Reichu: Does anyone know exactly how this device works? Do they exist in real life?
thewayneiac: DAT players certainly exist. It means digital audio tape. I suppose that SDAT is an improvement on that: "Super Digital Audio Tape." They play audio tapes where the information has been digitally encoded, as opposed to standard magnetic tape, which is analog. They never really caught on here, but I've heard that they were popular in some parts of the world.
Reichu: That's interesting… The SDAT is actually referred to simply as "DAT" in this episode's script, but I suppose they had second thoughts and decided that the technology would advance just a little in 15+ years. ;;> Honestly, considering the kind of technology NGE has, even a Super DAT seems like a prehistoric relic.
Soluzar: Once again, current technology has already advanced past the "future" of NGE. You wouldn't accept anything using tapes as a free gift these days.
Treize X: You would think they'd heard of compact discs.
thewayneiac: I'm sure it must mean something that Shinji's SDAT player is always shown as playing tracks 25 & 26. Perhaps it is anticipating the importance of those episodes from the beginning.
Shin-seiki: The fact that we always see Shinji listening to the SDAT player represents how he tries to shut out reality and exist in his own little world. See more.
The Eva Monkey: Matt Greenfield of ADV proposed the idea that Shinji is shown listening to tracks 25 and 26 because he is viewing his life externally from within Instrumentality. It's an interesting idea, but I don't think it's really applicable, primarily due to the fact that the TV ending was supposed to have been like EoE, rather than the Instrumentality episodes that tie well with the theory.
Hexon.Arq: I suppose Matt's comment also led to the argument that the TV ending "feels" more valid than the films, or, as I've learned to see it, the ending ADV doesn't sell. ;)
