The return of the minidisc!

[rauer]

After a feared extinction of the MD format, Sony brings something new. Fresh news from www.minidisc.org: a 1 GB minidisc with 7 hrs 55 min playing time. Product images are already on a Sony site, perhaps the announcement in CES in the following days (my guess).

[Ed Selley]

The $64,000 question is whether it will play on my existing JA20ES as I sure as hell won't be spending £500 on another one.

[hornydragon]

Well i bought my first mini disc player 3 months ago after wanting one for years!

[seany]

I sold my sony jb940. I miss it really, i always liked md

[CJROSS]

Minidisc is a fanatastic medium IMHO did it ever go away (not for some of us BTW), I have always liked the sounds from the format, Im still running my trusty old Sony MDJ-510 and my MZ-E40 Personal unit from 1997, One thing about that new 1GB format is that it will be even more compressed than the existing MDLP Atrac I reckon compression which currently does not play on older decks, Im a bit wary of compressing audio to fit more time onto personal players after hearing the latest Apple I-Pod, very lacking in bass performance to my old MD personal IMHO. Another thing that will give MD a shot in the arm, is digital recording from Freeview TV & Radio (ah the joys of Jools Holland on TV & the Digital radio is top drawer for concerts to my ears).

Anyway dudes Im finding it very hard not to buy one of these things and bolting it into my PC for another system, one of the best VFM mini systems I have seen in a long time, For those into MP3 and the like one of these off a PC with its NetMD functions is a no-brainer. CD+MD+Cassette+Tuner, Amp + Speakers for £220. Sony is really pushing its MD technology for Net / MP3 usage as well.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...090273-2340415

Power to MD dudes.

[eviljohn2]

If I can get them working in my portable MZE-10 I'll be a happy bunny. But then I'll need to replace my recorder (CMT-CP500MD system).

TBH, I like the current incarnation of MD with the LP options and groups. It's like selecting CDs so more mood-orientated than mp3 players.

[agw_01]

Originally posted by hornydragon
Well i bought my first mini disc player 3 months ago after wanting one for years!

Me too! Got one on Sunday! It's an Aiwa AM-NX9 (made by Sony ) and I love it. It's great to take into College, as in LP2 I can fit 160 minutes onto one MD. It's also NetMD so I can easily put stuff onto it, with me not having a full size deck, yet.

[JohnG]

Theres an article here on the BBC technology site.

[Ed Selley]

13 hours at standard ATRAC compression- impressive stuff. Sadly it seems that it is not backwards compatible .

[tom_nieto]

I love my MZ-N1, and my MZ-R50 before that. Both still work perfectly despite being heavily used and bashed about. You can't beat MD for shock resistance. I'd like that 1GB disk, but for the moment I'm happy with the LP2 and 4 capability of my current player, although I do find that with my sennheiser headphones I can tell the difference quite easily between LP2 and LP4, however for normal listening it's not a problem, as I use CD for any serious listening.

I'd probably buy one of the new snazzy players once they come on the market as they sound like a really good idea, especially the external HDD functionality. I shall have to wait a little while as my 'N1 is still going strong

[Garrett]

I have had one for years, I never fancied one till my father got one, usually it’s me talking him into new technology. But when I looked ad the functions I got one. I then got a portable and use it when I take the dog on long walks.
I think I will wait till one goes till getting the new type.

Glad to see they are using it as a storage media always wondered why that side was not developed.

[nsherin]

An MD fan here too - I've got three recorders:

Sony MDS-JE480 for main recording/playback duties at home in my seperates rig
Sony MZ-N510 (NetMD deck) as my main portable and for MP3 --> MD transfer
Sharp MD-MT80 - £50 from Argos - bargain! for use at the gym.

MD is an excellent format with nifty editing features for analogue recording from FM/LP. MD is the only recording format I use for compilations now. Like CJROSS says, that 48kps bit-rate could sound very ropey - I rarely even use MDLP2, which both my Sony units support. MDLP4 is a big no no!

MD also beats carrying bulky CDs around (and I'm not fussed if I lose a £1 copy on an MD, as opposed to a £15 CD).

[knightrider]

I have to say guys, that i'm another silent minidisc lover.

It's just such a great format, and to be honest, i'm surprised it didn't take over the world.

What i'd love to see, is Minidisc video. Imagine the possibilites if minidisc's could do what DVD's do?!

[Dean]

I agree, in fact MD is the blue print of Sony's Universal Media Disc (UMD) for it's forthcoming PlayStation Portable (PSP) expected this christmas. Sony say it may be possible to watch movies from UMD, as well as other media

[michaelab]

IMO as a portable music format MD is history or soon will be. I just bought myself a 20Gb iPod and my Sony MZ-N707 NetMD portable will be up on eBay as soon as I have time to photograph it.

As a portable "system" the iPod beats MD hands down. I had about 30-40 of my CDs ripped to MD, primarily to use whilst I'm on my monthly trip to London but that meant that if I wanted music for the plane trip back to Lisbon or for a holiday I'd have to think about which handful disks I should take with me as I was hardly going to be carting around 40 MDs aswell as the player

Now with my iPod I have 100+ CDs that are always with me in a smaller package (not to mention a much cooler one ).

The iTunes software and interface is also so much better than any of Sony's lamentable efforts like OpenMG and, unlike Sony's ultrarestrictive system, you can copy songs from an iPod to a PC, not just the other way around.

The sound quality on the iPod with 320Kbps MP3 is also way better than my MD player. Have to use a decent pair of headphones though like my Sony EX70s - the ones that come with the iPod are no great shakes.

About the only thing the MD player has going for it is incredible battery life (about 50hrs) compared to the iPod's sorry 8 hours or so on a single charge.

Michael.