"A standard cassette recorder with a superior quality of digital recording."

To the untrained eye, it looks just like any other cassette tape, but this prototype will not work on your existing stereo.

Judith Hann demonstrates a new cassette incorporating metal tape, that contains music which has been converted into digital code. When the tape is played on a compatible tape deck, the digital code is converted back into music, producing excellent sound quality with none of the audio degradation associated with existing prerecorded cassettes.

The tapes can hold more than just music though, they can also hold digitised pictures, meaning that in the future, albums might include not just songs, but digitised lyrics, album covers and even videos.

The first commercial machines are expected to go on sale in three years time.

Originally broadcast 11 March, 1982.





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