Ever wondered why you sometimes have to wait months after an album's launch to get the music on vinyl? It's not necessarily because the label hates vinyl — in many cases, it's because the decades-old manufacturing process can't keep up with the format's resurgence. Relief may be in sight for turntable fans, though. Viryl Technologies is producing a pressing machine system, WarmTone, that should drag vinyl production into the modern era.
Much of WarmTone's improvement rests in its use of modern engineering. It's more reliable when producing the "pucks" that become records, makes it easier to switch out stampers (the negatives that press records) and sports a trimming/stacking system that can better handle large-scale production. Also, there's a raft of sensors -- the machine checks everything from pressure to temperature to timing, so companies will immediately know if something goes wrong.
Logically, the interface has been spruced up as well. Touchscreens help control the pressing machine on-site, and workers can check on the state of the machine from their computer or phone.
Source:
https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/29/vinyl-record-production-tech-upgrade/
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 06 2017, @01:44PM
Certainly this will cost the RIAA billions and collapse global trade or something... Won't someone think about the artists? ;-)
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday February 06 2017, @05:10PM
The problem is not with lack of DRM in vinyl records. It's control of the production process. As long as RIAA has a monopoly on the production, they can screw at both ends. Screw artists. Screw fans.
What would be the end of the world is if everyone could "print" their own vinyl records. (gasp!) That would be like if people could record their own audio cassette tapes, or burn CD-ROMs, or record mp3s into their own pocket playback devices!
DRM was merely an attempt to regain control -- and if that failed, as it clearly has, at least the RIAA can console themselves that it screws fans who are legitimate purchasers.
People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
(Score: 2) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Monday February 06 2017, @07:16PM
I fantasize that the Vinyl resurgence is due to the Sony BMG copy protection rootkit scandal [wikipedia.org].
Apparently network world dis 5 and 10 year [networkworld.com] follow-up stories. The 10 year story does not appear to mention vinyl.