# Has any computer software ever been released on vinyl? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 10, 2011, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508 "2011-11-10T14:40:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/21 "2011-11-10T17:19:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Did anybody ever make a computer data interface for the VHS videocassette? My very vague recollection is that there was at least one attempt to do something along these lines for small computer systems. It is worth mentioning that the basic idea was indeed used in professional data systems. The trivia question is: why is a CD recorded at 44.1 kHz sample rate? The answer is that this fitted into a TV frame evenly. The early CD recordings were held on video cassettes. (But being Sony, it would not have been VHS - but rather the pro version of Beta.) The very high end digital TV recording media were also used for data storage, but these were systems that cost more than a house. Sony made a few, and they were directed at the very high end data storage market, and simply added front ends onto their professional video offerings. The other well known one was Video-8 format, which was very successfully used by Exabyte as a data storage system. But VHS? - I’m sure I remember some, but would have to go search. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/22 "2011-11-10T17:33:39Z")
Ah, the dangers of saying never. One of the few pieces of software I ever bought separately was Telewriter 64 which came on a cassette tape. I make do now with with what comes with my Debian OS. My current harddrive has never had any Microsoft program stored on it. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/23 "2011-11-10T17:45:08Z")
> [@](#): > > Did anybody ever make a computer data interface for the VHS videocassette? Found it. The Corvus Mirror. 36MB on a 60 minute tape. Corvus were probably the first, but not the only ones. They were a pretty amazing company, but got swept away like so many others. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/24 "2011-11-10T18:52:20Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Did anybody ever make a computer data interface for the VHS videocassette? Again, with Beta this was theoretically possible for a home hobbyist. The Beta HiFi system used a PCM digital encoding system. Sony sold special processor units so that you could record really huge number of “near CD” quality audio on the (consumer grade) Beta tapes. With a little bit of work you could have put anything digital on them. I don’t think any VHS maker came out with a comparable processor unit. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/25 "2011-11-10T19:32:42Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Again, with Beta this was theoretically possible for a home hobbyist. The Beta HiFi system used a PCM digital encoding system. Sony sold special processor units so that you could record really huge number of “near CD” quality audio on the (consumer grade) Beta tapes. With a little bit of work you could have put anything digital on them. I don’t think any VHS maker came out with a comparable processor unit. Actually the Sony PCM-F1 unit was [_better_ quality than CD](http://www.thevintageknob.org/sony-PCM-F1.html). I owned one, and it could work with Beta, U-Matic or VHS. It produced [a monochrome video signal of a grid of variously sized rectangles](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnolxuHn130). In theory, you could broadcast it. The [ADAT format](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADAT) recorded 8 channels of professional quality audio on an S-VHS cassette. Even though it is not used much any more other than to recover archives, the units were so popular that their connection options are an industry standard for computer audio workstations. Since the OP has been answered, I should mention the Father of Video Recording [John Logie Baird](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Logie_Baird) who [managed to record video onto 78 RPM discs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonovision) in 1928. ---
**Author:** ![nudgenudge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9f8e36/32.png) [@nudgenudge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nudgenudge)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/26 "2011-11-10T20:58:29Z")
A slight tangent, but this thread reminded me of another esoteric means of software delivery used for a while back in the 80s - telesoftware. As I recall, the BBC and possibly other UK TV channels sometimes used some of the capacity of their teletext services (pages of text encoded within the analogue TV signal) to transmit software, for the BBC Micro and possibly for other popular home computers too. You needed a teletext adapter for the computer, and you tuned it at the appriate time to receive the software. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/27 "2011-11-10T21:06:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Since the question has been asked and answered, here’s another: > > Did anybody ever make a computer data interface for the VHS videocassette? > > Like the audiocassette, it was a ubiquitous analog format. Since it was designed to record video, it would have much higher storage capacity than the audio cassette. > > No, it wouldn’t be as convenient as floppy disks - but has that ever stopped a hobbyist? Yup, and I’ve seen it done, as recently as about 15 years ago. The VLBI network of radio telescopes used them to exchange their data for interferometry. Shipping physical tapes across the country was still, at the time, cheaper than transmitting that much data over the Internet. They’ve probably switched to DVDs now, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/28 "2011-11-10T21:06:50Z")
I remember a BBC programme where they broadcast software by modulating a flashing dot in the corner of the screen - enthusiasts were supposed to press a light-sensor against it - the circuit diagram for which had been published previously. I think they also developed (or at least proposed) some kind of ‘intercode’ that was supposed to be a symbolic programming language that could be received and interpreted by several different popular computing platforms, each with its own idiosyncratic dialect of BASIC. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2011, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/29 "2011-11-10T22:23:37Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Actually the Sony PCM-F1 unit was [_better_ quality than CD](http://www.thevintageknob.org/sony-PCM-F1.html). How is it better? The specs say 16 bit, 44,056Khz, ever so slightly worse than CD’s 16 bit, 44,100Khz. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/30 "2011-11-11T06:58:18Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > How is it better? The specs say 16 bit, 44,056Khz, ever so slightly worse than CD’s 16 bit, 44,100Khz. It had better D/A and A/D converters, better analog components and better error correction. From the cite: > [@](#): > > If it wasn’t Sony’s first PCM processor, the F1 was the first portable encoder/decoder… with a sound to match. Such a good sound that it was rebadged by famed Nakamichi. Such a good sound that, more than twenty years after its launch, many people still use F1s today, including SME which still has one in its main reference rig. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/31 "2011-11-11T07:42:37Z")
From the second of robert\_columbia’s links in Post #4: > [@](#): > > Distribution of Computer programs on vinyl records was done in the early 70’s by several different researchers. First, a guy named Allan B. Chertok. He has several patents in this field, which I would recommend that you guys read: > > US Patent 3,662,350 (1972) > US Patent 3,740,733 (1973) > US Patent 3,662,354 (1972) > > Also - Norman L. Harvey. This guys was a real genius. Check out his patent: > > US 3,755,792 (1973). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/32 "2011-11-11T08:07:17Z")
Belated thanks to robert\_columbia (sorry I overlooked your earlier answer) ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/33 "2011-11-11T08:24:40Z")
As has been said above, some vinyl audio releases had computer programmes embedded in them. See this cite for examples: [http://www.kempa.com/2004/03/09/vinyl-data/](http://www.kempa.com/2004/03/09/vinyl-data/) It was obviously for novelty purposes at the time so perhaps it doesn’t count for the purposes of the OP. You could also play [video off vinyl](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitance_Electronic_Disc). ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/34 "2011-11-11T10:02:18Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Since the question has been asked and answered, here’s another: > > Did anybody ever make a computer data interface for the VHS videocassette? > > Like the audiocassette, it was a ubiquitous analog format. Since it was designed to record video, it would have much higher storage capacity than the audio cassette. > > No, it wouldn’t be as convenient as floppy disks - but has that ever stopped a hobbyist? 😃 [Alesis’ ADAT](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADAT) was a fairly popular digital 8 (or more if you linked machines together) track audio system that used S-VHS for storage. Since those systems we intended to be used in semi/pro audio studios, I’m sure there were/are interfaces to hook one of them up to a computer. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/35 "2011-11-11T13:45:26Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > It had better D/A and A/D converters, better analog components and better error correction. Those aren’t CD format specs, those are CD _player_ specs. The specs for individual CD players are going to be all over the map, so I don’t see how you can make a blanket “this was better than all CD players” statement. And that cite you quoted doesn’t really say anything relevant. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/36 "2011-11-11T16:51:52Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > It was obviously for novelty purposes at the time so perhaps it doesn’t count for the purposes of the OP. You could also play [video off vinyl](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitance_Electronic_Disc). I think John Logie Baird has your example beat [by about 50 years](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonovision). ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/37 "2011-11-11T16:56:02Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yep. I remember having “Forbidden Forest,” among others, for the Commodore 64 on cassette tape. Cassette software was common. It wasn’t just “common”, it was the _only_ way of buying games for much of the 1980s. I’ve still got stacks of old Spectrum games on tape. The first Spectrum with a disk drive was the +3, launched in 1987. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/38 "2011-11-11T17:08:03Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > Those aren’t CD format specs, those are CD _player_ specs. The specs for individual CD players are going to be all over the map, so I don’t see how you can make a blanket “this was better than all CD players” statement. And that cite you quoted doesn’t really say anything relevant. It’s better because it’s older. Older things are better than newer things. Every time. Well-known fact. Also, it’s rare. Things _you_ can’t have are better. Well-known fact. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/39 "2011-11-11T17:22:01Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > It wasn’t just “common”, it was the _only_ way of buying games for much of the 1980s. I’ve still got stacks of old Spectrum games on tape. > > The first Spectrum with a disk drive was the +3, launched in 1987. In the UK, cassette might have been the only way of buying games for much of the 1980s, but in the US, floppies were often the only way to buy games past, oh, 1981 (except for the ultra-low-end computers like the VIC-20 or MC-10, and even then most users seemed to prefer cartridges over cassettes). It probably helped that the Spectrum never made headway over here. US Commodore 64 users who were even aware of it thought the popularity of cassettes in the UK was bizarre. A lot of US computer users in the 1980s never even saw a cassette in use on a computer, or may have owned one or two as a novelty. ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508/40 "2011-11-11T17:38:11Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > It wasn’t just “common”, it was the _only_ way of buying games for much of the 1980s. I’ve still got stacks of old Spectrum games on tape. > > The first Spectrum with a disk drive was the +3, launched in 1987. I agree with you, in that the lesiure computer market, in the early 80’s disk drives were just too expensive for the average home user. Though it was possible to use a floppy disk drive as a periphal for a spectrum prior to the launch of the +3. That said even after the +3 from what I remember the tape format remained the dominant format for Spectrum users in to the nineties until commercial releases for the Spectrum became sparse. I was certainly buying tapes for my (by that time quite old) Spectrum 48K until my parents bought a Commodore Amiga 500+ in 1992 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-computer-software-ever-been-released-on-vinyl/602508.md?page=3)