projected 11,765 in 1995, or a growth of 222 percent, according to CD-ROM industry market researcher InfoTech (Woodstock, VT). But sales of CD-ROM readers will grow even faster, with a projected 374 percent growth in the same time period.
Speedy CDs Improve Video Performance
