Ramstl,
I have not spoken with Jim, Doug, Marc, or anyone about this.
However, I severely doubt that these products will be unavailable in 3 years.
There is simply too large a group of users (admittedly, not a readily available medium...ever needed a DAT tape in the middle of a small town... good luck...) for the format to disappear.
I understand that they are a bitch to keep going, because I use them, as do many field recorders, recording studios, radio stations, and television studios. I am not debating anything you've said, I just don't think that they will stop making them alltogether.
I was thinking about selling my D8, maybe I'll wait a couple of years, of course, I took a bath on that truckload of turntables I bought in 1980....I thought they were going to be hard to find.....
Cheers, and see live music!!!!!!
G13