Laser Magnetic Storage International Explained

Laser Magnetic Storage International
Type:	Subsidiary
Industry:	Data storage
Founded:	in Mississauga, Ontario^[1] ^[2]
Fate:	Reorganized
Successor:	Philips LMS
Products:	Optical and magnetic media

Laser Magnetic Storage International (LMSI) was a subsidiary of Philips that designed and manufactured optical and magnetic media.^[3] It began as a joint venture between Philips and Control Data Corporation.^[4] It later became Philips LMS.^[5]

Products

LMSI developed a proprietary CD-ROM interface. Early iterations relied on many 7400-series chips – on the CM 153 card for example. Later on, this bus was based on the highly integrated NCR chip – NCR © DIGBIE LMS 97644845-00 0390471 on the CM 260 for example.

External CD-ROMs, LMSI interface:

• CDD 401: 1× speed (rebranded CM 221)^{[6] [7]}
• CDD 461: 1× speed^[8]
• CDD 462: 1× speed (same as CDD 461 but with multi-session support)^[9]
• CM 50: 1× speed
• CM 100: 1× speed^{[10] [11]}
• CM 121: 1× speed
• CM 221: 1× speed
• CM 225: ?× speed^[12]

External CD-ROMs, SCSI interface:

• CDD 521: 2× speed^[13]
• CDD 522: 2× speed^[14]
• CDD 552: ?× speed^[15]
• CDD 2000: 4× speed^[16]
• CDD 2600: 6× read, 2x write^[17]
• CM 110: ?× speed^[18]
• CM 231: 1× speed
• CM 234: ?× speed^[9]

Internal CD-ROMs, LMSI interface:

• CM 201: 1× speed^{[19] [11]}
• CM 205: 1× speed
• CM 206: 2× speed^[20]
• CM 210: ?× speed^[11]

Internal CD-ROMs, SCSI interface:

• CM 121: 1× speed^[21]
• CM 201: 1× speed^{[22] [21]}
• CM 204: ?× speed
• CM 212: ?× speed
• CM 214: ?× speed^{[3] [9]}
• PCA80SC: 8× speed

Internal CD-ROMs, IDE interface:

• CDD 3610: 6× speed
• CDD 3801: 32× speed
• CDD 4201: ?× speed
• CDD 4401: ?× speed
• CDD 4801: ?× speed
• CM 202: 2× speed^{[23] [24]}
• CM 207: ?× speed^[25]
• CM 208: ?× speed
• CM 218: ?× speed

ISA LMSI controller cards:

• CM 153: 8-bit ISA (coupled with the CM 100 and the CM 201)^[26]
• CM 155: 8-bit ISA (coupled with the CM 100, the CM 201 and the CM 210)^{[27] [11]}
• CM 50 interface: 8-bit ISA (coupled with the CM 50)^[28]
• CM 250: 8-bit ISA (coupled with the CM 205)^{[29] [26]}
• CM 260: 16-bit ISA (coupled with the CM 206)^{[30] [26]}

Motherboard-integrated

• Certain Tandy Sensation models featured a LMSI controller PCB connected to the motherboard.^[31]
• The proprietary 16-pin LMSI CD-ROM interface was relatively short lived and existed on LMSI interface cards and a few ISA sound cards. These sound cards only have internal LMSI connectors, not the external DB-15 connector for external LMSI devices (the DB-15 on sound cards is the game port/UART MPU-401):
  • Sound Blaster Pro 2 CT1620
  • Sound Blaster 16 ASP CSP CT1780
  • Media Vision Jazz 16 LMSI
  • Pro Audio Spectrum LMSI
  • Pro Audio 16 LMSI
  • Generic 16-bit ISA cards with the Aztech AZTPR16 DSP (FCC ID 138-MMSN808)
• Magnetic products were geared towards corporate mini computer environments (like the IBM AS/400):^[32]
  • LD 510: internal SCSI MO drive
  • LD 520: external MO drive
  • LD 1200: external WORM drive^[26]
  • LD 4100: cartridge optical storage^[33]
  • LD 6100: external WORM drive
  • LF 4500: cartridge optical storage^[33]

Notes and References

1. Staff writer . 6 August 1986 . Company News . Minneapolis Star and Tribune . Star Tribune Newspaper of the Twin Cities . 2M . ProQuest.
2. Chevreau . Jonathan . 17 November 1986 . Optical discs next to join paper war . The Globe and Mail . C6 . ProQuest.
3. Pastrick. Greg. LMSI CM 231. PC Magazine. 29 October 1991. Ziff-Davis. 336–337. 0888-8507.
4. Sehr. Barbara. WORM standard debate breeds world of confusion. Computerworld. 24 August 1987. IDG Enterprise. 64–65. 0010-4841.
5. Staff writer . July 1992 . Laser Magnetic Storage International Becomes Part of Philips . CD-ROM Professional . Online, Inc. . 5 . 4 . 115 . ProQuest.
6. Web site: Index of /parts/philips/CDD401 . 6 July 2018 . 6 July 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180706191135/http://www.retrocomputing.net/parts/philips/CDD401/ . Retrocomputing.net . dead .
7. 2-evoleur vers le multimedia . 2 moves toward multimedia . French . Soft & Micro . May 1992 . 85 . Excelsior Publications . 1001mags . 2 May 2022.
8. Web site: Magnavox Multi-Disc CD Player. eBay. 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180706190748/https://www.ebay.com/itm/162662277973. 6 July 2018.
9. Produits en connexion directe sur port parallele . Products in direct connection with parallel port . SVM . Excelsior Publications . 110 . November 1993 . 2 May 2022. 276–277.
10. Web site: Weird World of Hardware. The Treehouse. Lode. Trygve. April 2001.
11. Book: Rosen, Linda . Stephen E. Arnold . 1990 . Managing the New Electronic Information Products . Riverside Data . 71–91 . 9780962557705 . Stephen E. Arnold.
12. Quain. John R.. LMS CM225. PC Magazine. Ziff-Davis. 22 December 1992. 316–317. 11. 22.
13. Web site: Philips CDD 521 – Compact Disc Recorder. Centre for Computing History. February 2018.
14. Web site: 2011 . Philips CDD 522 2× SCSI CD recorder . Dutch Audio Classics . https://web.archive.org/web/20110205011919/http://www.dutchaudioclassics.nl/philips_cdd522_cdwriter/ . 5 February 2011.
15. Web site: Philips CDD 522. Vintage Audio Laser. 12 April 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130412011912/https://vintage-audio-laser.com/liste_dac/images/philips/philips_cdd522.html. 12 April 2013.
16. Web site: Philips CDD 2000 SCSI External CD-R Drive . Recycled Goods . 2 May 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20180706163235/https://www.recycledgoods.com/philips-cdd2000-scsi-external-cd-r-drive/. 6 July 2018.
17. Web site: Philips CDD 2600 SCSI External Drive Enclosure. WorthPoint. https://web.archive.org/web/20180706215033/https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/philips-cdd-2600-scsi-external-drive-111332523. 6 July 2018.
18. Web site: Kees's Computer Home: Study room. https://web.archive.org/web/20001002000639/http://home.iae.nl/users/pb0aia/cm/sroom.html. October 2, 2000. 22 March 1999. Stravers. Kees.
19. Du standard au marché . From standard to market. French. SVM. Excelsior Publications. 39. May 1987.
20. Web site: 29. Staff writer. 15. 24. Pipeline: Shipping. InfoWorld. IDG Publications. 14 June 1993.
21. Michel . Christian . 14 April 1990 . CeBit '90: »Meet the Experts« . JurPC . 557–562 . 10.7328/jurpc/19905439 . free .
22. Web site: Mace. Scott. 11. 43. LMS Introduces SCSI Half-Height CD-ROM Drive with 64K Buffer. InfoWorld. IDG Publications. 23 October 1989.
23. Web site: Steve. Philips CM 202 . Very Computer . 20 January 1998 . 2 May 2022.
24. Web site: Les accessories du son et de l'image. Sound and image accessories. French . SVM. Excelsior Publications. 92 . March 1992 . 2 May 2022.
25. Web site: Philips CM 207 CD-ROM Drive. Centre for Computing History. https://web.archive.org/web/20090905023316/https://www.computinghistory.org.uk/det/1033/Philips-CM207-CD-ROM-Drive/. 5 September 2009.
26. Web site: Philips/Magnavox CD-ROM Drives . 6 July 2018 . 6 July 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180706163654/http://ibmvaluepoint.blogspot.com/2018/07/philips-magnavox-cd-rom-drives.html . dead . IBM ValuePoint Collection. July 2018.
27. Web site: Help: Philips' CM 155 interface + CM 100 CD drive . Yau. Joseph K. K.. 21 August 1992. https://web.archive.org/web/20220905211014/https://groups.google.com/g/alt.cd-rom/c/CriS2y3DZz8. 5 September 2022.
28. Web site: Philips CM 50 (externes CD-ROM Laufwerk). Planet 3DNow! Forum . 15 March 2008 . 2 May 2022.
29. Web site: Patten. D.. Semi-vintage stuff for sale. Vintage Computer Federation.
30. Web site: /parts/philips/CM260/P0023867.JPG . 19 December 2014 . 25 December 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141225202925/http://www.retrocomputing.net/parts/philips/CM260/P0023867.JPG . dead .
31. Web site: Onboard SCSI 486sx? . Vintage Computer Federation. 25 November 2018 . 26 November 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181126005500/http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?66942-Onboard-Scsi-486sx . dead .
32. Web site: Staff writer. Data storage. Computerworld. IDG Publications. 20 May 1991. XXV. 20. 45.
33. Web site: Staff writer. Data storage. Computerworld. IDG Publications. 4 June 1990. XXIV. 23. 37.