Disklavier

I am not sure if anyone is interested but below I have listed some  PianoDisc 
CD's that I have purchased.
As you can see some work on the Disklavier and some do not.
I have not been able to figure out if there is a way of knowing before  
buying a PianoDisc Cd if it will play on a Disklavier.
It seems that the Silent Drive format never works.
PianoDiscs has a lot of nice products and you seem to get more music for  the 
money than on a typical Yamaha disk.
 
I hope this info is useful to someone so you don't waste money like I  did.
 
If anyone has any addition knowledge on this please let me know. IE: How to  
create backup copies that work.
If anyone can add to the list either good or bad please do so.
I am real surprised that PianoDisc and Yamaha does not make an effort to  
standardize. It only make sense that the market if bigger by providing products  
that work on all players even if they offer the same disks in different  
formats. QRS and Virtuoso seem to have it down.
 
Thanks for the input
 
Alan
 
 
          Richard  Glazier Plays Gershwin Catalog# ZZ2205 CD2205  ok on  
disklavier   ARTIST SERIES: LAURA  SPITZER Catalog# ZZ3018 CD3018  will not play  
Silent Drive format  Impressions by Debussy &  Moussorgsky Catalog# ZZ3019   
CD3019  will not play    GREAT COMPOSERS: W.A.  MOZART Catalog# ZZ3017 CD3017  
will not play  Silent Drive format  ARTIST SERIES: JUDY  CARMICHAEL Catalog# 
ZZ5010   CD5010  will not play  Silent Drive format  Faust & Chen - The  
Nutcraker Suite Catalog# ZZ3036 CD3036  will not play  Silent Drive format  WIDE 
OPEN SPACES  Catalog# ZZ7001 CD7001  will not play  Silent Drive format  
REFLECTIONS Catalog# ZZ7003  CD7003  will not play  Silent Drive format  POPULAR HITS 
LIVE  Catalog# ZZ12011 CD12011  will not play    HOTEL CALIFORNIA  Catalog# 
ZZ12012 CD12012  will not play    Smooth Rock CD12013  ok on disklavier   DOOBIE 
BROS. GREATEST HITS  Catalog# ZZ12014   CD12014  will not play  Silent Drive 
format  BEACH BOYS FAVORITES  Catalog# ZZ12015   CD12015  will not play  
Silent Drive format  A Mendelssohn Trio and a  Bolling Suite Catalog# ZZ13004 
CD13004  ok on disklavier   INTIMATE STRINGS VOL.  1 CD13005  will not play    TRIO 
PARADISO - LIVE  Catalog# ZZ16004  CD16004  will not play  Silent Drive 
format  SMOOTH JAZZ, VOL. I Catalog#  ZZ16008   CD16008  will not play    Larry 
Dalton A  Instrument of Peace CD18005  ok on disklavier   Larry Dalton Nativity  
Carols CD19006  ok on disklavier   SAMPLER - LIVE! Catalog# ZZ19902   CD19902  
will not play    SYMPHONY SAMPLER II  Catalog# ZZ19903 CD19903  part ok on  
Disklavier  John McDaniel Plays John,  Joel & Manilow Catalog# ZZ2009 Artist 
Series  CD2009  ok on disklavier   SPECIAL EVENTS Catalog# ZZ9303   CD9303  will 
not play  Silent Drive format  LULLABIES Catalog# ZZ9309   CD9309  will not 
play  Silent Drive format  SAMPLER VOL. I Catalog# ZZ9901   CD9901  ok on 
disklavier   SAMPLER VOL. II Catalog# ZZ9902  CD9902  ok on disklavier   ARTIST 
SERIES SAMPLER II  Catalog# ZZ9904 CD9904  ok on disklavier 



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On Sat, 13 Oct 2007 ISKI1@... wrote:

> I am not sure if anyone is interested but below I have listed some
> PianoDisc CD's that I have purchased. As you can see some work on the
> Disklavier and some do not. I have not been able to figure out if
> there is a way of knowing before buying a PianoDisc Cd if it will play
> on a Disklavier. It seems that the Silent Drive format never works.


PianoDisc changed their CD format slightly back in 2005 in a way that
improves the timing of the encoded data.  They also implemented a scheme
designed to play random garbage notes over the actual music on competing
systems such as the Disklavier.  Because Yamaha apparently hasn't kept
up with either of these two changes, PianoDisc CDs made since 2005 can't
be played on the Disklavier.  (Note also that PianoDisc always describes
the garbage notes scheme as "encryption" in hopes of invoking the
Digital Millenium Copyright Act should any competitors attempt to play
their CDs.)

CDs that include these two changes (and so are unplayable on the
Disklavier) will all bear the designation "Silent Drive Plus".  Most CDs
made before 2005 should play OK, but some of them do have the timing
change without the garbage notes change.

To summarize- really old PianoDiscs (pre-2003 or so) should play OK on a
Disklavier.  CDs made in late 2005 or later, or which say "Silent Drive
Plus" on them, are not currently playable on the Disklavier.  CDs made
in the 2003-2005 timeframe may or may not play, and there's no easy way
to tell (that I know of).

Since Yamaha never implemented support for even the change in timing, 
the garbage notes usually won't be heard when playing an incompatible CD 
on the Disklavier.


> If anyone has any addition knowledge on this please let me know. IE:
> How to create backup copies that work.

A utility to transcode CDs from one format to another could easily be
written, but PianoDisc would likely sue anyone who attempts to decode,
play or convert their CDs.  They are adamant about only allowing their
CDs to be played on genuine PianoDisc systems.


Mark Fontana