Hi, Ron, So let's think about this... M-Disc plays in standard players, right? We have seen the almost complete collapse of availability of new audio cassette and VHS players and essentially the complete collapse except for the resale market of Betamax and DAT decks. When will optical disc drives stop being made? 25 years? Once they are, they are not a technology easily replicated by the average garage handyperson. 1/4-inch reel to reel -- there's hope, but optical disc drives, I seriously doubt it. So, whatever M-Disc claims to be the useful lifetime of the media, even if I believe it or MAM-A's claims, I worry far more about the availability of playback drives within the claimed media lifetime. As a person who makes his living in part by keeping old players alive--and modifying them to be more appropriate to the current condition of the media I'm asked to digitize--I am very sensitive to this point. I have taken two approaches to this: (1) Reducing the number of formats I can support, in part based on market demand--just like what the manufacturers do. So, no one has asked me after the first person I turned down to do a DCC tape--even though I have had a machine for about ten years now. I don't even know if it will still work. I would be surprised if it does. (2) Deepening my stock of parts in a few machines that have proven useful and robust and have, perhaps, multiple uses. For example, I have or have parted out and kept the parts 29 Sony APR-5000 reel machines. We are now past the age of dedicated formats for most things and if we are not we should be. It's all just bits and we should be dealing with the bits. It's the only thing that will really be supported going forward. Cheers, Richard On 2013-07-08 12:40 PM, Ron Houston wrote: > Having a bit of trouble finding impartial, unsponsored reviews, opinions, and prognostications about the M-Disc. Any thoughts? Even off-line? > Thanks > -- Richard L. Hess email: [log in to unmask] Aurora, Ontario, Canada 647 479 2800 http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.