Editing Digital Compact Cassette (section)

== History ==
[[file:DCCplayer.jpg|left|thumb|Philips DCC portable player]]

DCC signaled the parting of ways of [[Philips]] and [[Sony]], who had previously worked together successfully on the audio [[Compact disc|CD]], [[CD-ROM]], and [[CD-i]]. The companies had also worked together on the Digital Audio Tape which was successful in professional environments, but was perceived as too expensive and fragile for consumers. Furthermore, the recording industry had been fighting against digital recording in court,<ref>{{cite news |first=Barry |last=Fox |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12717293-300-technology-record-industry-faces-up-to-digital-tape/ |title=Technology: Record industry faces up to digital tape |journal=New Scientist |date=11 August 1990 |access-date=2019-02-19}}</ref> resulting in the [[Audio Home Recording Act]] and [[Serial Copy Management System|SCMS]].

Philips had developed the [[Compact Cassette]] in 1963 and allowed companies to use the format royalty-free,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.rd.nl/meer-rd/cultuur-geschiedenis/het-cassettebandje-na-50-jaar-afgedraaid-1.329386 |title=Het cassettebandje na 50 jaar afgedraaid |language=nl |first=Michiel |last=Kerpel |journal=[[Reformatorisch Dagblad]] |date=7 August 2013 |access-date=2019-02-19}}</ref> which made it hugely successful but not a significant money-maker. The company saw a market for a digital version of the cassette, and expected that the product would be popular if it could be made [[backward compatibility|compatible]] with the analog cassette. 

Around 1988, Philips participated in the [[Eureka 147]] project that eventually produced the [[Digital audio broadcasting|DAB]] standard. For this, it cooperated with the [[:nl:Instituut voor Perceptie Onderzoek|Institute for Perception Research]] of the [[Eindhoven University of Technology]] to create the PASC compression algorithm based on [[psychoacoustics]]. 

On 8 October 1990, Philips made the first formal announcement of DCC.<ref>{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Pollack |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/09/business/philips-making-a-digital-analog-recorder.html |title=Philips Making a Digital-Analog Recorder |journal=The New York Times |date=9 October 1990 |access-date=2019-02-19}}</ref> [[Tandy Corporation]] announced at the same time that it would help Philips with the development and distribution through its Tandy and [[RadioShack]] stores. It was expected at the time that DCC recorders would be available in the beginning of 1992 and would cost several hundred dollars less than DAT recorders. Even though this first announcement already used the term "digital compact cassette" (without capitalization), some publications around this time also referred to it as ''S-DAT'' (''Stationary-Head Digital Audio Tape''), to distinguish it from ''R-DAT'' (''Rotary-Head Digital Audio Tape'').<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.technofileonline.com/texts/newtapeformats91.html |title=As new digital audio tape formats shape up, the analog cassette keeps its lead |first=Al |last=Fasoldt |publisher=The Syracuse Newspapers |year=1991 |access-date=2017-01-16}}</ref>

On 5 July 1991, Philips announced that Matsushita had joined forces with them to develop DCC.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-06-fi-1348-story.html |title=Matsushita Joins Philips to Create a Digital Cassette |via=Los Angeles Times |publisher=Reuters |date=6 July 1991 |access-date=2019-02-19}}</ref> 

The first DCC recorders were introduced at the [[Consumer Electronics Show|CES]] in [[Chicago]] in May 1992<ref>{{cite news |first=Rich |last=Warren |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1992/05/22/consumer-electronics-show-carries-a-worlds-fair-air/ |title=Consumer Electronics Show Carries A World's Fair Air |journal=Chicago Tribune |date=1992-05-22 |access-date=2017-01-16}}</ref> and at the [[:nl:Firato|Firato]] consumer electronics show in [[Amsterdam]] in September 1992. At that time, not only Philips and [[Technics (brand)|Technics]] (brand of Matsushita) announced DCC recorders but also other brands such as [[Grundig]] and [[Marantz]] (both related to Philips at the time). Around the same time, [[Sony]] introduced the [[MiniDisc]].

More recorders and players were introduced by Philips and other manufacturers in the following years, including some portable players and recorders as well as in-dash DCC/radio combinations for automotive use.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}

At the "HCC-dagen" computer fair in [[Utrecht]], Netherlands, between 24 and 26 November 1995, Philips presented the DCC-175 portable recorder that can be connected to an [[IBM]]-compatible [[personal computer|PC]] using the "PC-link" cable. This was the only DCC recorder that can be connected to, and controlled by a computer, and it was only ever available in the Netherlands.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}

Philips marketed the DCC format mostly in Europe, the United States, and Japan. According to the newspaper article that announced the demise of DCC, DCC was more popular than MiniDisc in Europe (especially in the Netherlands).<ref name="Demise">{{cite news |url=https://www.dcc-faq.org/dcc_is_dead.txt |journal=[[Eindhovens Dagblad]] |first=Gijs |last=Moes |title=Successor of cassette failed: Philips stops production of DCC |date=31 October 1996 |via=DCC-L discussion list}}</ref>

DCC was quietly discontinued in October 1996<ref name="Demise"/> after Philips admitted it had failed at achieving any significant market penetration with the format, and unofficially conceded victory to Sony. However, the MiniDisc format had not done very well either; the price of both systems had been too high for the younger market, while audiophiles rejected MD and DCC because in their opinion, the lossy compression degraded the audio quality too much.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-08-27-ca-37950-story.html |title=Sony Revives MiniDisc in Package Deal |first=Kevin |last=Hunt |journal=The Hartford Courant |via=LA Times |date=1996-08-27 |access-date=2017-01-16}}</ref>