Very true, but let's put aside the "archiving" aspect of this and talk of it replacing other mediums. I've seen the discussion on the Oade board, and it's getting heated. But no one is talking about how well it works in the field. I know that the SPDIF cable has been know to cause some problems, but my experience on the SPDIF cable, is you need a right angle one. How caomparable is it to DAT sound wise? I know MD grabs about 80% of the sound, which is not bad at all. Is this grabbing 100% like DAT? It as digi out via the USB and firewire. If someone has a great set of mics, pre, and a/d, this thing has some great potential!