Why can't slot load CD players take mini CDs?

[CallTheFBI]

Why is it that slot load CD players cannot take mini CDs? Or maybe some of them can but I recall reading that slot load CD players aren't widely used because they can't take the mini CDs that are used in digital cameras and other places. I think slot load CD players are a lot cooler so they need to make them so they accept both sizes of CDs, same with DVD players.

If there is a model of a slot load CD player or DVD player that accepts both sizes please post it.

 

[Lord Evermore]

Most likely due to the position of the system that grabs the disk and pulls it in, and ejects it. More complicated to design one that can grab the smaller discs without having it scratch against the surface of a larger disk.

 

[MadRat]

So make a perfectly-fitting sleave to convert them to full CDs, like S-VHS tapes pop into VHS-compatible carriages.

 

[AndyHui]

Considering the speeds that CDROMs spin at, I don't think it would be feasible to create a very robust sleeve that can handle the forces placed on such a disk.

 

[crazychicken]

my friends car slot loading cd player can read his mini cds... so its possible.. i'm assuming your talking about computer drives...so why not get a normal tray loading one?

 

[ScrewFace]

Mini Cd's are a mute point anyhow as they can only hold 210 MB of data compared to 700 MB for a regular CD-ROM.

 

[JOSEPHLB]

I think mini cd's are better used on the business side..

They work very well for burning Powerpoint presentations or other video type presentations, and the smaller size makes them very very portable...
Just pass your mini cd to the boss, and he can easily place it in his pocket, shirt pocket, etc..

A buddy of mine used mini cd's for presenting his home based business presentation to clients and such..

 

[BennyD]

just get a tray loading one and do this to it.

guaranteed* it will look better!!!








* not a guarantee.

 

[CallTheFBI]

Originally posted by: ScrewFace
Mini Cd's are a mute point anyhow as they can only hold 210 MB of data compared to 700 MB for a regular CD-ROM.

 

[Auric]

There just has not been enough demand so the lazy and short sighted engineers haven't been arsed to include what should be a standard feature.

8 to 12cm adapters have been available since the early 1980's. Mini-CD's were commonly used for audio "singles" until, I suppose, it was just more economical to use the large ones for everything.

 

[corkyg]

It's rather obvious - the mechanism is designed to grab and roll in a 5.25-in disc. A 3 inch disk doesn't fit those mechnics. It would have to be inserted into a 5.25-in carrier disk. Sort of like putting a mini-VHS cartridge into a full size VHS player - you need a carrier. I have never heard of one for mini-CDs. It's not an impossible design.

 

[0roo0roo]

adaptors are avaliable, from where i dunno.

 

[BentValve]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
adaptors are avaliable, from where i dunno.

whereIDontKnow.com

 

[Wintermute76]

there should be some drives that can take both. My Pioneer CD deck in my truck can take 120mm(4.724") or 80mm (3.149") discs without adapters. tho I ask the same question of why use an 80mm instead of a 120, with the 120's being much larger capacity and cheaper, the technology is out there to use both, I just don't know of any PC slot load drives that have it off hand.

 

[MadRat]

Originally posted by: AndyHui
Considering the speeds that CDROMs spin at, I don't think it would be feasible to create a very robust sleeve that can handle the forces placed on such a disk.

But in music mode which speed does it spin?

 

[AndyHui]

If it is reading as digital and sending it through the IDE, then generally Windows tries to do it as fast as the drive can spin.

 

[thorin]

Originally posted by: CallTheFBI

Originally posted by: ScrewFace
Mini Cd's are a mute point anyhow as they can only hold 210 MB of data compared to 700 MB for a regular CD-ROM.

They defiantely are NOT a mute point (and the saying is actually "MOOT point" btw). MiniCDs are great for:

1) Business (Demos, shareware, presentations, etc...).
2) Putting resumes or portfolios on.
3) MiniCD mp3 players (there are a few but Teac makes a nice one).
4) More universal then ZIP, and faster.
5) Etc...

Personally I would only really care about pts 3 & 4 above but ppl will argue all 4 pts and more.

Thorin

 

[Eug]

My Apple laptop's slot load drive is supposed to support miniCDs (as long as they aren't the rectangular ones), but I'm too chicken to try it.

 

[Lord Evermore]

A sleeve carrier actually shouldn't be affected by the drive's speeds very much, depending on the design. If it only just barely holds up the edges of the mini-CD, then it shouldn't interfere with the read laser head. And when the drive mechanics grasp the mini-CD, the sleeve could drop slightly below the level of the mini-CD which is held by the gripper pad of the player, so the mini-CD turns while the carrier sleeve doesn't turn at all. It might depend on the exact design of the CD drive though, so it couldn't be universal.