Disklavier

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