Comdex Spring: Copyright protection for digital music
![zd-defaultauthor-jim-louderback.jpg](https://www.zdnet.com/a/img/resize/ee47bb0322af9f0aec1d6862bf3e4bb386f65318/2014/12/04/5bbcca2e-7b69-11e4-9a74-d4ae52e95e57/zd-defaultauthor-jim-louderback.jpg?auto=webp&fit=crop&frame=1&height=192&width=192)
The small player is designed to bypass the main objections to MP3 -- copyright protection. It uses the Twin VQ compression and delivery method, which compresses at a ratio of 14-to-1, compared to 10-to-1 for MP3. But the company is also building a reader-writer that will add copy-protection and serial copy management, which should make the record companies happy.
Although the player is an early prototype, it's a good example of what is being developed to playback digital media. Expect to see a range of digital audio players at CES in January 2000.
Hagiwara is also showing off a range of interesting SmartMedia devices: the company has moved on with its cool digital picture-frame display devices like the Lukis JPEG image viewer which now includes a four-inch colour LCD and a dedicated SmartMedia slot.
Take me to the Spring Comdex special