🚀 go-pugleaf

    The NEC CDR-83J drive that is included in the PAS-16 MM Kit
is an OEM version of the NEC CDR-83M and has the same optimization
that allows smooth playback of animation sequences.  Discs such as
National Geographic Mammals, MS Bookshelf for Windows 1991, and
Mixed Up Mother Goose all run very smoothly on my system.  The 83J
IS NOT the discontinued CDR-83 model.

    As far as I can tell from the NEC literature, the 83J/83M is
identical to the CDR-84 except for two features -- no double dust
seal and no field-upgradeable PROM.  All other specs are identical
(e.g., double-speed drive, access time, bit error rates, CD ROM XA
and Mac compatibility, and so on).

-Julius
julius@btvlabvm.vnet.ibm.com

*-------
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--------------------- Referenced Note ----------------------------------

From: msimmons@ec.uwa.oz.au (Michael Simmons - mgmt_staff)
Message-ID: <1992Aug11.084048.6983@uniwa.uwa.edu.au>
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1992 08:40:48 GMT

I have some observations about the PAS16 and the PAS16 MM kit.

(1) The PAS16 is SB compatible not SBPro compatible.
    This means that games that support the SBPro (UW etc) must be
    configured for a SB card.
    The SBPro supports stereo, the SB does not.
    Thus PAS16 owners miss out on stereo in their SBPro compatiable games.
    Future games may support the SB16 and not the PAS16.

(2) The PAS16 MultiMedia Kit uses a NEC CDR-83J (an OEM version of the CDR-83).
    To quote PC Magazine March 31 1992 page 46
    'NEC's latest two Intersect drives (the CDR-73M & CDR-83M) serve as
    replacements for similar Intersect models - the CDR-73 and CDR-83. Both
    also spin the disk at twice the traditional rate, but their firmware
    lacks the optimization needed to exploit the greater transfer rate
    fully and to best effect. When we last reviewed the CDR-73, for instance,
    we praised the drive for its top speed but criticized it for its jerky
    motion-video performance ("CD-ROM Drives:Finally Up to Speed," October
    29, 1991) '
    I believe the CDR-73M and the CDR-83M have been revamped and relabeled
    the CDR-74 and CDR-84 respectively.
    It appears to me that Media Vision bought up discontinued CDR-83 drives
    cheap to include in their MultiMedia Kit.

I have recently placed an order for a locally brewed MM kit which contains
a PAS16, NEC CDR-84 and 7 CDROMS.
Unfortunatly the selection of CDROMS is not as good as those in the Media
Vision kit.