Editing Digital Compact Cassette (section)

=== Cassettes and cases ===

The DCC cassette and the case that Philips (but not some other cassette manufacturers) used were designed by [[Peter Doodson]] who also designed the [[Optical_disc_packaging|CD jewel case]].<ref name=doodson>{{Cite web|url=https://digitalcompactcassette.github.io/Documentation/General/Peter%20Doodson%20Tape%20Design.pdf|title=Tape Design (from the archive of Peter Doodson)}}</ref><ref name=jewelcase>{{cite web| url=https://www.philips.com/a-w/research/technologies/cd/jewel-case.html |title=The history of the CD - The 'Jewel Case' |publisher=Koninklijke Philips NV}}</ref>

[[File:Philips Digital Compact Cassette open.JPG|thumb|right|DCC with the shutter manually opened]]
DCCs are similar to analog compact cassettes, except that there are no "bulges" where the tape-access holes are located. DCC cassettes are flat and there are no access holes for the hubs on the top side (they are not required because auto-reverse is a standard feature on all DCC decks), so this side can be used for a larger label than can be used on an analog compact cassette. A spring-loaded metal shutter similar to the shutters on 3.5&nbsp;inch [[floppy disk]]s and MiniDiscs covers the tape access holes and locks the hubs while the cassette is not in use. Cassettes provide several extra holes and indentations so that DCC recorders can tell a DCC apart from an analog compact cassette, and so they can tell what the length of a DCC tape is. Also, there is a sliding write-protect tab on the DCC to enable and disable recording. Unlike the break-away notches on analog compact cassettes and VHS tapes, this tab makes it easier to make a tape recordable again, and unlike on analog compact cassettes, the marker protects the entire tape rather than just one side.

The cases that DCCs came in generally did not have the characteristic folding mechanism used for analog compact cassettes. Instead, DCC cases tended to be simple plastic boxes that were open on one of the short sides. The front side had a rectangular opening that exposed almost the entire cassette, so that any label on the cassette would be visible even when the cassette was in its case. This allowed the user to slide the cassette into and out of the case with one hand (which was seen as a major advantage for mobile use<ref name=doodson />), and reduced production costs, especially for prerecorded cassettes, because the case did not need a separate label. Format partner Matsushita (now Panasonic) and others did, however, produce blank cassettes (under their Panasonic brand) with a clam-shell-style case. Because DCCs have no "bulges" near the tape access holes, there is more space in the case behind the cassette to insert, for example, a booklet for a prerecorded tape, or a folded up card on which users could write the contents of the tape. In spite of the differences, the outside measurements of the standard DCC cases were exactly identical to the cases of analog compact cassettes, so they could be used in existing storage systems. The Matsushita-designed clam-shell case was slightly thinner than an analog compact cassette case is.